5th grade!

My last message of the day in first grade :(

Fifth grade is different! I'm learning (slowly) that, despite all of the difficulty I am having (with behavior and content: pretty much just transitioning in general), fifth grade can be really rewarding. The kids act like they don't really care, but they have moments where I know that they do. I cherish these moments and linger on them for as long as I can! I have been trying to establish good relationships with my students, and although I will be in this classroom for a shorter period of time, my goal is to be just as close to them as I was with the first graders.

I've been teaching math consistently, and I have learned that FRACTIONS ARE HARD. They're hard for the kids to understand, they're hard for me to explain; fractions in general are just hard. I've also been doing spelling, which is fun!
I recently decided what read aloud book I am going to read when Brenda is finished with the one she is reading now: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham.

I think the kids are going to love trying to predict the events of the story!
This week I also started my unit on the reasons for the seasons. I made a bulletin board for them to reference to:

They have taken a pre-test (which they moaned and groaned about...) read an informational text and answered related questions, and we've done some notes about the key facts involved in this unit. Today I read them Gail Gibbons' Reasons for the Seasons, even though some parts of it are kind of young (it had great information)! Next week, we will be making the representations of the earth in each of the four seasons with marshmallows and chocolate powder. We will also do more with the globe and a flashlight so that the lessons are more visual (as the concepts are really abstract). I'm excited for these next lessons. We will also be doing a unit test in math next week, which will be interesting to observe and help correct.
<3