Kennedy's Chronicles

Speed Book Talks this Thursday!

On Thursday, August 30^th, we will hold a “Speed Book Talks” event in our class. In the vein of speed dating, speed book talks allow students to be introduced to many exciting books while also sharing their favorite. Every student is asked to bring his or her favorite chapter book or nonfiction book to school that day. It may be a personal copy or a copy checked out from the classroom library or media center. The student must have read the entire book or have heard the entire book read in the last two years.

We will be working on what to say about this book on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Ask your child to share his or her book talk with you. Students are encouraged to bring in trinkets related to the book to display during their book talks. For example, one of my favorite children’s novels is The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. In addition to bringing a copy of the book to class, I might also choose to bring some plastic cowboys and indians to display on my desk. We are certainly not looking for an elaborate display. The book talk itself matters most.

Origami Frog

Some students in my science class asked for instructions on making the origami frog. Use the link below to find a fairly simple set of directions.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/origami/frog/

Current Topics of Study

Right now we are studying:

Science: Electricty
http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/

Grammar: 4 Types of Sentences, Subjects and Predicates
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/clubhouse/index_pre.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/subjectpathway/index.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/predicate_coaster/index.html

Math: Data Analysis (Graphing)
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/BillyBug/bugcoord.html
http://www.scienceacademy.com/BI/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/datapick.html

Reading: Selecting Just-Right Books
http://www.bookadventure.org/ki/bs/ki_bs_helpfind.asp

Writing: Using a Writer's Notebook

Social Studies: U.S. Government
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/3bgovt.htm

The links below each subject contain practice games related to the topic. You will need a high speed Internet connection to play most of these games.
If you find another good site, click on "Comments" and copy and paste the address.

Open House

  I was so glad to see so many of you last night at Open House. I hope you enjoyed the whirlwind tour of our fifth grade classroom. If you have any questions don't hesitate to email me at elizabeth.kennedy@cobbk12.org. You may have also noticed a class volunteer sheet and an information sheet that will be useful as I schedule conferences in January. Please send those back when you get a chance.
If you were not able to come to Open House, you will find the information packet in this week's Thursday Folder along with a student-created owner's manual for our class.

Class Newsletter

Click on the link below to download this week's newsletter. A hardcopy newsletter will be sent home in the Thursday Folder.

Download welcome_newsletter.doc 

Open House

Open House will be held on Tuesday, August 21st. The PTA meeting will begin at 6:30 and parents will move on to classrooms following the meeting. At Open House we will discuss school and classroom policies, the 5th grade curriculum, and other important information. I hope to see you all there!

Welcome Back!

It was so much fun to meet so many of you today. I'm looking forward to a wonderful school year! If you were not able to make it to Sneak-a-Peek, I have provided links to the most important information below.

School Supply List: Download supply_list2.doc
Schedule and Class Information: Download information_about_our_class2.doc

Have a great weekend. I'll see you bright and early on Monday morning.