Week of December 7th

Week of December 7, 2009

No homework sheet this week!

I will be handing back the EDC November Quiz on Monday. Revisions will be due next Monday, December the 14th. The average score was really high :-} So, if you see a low score, it might be cause for some concern.

We should be ready to take the NTP Quiz 2A and the November/December EDC Quiz before the winter break.

For NTP 2A, knowing how to play the Fraction Tracks Game will be important. Students should be comfortable with "improper" fractions (like 12/8 or 9/6). Students will also need to know a bit about surveys. They need to recognize that all surveys that are valid need for the total number of "suggestions" to equal 100% (assuming everybody voted and only voted once).

So, if everyone got one vote and

1/2 of my class said that Mrs. R could improve class by only showing movies and

1/4 said that I could improve things by ordering Pizza Hut every day and

25% said that I could improve by playing hip-hop during tests and

12 1/2% said that I could improve by allowing 1 hour naps...

I know that the survey is not valid, because it adds up to more than 100%! (112 1/2%) Some students voted more than once, probably the nappers...

Monday: Chets Creek Math Diagnostic starts. NTP Quiz I revisions are due. We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math). We will continue our second unit, Name That Portion (NTP).

Tuesday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math). We will continue our second unit, Name That Portion (NTP).

Wednesday: Early dismissal starts at 2:00. We will continue our work on EDC and Name That Portion.

Thursday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our investigation, Name That Portion (NTP).

Friday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our investigation, Name That Portion (NTP).

Monday the 14th: NTP Quiz 2 revisions are due. We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math). We will continue our second unit, Name That Portion (NTP). Possible quiz date.

Tuesday the 15th: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math). We will continue our second unit, Name That Portion (NTP). Possible quiz date.

Wednesday the 16th: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our investigation, Name That Portion (NTP). Possible quiz date.

Important Announcements

A few important announcements:

This will be a GREAT week to encourage students to get plenty of sleep and a good breakfast as we are going to be taking many important tests this week. (Chets Creek Diagnostics and the Benchmark Tests) Thanks in advance for helping out in this matter.

On Monday the 7th, Standards Snap Shots go home. These "Snap Shots" show work that meets the standard in reading , math and science. Please compare your student's work to work that is "at standard".

Wednesday the 9th is an early release day. Dismissal starts at 2:00 P.M..

Flag Raising takes place at 9:05 A.M. in the Community Courtyard on Friday the 11th.

Wednesday the 16th is the last day of school before the winter holiday. Students return on Monday, January 4th.

We do not want to sound at all negative (that is a really bad photography pun), but many students still have not returned their pictures and/or payment for pictures. Please check around the house, and try to round up the pictures if you do not plan on buying.

Progress reports went home last week. Please be sure to sign and return all progress reports.

All 5th grade teachers and students are in the middle of fulfilling a charitable activity. So, please try and help out your class if you can. If you need specific information as to what your homeroom or POD is doing, please email your homeroom teacher or jot a note in the planner. We will probably try to wrap these events up by the end of this week so that we can distribute donations to folks that are in need.

Updates

A few important announcements:

We do not want to sound at all negative (that is a really bad photography pun), but many students still have not returned their pictures and/or payment for pictures. Please check around the house, and try to round up the pictures if you do not plan on buying.

On Wednesday the 2nd of December from 8-9:00 A.M. , there will be a Technology Coffee Talk for 5th grade parents held in room 102. If you are not a tech-savvy person, please don't be afraid to attend. These talks are intended for all levels of proficiency.

Progress reports should be coming home the during the first week of December. (Our goal is December the 2nd.)

The Chets Creek Giving Tree will be on display starting December 1st. The school is asking for donations of non-perishable food items and/or new toys that will be gifted to families in need.

We should be ready to take the NTP Quiz II by Wednesday. Student Sheet #11 (Clock Fractions) will play a very important role on this upcoming test. Students will be asked to show addition of fractions without common denominators on a clock model. For example, I might ask a student to add 1/4 + 1/3 on a clock. 1/4 would be shown as 3/12. and 1/3 would be shown as an additional 4/12, for an answer of 7/12. Student sheets 12 and 13 should be understood pretty well. The Roll Around the Clock game will need to be mastered as well.

Be sure that you are able to show 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 5/12, 1/2, 7/12, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, and 11/12 on a clock face. Again, this is found on Student Sheet 11.

5th Grade Updates

We all hope that everyone had a great weekend! Take a look below to see information regarding upcoming school events.

A special note of thanks goes out to all of the big folks that helped with our trip to IMAX. The kids had a blast, and we really were thankful to have some help.

Also, please note that we were thrilled to see so many 5th grade families at Chik-fil-A night last week. A good cause, a good meal, and good conversation; it does not get any better than that!

A few important announcements:

Tuesday the 17th is PTA Family Night at CCE. Gourmet Grocery will provide dinner for all folks that purchased tickets. Dinner is from 6-7:00 P.M., and it will be followed by a Walk and Talk related to our Native American dioramas. The Walk and Talk will be from 7-8:00 P.M., and it will be hosted by 5th grade students and teachers.

