What to do over Winter Break?????

Students will have a winter break packet to complete. The packets are due on January 4th. Items that are to be turned in by this date have been given out during the last two weeks of school for December.

Here is a list of what is due...

1. Notecards for state report (all research must be done over the winter break) We made outlines in class and they have plenty of handouts to help! (We started on this on December 9th)
2. Winter Break Reading Packet (20 questions- must use strategies) (To be given on Tuesday, December 15th)
3. One Home Reading Log for the ENTIRE BREAK- only has 5 entries! (given on Monday, December 14th)
4. Flip Book- December Book Response Activity(Was given on December 10th)

Great Websites for State Reports

Blank Outline State Maps50 States...maps

Explore the Stateshttp://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es

Facts About the StatesClick on any state or on the list below for data and facts galore!Population figures come from the 2000 U.S. census. Numbers in parentheses after Population, Area, and Entered Union show the state's rank compared with other states.http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/states.html

Fun Facts about the States...http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/kids/funfacts/funfacts.html

Netstate Information Site...great site to get detailed information about your state. http://www.netstate.com/states/

OnLine guide to the States...http://americasroof.com/usa.shtml

Quick Facts: Learn About Your StateDo you know your state's motto, bird, or when it became a state? Do you know your Congresspeople or how to contact them? Choose a state from the map to find out!http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/state/

Reference: learn about the United States on Yahool http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/around_the_world/u_s__states/

State & County QuickFacts http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/

State Fact SheetsState fact sheets provide information on population, employment, income, farm characteristics, and farm financial indicators for each state in the United States. This information was last updated on November 6, 2003. http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/

State Factshttp://www.abcteach.com/States/StateTOC.htm

States, Capitals and much more! http://www.50states.com/

The Fifty States...http://www.infoplease.com/states.html

The States of the United Stateshttp://www.usconstitution.net/conststates.php3

The US Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/

The US50 The US50 is an extensive guide to history, outdoors, tourism, events and attractions for the fifty states. http://www.theus50.com/

United States - Facts and Statisticshttp://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2383.html

US State FactsWelcome to the World of Education's US State Facts. Find out quick facts and information about the fifty states and Washington, DC. Complete with state maps and flags, the E-World US State Facts is great for students and educators, homework and trivia. http://library.educationworld.net/statefacts/

KUDOS to .....

CONGRATS TO OUR PRELIMINARY ROUND SPELLING BEE WINNERS!
Keegan
Deavien
Anthony
Kaitlyn
Shelby
Carolyn
Andrew S.
Michael
Raine
Sean

Study hard and get ready for that next round in January! I am super proud of you guys! You make your "SCHOOL MAMA" happy!!!!!!

Macon has arrived!

Hi guys! 

I hope you are all doing well in class and being on your best behavior! I miss all of you terribly and am assuming that you are giving 110% in all that you are doing for Mrs. Gustin and Mrs. Schermann. I have attached a picture of Macon so you could all see! I think he is quite the cutie! Progress Reports went home Friday and there are a couple of you who I know can do much better.  A majority of those grades were from the assignments you completed with me while I was there. I spoke with Mrs. Gustin about Home Reading Logs and the Monthly Book Count that was turned in yesterday. She informed me that most of you are doing really well with these assignments. I was very happy to hear this! I do hope those of you who are not turning in assignments find them and get them in as soon as possible. Don't forget our classroom homework policy. Silly zeros can pull your grade down very quick! 

Anyway, keep up the good work that you all are doing and I will be checking in with Mrs. Gustin and Mrs. Schermann again soon for an update on your grades, behavior, homework, and more! 

I miss you all tons! 

Mrs. Lammi :)

DRA levels, Information, and Ways to Help at Home

Diagnostic Reading Level (DRA) Information was written in your child's agenda today. The DRA is a letter that is used to describe your child's reading level when using the classroom library. Students should be reading leveled books as of today. The level was recorded in the agenda. Please use the websites I have listed below to view some titles that are on your child's reading level when visiting the public library. I have listed the sites by grade level so you can see what grade level your child is currently reading on. Right now, entering the fifth grade, your child should be reading on at least a level Q or R. This puts them on track to be able to transition through reading levels before FCAT and have a higher success rate on this test. Please note that any level lower than a "O" is considered 3rd grade.

