Earth Day Week!

A Week in Review

April 21 - 25

 

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week, I know we did! We celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday, finished Unit 7 in Math, and dug deeper into understanding our three branches of government. We also had a fantastic World Cultures Family Night here on Wednesday! Thank you to everyone who volunteered and those who came to celebrate with us.

 

 

Virtue Awards:

Meghnath has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of helpfulness and commitment when Ms. Arika asked him to help her read some books for her and give honest feedback on them. Thank you for being a reliable 5th grade leader!

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys was Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl by Melissa Moss. We used this Historical Fiction text to practice our target skill cause and effect and our target strategy analyze/evaluate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Writing:

We've started writing persuasive essays. Students will choose either dogs or cats and write to persuade their reader to see their point-of-view. I will model the essay by writing about owning a fish. Our class beta, Russell Wilson, enjoys being in the spotlight!

 

Math:

Unit 7: Multiplication and Division with Whole Numbers and Decimals wrapped up this week. We took the end-of-unit assessment on Wednesday and continued practicing multi-digit multiplication and long division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our class started their new science unit, Environments. They started the unit making a terrarium by planting five different kinds of seeds. They'll spend the next few weeks caring for them and observing them, while also conducting other investigations.

 

 



 

Social Studies:

This week, we examined the three branches of government more closely (legislative, executive, and judicial). We analyzed each branches' powers and created "power cards" that we used to play a game to deepen our understanding how the checks and balances work. The game gave different scenarios and students identified which branches would act and in what order.

 

Thank you for another fantastic week! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

23 May - No School (1/2 day paid Professional Day for teachers)

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

5 June - Band/Orchestra concert (school time 8:45am, evening event 7:30pm)

20 June - 5th Grade Graduation in the cafe (afternoon time TBA)

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

 

Paul Owen Lewis Visits!

A Week in Review

April 14 - 18

 

Welcome back from Spring Break! We've picked right back up where we left off, it doesn't seem like we even went on break! I'm proud of how our students have eased right back into their learning. We also had a school visit from publish author Paul Owen Lewis. He has written books like Storm Boy, Frog Girl, Davy's Dream, and The Jupiter Stone. He came to our class for a question and answer session with our students about his writing! A special thank you goes to Mrs. McClelland for organizing this for our entire school!

 

Virtue Awards:

Our entire class has received a Virtue Award for their hard work on their Science presentations. Read below in the Science section to see how amazing they were!

 

 

 

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys this week was Vacqueros: America's First Cowboys by George Ancona. We used it to practice our target skill: main ideas and details and our target strategy: summarizing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

We examined word families this week and word roots. We also practiced using transition words. Students worked to identify words that link one sentence to another and words that tell time order.

 

Math:

Unit 7 Multiplication and Division with Whole Numbers and Decimals is coming to an end! Only one lesson remains before we take our end-of-unit assessment (next Wednesday). We worked this week divide whole numbers by decimals and divide decimals by decimals. We also practiced long division, multiplication, and word problems that involved both whole numbers and decimals.

 

 

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our students completed their Public Service Announcements. Students presented their pollution solution projects in front of our class, their purpose being to educate their audience on the pollutant their group chose. The students created posters, pamphlets, and PowerPoint sideshows to help make their point. Ms. Keenan was so very impressed with our student presentations, each Science group received a 4 on their presentation!! They were poised, clear, and presented their topic with confidence and expertise! Way to go!!!

 

Social Studies:

Did you know that the U.S. Constitution is like a 3-legged stool? Students compared the Articles of the Confederation (weak, limited power, like a 1-legged stool) to the U.S. Constitution. We tried to balance our textbooks on 1 pencil, witnessed how unsteady it was. Then we tried to balance one textbook using 3 pencils and saw how easy it was - this analogy helped students see how our government keeps any one branch from having too much power.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for another great. Enjoy the weekend!

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:
23 April - Explore World Cultures Family Night 5-7pm

23 May - No School (1/2 day paid Professional Day)

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

5 June - Band/Orchestra concert (school time TBD, evening event 7:30pm)

20 June - 5th Grade Graduation in the cafe (afternoon time TBA)

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

 

 

Science Week!

A Week in Review

March 31 - April 4

 

Science week was a great success! We started and ended the week with Science assemblies and even Skyped with a professor from CalTech this week about Quantum Mechanics.Thank you to everyone that was able to make it to last night's Family Engineering Night. I was out sick, but I heard it was an amazing night!

 

 

Virtue Awards:

Sandy has earned a Virtue Award for displaying the virtues of orderliness and responsibility. Sandy works hard to stay organized and complete her assignments with quality work. She is ready for middle school!