Wednesday the 18th Early Dismissal starts at 2:00 P.M.. Please know your plan ;-}

On Saturday the 21st, Campus Clean Up is held from 9-11:00 A.M..

The Thanksgiving Holiday Break begins on Wednesday the 25th. Students will return to school on Monday the 30th.

Parents/guardians should also be getting access to the Oncourse online grading system beginning on Monday the 9th. CCE will have someone at our front counter in the lobby from November 9th-24th during the hours of 7:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. to distribute this information. Identification is required, and parents may only pickup their own log on information.

Chets Creek Elementary is honoring the memory of Mr. Rogers with the annual Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive. The drive runs through November 28^th and accepts gently used sweaters, coats, blankets, pants, and shirts. Contributions may be dropped off in the lobby of the school. Contributions will be donated to St. Vincent’s Mobil Outreach, the Clara White Mission, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

Riverdeep

Have you heard the buzz about Riverdeep?

During our math class, before and after school, students will have the opportunity to take turns using the computer to access this great resource.

The good news is that you can get to this site at home! Click here to visit the site. Students have their own username (firstnamelastname264) and password (4 digit number, birthmonthbirthday). Check it out and let me know what you think!

Fractions Are Insturctions to Divide

Just how do you go about solving a question like: What is 3/12 of 36 penguins? There seems to be an almost endless list of strategies that don't work well. However, there is one strategy that works VERY well.

In my class, I have the kids repeat, "Fractions are instructions to divide."

Almost all kids can remember this. Many do not, however, know what needs dividing up, or into how many groups. In the problem above, the 36 penguins need to be divided into 12 even groups, and that puts 3 penguins in each group. 3 would be a fine answer to the question, "What is 1/12 of 36 penguins?", but is not a good answer for 3/12. We figure out what the total is, in this case 36 and divide it into groups of 12. 36 divided by 12 equals 3. Students can figure out 1/12 equal 3, then 2/12 equals 6 and 3/12 equals 9.

The work also shows an array of 36 "penguins", and it would be quite correct to say that 3/12 could be understood as 3 out of every 12. This is a great model for small numbers, but I would not want to split up 3600 penguins into an array!

So, "Fractions are an instruction to divide."

Two Important Announcements

The My Grade Parent Portal (On-line Grade Book) will go live on Monday, November 9, 2009.

We have implemented an online grade book district wide this year called OnCourse. This web based system is a great tool for us to be able to engage parents in real time information about their child's performance. Each child's parent has a unique log on and password to be able to access their child's grades via the internet. For security reasons the log on information must be picked up in person. We will have someone at our front counter in the lobby from November 9-24 during the hours of 7:00 am and 6:00 pm to distribute this information. Identification is required and parents may only pickup their own log on information.



Chets Creek Elementary is honoring the memory of Mr. Rogers with the annual Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive. The drive runs through November 28th and accepts gently used sweaters, coats, blankets, pants, and shirts. Contributions may be dropped off in the lobby of the school. Contributions will be donated to St. Vincent’s Mobil Outreach, the Clara White Mission, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

Fraction/Percent Equivalents Strips

The goal of the Fraction/Percent Equivalents Strips was to match about 20 landmark fractions to their equivalent percents. The goal was not rely on memory, but to strategically think about the placement of these fractions. For example, most students immediately know that 1/2 = 50%. They can use that knowledge to "discover" that 1/4 = 25%, and then to find that 1/8 = 12.5%. Even the more difficult fractions like 1/6 become easy to place when there are landmark percents already present. 16 2/3 % is easy to place if 10% and 20% are already listed. Look in your child's EDC notebook where we glued these in. :)

Fraction Action

This story about fractional numbers is told from the bottom picture up.
In our EDC notebooks, we have been tracking equivalent fractions. We started on day 1 with the fraction 1/16. All students were able to understand that there were 16 pieces in the top row and if we were to shade one of those boxes it would equal 1/16 of the whole. On day 2, most students immediately realized that when we added another 16th, we created an area equal in size to the the 8ths row immediately below. When we got to 4/16, also 2/8, students saw that this was equal to 1/4 of the whole. It was at that point that students started to fill in percentages for the fractions that we had created. Most students knew that 1/4 = 25%, and they concluded that 1/8 was half as large so it must = 12.5%. A few students then realized that 1/16 must equal half of 12.5% or 6.25%. This knowledge of fractions and their equivalent percents will be a key component in adding, subtracting and comparing fractional pieces. Most students know several landmark percents like 25%, 50%, and 75%, and they can easily shade an object like a circle graph correctly with those amounts. Soon, students learn to represent other amounts like 30% (3/10) with accuracy based on their knowledge of the landmarks mentioned. Putting fractional amounts into percentages just makes life easier.

The next two pictures are the absolute most important concepts that we will cover in this unit. Students shade in portions of a 10 X 10 grid and report the percent (parts out of 100) that it took to cover the portion. One picture shows one fourth of a grid shaded (25 blocks and 25%). the shading is a bit "artistic" , and it probably led to the misconception about shading in 1/8 of the grid, which should be 12 1/2 blocks or 12.5% . The percent was listed correctly, but the grid does not have 12 1/2 blocks shaded. Still, I can tell that the idea of 1/8 being half of 1/4 is understood.
The top picture is most important for understanding fractions. All of the fractions listed are considered landmark (IMPORTANT) fractions in our number system. Understanding the percentages that go with each of these is a very critical conceptual step.