Grade 4
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/gradefour.html
Grade 5
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/gradefive.html
Grade6
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/gradesix.html

HOW CAN I HELP AT HOME???

• Read with your child at home.
• Have your child listen to you read.
• Make sure your child reads at least 15-20 minutes each day.
• Ask your child to tell you about what they read.
• When watching TV with your child, ask them what the show your watching is about so far during the commercial breaks. Who are the main characters? Where is the setting? Make sure they tell you in great detail when answering.
• Have an older sibling read to them who has great fluency when reading.
• Check over their Home Reading Logs and READ what they are recording. Currently, we are working on connecting to what we have read. Students should write down their reflection. A reflection is what they connect to on the pages they read and why they connect that way. It should be three to five sentences long. It must include details.

BOOK RESPONSE FOR SEPETEMBER

Book Response Information came home today. It is due along with the Monthly Reading Log that is located in the back of the agenda. This will be turned in on Spetember 28th.

Upcoming Dates

(copied from the Pawprint Newsletter sent home on Spetember 1st, 2009)


September 3 – Girl Scout AND Boy Scout Round-up (See Pawprint for more details)
September 7 – Labor Day Holiday- No School
September 9 – Early Dismissal
September 10 – OPEN HOUSE – 6:30 – 8:00 (Food will be available for purchase)
September 18 – PTA Dance
September 23 – Early Dismissal
September 24 – Individual Student Picture Day

Upcoming Dates

August
24th- Everyone returns to school!

September
7th- No School (Labor Day)
10th- Open House 6:30
17th- Mrs. Lammi's last day (Macon will be here soon)

October
15th-5th grade to the Marine Science Center (Schermann's Class)
16th- 5th grade to the Marine Science Center (Lammi's Class)

November
23rd- Mrs. Lammi returns
25th- Weather Day
26th/27th- No School (Thanksgiving Break)

Monthly Reading Rubric

Reading Rubric

Number of
Pages Read Grade

450 plus 100/A

449-400 90/A

399-350 80/B

349-300 70/C

299-250 60/D

249-200 50/F

199-150 40/F

149-100 30/F

99 and 1 20/F

0 pages 0 F

Reading Standard: The student reads at least 25 books each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (fiction and nonfiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and on-line materials. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least 3 different literary forms and from at least 5 different writers.

Policies and Expectations

Weekly book logs- Each week we will work on a specific skill that will track our weekly reading. These forms will vary from time to time, but expect to see one each week. They will coincide with what the child is reading outside of class to document what they read each night. Research shows that comprehension and fluency builds when children read at least 15-20 minutes a day outside of class time. These will be count as homework grades each week and are to be signed by a parent each week. Students need to complete them in complete sentences and use capitalization, good spelling, and punctuation where needed.

Agendas- Students will record their homework daily in their agenda. The teachers will put in the daily conduct grades. This is our primary source of communication and is very useful if used effectively. If a child receives a note from the teacher, the agenda and/or note needs to be signed by a parent to ensure the note was seen. One card will be flipped in class if students do not get their agenda signed by a parent.

Homework- Students will receive homework in Mrs. Lammi’s class on Monday and Wednesdays. (Weekly Book Logs are NOT included in this-they are daily.) On the occasion that we are not in school on Monday, students will receive their spelling words or vocabulary words on the first day of the week. Homework counts as 10% of the students overall grade. Parents are encouraged to go over homework nightly with their student.

Conferences- If a parent conference is needed; please send in a note to let us know the reason for the conference and a few days and times that you would be available. Drop-in conferences are not effective; therefore a 24 hour advance notice is requested. I am not available for conferences on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons. Also, if needed, we can arrange a phone conference if this is more accommodating for you! Your student’s best interest and success are our number one priorities. Please let us know of any concerns that you may have. We can’t fix them, if we don’t know anything is wrong!

