Week of Sept. 26

Progress Reports go home today! If your child's grade is disappointing, please work with them to bring it up. Most poor grades were in large part a reflection of students not doing their homework.

Picture Day is Sept. 29th! Our scheduled time is 11:00 (all 5th grade)

I have noticed a large number of bluebirds flying around campus. It would be great to put up some bluebird boxes! I just bought one from my bank (State Employees Credit Union) for $10. It would be great to place them around campus. Anyone want to donate one or two? They would be a great addition to the Secret Garden theme!

We continue novel study this week and writing our fairy tales. Look for you student to bring home a rough draft of the fairy tale to type. It will be homework one day this week. If you do not have a computer, students may type in my room before or after school (until 4, except on Tuesday and Wednesday).

Vocabulary/Spelling for this week:
Spelling/Vocabulary from The Secret Garden
Week of Sept. 26
5A
contrary
unresponsive
unpleasant
intentions
disturbed
exclaim
continue
trifle
spite
dreary
cease
burly
timid
dense
particular
corridor

Spelling/Vocabulary from The Secret Garden
Week of Sept. 26
5B
contrary
unresponsive
indifference
intentions
immensely
unceremoniously
particularly
exclaimed
trifle
dreary
cease
burly
steadily
timid
dense

Spelling/Vocabulary from The Wee Free Men
Week of Sept. 26
5C
uneducated
unsuitable
absolutely
occasionally
ability
corrugated
mentioned
exclamation
wretched
patronizing
lurking
geography
procession
tinker
stealth

Progress reports

Please check your students agenda today. I gave everyone their progress report grade. Remember this is just a half quarter grade. If your student is doing well, excellent! Keep up the good work. If they are struggling, there is time to work hard and salvage the quarter! Please encourage students to complete homework every night. It is very important to help build skills and develop good reading habits!
I found a really terrific vocabulary site. Please visit and explore!

Spelling/Vocabulary, week of Sept.. 19

Well, last week got away from us and we didn't get nearly as much done as I expected! This week we will definitely begin reading Secret Garden and Wee Free Men and partake in some fun and educational activities associated with those terrific books. We will also write our very own fairy tales, full of whimsy, magic and excellent vocabulary.
Reminder: Bookmobile on Tuesday Sept. 20
Spelling/ Vocabulary from The Secret Garden
Week of Sept. 19
5A
neither
either
amazing
vexed
native
comforting
custom
India
horrible
rage
sturdy
rustic
sentiment
handsome
Raleigh

Spelling/ Vocabulary from The Secret Garden
Week of Sept. 19
5B
neither
either
amazement
evidently
vexed
disdain
comforting
custom
approval
unrestrained
sturdy
respectful
rustic
India
gradually

Spelling/ Vocabulary from The Wee Free Men
Week of Sept. 19
5C
evidently
incidentally
respectful
sorrows
optional
ancestors
shearing
sullen
bewilder
usually
massive
thoughtful
impressive
geology
unprofessional

September 11th (and next week:)

Hello Neuse Charter family. I have spent a reflective weekend, thinking about September 11th and all the heroes and victims of our great national tragedy 10 years ago. I remember well the day we were attacked. My brother lives in New York City and had been working on a project close to the towers. I was pretty scared before I heard his voice late in the afternoon of 9-11, the fact that he was able to get a call out of the city was just a gift from God. Many were not as lucky as I on that day, and I try not to lose sight of that blessing. A small tribute to the brave firefighters that day, and every day, many of whom died, protecting and serving:
The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.
This week, we will begin reading and writing fairy tales. We have completed, for the most part, our review of tall tales and folktales. I taught students last week about story structure and we will build on that graphic organizer this week by crafting our own fairytales. We also begin novel study, reading two different novels that have fairy tale elements. 5A and 5B will be reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and 5C will be reading The Wee Free Men by Terry Patchett. I have a set of each book, but they may not be removed from the classroom. If you would like your student to have their own copy, you will have to purchase one (which is a great idea, if you can). We may have to share books in class. We will not begin until later in the week with the novels.
A couple notes on the upcoming FICTION book report project, due on Oct. 14. The project consists of 2 elements:
1. A book review of the book the student read. Typed, 12 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced. Each class has a different length requirement. It is written on the sheet that was sent home. None is more than 3 pages, double-spaced (1.5 pages). I enclosed a guideline on how to write it with the handout.
And
2. a.) A poem about the book and b.) An artistic representation. The artwork may be a painting, a sculpture, any medium or a diorama, or small model. This will be graded based on the amount of effort shown, not artistic skills.
Spelling/Vocabulary Words
Week of 9/12/11
Based on common fairytale words and vocabulary from novels, The Secret Garden and The Wee Free Men
5A
peril
rescued
coward
kidnapper
protagonist
excitement
imprisoned
puzzling
ruthless
position
amuse
disagree
hearth
disturbed
ought

5B
peril
cowardly
triumph
protagonist
antagonist
glisten
mysterious
transform
disagreeable
familiar
hearth
muttering
implore
wailing
eerie

5C
imploringly
wold (yes, wold, not world)
resolution
eerie
protagonist
antagonist
hyperbole
glistening
colossal
mysterious
absentmindedly
dialect
raggedy
reliable
susurrus

Week of September 6

I hope you are all having a wonderful 3 day weekend! I spent a couple days in Boone and enjoyed a great day on the river.
This week in Language Arts:
No spelling/vocabulary words this week! I will never give words on a short week. If your student scored less than a 73 last week on the spelling test, I am asking parents to sign the test and return it to school. I am not completely convinced all students are sharing their test results with parents. We also enjoyed a pop quiz... although I did give many hints it was coming...on the tall tale unit we worked on last week in class. If your student was absent on Friday, please have them see me to make up work asap. They only have this week to make up last week's work.
We will finish our metaphor and collage poem in class this week. Many of them are really terrific. I will share a few next week on the blog.
This week, we will be reading fairy tales and dissecting their structure. We will also write our very own over the next couple of weeks. We will work on some vocabulary exercises in class, since we don't have a test on Friday.
We begin novel study in the next few weeks.Each class will be reading a different novel. More to come on that!