Hump Day - An MSA Reprieve

Today and tomorrow we do NOT have MSA testing. Instead the fifth graders are completing their reading MSA test on these two days.

As an aside...while I do my best to maintain good instruction during the MSA testing period, I do adjust the work load so as to not overwhelm students during an already stressful and tiring period.

This morning during reading, I distributed a new issue of National Geographic to the students. After having time to look through the magazine, we began reading and discussing the first article, "Got Poison?" The lesson focused on identifying the main idea in each section.

The students were so excited by the subject matter! We didn't get through the entire article and, therefore, didn't get to our independent work.

After completing our math warm up, I used an app on the Ipad to review telling time using an analog clock. Then the students worked in groups of three, using the same app, to tell time to the nearest minute.

After math, we visited the computer lab. In the computer lab the children had a choice between practicing keyboarding skills using Type to Learn 3, strengthening their math skills using Math Arcade and doing word work using Word Scramble and Tile Blocks.

Next, the students enjoyed lunch and recess.

After recess, I modeled completing part of the planning sheet for the next persuasive writing piece (using Storyworks). Then the students worked independently to complete the first 3 steps of their own planning sheet, do any unfinished work and read silently. As the students finished their planning sheets, I met and conferenced with them. There were no reading groups today.

We ended the day with a class meeting. We began by doing a group share where each person completed the sentence starter, "I hope that...". Then we shared compliments. We finished by talking about showing respect to each other and watching the words we use towards each other.