Just a few reminders and happenings this week in 5th grade:

Math: We are still studying fractions and this week are multiplying fractions by a whole number.  I have a video ready to post to assist you in helping your student with their homework.  Lots of new methods are being taught and your fifth graders are working hard! Below I have added the anchor chart to show you all of the methods we use to multiply fractions.  Any method is fine, as long as they are using them!

Science: We are finishing up "Changes to Land" and will be testing this week over it.  Your students have notes in their journals on weathering, erosion, and deposition and they also have assignments in Stemscopes to study.  Please make sure they are signing on each week and doing their science homework.  It is assigned on Mondays and due on Fridays.

Social Studies: We have been working on memorizing the Preamble and it is a major grade.  We have taken a more in-depth look at the road to the American Revolution and have been utilizing our big social studies book.

Reading: We have studied text structures and now talking about text features in reading.  In ELA, we are discussing expository writing and different parts of speech.

***Thursday and Friday are Early Dismissal days for parent-teacher conferences.  I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of y'all for having 100% participation.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday.

***Saturday from 1 - 5 p.m. is our annual Fall Carnival.  We will have 2 fifth grade games set up and we are in need of parent volunteers to man our games.  A SignUp Genius email will go out soon with time slots.

Thank you parents for a successful 1st nine weeks!  AND, for a successful Boosterthon!  We were able to raise over $34, 000 in profit for Huggins and our students! 

Please do not forget that if you have not signed up for a parent conference time to meet with me for a short 15 minute meeting, please do so.  The invitations went out via SignUp Genius a couple of weeks ago.  You MUST meet with me in person to receive your student's report card.

This week we are studying:

Math: We are still working on fractions this week.  Homework is assigned daily so please make sure to check that your student is doing theirs.  We will be having a Spiral Review on Friday including a 2 min. fast facts timed quiz.

Science: We are studying changes to the Earth and formations.  They have several things assigned for practice in StemScopes so please have them log on nightly.  Their homework is the Websurfing Science assignment and is due by Friday.

Social Studies: We are still working on the American Revolution and will be going back to the big social studies book to do a more in-depth study.  They are being assigned the Preamble to the Constitution as a major grade and will have to recite it from memory on 11/7.  They will have a History Alive Ch. 13 quiz on Wednesday, 10/29.

ELAR: We are moving into talking about expository texts in both writing and reading.  We are also still continuing our novel study.  Please encourage AR as many students did not meet their goal for the 1st nine weeks grading period and their AR grade reflected that.

Thank you for everything you do and have an awesome week!

This first nine weeks has flown by!  I have enjoyed getting to know my "family" and seeing the growth occurring just in the first nine weeks!  They have all been working extremely hard.  Just a few reminders as the nine weeks comes to a close:

Math: We are finishing up division with decimals and whole numbers.  We are moving into fractions this week and will be talking about like denominators and adding and subtracting fractions using manipulatives.  Our math nine weeks assessment will be on Thursday.

Science: We are talking about "force" in science this week.  The students designed their own experiments last week and will be presenting them this week on the different ways they demonstrated how force can affect an object.  Our science nine weeks assessment will be on Wednesday.  They need to be working on the assignments in Stemscopes to use as a study guide.

Social Studies: We are discussing the Declaration of Independence this week and the events that led up to the Revolutionary War.  Our social studies nine weeks assessment will be on Thursday and the students need to review Ch. 1-13 on the History Alive site as well as their social studies journals.

ELAR: We are finishing up our second writing compositions this week and their final copies are due on Friday.

*Friday is an early release day: we will be dismissing at 11:30.
*Our Boosterthon Fun Run is Friday from 9:45 - 10: 45.  Thank you for all of the pledges and parents are welcome to come out and support their runners.  Please keep the pledges coming!  We are currently at $16/lap and our class goal is $80. The money raised will go towards a new sound system and various technological needs for the school!
*Parent/Teacher conference invites have been sent out via SignUp Genius.  You MUST meet with me face-to-face for a short 15 minute conference in order to receive your student's report card.
*Wednesday, Oct. 22nd is our Fall Picture Day.  It is a free dress day if you wish.

Thank you for everything you do for us and for the support you show Huggins! Have a great week!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We have a busy week ahead of us:

Math: We are finished with multiplication of decimals and will now be dividing decimals using various methods.  I will once again be videotaping lessons to demonstrate the different methods to be of assistance to you at home.

Science: We are finishing up sound in science and the students will be designing their own experiment demonstrating force and motion this week.

Social Studies: We will be briefly talking about Life in Colonial Williamsburg and will be moving into Ch. 10 Growing Tensions Between the Colonies and Great Britain. Ch. 10 quiz will be next Tuesday so please have your students taking the practice quiz on the History Alive site.

ELAR: We are working on our second compositions for the nine weeks.  We will also be discussing foreshadowing and our novel study.

