January 2, 2018
Happy New Year! I can't believe it is 2018 and we are almost halfway through our last year at Long Mill Elementary as 5th graders. Wow!
December was short and went by really fast. Here is what we continued to work on. In math we continued to review fractions in every way possible. This is ongoing because our 5th grade EOG in math is over 50% percent fractions! That means 1/2 of the questions are fractions. So let's continue to work on our basic multiplication skills because that is a really big part in fractions. Volume, line plots and geometry are our newest concepts to enhance on a 5th grade level.
In science, we are transitioning to 3 ring binders. If your child does not have one already, please be sure to pick one up. I hope this will help with organization and better prepare us for middle school. Tabs are also needed. Moving kinetically from matter to energy is going to be HOT as we learn how heat energy is transferred through solids, liquids, and gases (The 3 states of matter that we learned in elementary school.) through conduction, convection and radiation. Study old assessments and vocabulary words daily to help increase science knowledge and look at different ways it lives in our everyday life.
Best,
Susette McConnell
December 4, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
First of all I would like to thank everyone for their support for me with the loss of my son. The hugs, letters, and encouraging words were greatly appreciated. The Long Mill family community is wonderful. This is one of many reasons why Long Mill Elementary School is a great place to grow and learn academically, socially and emotionally. Thank you!
We have learned and discovered so much in the last month. In math, fractions are the actions from now until the end of the year. We know how to simplify fraction, find equivalent fractions, compare fractions, and now add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. Although we get a lot of practice with straight computation, your mathematicians are learning to apply solving fractions in word problems, two step word problems. Students should be using all of their problem solving strategies learned from previous years to now and show all work. We will always work on concepts learned from Term I through daily warms ups and/or center work.
In science we have moved on to matter. Your scientist have been working on completing study guides, foldable and applying vocabulary words to science around them. Encourage your child to study science notes every night and do not forget about portal portal.
Finally, we do have the Case 21 scores. If you do not know your child's score, please contact the teacher for that subject or ask your child. I will have math and science scores and Ms. McGinnis will have reading.
Your children are great!
Susette McConnell
October 22, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
In the last two weeks your mathematicians and scientists have been learning a lot in multiplication and division, and how we experience force and motion EVERYDAY. In math your child can multiply 2 and 3 digit by 2 and 3 digit numbers. They have learned so many different ways to multiply with their favorite being lattice. They know what words in a word problem indicate which operation of math to use. They also can multiple decimals. We will continue multiplication and division by adding decimals to divisions and also move to 2 digit divisors. Finally, we were introduced to math menus. Math menus are filled with different math activities where students can practice old concepts, math projects and work on new concepts in different ways. The student really enjoy their math menus. Before I forget, please keep working on those math facts.
In science we have looked at different vocabulary words to help us understand force. Such words include but not limited to spend, velocity, mass, force, friction, air resistance and Newton's laws of motion. Please study every night vocabulary words as we will continue to use these words in our conversations in class and I will sometimes surprise them with a "pop quiz" to Check for understanding. This will also include words from ecosystems.
Your children are WONDERFUL!
Susette McConnell
Weekly Assignment:
Create a poster with the 3 laws of motion that includes the definition and examples in real life.
October 9, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
The last two weeks were filled with reviewing already learned skill and learning more. In math your mathematicians have been been working on rounding numbers from millions to thousandths, fraction action, adding and subtracting decimals, place value and word problems. We concluded this unit with a post assessment. These concepts will be added to daily and weekly reviews. We started multiplication of multi digit numbers. As we move to mastery of this skill, we will add decimals. Please continue to review basic math facts.
In science, we completed our unit on ecosystems with an assessment. This assessment required critical thinking and problem solving skills. This is what the Case 21 and Science EOG's will look like. It is very important for your child to study their vocabulary, old assessments and study guides.
Our first period science novel Who Killed Cock Robin mystery is slowly coming to light as Tony continue to gather clues on why all the animals in Saddleboro are dying. Some of our students have made predictions on who really killed Cock Robin. This story is to be continued.