 

 

 

 

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys this week was The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. We used the text to practice our target skill theme and our target strategy infer/predict. Students worked hard to take their learning from Journeys and use it with their independent reading books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

We finished up our Research Reports this week! Our students were focused and enthusiastic about their self-selected topic and attention to ensuring they had five complete paragraphs and a bibliography. I look forward to reading them!

 

 

 

 

Math:

Division, division, division! We worked hard this week on long division. We divided with single and double digit divisors. We examined the remainders and interpreted them. We will continue with Unit 7 when we return from break.

 

 

 

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our students worked on their public service announcements for their Pollution Solution assignment. They worked in groups to create posters and PowerPoints to show the public how pollutants are harmful to our environment.

 

 

 

Social Studies:

Chapter 13: The Revolutionary War, was our lesson this week. We used the analogy tug-of-war with unbalanced team to describe what it was like for the colonists (the weaker team) fighting against the British (the stronger team). Ask your student how the game helped explain how the Americans won the Revolutionary War.

 

Thank you so much for another great week! I hope you have a restful and relaxing Spring Break!

 

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

7-11 Apr - No School, Spring Break
23 April - Explore World Culture Night (time TBA)

23 May - No School, 1/2 day paid Professional Day

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

23 June - 5th Grade Graduation (tentatively scheduled) cafe at 8:30am

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

 

Heritage Night!

A Week in Review

March 24 - 28

 

Heritage Night was a HUGE success!! I have to give a huge THANK YOU to our room mom Tamara for her hard work and extra help in planning this event. Also, a HUGE shout-out to our students, for their excellence and the commitment to learning they each displayed in completing this long-term project. Finally, I must thank you parents for sharing your amazing students with me every day and for supporting them throughout this project. I feel very fortunate to call this my "job", it is a job I love very much. I look forward to teaching your students each and every day.

 

Virtue Awards:

Alan has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of helpfulness and service. Alan is always willing to help our class out when something is broken, he is excellent at fixing things, and we appreciate his talent!

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys this week was a book by Gary Paulson, Tucket's Travels. It was a historical fiction text that took place during the westward movement. Our target skill was sequence of events and our target strategy was visualizing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

We continued working on our research reports. We drafted our three body paragraphs, then worked on our introduction, and conclusion. We analyzed different ways to start our reports, as well as what to avoid using in an introduction (i.e. an apology, a definition, or dilly-dallying).

 

Math:

The decimal unit continues to move along smoothly. We focused on division this week, as we divided three digit whole numbers, then moved into dividing with decimals, and then we wrapped up the week converting fractions to decimals. Students also learned how to write a remainder as a decimal.

 

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our students this week researched their chosen pollutant in preparation for the creation of their public service announcement. Their goal is to educate others on the hazards of common household pollutants that are finding their way into Bellevue waterways, and persuade their audience to make a change and protect our waterways.

 

Social Studies:

What an exciting Social Studies week! We had a very special guest speaker, Peter Donaldson, who led the students through a series of activities that helped them understand the colonists quest for independence. He will come back on Tuesday next week to finish teaching about the American Revolution. 

 

 

We only have one more week before Spring Break! I look forward to continuing to challenge these amazing students. Have a great weekend!

 

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

31 Mar - 4 Apr - SCIENCE WEEK

3 Apr - Family Engineering Night 5-7pm in the gym

7-11 Apr - No School, Spring Break
23 April - Explore World Culture Night (time TBA)

23 May - No School, 1/2 day paid Professional Day

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

23 June - 5th Grade Graduation (tentatively scheduled) cafe at 8:30am

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

St. Patrick's Day Week!

A Week in Review

March 17 - March 21

 

Spring is here and we couldn't be more excited! Our students were extremely focused and hardworking this week. Here is what we've been up to:

 

Virtue Awards:

John and Trevor have earned Virtue Awards for demonstrating the virtues of courage and service. John and Trevor addressed the Bellevue Schools Foundation a their series luncheon this past Thursday. They spoke about our STEM learning at Medina to over 100 people!

 

 

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys this week was We Were There, Too! by Phillip Hoose. This book aligned with our Social Studies learning and provided even more background knowledge about the Revolutionary War. Our target skill was to compare and contrast and our target strategy was monitor and clarify.

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

We continued to gather research for our research report. We also began using the graphic organizers in our research packets to help us when drafting our reports. Students worked to make sure they were putting what they learned in their own words and extrapolating the main ideas from their research.

 

Math:

In math this week, we multiplied decimals times decimals and worked to understand how multiplying by tenths, hundredths, and thousandths is similar to multiplying by tens, hundreds, and thousands. We even used our target skill from Reading to help us compare and contrast multiplying by decimals and multiplying by whole numbers.