A few important reminders:

Tuesday is our McTeacher Night at the Cross Creek McDonald's.  Please come out and support Huggins.  Teachers will be there to take your orders inside, at the drive-thru and collecting donations for "Holler for a Dollar". It is a fun event!


Friday is "Pink Out" day. Your child will be able to wear pink with a donation for breast cancer awareness.

Saturday is the annual Scarecrow Festival out at Cross Creek Ranch and our choir and trashcan band will be performing on the stage starting at 11:45.

First Nine Weeks Report Card Conference: The end of the first nine weeks is fast approaching.  Parents are required to attend a parent/teacher conference to review their child's progress for the first nine weeks.  A sign up genius email will be sent out with the days and times that are available for conferences. Conferences will be set up in 15 minutes increments.  I look forward to meeting with everyone!  

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC weekend and was able to get out and enjoy this cooler weather we are having.

Here are this week's happenings:

Math: We are still working on decimal multiplication and learning the different methods to find the product.  If you are having trouble helping your child with their homework, please take a moment to go visit our class Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mstiendavis and you will see the short videos I have posted showing you the concrete and pictorial methods we are learning in class.

Science: We are finished with our unit on circuits, conductors, and insulators and are now moving into light.  We will be doing a lab this week to explore the properties of light and will also be participating in Hands on Science.  If you haven't signed up yet to volunteer in the lab, please consider doing so.  Hands on Science is completely run by parent volunteers and is a great program. Homework this week is in Stemscopes and is under "Light Energy".  It will be due on Friday.

Social Studies: We are working in Ch. 7 and will be having a quiz on Wed.  Please make sure your students are visiting the website to take practice quizzes.

ELAR: We are still talking about foreshadowing, characterization and plot elements.  We are starting our second writing composition for the first nine weeks this week.  We are also still doing our novel study on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Please make sure your students are reading 20 minutes a night to reach their AR goals.  I included their current points in their HOWL folders Friday.

A couple of reminders:

• Wednesday , October 9- Coffee with the principal

*Doctor Randle will be at this meeting, it will start at 8:00 a.m

• Cross Creek McDonald's Spirit Night- October 14 from 5-8 pm.  Come out and support our school! 

• Friday, October 24- Early Release at 11:30 am.

• Friday, October 24- Boosterthon Event- More information will be coming home about this event very soon.

Have a fantastic week!

I hope everyone enjoyed the short school week and long weekend and hopefully everyone was able to get out and enjoy the fair parade and or the Fort Bend County Fair!  Here is what is going on this week:

Math: We are studying how to multiply decimals and students are expected to be able to multiply them in a multitude of ways: using base 10 blocks, using pictorial representation, hundredths grids and the standard algorithm.  I have posted several videos to my Facebook class page.  If you are unsure of how to help your student on homework please take a minute to view the videos to see the different methods we are using.  We will also be multiplying with money this week and will end the week on Friday with a spiral review test over multiplication with decimals.

Science:  In science we are studying electricity and the uses of it.  We will be doing a hands-on lab this week.   We will also be discussing electrical circuits, conductors and insulators.  We will have an electricity assessment on Friday over this lesson.

Social Studies: We are moving rather quickly through History Alive as we have a lot of material to cover this nine weeks.  We have finished up Ch. 5 and are starting Ch. 6, Early English Settlements and will be taking a quiz over this chapter on Wed.  Please have your students visit the History Alive site and take the practice quizzes. Success on these guarantee success on the quizzes in class.

ELAR: We have finished our first written composition for the nine weeks and will be starting our second this week.  In reading, we are discussing foreshadowing and incidents in the plot that help to advance the story.  We will also be continuing our novel study on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Don't forget that progress reports go out this week and need to be signed and returned promptly. 

Also, we are currently in the process of earning Class Dojo points for good behavior and citizenship.  The students can use these to turn in for different incentives throughout the nine weeks.  Please encourage your student to practice great citizenship!
Have a great week!

We had another great week here at Huggins.  Thank you to all of you who came out and supported the school at our first Spirit Night at Pepperoni's!  We had a great turn-out and all money raised from Spirit Nights comes back to benefit your students!

Here is what is going on this week:

Math: We are still working on long division and then will be moving into patterns with decimals.  We will have a Module 2 test on Wednesday over multiplication and division.  If you haven't had a chance to "like" our class Facebook page please do so.  I know, just from feedback from your students, that some of you are having problems helping them with homework because of the new methods we are using to help them decompose numbers and make it easier to multiply and divide large numbers. I have videotaped me working two different division problems and posted them on our class Facebook page to help you better understand how we are working the problems.  Some students are very familiar with the "old way" we learned also known as the standard algorithm method, but we still want them to understand the "why" behind the computation.  This is where the concrete and pictorial methods come in.  Please take a moment to look at the videos.  I am in the process of uploading them to my YouTube channel for those who don't have access to Facebook.

