Concert Pictures!

Fifth graders did a fantastic job a the Winter Concert!  Below are some snapshots from the day. Enjoy!

Week of Giving (this week):

• MONDAY - Mittens and hats 
• TUESDAY - Animal items to donate to the local shelter 
• WEDNESDAY - Non-donation day.  Students get to dress up. 
• THURSDAY - Coats - new and used (but need to be in good condition) 
• FRIDAY - Toys - new and used (need to have all the pieces). 

** The whole week is a food donation drive as well**

Homework: 

• 30 minutes reading
• Book club reading and assignments, if not completed in class.

Reminders:

• No spelling this week!
• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Winter Concert: Thursday, December 15

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

No Spelling This Week!

All classes do NOT have spelling lists/ homework this week due to the Winter Concert. 

Week of Giving (this week):

• MONDAY - Mittens and hats 
• TUESDAY - Animal items to donate to the local shelter 
• WEDNESDAY - Non-donation day.  Students get to dress up. 
• THURSDAY - Coats - new and used (but need to be in good condition) 
• FRIDAY - Toys - new and used (need to have all the pieces). 

** The whole week is a food donation drive as well**

Homework: 

• Math homework
• 30 minutes reading
• Book club reading and assignments, if not completed in class.

Reminders:

• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Winter Concert: Thursday, December 15

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Stuffed Animal Day: FRIDAY

Riversides students "filled the tube" this month.  To celebrate, students across the building voted to bring in a stuffed animal this Friday.  Congratulations, Riverside students! Way to go!

O'NEILL & ROST  We are continuing our work in themes this week. Themes, life lessons, central message, etc. can be difficult to pull from texts, especially when we're reading complexs text with various themes running throughout.  Our goal with this work is to have multiple strategies under our belts, and to be able to use the most efficient and effective strategy when considering theme. 

Target Learning Goals:  To grow ideas about theme, readers can...

• ... consider mistakes and what characters might learn/ do differently.
• ... explore character development, change, growth.
• ... pay special attention to authors' "Famous Last Words" (see anchor chart below).

TLGs in Action: 

Ask your child you use "Famous Last Words" to make a claim about a theme in Goblins on the Prowl. 

In the book club No Talking, we used a "chalk talk" to write (rather than talk) about our thinking.  Students used lines to connect and grow ideas with their peers. 

MEZAN  This week we spent a lot of time really exploring Memory Moments (flashbacks).  Rather than simply retelling/ restating what the memory is, readers can think:  Why is it important? What does it add to our ideas/ theory about the character? What is the character struggling with internally?  We focused on using thinking and writing stems to dig deeper into these moments and characters.  Ask your child to tell you a thinking stem they used this week. 

Target Learning Goals (TLG):  To grow ideas about characters, readers can...

• ... pay attention to Memory Moments (flashbacks) and think about why they might be important; considering...
• ... what the character might be struggling with internally.
• ... what the character depends on, holds dear, be worried about.
• ... what it reveals about the character's traits and relationships. 

TLGs in Action:  Below you'll see students using Play-Dough to create a symbol to best represent what's happening in Crenshaw (our Read Aloud). This is a "visible thinking strategy" that encourages students to determine importance and synthesize.  If you see your child, ask them what they made and why!

Homework: 

• Math homework
• 30 minutes reading
• Book club reading and assignments, if not completed in class.
• Spelling 

Reminders:

• Spelling Quiz: Friday
• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Early Dismissal: Friday, December 9
• Stuffed Animal Day: Friday, December 9
• Winter Concert: Thursday, December 15

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Environmental Stewardship Continues

Although we have concluded our time at Harford Glen, we are now using our experience to craft a plan for improvement at our school building. We are collaborating between classes to come up with a singular focus that we will be presenting to the administration for approval. With any luck, we'll get that approval and be able to implement our plan once we warm back up in the spring.

Next week, we'll be moving into our next science unit after a brief revisit of Native American tribe work, since our research is starting in the media center.

Here's a look at group brainstorming for our potential projects.

Spelling is Back!

Friendly reminder to all classes that spelling is back this week.  Click the "Weekly Spelling Homework Menu" tab at the top of  the website or here for homework outline. 

O'NEILL & ROST  This week, we're moving from thinking about characters to thinking about theme; i.e., now that we know characters well, we can consider their experiences, what they learn, their mistakes, etc. to grow ideas about themes. 

Target Learning Goals:  To grow ideas about theme, readers can...

• ... use "Somebody Wanted But So Then" to distinguish plot vs. theme.
• ... use our schema to generate ideas about "Bumper Sticker" themes vs. topical themes (see pictures below).  This target learning goal is all about jogging students memories and generating themes we're familiar with so we can refer back to them throughout the unit.  This strategy will also help students later on as we dig into conflict resolution and its implication on theme. 
• ... consider mistakes and what character might learn/ do differently.
• ... explore character development, change, growth.
• ... look for and study symbolism.

TLGs in Action: If you see a snapshot of you child below, ask them if they were wearing a bumper sticker or topical theme.  Ask them for a 6-word sentence about what they learned in Readers' Workshop today.

MEZAN  This is a very exciting week for Mezan's room-- we've started our new Read Aloud book, Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate!  During this Read Aloud, students all have a copy of the text in front of them; however, I still read aloud and model fluency and comprehension strategies. Students engage in dialogue about characters, internal v. external conflicts, theme, ect. as we stop, think, discuss, and write. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to put what they're learning into action, but still have the support of an experienced reader reading to them.

Target Learning Goals (TLG):  To grow ideas about characters, readers can...

• ... use thinking and writing stems to push our thinking about characters.
• ... pay attention to Memory Moments (flashbacks) and think about why they might be important; considering...
• ... what the character might be struggling with internally.
• ... what the character depends on, holds dear, be worried about.
• ... what it reveals about the character's traits and relationships. 

TLGs in Action:  Below is a book trailer for Crenshaw! Take a look!

Homework: 

• Math homework
• 30 minutes reading
• Book club reading and assignments, if not completed in class.
• Spelling (just words in planner on Mondays)

Reminders:

• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Thanksgiving Break Math

On Friday students were given an optional Thanksgiving break packet. Any work that students do over this break and return to school will be rewarded with extra credit points. If the entire packet is completed, they will earn the extra credit points as well as be invited to eat their lunch at our fancy table in the commons to celebrate. Please feel free to help your child with this packet if needed. This does not have to be an independent activity.

Keep practicing those multiplication facts at home as well! Memorization of the basic facts leaves extra brain power to tackle multi-step problems in math class.

Keep an eye out for opportunities to use math during your holiday gatherings. Shopping for food and gifts can be great practice with estimation and working with decimals.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with each of our fifth graders this year. They are a special group.

See you in a week!
Mrs. Mezan

Harford Glen Fun

The kids had a great time and it was a fantastic trip to the outdoors. We will be wrapping up our school based action plans in science following the Thanksgiving holiday.

Here's a look at a the mannequin challenge the kids wanted to do in the dining hall at Harford Glen after lunch on Thursday.  Have a great break!!!