Grading Scale- 100%-90%= A
89%-80%= B
79%-70%=C
69%-60%= D
59%-0%=F

Class website- www.mrslammisclass.blogspot.com
School Website- www.duvalschools.org/sheffield

Monthly Book Log Checks- Please visit the class website for a complete list of tentative book log check dates. On these dates student book logs that are stapled in the back of their agenda will be checked and a response will be due for one of the books they have read that month. It is imperative that the book log is filled in accurately so that students receive full credit for all entries. The proper way to complete the log will be gone over the first week of school. Responses that will coincide with the book log check dates will vary each month. Some of the assignments will be to create something, while others will be to write a response to a question, or a summary of the book. These assignments will always be given in advance and every attempt will be made to post them on our class website. To meet the standard, performing average, students need to read at least 300 pages a month. This will earn them a grade of a 70 C. The rubric for Monthly Book Log checks can be found on our class website. It also is posted in our classroom. Student who exceed the standard and read 450 pages a month will receive a top grade of 100 A.

Remediation websites and FCAT Prep- Every student will be required to complete the program that is used for FCAT preparation. The primary one used in our class is FL Achieves. This program has proved time and time again to be an excellent preparatory program for the 5th Grade Reading FCAT. I will give all students a username and password that can be used on ANY computer, ANY time. We only have 4 computers in the classroom, so rotations will be slow. However, every attempt will be made to work on these as much as possible at school, but time will be needed outside of school to complete these. Additional programs will also be used. Students should keep all passwords and usernames on the front page of their agendas for easy access to all programs.

Upboards- The Upboard is a positive reinforcement program that is used in our classroom. Students receive random “upboard” moves for acts of kindness, completing homework, returning items, etc. Once a student reaches the top, they are rewarded with an item of their choice from the PRIZE WALL!!!!

Classroom Phone- We do have a phone in our classroom, however it is for emergencies only. If you need to change your child’s transportation, please call and leave us a message. As soon as I see we have a message, I will make every effort to have your child call you to let you know that we have received the message. If you have an emergency, it is better to let the main office know, so they can call our room directly. For any other issues, please leave a detailed message and I will return your call as soon as possible! J

Absences/Tardies/Early Dismissals- Our lessons are planned until 2:45 each day, please attempt to make all appointments at a time where your child can be as school as long as possible each day. If your child is absent, please ensure that you send in a note to excuse their absence. Duval County does have an attendance policy that you can find in the student Code of Conduct as well as on the county website. Excessive absences will receive contact from the Truancy Office. Tardies also need a note. All notes will be kept on file.

Inclement Weather- Yes, we are going to get rained on sometime this year! It is the inevitable life of having a classroom in a portable. Students are encouraged to keep a poncho or small umbrella in their book bag for those rainy days!

Progress Reports- Progress Reports will be sent home the 5th week of every nine weeks. Please sign ALL “D” and “F” papers. Mrs. Lammi requires ALL papers to be returned with each progress report. Progress reports are required to be returned by the 2nd day they were sent home. If for some reason you need to keep them longer, please send in a note to let me know.

The link to our website is currently unavailable.

The link to our "official" class website is still unavailable. As soon as the county opens the "parent portal" of the new Oncourse grading system, you will be able to access this. Since this system is new this year, there are several kinks they are working out. As soon as I hear anything about it being open, I will let you know!

Book Log Check Dates

Book Log Check DatesA response will be due for each book log check. Response assignments will be given approx. 2 weeks before the book log will be checked. Book log sheets are located in the back of the agenda and each entry must be completed in it's entirety in order to recieve credit. The August book log should include books that the child has read over the summer. Books must be appropriate for 5th grade.

August 28th- A response is NOT due with this log check due to school has only been in session for 1 week.
September 28th
October 28th
November 30th
December- No book log check until students return in January (January 4th)
January 28th
February 26th
March 29th
April 28th
May 27th


Every 125 pages counts as 1 book. The goal each month is for students to read three books or more.

Welcome!

Hi guys! The class website we will be using this year has a crazy address, so I thought it would be easier for you to come here and then be linked!

Click this link below and you will be taken to our class website that has been provided by Duval County. If we find that one hard to manage, we will begin posting on this site and delete the other.

https://dcps.oncoursesystems.com/user/homepage.aspx