Science: In science we have finished up "Classifying Matter" and are now moving into "Uses of Energy".  We will be going to the Computer Lab to work on an assignment this week and then starting our unit on energy.

Social Studies: We have finished Chapter 3 in History Alive on European explorers.  Please have your students visit the tutorial page to take the practice quizzes.  We will have the Ch. 4 quiz on Tuesday.  (It seems to be a pattern so far for Tuesday but it has just happened to work out that way.) We will start Ch. 5: Routes of Exploration on Monday.

ELAR: We are starting our novel study on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and are finishing up our final drafts for our first compositions this week.  They are due by Thursday.  We have to write two major compositions a nine weeks grading period.  We will be talking about inferencing this week in reading as well.

Have an awesome weekend and don't forget that this is a short week.  Friday is a student/staff holiday for the Fort Bend County Fair.  I hope to see some familiar faces out at the parade at the fairgrounds on Friday! 

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me or call me at the school. Agendas need to be checked and signed daily. 

We have a BUSY week ahead of us with a lot of learning planned! 

In Math, we have finished our lesson on multiplication and have started on division.  We have showed the students a method using concrete math to help them see the visual on how we divide.  I will be posting a video on my class Facebook page to help parents with this method.  I know it is new and is something you have probably never seen before. We have a spiral review on Friday over everything we have covered.

In Social Studies: We are still studying Native American and why Europeans left for the new world. Please continue to remind your students to visit the History Alive tutorial page to help study for quizzes.

In Science: We are studying mixtures and solutions and how we separate matter by their physical properties.  The students have all been working on their note-taking skills and all new vocabulary can be found in their science journals. We have a test on Friday over Mixtures and Solutions.

In ELAR, we are working diligently on our rough drafts for the first composition of the year.  We are also starting a novel study with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We are continuing our study of root words and making new words with affixes.

Don't forget that this Thursday is our first Spirit Night at Pepperoni's in Fulshear.  A part of the sales comes back to the school to benefit your children.  Please don't forget to mention Huggins while you are there!

Once again we had a fantastic week last week and accomplished A LOT of learning!

This week we are studying:

Math: We are finishing up decimals and diving into multiplication with two-digits.  We will be taking a spiral review on Friday.

Science: We have started our unit on Matter and finished up Scientific Tools. Quiz your students on the differences between the different states of matter, how density affects objects (Do they sink or float?), and please make sure to log in to the STEMscopes website at:

https://n11074d41264.acceleratelearning.com/login

Several assignments have been assigned for homework and they are due by the end of the week.  The user name is first initial and last name (one word) and their password is "student". This website works best with Google Chrome.

Social Studies: We have finished up the geography refresher chapter in History Alive and are now in our Native American unit.  Please have your student visit the History Alive website at http://teachtci.tutorial.com (also use Google Chrome) to take the practice quizzes.  Student success on our quizzes is definitely impacted by the amount of time they spend taking the practice quizzes.

ELAR: We are studying "schema" and how to me thoughtful readers and to make connections in our reading.  Students should be reading 20 minutes every night in order to meet their AR goal for the nine weeks.

Don't forget:
Tonight is our Watchdogs kick-off at 6 pm for kids and dads! Come check out this wonderful program and enjoy some free pizza!

Thank you to everyone for coming out to our Parent Information Night last week!  Have a great week!

Wow! What an awesome first week we had!  I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know your children!  I just know that this year will be nothing short of fantastic. 

Just a recap of last week:

Math: We talked about place value and decimals to the thousandths place.  We also reviewed standard and word form.  This week will continue to talk about decimals and how to order them.

Science: We have hit the ground running with our science and are studying the Scientific Method and the scientific process.  We did one lab and one observation teacher-led lab.  We talked about the different types of science tools and how to use them.

Social Studies: We talked about geography and how to read maps.  We have a History Alive quiz tomorrow. Please utilize the tutorial link I sent last week for your child to practice.  This will ensure that they know the proper material for the quiz.  This week we will be starting our unit on Native Americans.

Reading: We talked about picking "just right" books and started reviewing about why we read, metacognition and our schema.  This week we will continue to review these terms and will practice our reading strategies. Your student has already take the AR Star test to set their reading levels. They will need to read 30 minutes every night in order to meet their AR goals for the 9 weeks.  It is a reading grade.

Writing: We are in our Writer's Workshop and talking about why we write and the writing process.  We will continue to delve into the writing process and will begin the first of two writing compositions for the 9 weeks.

Don't forget to sign up for Remind to receive text reminders.

Tonight from 6 - 7:30 we will have our Parent Information Night.  This is strictly for parents only and there will not be any activities for students. 

Thank you for your continued support and I am looking forward to seeing you all tonight!