First of all, I would like to say a big Thank You to all of the students and parents in T-124 for making my birthday a wonderful day!!!! Your kindness, thoughts, cards and gifts were wonderful. A special thank you to the Brosigs for delivering flowers and gifts on the morning of my birthday as well as organizing everything. I was truly touched.
Exhibition-
Wow, time flies. Students are currently working on their visual presentations and finishing up their actions. Some groups are farther ahead than others, but I am pushing for students to really get done by the 8th of December.
Our field trip to the Houston Food Bank was a success and I would like to thank April Lloyd and Marianne Fairey for attending as chaperons. Thank you
Exhibition will be in the Cafeteria on December the 15th and our class will present from 12:00-1:00, so mark your calendars.
Math-
We have finished division and multiplication and have just started our unit on fractions, decimals and percents. I do expect this unit to be longer as 6th grade math is mostly these concepts and skills.
Science-
We are continuing with Matter and will most likely cover Matter through December.
Social Studies-
You may have heard your students come home talking about Early Colonial America and especially the English Colonies. We did watch a video that included the Native American point of view with much rich discussion during and after. We will continue with the Colonies and move into the French and Indian War. Expect a permission slip within the next week or so regarding the viewing of a movie that has some gruesome war footage.
Reading-
We will be starting new Literature Circle groups this week.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Parents and Students, I have some classroom updates to share.
Tuesday folders went home today with some important information. First, If you put in a request for student records, they are enclosed in a manila envelope. Only one copy is being sent. If you need additional copies, you will need to make the copies. I know that once the office makes a copy, they will not have time to make a second. Also, If you still need to request records, you can. They will go home again in next week's Tuesday folder.
Field Trip!!! The date has changed. Our class will attend the Food Bank field trip with Mr. Sharhiari's class on MONDAY the 15th, not the 16th. Also, we will need 2 parent chaperones. We will leave Roberts at 8:15 and return around 1:30. You will need to be VIPS approved in order to chaperone. Any volunteers?
Thank you,
Carol Rivers
Tuesday folders went home today with some important information. First, If you put in a request for student records, they are enclosed in a manila envelope. Only one copy is being sent. If you need additional copies, you will need to make the copies. I know that once the office makes a copy, they will not have time to make a second. Also, If you still need to request records, you can. They will go home again in next week's Tuesday folder.
Field Trip!!! The date has changed. Our class will attend the Food Bank field trip with Mr. Sharhiari's class on MONDAY the 15th, not the 16th. Also, we will need 2 parent chaperones. We will leave Roberts at 8:15 and return around 1:30. You will need to be VIPS approved in order to chaperone. Any volunteers?
Thank you,
Carol Rivers
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Houston Food Bank Field Trip November 16th
Parents,
The link to the required registration to the Houston Food Bank is:
http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/volunteer/
More information was sent home with students in the Tuesday Folders today!
Thank you,
Carol Rivers
The link to the required registration to the Houston Food Bank is:
http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/volunteer/
More information was sent home with students in the Tuesday Folders today!
Thank you,
Carol Rivers
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Rivers Rhinos did roar and pulled through with a 5-3 win over Ms. Schillmoeller's class in field day today. Thank you to Mr. Jackson, Nathan's father, who helped during the field day, to the Chan Family for donating water for the day's events (very much needed and appreciated) and thank you to Mrs. Brosig for helping to coordinate necessities.
I also want to thank all of the classroom parents who participated in and helped in the planning of, participation in and presentation in the International Festival last Friday. A special thank you to Mrs. Ramirez, Carolina's mother and to Mrs. O'Dwyer, John's mother and grandmother for making presentations to our classroom on their countries of origin. The students and I enjoyed. John made homemade scones, delicious, and Mrs. Ramirez brought in multiple brochures and informational booklets on Mexico. Thank you again for your participation!
Academic Updates!
Math- We have finished our unit on Geometry and will start a new unit on Division next week. The state curriculum for 5th grade focuses on dividing 3 digit dividend by 2 digit divisors. The unit will also work on the application of division in word problems as they have also been practicing through daily homework assignments.
Science- Our Solar System Planner has floated off into space and we are now focused on Matter. We have already reviewed what matter is and is not, states of matter and other basic background information. We will be covering Matter for about the next 4 weeks. For your information, the Texas State Curriculum requires basic understanding of the following: what is made of matter, properties of matter in terms of mass and volume, definitions of the 3 states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases), physical properties, measurement of matter, define and compare mixtures, solutions and how to combine and separate mixtures and solutions. Physical and chemical changes will be covered as well.