We are on the "move" to our next science study...May The FORCE be With You...
Your children are WONDEFUL!
Susette McConnell
This week's assignment:
Give an example of force at school
September 25, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
It has been fun to work with your students in math and science only with just a little bit of ELA with a super fun novel study on ecosystems with my homeroom. If you have not heard by now Saddleboro's, the setting for our novel study, ecosystem is not balanced with the main character Cock Robin, a robin, dead. Tony, another main character, has set out to find the killer. We are enjoying learning and seeing how our vocabulary words fit in real life.
Maintaining the balance of an ecosystem is what we have been learning in science for the past 4 weeks. We will bring this unit to a close on paper next week with an end of unit assessment on Tuesday, October 3rd.
In math we continue to work on place value with making generalization about how numbers compare in different places. We also have learn a short cut in multiplying and dividing numbers by multiples of 10's, 100's, and 1000's. We also know how to write our multiples of 10 by using exponents. Maybe our students can use this concept to help increase their future investments by powers of 10. Super fun learning in math with big and small numbers.
Finally, we are gearing up for our first field trip to The Museum of History in Raleigh, North Carolina where we will learn about 8 Native American tribes in NC. This should be a really good learning experience for us all.
Please tell your children that "They are number 1! They are number 1!"
Susette McConnel
Weekly Assignment for September 25, 2017
Look out in your backyard and record abiotic and biotic factors. Then illustrate.
September 12, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Families!
Our second week of school was full of "eco" learning, fraction action and our favorite character in Sign of the Beaver going through a series of unfortunate events. Please ask your wonderful 5th grader about this novel.
We continue to excel at fractions. We are converting fractions into decimals and comparing to 1/2. I also reminded them to use the tool of drawing fractions strips for visual help. I am happy with where we are going in this concept. The following week will really test our ability to "stretch" our learning with understanding how digits relate to each other in place value.
In science we had our first practice vocabulary "pop" quiz. Our quizzes will look like the science EOG which means vocabulary is learned in context and not matching a definition to a word. This is a more useful way to learn vocabulary because students can use and see how the word is applied in real life. We will do work study everyday with our science vocabulary.
In language arts we read a story about reindeer and how they killed themselves because they did not know how to adjust to their habitat. The students and I found excitement in applying what we learned in science to reading. We are working on responding to EQ questions with supporting details.
Finally, our week ended with a new fifth grade teacher, Ms. McGinnis and smaller class sizes. As I miss having my students all day, it is good to be able to support them better with a smaller class. I am your child's science and math teacher. I will continue to embed reading and writing in both classes. Of course we will continue to explore hands on science and math. I am currently working on our first project that will include research on how humans impact our ecosystem and observing our own ecosystems that we will build using 2 litter soda bottles next week.
Thank you for another wonderful week and I look forward to all we learn this week.
Your children are GREAT!
Ms. McConnell
This weeks learning activity that you can work on at home
Compare the 8 in the numbers below and make a generalization statement
234.812 238.12 283.12 23.128
Our First week of School
Our first week of 5th grade was full of getting to know each other with lots of group discussions and team building activities. Our scientists successfully worked on two different tower building projects using index cards, tape, string, sticky dots and a marshmallow. This was a delight to see. I heard some really good conversations on planning and implementing. Our focus in science will be ecosystems.
In math we reviewed simplifying fractions and adding fraction. We are also extending our knowledge of place value from a million to the thousandths. We will compare, round and make generalizations about the different values.
We used the reading strategy of main idea with supporting details with a short text called "A "Color" of many Coats." This lead us into writing to respond to questions using the text for evidence and also using transitional words.
Some of us will start two different novel studies over the next few days to help us understand from a young boy and young girl's perspective of what is was like surviving in newly discovered places in the United States.
Thank you for allowing me to be your child's teacher. This is a great class!