So, know the fraction. Be The fraction!
Know the percent. Be the percent!

Week of October 26, 2009

Week of October 26, 2009

Sunshine Math continues on Tuesday for those that signed up. The worksheets will be due back on Friday.

No school for students on Monday! Have fun with your family on Monday while we plan.

The Fall Symphony of Fun Carnival was an unmitigated success due to the support of of the Chets Creek PTA and families like yours! Without you, nothing like this could ever take place. We are truly blessed to have an awesome PTA and awesome families!

On Friday the 30th, Flag Raising will be observed in the Community Courtyard at 9:05 A.M..

Also on Friday the 30th, CCE 5th grade students will attend a field experience to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Buses will leave at 10:45 A.M..

Report cards go home on Tuesday the 3rd of November!
The first grading period officially ended on Friday, October 23. The 5th Grade Recognition Ceremony will be on Thursday, November the 5th at 2:15 P.M. in the dining Room.

Please turn in your permission slips for our IMAX double-feature scheduled for Friday, November 13. We will get to see a feature on spelunking (cave exploration) and on under-sea exploration. The cost of the trip is $12.00.

Thanks to those of you that have already turned in permission slips and money!

Just as a precautionary "heads-up", please note that our new grade reporting system will generate report cards that will not have plusses (+) or minuses (-) next to the letter grades. This is a change from prior years. The grading scale will be:
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below 60 F
Parents/guardians should also be getting access to the Oncourse online grading system at the beginning of the 2nd nine- week marking period. We will keep you posted, as we are still a few weeks away from that date.

On Tuesday, I plan to return the BONYK PMA (Progress Monitoring Assessment). This was our "final exam" for the BONYK unit. PMAs are not revisable due to their nature (many multiple choice answers). I will also return many revised tests. Please sign and return all of these tests. We keep them so that if we have time we can review any tricky concepts.
I do not think that we will have any tests this week, but the following week I would be expecting the October EDC test (please be sure to review your triangle information).
I would also expect our first test from our new unit Name That Portion (NTP). Knowing all of the fraction-percent equivalents from student sheet 5 will be go along way to having a successful experience when taking that exam.

Tuesday: HW sheet #10 goes home. Please use your own judgment about working ahead. I know that many students have after school activities, and working ahead may be a very good plan.
We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we will begin our next math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals.

Wednesday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals. We will review Monday and Tuesday's homework.

Thursday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals.

Friday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals. We will review Thursday and Friday's homework.

Have a wonderful week. :)

Week of October 19th

Week of October 19, 2009

• Sunshine Math continues on Monday for those that signed up. The worksheets will be due back on Friday.


• Wednesday is an Early Release Day!!

• Friday is our Symphony of Fun Carnival from 6:00 - 9:00. Thank you to all the parents and family members who have volunteered to work our Big Slide Booth. In addition, the front office is asking for candy donations for the Trick or Treating that evening.
  

We will have our final test on Building on Number You Know on Tuesday, October 20th.

For the BONYK final test, some of the concepts that are implied are an understanding of:

skip counting forward and backward by a given number

identifying properties of a multiple tower:

what number are we counting by

what will be the next multiple of ten

how many numbers are in the tower

how does the 3rd number in the tower relate to the 30th number

be able to divide and multiply

pick a "perfect pair"

and

Know what to do with remainders

If the remainders are kids we cannot make them into a fraction and spilt them up equally. That would be illegal and messy! If the remainders are pizzas, we probably will split the remainders up evenly. Say 8 kids want to share 9 pizzas, each kid would get 1 whole pizza and 1/9 of the last pizza.

Monday: HW sheet #9 goes home. Please use your own judgment about working ahead. I know that many students have after school activities, and working ahead may be a very good plan.

We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we will begin our next investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals.

Tuesday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we will continue to work on our math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals. We will take our final test on Building on Numbers You Know on Tuesday.

Wednesday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals. We will review Monday and Tuesday's homework.

Thursday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals.

Friday: We will continue our work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math), and we continue our math investigation, Name That Portion: Fractions, Percents and Decimals. We will review Thursday and Friday's homework.

I noticed something worthy of mention while grading the BONYK (Building On Numbers You Know or Boink!) quiz. Students that are comfortable thinking of multiple towers as decomposed multiplication problems did very well on the test. For example, if a student was asked what number the 13th person would say if they were counting by 23s, students that saw that as (23 X 10) + (23 X 3) were very successful. Those that relied on actually adding 23 thirteen times were not as successful. By 5th grade, students should not be reliant upon adding up, as multiplication is much more efficient.

Treasure Chest

We are in need of items for our Treasure Chest. The students really enjoy getting a big box of candy such as Lemon Heads, Sugar Babies, and Hot Tamales. Other items like bouncy balls, notepads or any thing a fifth grader would like to pull out of the Treasure Chest would be greatly appreciated.