Social Studies- European Colonization in the New World has started and will continue as the lead up to the American Revolution which will start in December or January.
Reading/Language Arts- Our first Literature Books are complete! Students are working on a small final book project which is due on Tuesday, the 2nd. New books and groups will start next week. Look for further updates.
Exhibition- Students are finishing up all their research and will be wrapping up note taking next week as well as working on a written component in a question/answer format. Students are note taking differently than in years past. Each group and individual student has a Wiki page. Feel Free to look at your student's Wiki page at the following website; http:\\riversfifthgradeexhibition.pbworks.com
Your child knows their user name and password. Students have a format on their Wiki page for citing sources, highlighting important information and for putting information into their own words. It is really quite impressive. I am eternally grateful to Ms. Anderson, our Technology Teacher, for setting all of the students up and training us, she has been monumental in helping me integrate technology into our IB Planners! Thanks again Pamela Anderson.
Enjoy to cool weather and have a great weekend. Ms. Rivers
I also want to thank all of the classroom parents who participated in and helped in the planning of, participation in and presentation in the International Festival last Friday. A special thank you to Mrs. Ramirez, Carolina's mother and to Mrs. O'Dwyer, John's mother and grandmother for making presentations to our classroom on their countries of origin. The students and I enjoyed. John made homemade scones, delicious, and Mrs. Ramirez brought in multiple brochures and informational booklets on Mexico. Thank you again for your participation!
Academic Updates!
Math- We have finished our unit on Geometry and will start a new unit on Division next week. The state curriculum for 5th grade focuses on dividing 3 digit dividend by 2 digit divisors. The unit will also work on the application of division in word problems as they have also been practicing through daily homework assignments.
Science- Our Solar System Planner has floated off into space and we are now focused on Matter. We have already reviewed what matter is and is not, states of matter and other basic background information. We will be covering Matter for about the next 4 weeks. For your information, the Texas State Curriculum requires basic understanding of the following: what is made of matter, properties of matter in terms of mass and volume, definitions of the 3 states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases), physical properties, measurement of matter, define and compare mixtures, solutions and how to combine and separate mixtures and solutions. Physical and chemical changes will be covered as well.
Social Studies- European Colonization in the New World has started and will continue as the lead up to the American Revolution which will start in December or January.
Reading/Language Arts- Our first Literature Books are complete! Students are working on a small final book project which is due on Tuesday, the 2nd. New books and groups will start next week. Look for further updates.
Exhibition- Students are finishing up all their research and will be wrapping up note taking next week as well as working on a written component in a question/answer format. Students are note taking differently than in years past. Each group and individual student has a Wiki page. Feel Free to look at your student's Wiki page at the following website; http:\\riversfifthgradeexhibition.pbworks.com
Your child knows their user name and password. Students have a format on their Wiki page for citing sources, highlighting important information and for putting information into their own words. It is really quite impressive. I am eternally grateful to Ms. Anderson, our Technology Teacher, for setting all of the students up and training us, she has been monumental in helping me integrate technology into our IB Planners! Thanks again Pamela Anderson.
Enjoy to cool weather and have a great weekend. Ms. Rivers
Monday, October 11, 2010
Parents and Students,
I hope that all of you have had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beautiful weather!
Exhibition-
Students will meet their mentors tomorrow. Mentors will meet with students and work on refining their topics this week. Our Technology Teacher, Mrs. Anderson, has also been working with our class, and will continue to do so, on finding online resources. She comes into our class once a week and usually comes to our room on Tuesday mornings. We will also work with the librarian, Ms. Whitehouse, on writing a Bibliography and plagerism. I will present lessons this week on how to identify important information and how to take notes and put into own words.
Science- The Solar System will wrap up this week with a final test on Wednesday or Thursday.
Social Studies- Continuing with Exploration for a couple of weeks.
Reading- Students are catching up with eachother on novel reading and some have to read and others do not, depending on reading speed. We will continue to write in Reading Journals.
Spelling and Wordly Wise update-
While I understand that many of the spelling words are also vocabulary words for students, I also want to provide a challenge for spelling that follows a spelling pattern or rule. This is a balancing act and I know that vocabulary development is addressed through Wordly Wise. I am also trying to overlap them somewhat so that there is vocabulary and spelling exposure. This week's rule is the vowel-consonant-silent e rule.
Math-
We have covered 2 lessons on reading and interpreting data through looking at old Census data. The Main subject of Lesson 3,Geometry and measurment of angles, began today. We continue with daily/weekly review of place value and rounding.
