The Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the generalWelfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordainand establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Problem and Solution

Our learning goal for Tuesday in Reading was to determine how to solve problems and identify different solutions.  We began our lesson with a problem on the board.  The students had to come up with three solutions.  Then, we played the game Knots.  Students were placed in groups with an even number and then had to grab each others' hands.  To untie their "knot", they had to try many solutions.  Most groups were able to solve the problem!  The lesson was closed by giving them different problem prompts where they had to write a paragraph with solutions.  The prompts are listed below.  

Prompt #1: You have noticed your school needs to be cleaned up. Think about what students could do to clean up your school and keep it clean. How would you solve this problem? Who would be involved? How would you get supplies?

Prompt #2: New students who enroll in your school often feel left out because they do not have any friends and it is not easy for them to make new friends. Think of some ways to solve this problem for new students to make them feel better about their new school. First, describe the problem of being a new student, and then explain what you would do to help solve the problem.

Prompt #3: Studies show that many young people spend more time watching TV than they do in any other leisure activity. This has concerned some citizens and they have formed a group called Unplug and Tune In. The group does not say watching TV is wrong, but they are concerned that watching too much TV does not improve people's reading and thinking skills. What solutions can you think of to help this group and encourage young people to spend less time in front of the TV.

More Field Trip Photos

Alton Field Trip

The fifth grade visited the Robert Wadlow statue, Alton Museum, Bowl Haven, and the Golden Corral for their field trip.  Here are some pictures from the trip!

Synonyms and Antonyms

Choose one of the following games to practice synonyms and antonyms.

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/frog/frog.html

http://www.do2learn.com/games/synonymsantonyms/index.htm

ISAT PRACTICE

Click on the following link for ISAT practice. Take your time!

http://metacat2.com/iltestlinks.html

Baby Landen

I have returned to work after being on maternity leave for six weeks with my son. Landen Matthew was born January 10, 2012. I enjoyed spending time at home with Landen and my daughter Lakely. Now that I am back working, we will be preparing for the ISAT and starting the Alaskan Iditarod...my favorite unit of study!

Prefix Study

Here are some websites to help with prefixes and suffixes.

Prefix Matching- http://www.manythings.org/wbg/prefixes-mw.html

Make New Words with Prefixes-http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/vocabulary.cfm?str=vocabulary&num=1&act=3&que=1

Prefixes-http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/spelling/play.shtml

Suffix Matching- http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/match/dragflip.asp?filename=kderittesuffix

Main Idea Game

Click on the following link to play main idea games. You may choose the game once you get to the site.

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skill_builders/main_idea_language_arts_fifth_5th_grade.htm

Homophone Game

Click on the following link to play a game with homophones.

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones.html