Scholastic Book Club Online

Dear Families,
You can now place your Scholastic Book Club orders online!
Browse all the great monthly Club selections at low prices and order online. Plus, our class earns a FREE book every time a parent orders online.
Here's how it works:
1. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site.

2. Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card.

3. Your order will come to me, and your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic's secure server. There's no need to send money to school.

4. After I submit the entire class's order to Scholastic, your order will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home.

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs

Class User Name: chetscreek5th
Password: readers

Ordering online is the most convenient way to use Scholastic Book Clubs. You can order anytime, right up until the online order due date. You'll also get instant access to over 500 additional titles plus online-only specials and discounts.

And don't forget: Every time a parent places an order online, we earn a FREE book for our classroom library!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Shea Beaudreau.

Update

The main page of www.cce5thgrade.com has been updated.

On Monday, field trip permission slips for the Jacksonville Symphony will go home, and since the trip is 100% FREE, we can expect the signed forms back by Tuesday. Right? Thanks!

We also need all Sunshine Math permission forms for those wanting to participate back by Tuesday. Again, thanks.

Please note that Wednesday is an early release day. Dismissal will start at 2:00 P.M..

Art to Remember purchases are due back by this Friday the 9th. These do make cool gifts!

Also, Friday is Fall Picture Day

Double-Trouble and Split-It

Recently we have added a "game" to our EDC notebooks. Double-Trouble and Split-It are games that are designed to get students to strategically think about doubling and splitting numbers. These skills are crucial if a student is to build great mental number sense.

For example:

When I ask kids to split 1,700, many kids balk, because they see 17 groups of 100 as an odd number of hundreds. Most kids are not seeing this as 8 1/2 groups of 100. However, most students can readily replace 1,700 with 1,600 + 100, and they can easily split these numbers to get to 850! This still may not seem important, but since the product of 17 X 10 is so easily calculated, it seems logical that 17 X 5 (half as big as 17 X 10) should be easily found if 1,700 can be easily split.

In a similar way, being able to double numbers with ease leads to being able to double small factor pairs into larger factor pairs. If 7 X 2 = 14, then 7 X 4 is twice as big. So, 7 X 4 = 28. Then, 7 X 8 = 56, and 7 X 16 = 112...likewise, 17 X 2 = 34, 17 X 4 = 68...17 X 4 = 68, 17 X 40 = 680, and 17 X 80 = 1,360 ...all done through doubling.

When doubling a number, many students find it easiest to double the largest place value first and then work through the smaller place values.

Doubling a number like 1, 486 might look like 1,000 + 1,000 = 2,000...400 +400 = 800 ...80 +80 = 160...6 + 6 = 12...added together, the sum is 2,972.

These are VERY important concepts!
Please practice.
It's the kind of thing you can do in the car.

Revisions

Revisions Are Vital to Mastery!

Students in our class are able to complete "revisions" of tasks to insure that concepts that were missed are cleared up or at least made more clear. Students do have to prove that they understand why they were wrong, and they have to show new work that proves that they really have reached an understanding of the concept.

In the top photo, the student explains what went wrong in the problem in the bottom photo. In this case there was a fairly major misconception about the formula used to compute the amount of money to subtract ($1,000 X the date or $25,000) from the original balance ($712,000). This misconception made the problem impossible for the student to solve. However, it would not be correct to assume that the student in question did not know how to subtract. Therefore, this thorough revision provides equitable remediation. Revisions are hard work, but they are well worth the effort!

Originally posted by Mr. Ruark. Thank you Dr. Ruark.

DCPS Academic Looking Glass

The DCPS Academic Looking Glass is a newsletter that is produced bi-weekly to assist parents, principals, teachers, and district staff as a quick reference guide about what students are learning during a sliding two week window.

The Looking Glass (including all back issues) can be found on the DCPS website (www.duvalschools.org) in the following places:

Clicking on the Riverdeep/Curriculum icon listed under the QuickLinks section

Clicking on the “Help Your Kid” menu link on the “Parents” section dropdown list

Selecting “Know what my child is learning?” in the “How Do I…” section dropdown list

OnCourse Grade Book

A note from our principal:

Grade Book Portal
Parents will receive their log ins at the end of the 1st nine weeks and the portal will be available for them to view grades beginning the 2dn grading period.

Flu Like Symptons

Parents please be aware of flu like symptoms and keep your children home if they are sick. Students should only return to school after 24 hours fever free with no fever reducing medications. About 98% of all flu right now is in fact to be considered H1N1 (Swine Flu). Prevention through hand washing, proper etiquette for sneezing and coughing and staying home when sick is important. Please notify me if your child has a confirmed case – it can now be confirmed just through a doctor’s diagnosis. We are doing extra cleaning of common areas and special cleaning of classrooms. The good news: the virus can only live on surfaces for 2 hours. Stay healthy!!

Dear Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I would very much like to know what you have to say, but please let me know who you are when you leave a comment. I read all comments and I rethink, revise and revisit my posts/entries.

YOU are very important to me so let me know who you are.

Thank you for your consideration,
Mrs. Rabe

Scholastic Book Orders

You can now place your Scholastic Book Club orders online!

Browse all the great monthly Club selections at low prices and order online. Plus, we earn a FREE book every time a parent orders online.

