European Exploration

https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/wolrd-explorer-vid/#.XdPu9r97n-Y

Invasive Species Research in Michigan

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79137_79770_79780-485889--,00.html?fbclid=IwAR3PeYUzxMwzL-rQuGEoSRsUXjhlAx1LAU5V0PRQUZhKo3kUOQkxK42z9mM

Meet Young Immigrants

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/young%5Fimmigrants/

The Slave Route Project

http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/MapSlaveRoute.pdf

European Exploration

https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/wolrd-explorer-vid/

Camp Storer Feedback

Please click the link below to share your feedback with Camp Storer about your experience last week.

Camp Storer Feedback Form

Off to Camp We Go!

Good Evening Families,

A note was sent home with your child this afternoon with last minute reminders and instructions on how to access the Remind app and follow our adventures.  If case your 5th grader lost the sheet between home and school, here's the brief version.

-Plan for your child to arrive at school on time.

-Luggage will be left in the front lobby of the main building near the showcase.

-Parents that want to stay until the bus leaves are welcome in the classroom and to wave goodbye to our bus.

-Medication should come to school labeled in the original packaging--give to teacher, no medication in luggage.

-Friday pick-up is at 1:30 if at all possible.

To access Remind and follow our trip...

Remind App  the class code:  padgen

Looking forward to a great few days at camp.  If you would like my phone number to be in touch at camp please email me.  Although I am happy to check-in with you and reassure you that all is well, I will not be able to have you speak to your child--camp policy and the best way to cure homesickness is to stay busy and engaged at camp.  (Being a parent also, it feels a bit yucky to enforce this camp policy, but I promise to take great care of your child!)

You can also keep up with our classroom adventures at our classroom blog: padgen.blogspot.com

Thank you for sharing your child with me this year!

 

Aaron

Student Conferences: Please Sign-Up

Families,
I have created a sign-up genius for you to sign up for your child's student conference.  Please note that students are an active part of these conferences and so I'm hoping you will sign up for a time in which you child will be able to accompany you.  To sign-up please follow this link Student Conference Sign-Up

Thank you!  I look forward to sharing more with you about your child and their goals for this school year.

Sincerely,
Aaron

Huron River Water Quality Inquiry

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Huron River at Island Park in Ann Arbor, where Mackenzie and Lisa, from the Leslie Science and Nature Center provided us with opportunities to learn about watersheds, macroinvertebrates, and water quality.  Thanks LSNC!

Using a watershed model to understand the impact humans have on water systems.

Learning how to sample the river for macroinveterbrates.

Counting macroinvertebrates to better understand water quality

Chemical water testing helped us learn more about the quality of the water in the Huron River

Wonder, A Wonderful Book!

Wonder, A Wonderful Book!
by Marquece

     August Pullman (Auggie) is a ten year old 5th grader with small anomalies--a cleft palate.  In this book Wonder, August will have to face real world problems plus extra problems because of his deformed face and, the effect of his many surgeries. 
     At the beginning of the story August meets Jack, Julian, and Charlotte.  It all started with Julian when he makes an unkind joke about August's face and as the school year progress, Julian makes problems for August.  The story mainly focuses on perspective, meaning each chapter of the story is another one of the characters perspective of the story.  The main message of this story is to be kind and give people a chance.
     My opinion on this story is I feel like it has a lot of truth in it and it's very realistic.  I can relate to this book an abundance.  While I don't have August's challenges I have a lot of my own, but I've always eventually made friends.  I would recommend this book to anyone who asks.  Over all, I just think Wonder, is a wonderful book.

Sharing the Planet and More!

Dear Families,
We had a great walk in the woods last week looking for interactions in the forest.  Our walk has been the experience that drives our inquiry in to energy transfer in ecosystems.

Mammals!

Decomposers!

Yellow Spotted Salamander

Indian Pipe

The next step in our inquiry is going to be focused on water resources on our planet.  Our trip to the Huron River will be an experience to drive this inquiry and help inform our understandings of the interaction between land and water.