Happy New Year! I can't believe it is 2018 and we are almost halfway through our last year at Long Mill Elementary as 5th graders. Wow!
December was short and went by really fast. Here is what we continued to work on. In math we continued to review fractions in every way possible. This is ongoing because our 5th grade EOG in math is over 50% percent fractions! That means 1/2 of the questions are fractions. So let's continue to work on our basic multiplication skills because that is a really big part in fractions. Volume, line plots and geometry are our newest concepts to enhance on a 5th grade level.
In science, we are transitioning to 3 ring binders. If your child does not have one already, please be sure to pick one up. I hope this will help with organization and better prepare us for middle school. Tabs are also needed. Moving kinetically from matter to energy is going to be HOT as we learn how heat energy is transferred through solids, liquids, and gases (The 3 states of matter that we learned in elementary school.) through conduction, convection and radiation. Study old assessments and vocabulary words daily to help increase science knowledge and look at different ways it lives in our everyday life.
Best,
Susette McConnell
December 4, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
First of all I would like to thank everyone for their support for me with the loss of my son. The hugs, letters, and encouraging words were greatly appreciated. The Long Mill family community is wonderful. This is one of many reasons why Long Mill Elementary School is a great place to grow and learn academically, socially and emotionally. Thank you!
We have learned and discovered so much in the last month. In math, fractions are the actions from now until the end of the year. We know how to simplify fraction, find equivalent fractions, compare fractions, and now add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. Although we get a lot of practice with straight computation, your mathematicians are learning to apply solving fractions in word problems, two step word problems. Students should be using all of their problem solving strategies learned from previous years to now and show all work. We will always work on concepts learned from Term I through daily warms ups and/or center work.
In science we have moved on to matter. Your scientist have been working on completing study guides, foldable and applying vocabulary words to science around them. Encourage your child to study science notes every night and do not forget about portal portal.
Finally, we do have the Case 21 scores. If you do not know your child's score, please contact the teacher for that subject or ask your child. I will have math and science scores and Ms. McGinnis will have reading.
Your children are great!
Susette McConnell
October 22, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
In the last two weeks your mathematicians and scientists have been learning a lot in multiplication and division, and how we experience force and motion EVERYDAY. In math your child can multiply 2 and 3 digit by 2 and 3 digit numbers. They have learned so many different ways to multiply with their favorite being lattice. They know what words in a word problem indicate which operation of math to use. They also can multiple decimals. We will continue multiplication and division by adding decimals to divisions and also move to 2 digit divisors. Finally, we were introduced to math menus. Math menus are filled with different math activities where students can practice old concepts, math projects and work on new concepts in different ways. The student really enjoy their math menus. Before I forget, please keep working on those math facts.
In science we have looked at different vocabulary words to help us understand force. Such words include but not limited to spend, velocity, mass, force, friction, air resistance and Newton's laws of motion. Please study every night vocabulary words as we will continue to use these words in our conversations in class and I will sometimes surprise them with a "pop quiz" to Check for understanding. This will also include words from ecosystems.
Your children are WONDERFUL!
Susette McConnell
Weekly Assignment:
Create a poster with the 3 laws of motion that includes the definition and examples in real life.
October 9, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
The last two weeks were filled with reviewing already learned skill and learning more. In math your mathematicians have been been working on rounding numbers from millions to thousandths, fraction action, adding and subtracting decimals, place value and word problems. We concluded this unit with a post assessment. These concepts will be added to daily and weekly reviews. We started multiplication of multi digit numbers. As we move to mastery of this skill, we will add decimals. Please continue to review basic math facts.
In science, we completed our unit on ecosystems with an assessment. This assessment required critical thinking and problem solving skills. This is what the Case 21 and Science EOG's will look like. It is very important for your child to study their vocabulary, old assessments and study guides.
Our first period science novel Who Killed Cock Robin mystery is slowly coming to light as Tony continue to gather clues on why all the animals in Saddleboro are dying. Some of our students have made predictions on who really killed Cock Robin. This story is to be continued.
