March is finally here and hopefully spring is just around the corner!
Exciting things are happening in 5th grade at Blue Star, as usual!
We are beginning our new literature circles. Students choose their books on Wednesday and we will begin reading and preparing for our discussion Wednesdays next week.
We will also begin our next reading unit next week. As a class we will be reading Guests.
In social studies students are working on a group presentation of a region of the United States. Each group has 4 to 6 states in which they will put together a 5 to 10 minute presentation on the various human and physical characteristics of their place. These presentations will be at the end of next week.
I will soon be finishing my time in Social Studies and move into science and math before I am finished student teaching a Blue Star.
I was wonderful to meet all of the parents at conferences. I hope you enjoyed your student lead conference and gained some insight as to how your student views their progress.
As always, if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Newhouse!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Mid Winter
I hope all the Blue Star Families are surviving this NEVER ENDING winter weather!! Spring will be very much welcomed in my household!
Some updates about 5th grade at Blue Star:
*Biography Brunch is FAST approaching. Your student will need an inexpensive costume and to prepare a short, memorized speech for the Wax Museum.
*Biography projects are drawing to a close. The final copy of all 3 project choices are due THIS FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 2008. The final copies need to be neat, free of errors and in a folder or some sort of "packaging".
*Literature circles are also drawing to a close. This coming week we will be working on board games in class. Each group will create a board game for their book. We will take some time one afternoon to play all of our board games once they are finished!
*In social studies we are continuing our work with geography of North America. Your student took a quiz on Thrusday and those are graded and will be coming home soon.
Please contact me with any questions about the projects happening in class currently.
Some updates about 5th grade at Blue Star:
*Biography Brunch is FAST approaching. Your student will need an inexpensive costume and to prepare a short, memorized speech for the Wax Museum.
*Biography projects are drawing to a close. The final copy of all 3 project choices are due THIS FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 2008. The final copies need to be neat, free of errors and in a folder or some sort of "packaging".
*Literature circles are also drawing to a close. This coming week we will be working on board games in class. Each group will create a board game for their book. We will take some time one afternoon to play all of our board games once they are finished!
*In social studies we are continuing our work with geography of North America. Your student took a quiz on Thrusday and those are graded and will be coming home soon.
Please contact me with any questions about the projects happening in class currently.
Monday, January 21, 2008
This week a few very exciting things are happening in 5th at Blue Star!!
*Literature circles will begin this week.
Each student was placed in a reading group and given the choice of a few books. Each day students will decide how many pages to read and will complete an assigned job. During reading time the groups will meet an discuss their reading from the previous day.
*Newspaper Story continues.
In class we are reading a newspaper novel. Each week I get 30 newspapers with the newest chapter of the book! The Kalamazoo Gazette has graciously given us these newspapers free of charge! After literature circles students will read the chapter for the given week and complete an activity sheet. This will be a week long task due each Monday. Students will need to be responsible for completing and keeping track of the activity sheet until Monday.
*Biography Project.
We are currently work on a time line. This is a joint project with tech. Students have written the time line and will now create a computer generated time line.
*New Biography Project.
Keep an eye out for a new project coming home sometime this week or next week!
Miss Iehl will begin teaching a geography unit in Social Studies at the end of this week!
Friday, January 11, 2008
First Week Finished!
What a wonderful first week at Blue Star!!! I think I have mastered all the students names and now just working on the teachers' and staffs' names!
In the Classroom Update:
This week, I began reading aloud a Biography of Anne Frank. The students are practicing the questioning reading strategy by recording questions that come to mind while they listen to the book.
We worked on there/their/they're in word study. (You should have seen a take home task!!!)
I also introduced the next trait we will be working on in writing, sentence fluency. In the coming weeks students will be writing much more and focusing on sentence fluency!
Writing Opportunity:
I am entering some of my writing in the Kalamazoo Gazette Literary Awards.
The deadline for all entries is February 8,2008 at 5pm.
The entry forms and more information will be in the classroom for all intrested students.
The awards are 50 dollar gift card to the participating book stores and the runners up get $25!
I will have the guidelines and entry forms in the classroom up until the deadline for those who are interested.
Poems are the only category for 10 years olds and younger.
Short stories and memoirs (non-fiction/personal accounts) are for 11 year olds and older.
** I encourage all students to participate in the contest. I will be avaliable to help students improve and revise their writing up until the deadline.
www.kalamazoogazette.com/litawards
*Above is the website for more information about the contest and the registration form.
Stay tuned for more updates!
In the Classroom Update:
This week, I began reading aloud a Biography of Anne Frank. The students are practicing the questioning reading strategy by recording questions that come to mind while they listen to the book.
We worked on there/their/they're in word study. (You should have seen a take home task!!!)
I also introduced the next trait we will be working on in writing, sentence fluency. In the coming weeks students will be writing much more and focusing on sentence fluency!
Writing Opportunity:
I am entering some of my writing in the Kalamazoo Gazette Literary Awards.
The deadline for all entries is February 8,2008 at 5pm.
The entry forms and more information will be in the classroom for all intrested students.
The awards are 50 dollar gift card to the participating book stores and the runners up get $25!
I will have the guidelines and entry forms in the classroom up until the deadline for those who are interested.
Poems are the only category for 10 years olds and younger.
Short stories and memoirs (non-fiction/personal accounts) are for 11 year olds and older.
** I encourage all students to participate in the contest. I will be avaliable to help students improve and revise their writing up until the deadline.
www.kalamazoogazette.com/litawards
*Above is the website for more information about the contest and the registration form.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Who is Miss Iehl?
Hello Blue Star Elementary Fifth Graders!
My name is Miss (Mona) Iehl. I am a college student at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. I will be finishing my college career here at Blue Star Elementary as I student teach in your classroom. You are all very lucky because I LOVE fifth grade. WoW! In fifth grade you get to do so many cool things, like learn about the United States, write stories and read great literature!
You are probably wondering who I am....
*I enjoy cooking, especially pasta.
*Summer is my favorite season because I love to swim and hang out with my family on boats!
*I LOVE to read.
*I have a younger brother named John.
*I have a dog named Roxy.
*When I was in fifth grade I loved to play four square and didn't like reading.
*I really like Social Studies.
*Science is sometimes hard for me, so I'll need your help!
I can't wait to get to know each one of you and for you to get to know me better! I would love it for you to respond to this by telling me about yourself.
Throughout my time in your classroom I will post on this website in order to communicate with you and your parents. If you ever have any questions feel free to leave them on this website or email me!
My name is Miss (Mona) Iehl. I am a college student at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. I will be finishing my college career here at Blue Star Elementary as I student teach in your classroom. You are all very lucky because I LOVE fifth grade. WoW! In fifth grade you get to do so many cool things, like learn about the United States, write stories and read great literature!
You are probably wondering who I am....
*I enjoy cooking, especially pasta.
*Summer is my favorite season because I love to swim and hang out with my family on boats!
*I LOVE to read.
*I have a younger brother named John.
*I have a dog named Roxy.
*When I was in fifth grade I loved to play four square and didn't like reading.
*I really like Social Studies.
*Science is sometimes hard for me, so I'll need your help!
I can't wait to get to know each one of you and for you to get to know me better! I would love it for you to respond to this by telling me about yourself.
Throughout my time in your classroom I will post on this website in order to communicate with you and your parents. If you ever have any questions feel free to leave them on this website or email me!
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