Upcoming Dates:
Field Trip Thursday 9/20 12:00-3:00 Island Park, Huron River, Ann Arbor
Curriculum Night Tuesday 9/25 6:00 pm
Early Release Wednesday 9/26 Dismissal at 1:29 pm

We are off to a great start!

It's been exciting to get to know more about one another and establish routines and norms for how our group will work together this year!  We have also begun to dig into the kinds of thinking we will do this year and how we will share our thinking with others!

 In conversation about the ways in which reader's notice themselves thinking when reading we discovered as a group we have a deep understanding of a variety of text features and how those text features demonstrate a balance of student interests in reading fiction and non-fiction text!  We are a group of clever thinkers!

CAMP STORER!
Camp will be here before we know it so it's important to give as much information to families as possible sooner rather than later.  Camp Storer Parent Meeting Wednesday, 9/12, 5:30 pm in the Mitchell Library.  That's THIS WEDNESDAY!

CABIN LEADERS!
We have commitment from two parents to fulfill the role of cabin leader this year.  Thank you!  Our camp experience is not possible without cabin leaders and we need at least four more!  Please consider whether or not you could fill this vital role for our trip to camp.

NWEA
NWEA testing will begin for our class on Friday 9/14.  The beginning of the year is about building classroom community, but also collecting baseline data to monitor student growth over the year.  Students will complete two NWEA assessments--reading and math.

Looking forward to another week together!

Welcome Families!

As we begin a new school year together, please take a moment to browse through the blog to become more acquainted with the classroom and the work we will do together this year.  There are some updates that will happen over the first week of school so check back after the first few days of school.  My hope is to use the Remind app and this blog to keep you and your child updated about what's happening in the classroom.  The Remind app sends a text to your phone and requires an up to date phone number.  I will also send an email to notify families of blog updates.  If either your phone number or email is not current on your child's school records, please let me know.

I'm ready to rock out the last few days of summer vacation while also looking forward to our year together! I can't wait to meet the students and families of our classroom and learn more about each of you!

Sincerely,
Ms. Padgen

P.S.  This is a great time to talk with your child about what they are excited about in 5th grade and any worries they have as we begin the year together.  We will be talking about our hopes and dreams for 5th grade very soon!

The Slave Route Map

http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/MapSlaveRoute.pdf

Learning the Virginia Reel

CAMP STORER!!!

It's time!  We leave for camp Monday morning between 9:15 and 9:30.  Please be on time for the start of the school day so we can get organized and make sure we have everyone.  On Friday, your child helped draft a note to send home with camp reminders.  Here it is again...

Dear Very Important Grown-up,

     I am heading off to Camp Storer on Monday, October 23, 2017.  That’s this Monday! I. Am. So. Excited!  Some things you need to know before I get on the bus on Monday:

-       I need to dress for the weather.

-       We will be gone for 3 days and 2 nights.  We will return to Mitchell at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday October 25, 2017.

-       Please help me use my packing list to make sure I have all that I need.

-       I MAY NOT bring a cell phone or electronics.  I can bring a disposable camera.

-       I can’t ride the school bus with my luggage.  Please drop me off on Monday and pick me up on Wednesday.

-       I need all my medications labeled in the original packaging.

-       It’s helpful if I label all my belongings.

-   You can email Ms. Padgen  over the weekend with any last minute concerns or questions padgensa@aaps.k12.mi.us or call the school on Monday morning.

-       Camp Storer is located at 6941 Stony Lake Rd. Jackson, MI.  1-517-536-8607

Love,  

Week of October 9th

Greetings Families,
These first weeks of school have been busy with community building, problem-solving, and establishing routines in our classroom.  We are just finishing up our first units of math and inquiry, we've learned about sharing our thinking about reading and have started meeting in guided reading groups together.  While our new classroom is still not quite ready, your children have shown flexibility and creativity in our temporary classroom space.

