We are officially on countdown to the summer. My 5th graders have all been accepted to their middle schools and, well, have already transitioned in their minds ;) So we have been doing some things in class that keep up the rigor, but allow them a bit of fun.
Hands-On Equations
Have you tried this program? Seriously, it is just fabulous. I went to the training for it a few years back (maybe 10???) and was given a kit to use in my room. I have used it every year since. This is a hands-on way to get kids familiar and comfortable with linear equations. The kids are so engaged when we are doing it. They work together, are focused, and learn! (as an added bonus, the lessons are already done for me, so I just have to "show up and teach" with it)
Here is a bit more information about the program itself. (there is actually a free webinar about it coming up on May 23!)
Root Word Eggs
My kids are so into this lesson this year! Here is where I wrote in great detail about how to set it up, but basically, the kids are forming words using the roots they have learned over the course of the year and they are LOVING it! Due to time issues, this has lasted an entire week...and they keep asking me when we are going to take out the baskets! Click over to the
original post so you can read about it, and pick up the freebie recording sheet to do it yourself.
Summer Poet-Trees
We JUST started these, but already, the kids are getting into it. They really do like learning about the different poetry styles (since we have done a few different poet-trees over the course of the year). These are extra special because the kids get to be "funny" (well, you know how funny goes in 5th grade ;) hee hee) The trees are also getting them into the summer mood....so things are pretty fun and jolly right now during writing time. You can get the Poet-Tree templates at my TpT store
here.
A Word of Advice
Last year, I decided to forgo the typical "letter to the incoming class" in favor of this little folded book. It was AWESOME! Not only did it take up half the time, but the students were really into the format. Folding paper makes everything awesome (as I have learned repeatedly this year!) It is available
here.
Time to Wave Goodbye
Last year, we created these beauties to say goodbye to one of the ladies who worked in the office. This year, we are writing them to say goodbye to our friends. I am having the kids write what they would like to say to their classmates during these last few weeks of elementary school. We are in the brainstorming phase now...I will let you know how they turn out! Click
here to see how to put these together.
Culmination Practice
How can we forget this?? We are going with the "Oh, the Places You'll Go" theme again this year. I really, really love this theme. It is just so accessible to the students and it matches the fact that the kids are just at the beginning of their lives. They have so many "places to go!" We are doing much of what I wrote about in
this post. What is changing though is that we are writing about the places we will go on these super cute little balloons. We will then post them around the backstops on the playground for the parents to read. If you go to the
original post, you can get a freebie copy of the script we are using.
So that is what is keeping us busy during these last few weeks of school. What are you doing?
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