I hope that all of you have had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beautiful weather!
Exhibition-
Students will meet their mentors tomorrow. Mentors will meet with students and work on refining their topics this week. Our Technology Teacher, Mrs. Anderson, has also been working with our class, and will continue to do so, on finding online resources. She comes into our class once a week and usually comes to our room on Tuesday mornings. We will also work with the librarian, Ms. Whitehouse, on writing a Bibliography and plagerism. I will present lessons this week on how to identify important information and how to take notes and put into own words.
Science- The Solar System will wrap up this week with a final test on Wednesday or Thursday.
Social Studies- Continuing with Exploration for a couple of weeks.
Reading- Students are catching up with eachother on novel reading and some have to read and others do not, depending on reading speed. We will continue to write in Reading Journals.
Spelling and Wordly Wise update-
While I understand that many of the spelling words are also vocabulary words for students, I also want to provide a challenge for spelling that follows a spelling pattern or rule. This is a balancing act and I know that vocabulary development is addressed through Wordly Wise. I am also trying to overlap them somewhat so that there is vocabulary and spelling exposure. This week's rule is the vowel-consonant-silent e rule.
Math-
We have covered 2 lessons on reading and interpreting data through looking at old Census data. The Main subject of Lesson 3,Geometry and measurment of angles, began today. We continue with daily/weekly review of place value and rounding.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Unceasing River Roars Update-
The Students have a long list of positive attributes that includes; creativity, intelligence, engagement, energy and eagerness to share knowledge and ideas. With these positives, comes a talkative group. There are times in our class when students work with partners and small group and other times, instruction is teacher lead. During times throughout the day when instruction is whole group, students are being talkative. In response, I have started keeping time when the group (not individuals)is talking and I am waiting. This time is taken from recess time at the end of the day. This is by no means one or two students, but the group as a whole. I do expect that the talking will decrease and this will not be necessary after a few weeks at the most. There are students that are quiet at all or most transitions and I am rewarding these students with extra auction points. If we get down to one or two students, I will make adjustments and the whole class will not lose recess at that point. Thank you for your support.
Exhibition-
Students have identified their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for their Exhibition project and final subjects will be made next week. Ideas generated fall under the overall Central Idea of "Through deep understanding of our world, we find solutions".
Math- The current Math focus of estimation, multiplication (2 digit by 2 digit), organizing/analyzing data using mean, median, mode, mean and range, and rounding Will continue into this week, with a test on Wednesday or Thursday. Students will complete a study guide as practice this week as well. The following unit will cover Geometry. NEW- Students have been registered on www.pearsonsuccessnet.com. Assignments for individual students have been assigned and I will be giving students their usernames and passwords this week on Monday or Tuesday. Students go on and watch a lesson, have an opportunity for guided practice, independent practice and take a quiz.
Science-
Wow!!! I am impressed with student prior knowledge of the Solar System. The new Science topic has generated student debate, clarification and has made for animated classroom discussions. Our Solar System unit of study will continue through the next 2 weeks (approximately). If you are interested, here are some websites students may be interested in visiting:
http://landsat.usgs.gov/index.php
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/
http://plantandsoil.unl.edu/croptechnology2005/pages/index.jsp
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/TECHNICAL/ECS/agronomy/photos.html
http://www.rossea.info/landforms.html
Reading-
Literature Circles are continuing with comprehension mini-lessons and small groups with teacher. The Reading Journals are used for written responses and generating discussion points when meeting in groups.
Language Arts-
Language Arts is currently being addressed through the research component of Exhibition and through student reading journals as well as daily spelling and Language lessons.
Social Studies-
With Exhibition starting this past week and finishing our poetry projects, we have had an extremely busy week with little time for students to work on their state projects. We will have time this week.
Have a great week!
Carol Rivers
The Students have a long list of positive attributes that includes; creativity, intelligence, engagement, energy and eagerness to share knowledge and ideas. With these positives, comes a talkative group. There are times in our class when students work with partners and small group and other times, instruction is teacher lead. During times throughout the day when instruction is whole group, students are being talkative. In response, I have started keeping time when the group (not individuals)is talking and I am waiting. This time is taken from recess time at the end of the day. This is by no means one or two students, but the group as a whole. I do expect that the talking will decrease and this will not be necessary after a few weeks at the most. There are students that are quiet at all or most transitions and I am rewarding these students with extra auction points. If we get down to one or two students, I will make adjustments and the whole class will not lose recess at that point. Thank you for your support.