-This week we will begin Unit 2 in Math.  In this unit we will build knowledge around place value, multiplication, and division. The Family Letter will go home tomorrow.
-During our Reading Workshop time we are reading together My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, making connections with our Sharing the Planet unit.  Guided reading groups are focused on non-fiction text that have been selected to develop our inquiry into natural resources. 
-In Writing Workshop we are beginning to share what we have learned about river ecosystems through informational brochures.

Now that we have completed our NWEA testing sessions and other initial assessments, I'm excited to use what I've learned about your child to better match instruction to individual needs in the classroom.  I'm also looking forward to student conferences where we'll work together, teacher, parent, and student, to develop goals for this school year.  Please check the email address you provided to the school office--I have used this address to send a sign-up genius to schedule conferences.  I will resend this link later this afternoon.  If it doesn't show up in your inbox, also check your spam file.  Conferences begin next week!

I've had a few questions from families about homework.  The Ann Arbor Public Schools encourage 5th graders to spend 50 minutes on homework each evening.  At least 20 minutes of this time should be used for reading.  The remainder of the time can be used to practice math facts, write, continue a classroom inquiry, play a math game, etc.  Everyday Math homelinks will be sent home for the week on Thurs.  This homework packet is just one choice your child has to focus their home study period. 

Please feel free to call 997-1216 or send an email padgensa@aaps.k12.mi.us with any questions about your child's day.

Sincerely,
Aaron

Inquiry: What happens when land and water interact?

 First we looked closely at the geology of Michigan and investigated rock samples to find out more about different types of rocks.

 Then, we experimented with different earth materials to better understand how they interacted with water.  This also helps to inform our inquiry into rivers.

 We made observations and took careful notes.

Next up, using what we've learned through our Sharing the Planet inquiry to write informational brochures and teach others about our work.

Week of September 18th

This week in 5^th grade:

On Monday, 9/18 students will take the NWEA Reading assessment.  

Reading Workshop-We have been noticing the ways in which authors tell a story what they do to tell a story well.  This works supports beginning of year routines in Writing Workshop as well.

Math-We will continue to learn more about area and volume this.  Last week, your child engaged in a mathematical discussion around problem solving.  The students ideas, willingness to share them,  and ability to express themselves clearly was quite impressive!

Sharing the Planet- We have been finding out more about natural resources and how they are related to the geography and geology of a place.  This week will begin to look more closely at water resources and how water use affects our Earth and its people.

Writing Workshop- We are establishing routines for our writing workshop time.  Each Writing Workshop begins with a mini-lesson on a topic relevant to our current writing unit.  Students then have time to work on their own piece of writing while conferring with myself and possibly another student.  We then gather to share our work at the end of the workshop time.

Friday, September 22- 5th Grade Leadership Day 

Please return Camp Storer pledge forms and health forms ASAP!

Week of September 11th

Greetings students and families,
I'm looking forward to our work together this week and wanted to share our learning plan.

During Reading Workshop we will focus on "Thinking and Talking About Your Reading"  We will inquire into:
- setting
- characters
- interpreting the author's message
- the ways in which authors share their message with readers

In Mathematics we follow the Everyday Math curriculum. Our work this week will focus on:
- Understanding the Student Reference Book
- Area of Rectangles
- Using Quilts to Problem Solve Area

Sharing the Planet
- What is a natural resource?
- reading and using resource maps
- noticing features of non-fiction text that teach about natural resources

Dates to Remember!
Tuesday, September 12: Curriculum Night and Camp Meeting
      Please join the 5th grade team in the Library at 5:30 to learn more about our upcoming trip to Camp Storer.  You will receive information about what you and your child can expect from the camp experience as well as ways you can support our 5th grade students as we work to raise money, plan for parent volunteers, and get ready for a great camp experience!
     Our camp meeting will be followed by Curriculum Night, 6pm-8pm.