Here's how it works:

1. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site.
2. Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card.
3. Your order will come to Ms. Beaudreau, and your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic's secure server. There's no need to send money to school.
4. After the entire class's order is submitted to Scholastic, your order will be delivered to Ms. Beaudreau's classroom for your child to take home.

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs

Class User Name: chetscreek5th

Password: readers

Ordering online is the most convenient way to use Scholastic Book Clubs. You can order anytime, right up until the online order due date. You'll also get instant access to over 500 additional titles plus online-only specials and discounts.

And don't forget: Every time a parent places an order online, Ms. Beaudreau earns a FREE book for their classroom library!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Beaudreau.

Can You Hear the Music??

Are you learning the words to our school song? During our last flag raising, our principal challenged everyone to learn the words to the song we dismiss to every afternoon. It was written by the first music teacher at Chets Creek, Mr. Joe Bernat. Can you meet the challenge?

Here are the lyrics:

The Chets Creek School Song

We love our school caled Chets Creek,

Where we are free to dream.

Our teachers, they will guide us,

and help us to achieve.

With values we can live by–

the heights that we shall seek…

We’ll prepare for our future

at our school we call Chets Creek.

Chets Creek!

Counting Patterns

The recent student sheets from our Math Investigation Unit, Building on Numbers You Know, that we have been working on in class are designed to stimulate thinking about counting patterns. Often, students fall back on methods of solving these questions that are far from efficient. For example, a student might simply list all of the multiples of 25 in order to get to 300 and then state, after counting the written numbers, that it takes 12 people counting by 25 to get to 300. However, many students quickly latch onto the idea that it is much easier just to figure out how many 25s are in 100 and then triple the amount to get to 300.

On the "What's in Between" page, students have to sort through a multitude of important concepts in order to find the answers to these puzzles. See if you can find the puzzle with answers that are not quite correct.

Presidential Address to School Children

Presidential Address to School Children

The president will deliver a message to school children on Tuesday, September 8th at noon. This will broadcast on C-Span.
Sometime on Monday, Labor Day, the videotaped message will be uploaded to the following link for your viewing.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/
A letter was sent home on Friday, for families wishing to “opt out” of the viewing for their children. Please go ahead and complete the form if you would like to opt out as we may watch the address at a future date.

Welcome to Fifth Grade!

I look forward to a wonderful year with each of you.
If you wish to contact me, one of the best ways is to email me at rabes@duvalschools.org ,
or call me at 992-6390 X 218

5th Grade Orientation
was a blast. It was great to meet so many of my fifth grade students. Your parents were terrific as well. :)

Remember to bring the following items to school:
2" white binder with clear plastic cover
1 package of dividers (5 tabs)
6 plastic duo tang folders (2 yellow, 2 red, 2 blue)
6 composition notebooks
1 package of clear plastic page protectors (50-100)
1 12-pack of colored pencils
24 sharpened No. 2 pencils
1 package white copy paper
2 glue sticks
1 individual pencil sharpener
1 package of labels (Avery 1860)
1 inexpensive calculator
*girls ~ 1 disinfecting wipes(non-bleach), 1 Ziploc bags gallon size, 1 soap
**boys ~ 1 box of tissues, 1 Ziploc bags sandwich size, 1 hand sanitizer
~Thank you for all your help with our supplies!!

Fifth Grade Rocks!!
Monday: Our first day will include some fun getting to know you activities, a look at our rituals and routines, and the ever popular practice fire drill! HW sheet #1 goes home.

Tuesday: We will sort and organize all materials. We will also start work on EDC (Every Day Counts-Calendar Math).

Wednesday : We will continue EDC, and check Monday and Tuesday's HW.

Thursday: We will continue EDC and start the CCE Math Diagnostic.

Friday: We will continue EDC, check Wednesday and Thursday's HW, and continue the CCE Math Diagnostic Test. HW sheet number 1 will be collected.

You can also study the 16 basic multiplication facts! You should know all of your 0s,1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, and doubles (like 8X8=64...6X6=36). When you read "know" that means like instantly, just like that. So, you can study the facts that are not in the list as well if you need to.

So, 16 Facts Coming Right At You:
9x8
9x7
9x6
9x4
9x3
8x7
8x6
8x4
8x3
7x6
7x4
7x3
6x4
6x3
4x3 Make flash cards. Mix them up.

If you want to get a head start on fractions here is a list!
1/8 = 12 1/2 %
1/6 = 16 2/3 %
1/5 = 20%
1/4 = 25%
1/3 = 33 1/3 %
3/8 = 37 1/2 %
2/5 = 40%
1/2, 2/4, 3/6, T/2T = 50%
3/5 = 60%
5/8 = 65 1/2 %
2/3 = 66 2/3 %
3/4 = 75%
5/6 = 83 1/3 %
7/8 = 87 1/2 %
1/1, 2/2, 3/3, T/T = 100% Know the fraction. Be the fraction!

Please bring a pen, and two sharpened pencils each day!