Exhibition-
Students have identified their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for their Exhibition project and final subjects will be made next week. Ideas generated fall under the overall Central Idea of "Through deep understanding of our world, we find solutions".
Math- The current Math focus of estimation, multiplication (2 digit by 2 digit), organizing/analyzing data using mean, median, mode, mean and range, and rounding Will continue into this week, with a test on Wednesday or Thursday. Students will complete a study guide as practice this week as well. The following unit will cover Geometry. NEW- Students have been registered on www.pearsonsuccessnet.com. Assignments for individual students have been assigned and I will be giving students their usernames and passwords this week on Monday or Tuesday. Students go on and watch a lesson, have an opportunity for guided practice, independent practice and take a quiz.
Science-
Wow!!! I am impressed with student prior knowledge of the Solar System. The new Science topic has generated student debate, clarification and has made for animated classroom discussions. Our Solar System unit of study will continue through the next 2 weeks (approximately). If you are interested, here are some websites students may be interested in visiting:
http://landsat.usgs.gov/index.php
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/
http://plantandsoil.unl.edu/croptechnology2005/pages/index.jsp
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/TECHNICAL/ECS/agronomy/photos.html
http://www.rossea.info/landforms.html
Reading-
Literature Circles are continuing with comprehension mini-lessons and small groups with teacher. The Reading Journals are used for written responses and generating discussion points when meeting in groups.
Language Arts-
Language Arts is currently being addressed through the research component of Exhibition and through student reading journals as well as daily spelling and Language lessons.
Social Studies-
With Exhibition starting this past week and finishing our poetry projects, we have had an extremely busy week with little time for students to work on their state projects. We will have time this week.
Have a great week!
Carol Rivers
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Unceasing River Roars Update 9/24/10
This past week, we have had some seat changes and we have started reading Novels for Literature Circles. We have changed our seating arrangement and adjustments will be made as appropriate. We have also started Literature Circles. Gruoup assignments were teacher driven and students chose books from 2-4 choices, depending on the group. Students are either reading Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson or Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. These books will be read at school and at home. The home component will start next week. Reading reflection and comprehension strategies have been and will continue to be taught through mini lessons and Literature Circle groups will meet about once a week for discussion. Students have Reading Journals and have begun writing in response to their Reading.
Book Buddies are here! Our class has partnered up with Mrs. Barnes's Kindergarten class for Book Buddies. As soon as I finish this Post, I will try and add some photos to the blog. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Progress reports went home on Tuesday and something unexpected presented itself, a number grade for Handwriting! Well, apparently, this will only show up on the progress report and will continue to be a letter grade on the report cards. I did enter letter grades on Grade Speed and it automatically converted. 90's are an E and 80's are an S.
Poetry Update-
We will be finishing up poetry this week with a culminating project of a poem on Story Board. Students have chosen pictures/images for each of their Story Board pages and we will finish on Friday.
Exhibition is coming! 5th grade teachers met on Thursday of this past week to plan Exhibition. We will begin the process of chosing topics this coming week. I know that many students are excited to get started. Updates and information will be forthcoming.
Math-
We have been focusing on Estimating and Rounding. For any students needing reminders of how to round, here is a poem:
Circle your number
Look next door
5 or greater
add one more
Numbers to the left
stay the same
Numbers to the right
Zero's your name!
Book Buddies are here! Our class has partnered up with Mrs. Barnes's Kindergarten class for Book Buddies. As soon as I finish this Post, I will try and add some photos to the blog. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Progress reports went home on Tuesday and something unexpected presented itself, a number grade for Handwriting! Well, apparently, this will only show up on the progress report and will continue to be a letter grade on the report cards. I did enter letter grades on Grade Speed and it automatically converted. 90's are an E and 80's are an S.
Poetry Update-
We will be finishing up poetry this week with a culminating project of a poem on Story Board. Students have chosen pictures/images for each of their Story Board pages and we will finish on Friday.
Exhibition is coming! 5th grade teachers met on Thursday of this past week to plan Exhibition. We will begin the process of chosing topics this coming week. I know that many students are excited to get started. Updates and information will be forthcoming.
Math-
We have been focusing on Estimating and Rounding. For any students needing reminders of how to round, here is a poem:
Circle your number
Look next door
5 or greater
add one more
Numbers to the left
stay the same
Numbers to the right
Zero's your name!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Dear Parents,
Thank you for your warm reception at our Open House last night. I have met many of you of previous occasions and was happy to meet those of you whom I had not yet met. I also appreciate your patience in establishing regular communication and communication of grades.