 

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our students completed their Engineering Challenge this week! Students worked to clean up an oil spill with the lowest cost and least environmental impact. Then they revised their plan to focus on the least environmental impact.

 

 

 

Social Studies:

Students took their end-of-trimester assessment this week. I know they were pleased that the study sheet provided for them was harder than the actual test! They all felt prepared and worked very hard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

31 Mar - 4 Apr - SCIENCE WEEK

3 Apr - Family Engineering Night 5-7pm in the gym

7-11 Apr - No School, Spring Break

23 May - No School, 1/2 day paid Professional Day

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

 



A Debate: To Declare Independence or Not?

A Week in Review

March 10 - 13

 

 

Happy Thursday! We had a short week, as there is no school tomorrow, but we worked hard!

 

Virtue Awards:

Isabelle has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of determination and excellence. Through her determination and preparation, she modeled excellence during our class Social Studies debate! Keep up the good work!

 

Reading:

In Journeys this week, our main selection in reading was James Forten (from Now Is Your Time!) by Walter Dean Myers. Our target skill was sequence of events and our target strategy was summarizing. Students worked to pull out the main ideas of the story, in order to write an effective summary.

 

 

 

 

 

Writing:

Students were introduced to their newest writing assignment this week: writing a research report! Students selected their own topic of interest and are busy reading more about it to gather facts for their report. In grammar, we focused on active and passive voice.

 

Math:

We practiced 3-digit by 3-digit multiplication this week and use the zeros and fives patterns to help us solve problems. We focused on how when multiplying by fives, you really have to pay closer attention to the zeros pattern.

 

 

Science:

Ms. Keenan and our students investigated different materials to see how well each one contained oil. They took detailed notes as they recorded their findings.

 

Social Studies:

Are you a loyalist or a patriot? We ended the week with our debate "Should the American Colonies Declare Independence or Not?" Our class did an impressive job, as they researched their historical figures viewpoint and backed their arguments up with sound reasoning. I was so proud of their enthusiasm and commitment to this project!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is NO SCHOOL tomorrow, so I hope you have a fantastic long weekend!

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

14 Mar - No School, Secondary Professional Development Day (Elem. non-paid)

3 Mar - 4 Apr - SCIENCE WEEK

3 Apr - Family Engineering Night 5-7pm in the gym

7-11 Apr - No School, Spring Break

23 May - No School, 1/2 day paid Professional Day

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)

Middle School Registration and The Talent Show

A Week in Review

March 3 - 7

 



 

Happy Friday! It's hard to believe that middle school registration is upon us. The assistant principals and counselors from Chinook Middle School visited each 5th grade classroom on Thursday afternoon. Your student received a registration packet with instructions for which forms are due on what day. Three forms (2 pink and 1 gold) are due next Thursday 3/13 to me, if they are not turned in on this date, you will have to take them to Ringdall.

 

Virtue Awards:

Serene has earned a Virtue Award for demonstrating the virtues of responsibility and diligence. Serene completes all of her assignments in a timely manner and with quality work. Keep up the good work!

 

Reading:

Our main selection in Journeys this week was They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell. It was a narrative nonfiction text that aligned with our Social Studies curriculum, as it took place during the Revolutionary War. Our target skill was drawing conclusions and making generalizations and our target strategy was analyzing and evaluating text.

 

 

 

Writing:

In grammar this week, our focus was on regular and irregular verbs. Students worked to recognize the difference, as well as identify them in a sentence.

Math:

We worked on 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication and 3-digit times 3-digit multiplication. Students worked to understand the algorithm and we used the Rectangle Method to explain it.

 

 

 

 

 

Social Studies:

Social Studies was cut short this week with our many special events, but we will start back up next week!

 

Science:

There were two science assessments this week! Students conducted an experiment to answer the investigative question "How does changing the substance from salt to citric acid affect the mass of solute that dissolves to form a saturated solution?" and then they took another assessment where they demonstrated their ability to write a scientific procedure. We also had a guest speaker from the City of Bellevue present on the importance of scooping our pet's waste!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended the week with the talent show and of course our Medina students ROCKED it! So many talented kids, it was a fantastic way to end the week!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Go Seahawks!

~Mrs. Hatlestad

Upcoming Events:

12 Mar - BSD West Zone Concert @Bellevue High School, 6pm

14 Mar - No School, Secondary Professional Development Day (Elem. non-paid)

7-11 Apr - No School, Spring Break

23 May - No School, 1/2 day paid Professional Day

26 May - No School in observance of Memorial Day

23 June - Last Day of School (unless additional snow days occur)