Calendar Math will continue on a daily basis with an emphasis on subtraction, patterns, and representations of fractions with denominators of 100. Example, the 8th day of school will be listed as 8%, 0.08, 8:100 and 8/100. We will then list all of the factors of 8 and 100 {8: (1,2,4,8) 100: (1,2,4,5,10,20,25,50,100)}. We will then divide 8/100 by GCF/GCF (GCF=Greatest Common Factor) in order to find the way to express 8/100 in its lowest terms. (8/100 divided by 4/4 = 2/25)

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ROOM ON HOMEWORK SHEETS TO SHOW ALL MATHEMATICAL THINKING. SO, PLEASE SHOW ALL WORK ON SEPARATE PAPER.

Please complete all work in pencil.

We will correct work in pen, allowing misconceptions to be seen after correction.

WE WILL CORRECT HOMEWORK TWICE A WEEK, Wednesdays and Fridays.

YOU WILL HAVE A GUIDE IN YOUR BINDER THAT SHOWS EXACTLY HOW TO COMPLETE HOMEWORK. PLEASE USE IT :-}

Also please keep in mind the following rubric that explains how to correctly answer a word problem.

How to Create a Complete Answer to a Word Problem

> Write an estimate (estimates make sure that students are pre-thinking the question!)

> Write an equation Samples: 714 ¸ 2= n 47 + 52 = n 47 x n = 94

> Solve the problem using as much visual evidence as possible, especially if you are using a traditional “column form” strategy—This might include a chart, number line, graph, picture, or other visual aid

> Rewrite the equation with the answer--Samples 714 ¸ 2 = 357 47 + 52 =99

> Write the answer in a COMPLETE sentence that restates the question.

Example :

Gidgi has 67 students, and Kay has 53 students. Who has the most students and by how much?

Estimate: Gidgi has 15 more students.

Equation: 67 - 53 = n

Work: 60 7
- 50 3
____________
10 + 4 = 14

Gidgi has 14 more students than Kay.

Ask yourself, "Does my answer make sense?"

Some easy concepts to practice in order to make our first unit more fun.

Combinations of ten, 100, 1000 etc.

10 +___= 10

9 +___=10

8 +___=10

7 + ___= 10

6 +___= 10

5 +___=10

4 +___=10

3 + ___= 10

2 +___=10

1+___=10

60 + ___= 100 ....

300 +____=1,000...

21 Basic Multiplication Facts:
(The other 79 facts are important, but most students have a pretty good ability to deal with 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s, if not, please work on skip counting by those numbers :} )

9 x 9 =____
9 x 8 = ____
9 X 7= ____
9 X 6 = ____
9 X 4 = ____
9 X 3 =____
8 x 8 = ____
8 X 7 = ____
8 X 6 =____
8 X 4 = ____
8 X 3 = ____
7 X 7 = ____
7 X 6 = ____
7 X 4 =_____
7 X 3 = ____
6 X 6 =____
6 X 4 = ___
6 X 3 = ___
4 X 4 = ___
4 X 3 = ___
3 X 3 = ___

Please also think about ways to look at a "difficult" fact like 7 X 7 in a new way. Perhaps, decomposing 7 X 7 into (7 X 5) + (7 X 2) can make these much easier!

After our first test, please check out the "How to Revise" page. There will be a revision rubric in each student's sourcebook.

If you have any questions, I am here to help!!

Welcome to Fifth Grade

Welcome to Fifth Grade!

I look forward to a wonderful year with each of you.

If you wish to contact me, one of the best ways is to email me at rabes@duvalschools.org ,

or call me at 992-6390 X 218.

Fifth Grade Rocks!!

I hope you are having fantastic summer. However, you can still get ahead by studying some gold old classic math.

For example, you can study the 16 basic multiplication facts! You should know all of your 0s,1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, and doubles (like 8X8=64...6X6=36). When you read "know" that means like instantly, just like that. So, you can study the facts that are not in the list as well if you need to.

So, 16 Facts To Practice Right Now:

9x8

9x7

9x6

9x4

9x3

8x7

8x6

8x4

8x3

7x6

7x4

7x3

6x4

6x3

4x3 Make flash cards. Mix them up. Become a multiplying maniac!

Fractions and their equivalent percent! REEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLYYYYY Important!

1/8 = 12 1/2 %

1/6 = 16 2/3 %

1/5 = 20%

1/4 = 25%

1/3 = 33 1/3 %

3/8 = 37 1/2 %

2/5 = 40%

1/2, 2/4, 3/6, T/2T = 50%

3/5 = 60%

5/8 = 65 1/2 %

2/3 = 66 2/3 %

3/4 = 75%

5/6 = 83 1/3 %

7/8 = 87 1/2 %

1/1, 2/2, 3/3, T/T = 100%

Know the fraction!

Be the fraction!

Welcome Fifth Graders

Welcome 5th Graders and Families

The first day of school will be

August 24, 2009.

CCE PTA

Check out the latest great idea from our wonderful CCE PTA!

Chets Creek PTA has sponsored 'supportchetscreek.com' for parents, friends and neighbors to use when shopping on the Internet. Businesses under this website, a branch of 'shoptoearn', will donate a percentage of your sale back to the school. Many popular businesses are connected with this on-line shopping mall, so please remember to use 'supportchetscreek.com' when looking for on-line merchandise! If you have any question how to use the site, please contact Pam Witt @ 821-8172.