We are on the "move" to our next science study...May The FORCE be With You...
Your children are WONDEFUL!
Susette McConnell
This week's assignment:
Give an example of force at school
September 25, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Math and Science Families!
It has been fun to work with your students in math and science only with just a little bit of ELA with a super fun novel study on ecosystems with my homeroom. If you have not heard by now Saddleboro's, the setting for our novel study, ecosystem is not balanced with the main character Cock Robin, a robin, dead. Tony, another main character, has set out to find the killer. We are enjoying learning and seeing how our vocabulary words fit in real life.
Maintaining the balance of an ecosystem is what we have been learning in science for the past 4 weeks. We will bring this unit to a close on paper next week with an end of unit assessment on Tuesday, October 3rd.
In math we continue to work on place value with making generalization about how numbers compare in different places. We also have learn a short cut in multiplying and dividing numbers by multiples of 10's, 100's, and 1000's. We also know how to write our multiples of 10 by using exponents. Maybe our students can use this concept to help increase their future investments by powers of 10. Super fun learning in math with big and small numbers.
Finally, we are gearing up for our first field trip to The Museum of History in Raleigh, North Carolina where we will learn about 8 Native American tribes in NC. This should be a really good learning experience for us all.
Please tell your children that "They are number 1! They are number 1!"
Susette McConnel
Weekly Assignment for September 25, 2017
Look out in your backyard and record abiotic and biotic factors. Then illustrate.
September 12, 2017
Good Evening 5th Grade Families!
Our second week of school was full of "eco" learning, fraction action and our favorite character in Sign of the Beaver going through a series of unfortunate events. Please ask your wonderful 5th grader about this novel.
We continue to excel at fractions. We are converting fractions into decimals and comparing to 1/2. I also reminded them to use the tool of drawing fractions strips for visual help. I am happy with where we are going in this concept. The following week will really test our ability to "stretch" our learning with understanding how digits relate to each other in place value.
In science we had our first practice vocabulary "pop" quiz. Our quizzes will look like the science EOG which means vocabulary is learned in context and not matching a definition to a word. This is a more useful way to learn vocabulary because students can use and see how the word is applied in real life. We will do work study everyday with our science vocabulary.
In language arts we read a story about reindeer and how they killed themselves because they did not know how to adjust to their habitat. The students and I found excitement in applying what we learned in science to reading. We are working on responding to EQ questions with supporting details.
Finally, our week ended with a new fifth grade teacher, Ms. McGinnis and smaller class sizes. As I miss having my students all day, it is good to be able to support them better with a smaller class. I am your child's science and math teacher. I will continue to embed reading and writing in both classes. Of course we will continue to explore hands on science and math. I am currently working on our first project that will include research on how humans impact our ecosystem and observing our own ecosystems that we will build using 2 litter soda bottles next week.
Thank you for another wonderful week and I look forward to all we learn this week.
Your children are GREAT!
Ms. McConnell
This weeks learning activity that you can work on at home
Compare the 8 in the numbers below and make a generalization statement
234.812 238.12 283.12 23.128
Our First week of School
Our first week of 5th grade was full of getting to know each other with lots of group discussions and team building activities. Our scientists successfully worked on two different tower building projects using index cards, tape, string, sticky dots and a marshmallow. This was a delight to see. I heard some really good conversations on planning and implementing. Our focus in science will be ecosystems.
In math we reviewed simplifying fractions and adding fraction. We are also extending our knowledge of place value from a million to the thousandths. We will compare, round and make generalizations about the different values.
We used the reading strategy of main idea with supporting details with a short text called "A "Color" of many Coats." This lead us into writing to respond to questions using the text for evidence and also using transitional words.
Some of us will start two different novel studies over the next few days to help us understand from a young boy and young girl's perspective of what is was like surviving in newly discovered places in the United States.
Thank you for allowing me to be your child's teacher. This is a great class!