In response to some of the questions from last night-
I talked with the students in class today about the routine for Wordly Wise that will start next week. One to two Wordly Wise lessons will be assigned each night (Monday-Thursday). Students will write which lessons are to be completed in their agenda's. We will review the homework/lesson the following morning and there will be a Wordly Wise Test each Friday.
I am going to work on a more consistent spelling assignment/s for homework and let you know sometime next week.
Grade Speed/Parent Connect is up and running. I have inputted grades for Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science. I will be entering more this weekend. I will enter grades at least once a week in the future (starting next week).
5th graders will all take the Naglieri (NNAT) on Tuesday, October the 26th.
Social Studies Update!
We will be finishing up US Geography next week with a culminating Test on Thursday of all the States. Some students who took the opportunity to take this test early and score a 90% or higher will be working on a state project in class instead of daily geography activities. Some good websites for students to practice US Geography are:
http://www.vectorkids.com/maps.htm
http://www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/
Enjoy the long weekend! Carol Rivers
Thank you for your warm reception at our Open House last night. I have met many of you of previous occasions and was happy to meet those of you whom I had not yet met. I also appreciate your patience in establishing regular communication and communication of grades.
In response to some of the questions from last night-
I talked with the students in class today about the routine for Wordly Wise that will start next week. One to two Wordly Wise lessons will be assigned each night (Monday-Thursday). Students will write which lessons are to be completed in their agenda's. We will review the homework/lesson the following morning and there will be a Wordly Wise Test each Friday.
I am going to work on a more consistent spelling assignment/s for homework and let you know sometime next week.
Grade Speed/Parent Connect is up and running. I have inputted grades for Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science. I will be entering more this weekend. I will enter grades at least once a week in the future (starting next week).
5th graders will all take the Naglieri (NNAT) on Tuesday, October the 26th.
Social Studies Update!
We will be finishing up US Geography next week with a culminating Test on Thursday of all the States. Some students who took the opportunity to take this test early and score a 90% or higher will be working on a state project in class instead of daily geography activities. Some good websites for students to practice US Geography are:
http://www.vectorkids.com/maps.htm
http://www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/
Enjoy the long weekend! Carol Rivers
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Homework
Reading- each week you will need to read a minimum of 150 minutes. Ideally, this will be 30 minutes a day. I know that some students have evening activities and with packed schedules, this is difficult to fit in at times. If students would like to read on the weekend in order to get in their reading time, that is fine. I will ask students to have parents sign their reading log once a week and I will check for parent signatures on Mondays.
Math- Although it is not currently an assignment, students can always practice multiplication tables. The faster students are, the easier it will be to find equivalents for fractions and perform conversions (fractions, decimals and percents).
More to be posted on Monday the 13th. See you then!
Ms. Rivers
Reading- each week you will need to read a minimum of 150 minutes. Ideally, this will be 30 minutes a day. I know that some students have evening activities and with packed schedules, this is difficult to fit in at times. If students would like to read on the weekend in order to get in their reading time, that is fine. I will ask students to have parents sign their reading log once a week and I will check for parent signatures on Mondays.
Math- Although it is not currently an assignment, students can always practice multiplication tables. The faster students are, the easier it will be to find equivalents for fractions and perform conversions (fractions, decimals and percents).
More to be posted on Monday the 13th. See you then!
Ms. Rivers
Welcome!
Parents and Students,
Thank you for a great start to the new school year. The first three weeks have been great for getting to know all of the students and I have also had the opportunity to get to meet several parents as well. In building classroom community, the students of Ms. Rivers class have been working on designing a classroom seal. We started by studying the United States of America symbols, landmarks, monuments and the U.S. seal. The students created the classroom motto, "The River Unceasing Roars". Plans for the design include a phoenix flying out of a volcano with lava flowing down the side of the volcano and forming the infinity symbol. The phoenix will have the flags of countries represented in our classroom in its beak and wear a cape on its right wing. I have a wonderful group of students who have become a new classroom community.
Thank you for a great start to the new school year. The first three weeks have been great for getting to know all of the students and I have also had the opportunity to get to meet several parents as well. In building classroom community, the students of Ms. Rivers class have been working on designing a classroom seal. We started by studying the United States of America symbols, landmarks, monuments and the U.S. seal. The students created the classroom motto, "The River Unceasing Roars". Plans for the design include a phoenix flying out of a volcano with lava flowing down the side of the volcano and forming the infinity symbol. The phoenix will have the flags of countries represented in our classroom in its beak and wear a cape on its right wing. I have a wonderful group of students who have become a new classroom community.
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