Chets Creek Elementary: Orchestrating a Symphony of Student Success!

Next year is about experiencing life through the moves of music.

Kindergarten will keep it simple as their little ones boot scoot and boogie into school on a Country beat.

First Grade will do the bump and hustle as they master reading and math in the glow a sparkling Disco ball.

Second grade will face the bright lights of Broadway and show their talents to the musical Showtunes.

Our Resources will hit the high notes like the masters of the everlasting Classics.

Third Grade will synthesize all learning styles into a sound as smooth as Carribean rhythms.

Fourth Grade will know their skills so well that they’ll be able to improvise like the great Jazz musicians.

And Fifth Grade won’t stop without Rockin' N Rollin' us all year long!

Imagine one person banging away day after day on an instrument trying to play a symphony. Imagine trying to make a piano sound like a guitar or a trombone like a flute. Imagine trying to figure out the melody when you should be playing harmony. H.E. Luccock said, "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it." It takes skilled musicians who have studied, and continue to perfect their craft working together to put each note in just the right place so that the sounds blend together into something so moving that the listener is changed forever. Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination,and life to everything. Next year at Chets Creek Elementary we’ll be orchestrating a symphony of student success. So join our Learning Conductors as we work on tuning our instruments, reading the score perfectly, moving our musicians to deliver each note with just the right timing and put together a beautiful masterpiece the likes of which no one has ever seen or heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5L9h4yObQ

Glogster

Simple Machines

Click HERE to explore four areas of a house and identify 40 different simple machines.

There are 10 in each room: Garage, Bathroom, Kitchen, and Bedroom.

Have fun!

Free-Form Concept Map of Sound

You will create your own representations for Sound as a post-reading activity. Reference pages 406-415 in your textbook for help in building your map.

You will need to decide the important ideas from your reading assignment, organize the information and present it through words, pictures and diagrams. Be creative!!

Main ideas to include in your map:
definition of sound
wavelength
echoes
pitch
frequency
mediums through which sound travels
loudness
percussion instruments
string instruments
wind instrument
Optional: The Piano

This is due Monday, May 18th.

Here are some sites to get ideas on creating concept maps.

http://www.slideshare.net/jtneill/introduction-to-concept-mapping

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Concept_mapping/Gallery

Big Chickens

Reading and Writing Week of May 4th

This week will be a review of spelling words from last week. We will have a 10 wrod quiz on Thursday.
This week we will also have a D.O.L quiz on Thursday! Skills will be Monday- Wednesday!
We will take the Reading Diagnostic this week. We are looking for 80% mastery! The students will have plenty of time to finish the test.
Our author study of Chris Van Allsburg will resume later in the week. So far we have read The Stranger, The Wretched Stone, and The Garden of Abdul Gazazi.
In writing we will begin our genre study of persuasive writing. A published piece will be completed at the conclusion of the unit.

Language Links

This year we have used varied ways of practicing grammar and language mechanics. Here are a few links I think you may find helpful and could just be fun for your child!
www.quia.com is a wonderful site. Just ask for the 30 day free trial. There are many subjects to choose from to study.
www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum.writing/elem_writing/Bib is another site with several activities.
Also, www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_4th_original is another site to try.
Reviewing nightly the work we've done in class will also be helpful. Encourage your child to double check their work and not to rush.

Don't Miss ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA 2009!!!!!!!!

If you have never come to one of Chets Creeks ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA'S then you have a huge, family fun, evening waiting for you. Don't miss it this year, because we have lots of wonderful guest artists attending, and plenty of hands on art activities in which to participate for all age levels. NOT TO MENTION THE SCHOOL WIDE STUDENT ART EXHIBITION TO EXPERIENCE. Everyone is sure to have a fantastic time and see some awesome artwork. When is it, you ask????

Friday, April 24th from 6:00-8:00

We look forward to seeing you there!

Lady Liberty

Today we had the opportunity to listen and learn from Lady Liberty. We learned many fascinating facts about the history of the statue. Did you know that the statue was actually the color of copper when she came to Liberty Island in May of 1885? Through weathering, she has turned green, which is called "petina."
The Statue of Liberty was sent to America in 300 pieces! Her base contains a copper box filled with a copy of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, newspapers from the time she was built, and her story of how she was created.
After learning all these facts and having class pictures taken, the students went to four different "fun" stations that allowed them the liberty to choose their activities for the day. What fun we had!

Wild About Woolbur

Our class had the opportunity to hear the story Wilbur by Leslie Helakoski before any other class in the building! Shhh! We ADORED the loveable Wilbur. We wrote powerful poetry about Wilbur(this is Elizabeth's poem!), we read and reread the story to see if the picture clues matched the text, we analyzed the picture clues to deepen comprehension, we learned rich and delicious vocabulary, and are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of Leslie Helakowski!

Help Us Make A Difference!!

HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

As you know, this year Chets Creek will be hosting the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event on May 1st and 2nd! To get our kids involved in making a difference, we are holding a COIN COLLECTION DRIVE at our school. We will be collecting coins in our classroom. Students can bring in spare change to donate to cancer. You can help them earn change by letting them do chores around the house, by doing extra reading, and more! Students will also have a chance to earn change to put in our jug through positive behavior in our classroom. The coin drive will go until Friday, April 24th. Last year, we raised almost $3,000, so let’s do it again! As always, thank you for your support!

Save Duval Schools

Here is a message from our Principal, Susan Phillips:

Save Duval Schools!

This week, a grassroots effort was launched to assist DCPS in raising awareness about how the budget shortfall is affecting the students in Duval County. The effort, named Save Duval Schools has a Web site http://www.saveduvalschools.org/ where our community can go to get information on the shortfall and find out ways to take action.

On Monday, March 16 at 7:00 PM there will be a special Budget Information Meeting for parents and our community here at Chets Creek in the Dining Room. I urge you to come, get educated and then take action in saving public education in your own neighborhood and in our state!

Is 50th Good Enough for Your Child?

Is 50th Good Enough for Your Child?

“The right action of all of us is made up of the right action of each one of us. Unless each of us is determined to meet the duty that comes to us, we can have no right to expect that others will meet the duties that come to them.”
~ Calvin Coolidge
No one can deny that we are living in trying times. All around the country, our friends, relatives and acquaintances are suffering. On Monday, your friend was laid off. Last Friday, you heard about your relatives living without power and water as their homes are buried in ice. Two weeks ago, your neighbor left with his unit for a tour in Iraq. Your spouse is worried about their job security. Discount stores are advertising entire store clearance sales. We are all hurting in some way. If we are not yet hurting, we are just waiting for it to trickle down to our house, our job, our bank account. We know it is coming.
Your child’s school is not immune.
Duval County expects to suffer from a $150 million budget deficit for the 2009-2010 academic year. All the facts tell us there is NO WAY to “trim the fat” and balance this budget crisis without affecting the classroom. In short, your child's school will suffer.
Guidance and Media services could be reduced!Valuable resources like Art, Music and PE may be cut!Essential supplies and materials could disappear altogether!
It is important to understand that this problem, this CRISIS, is not limited to Duval County alone. This fiscal crisis is statewide. The state of Florida was ranked 47th out of 50 states in tax revenue prior to the passing of Amendment One, which served to further reduce our state taxes. Regarding the total amount of funds allocated and spent on education, the state of Florida is ranked 50th in the nation. I ask you, does this represent your priorities? I doubt it.
Article IX, Section I of the Florida Constitution guarantees that:
"The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida."
"It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for … a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education …."Are our legislators upholding the requirements of our state constitution?As voters, we share a heavy burden. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves with accurate facts. It is our responsibility to make our voices heard. It is our responsibility to act.It is our responsibility to advocate for our children. It is our responsibility to fight for their rights, for today and for their future. If not us, then who? If we do not meet our duties, we cannot expect others to meet theirs.
I urge you. Educate yourselves. Research the facts. Go to the source. Ask questions. Speak out. Make demands. Do not accept it as fact because others believe it to be true.
Ask yourself, is 50th good enough for your child?
If the answer is NO - contact our state's legislative delegation and ask for immediate help from one of these short term solutions:
1. One cent increase to the sales tax of Florida for just 3 years. It generates ten billion dollars over 3 years to plug the education funding cuts!2. Please give flexibility to the school districts in the areas of categoricals, (SAI, Class Size, Instruction Materials, Reading, Safe Schools).3. Please suspend unfunded mandates on the districts. (Examples: Transportation, Testing & Curriculum Requirements, Safety Nets, and Staffing Requirements.)4. Please give flexibility of capital funds—so they can be used for General Revenue.
Ask them to find long term solutions to the critical funding situation in Florida and urge them to make public education a priority so that even our children's children can benefit from a right guaranteed them by our state constitution!

Destination Success

Destination Success


Our blog now conatins a link to the Duval County supported website, Destination Success. By clicking the link and logging in, you will gain access to many games and activities focused on developing your reading and math skills. Then, the teachers can see what you have done and work with you on the things you need help with! This site is provided to our school free of charge, and we are encouraging everyone to utilize it!

http://duval.riverdeep.net/lms


To login:Username: firstname+lastname+264 (all lowercase and no spaces)Password: 2 digit birth month+2 digit birth day (no spaces)



Good luck explorers!

DCPS Academic Looking Glass

In an effort to increase the access points for parents wanting to know where in the district curriculum their children are, the Looking Glass (including all back issues) can now be accessed on the DCPS website (www.duvalschools.org) in the following places:

Clicking on the Riverdeep/Curriculum icon listed under the QuickLinks section
Clicking on the “Help Your Kid” menu link on the “Parents” dropdown list
Selecting “Know what my child is learning?” in the “How Do I…” dropdown list

Four Day School Week

Four Day School Week

What are you going to do with your child when the district goes to a four day school week? Now I must admit that I wrote this question to get your attention, but it could happen. Moving to a four day school week is one of the options currently being considered by our school board as a way to reduce the county’s school budget for next year.

To learn more check out these websites:

Powerpoint of issues affecting Duval County.

50th No More is a website to let your voice be heard.

Duval County Public Schools has budget services at your disposal.