Posting to our blog

Hello everyone.  I have received some e-mails about comments not showing up on the post after being submitted.  This blog is moderated by Mrs. Lohmer, so if you leave an "anonymous" post with a link to a website that has nothing to do with our class, it will not be posted.  Posts that are inappropriate or posted by someone who is not in our class, in our school, or a parent of a student will not be posted.  Also, inappropriate posts will not be posted.  Other than that, I would love to post your comments.  Please make sure to put your first name on your post and please remember to hit the "PUBLISH" button when you are finished.  If you hit "preview" only, it will not be submitted to me for moderation and will not be posted.

Mrs. Lohmer had her baby

On November 12, 2012 Mrs. Lohmer had her baby.  Mr. Magnuson is substituting in our classroom while Mrs. Lohmer stays home to take care of the baby.  Mrs. Lohmer will be back right after our December vacation week, on January 2.

Adjustment Class Rocks

Today we are beginning our chapter on Rocks and Minerals, as part of our unit on Earth Science.  Pictures will follow.

School House Rock

This morning we went to the cafeteria with the other middle school classrooms to see the preview of School House Rock Live!.  School House Rock live will be live at our school this month.  Visit their blog at http://pyneartsshrljr.blogspot.com for more information.

A Visit to the Lowell Cemetery

On Friday, our class and the other fifth grade classes took a tour of the Lowell Cemetery.  We learned all about the monuments in the gardens over at the cemetery.  Mr. Richard Howe, the Register of Deeds for the City of Lowell, took time out of his busy schedule to teach all about the personal stories behind the monuments in the gardens and about the materials used to create the monuments.  We all appreciate the time that Mr. Howe took to get the tour ready for us and his willingness to work with us as we took our first walking field trip of the year.  All of the fifth graders that attended were very respectful and we appreciate that they could join us.  If you would like more information about what we saw, you can visit the Lowell Cemetery website at http://www.lowellcemetery.com/

Surviving Hurricane Sandy and getting back to work

Hello everyone,
Well, there was no school Monday and Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy.  Today we began working on our division unit in Investigations Math.  This week students will be taking the math benchmarks tests.  In science, we are finishing up our unit on the solar system.  Next week we will begin learning about rocks and minerals.  In social studies, we are still working on Latin America, with a current focus on Mexico.

What is happening in our class this week?

This week in social studies we will continue learning about Latin America.  Last week we talked about the Mayans and the Aztecs, and we worked on creating a scale model of a Mayan temple.  In science, we are continuing our unit on the solar system.  The chapter two test is coming up, so make sure you know the vocabulary for chapter 2 and all about the inner and outer planets.  In math, we are continuing to work on the unit about multiplication.  Now we are working on multiplying double digit by double digit numbers.  Soon we will be moving on to division.
On Friday, our class will be going with the other fifth grade classes to the Lowell Cemetery for a tour.  In writer's workshop, we have been writing personal narratives.  During our tour, we will hear the personal stories behind the monuments in the many gardens at the Lowell Cemetery.

The Book Fair

Our school is having a book fair next week.  Students will be bringing home a flyer with just some of the books available.  You can also purchase books at scholastic.com/fair.  All orders ship to our school for free and our school receives a portion of the profits to buy books for our school.  Please take a look at our classroom wish list.

In Science class this week we learned that stars are flaming balls of gas.  We also learned that astronomers make pictures by connecting the stars in the sky and they call them constellations.  We made our own constellations by splatter painting.  We splattered paint of different colors on dark sheets of construction paper to create a star field and then connected the dots (stars) to create a constellation.  Did you know that stars can be different colors depending on their temperature?

In Science class today, we made models of lunar and solar eclipses using the information and diagrams given in our textbooks.  Some students showed the eclipses from the point of view from Earth and others showed the eclipses from other points of view.

This week in class

This Friday will make one month that our class has been together.  Time is going by so fast.  Progress reports for quarter one will go home next Thursday, October 4.

In math this week, we are working on prime factorization and strategies for multiplication.  On Thursday and Friday, we will work on creating story problems to represent our multiplication combinations.

In writer's workshop, we will work on creating a booklet with the drafts of our personal narratives.

In social studies, we are studying the regions and climates on the map and the cultures of the people that live there.

In Science, we are learning about the moon's effects on the Earth and Sun.  We will study eclipses, tides, and how they are observed from Earth.

Today we used Oreo cookies to make a model of the phases of the moon.  What phase of the moon do you see in the sky tonight (if it is not dark yet, you can look at the gadget on our blog)?

When leaving a post...

When leaving a post on our page, please include your first name so that I know who you are.  I will delete posts made by people that are not members of our class, our school, or are not parents or guardians.

What is happening in our class today...

Last week, as part of our unit on Earth Science, students completed their paper mache planets which are now on display in the classroom.  As we continue our section on Astronomy, we will add other objects from the solar system.  Did you know that our solar system only has 8 planets?  Want to know why, ask one of our student experts.

This week we will be studying the moon and it's cycles.  Mrs. Lohmer has a special surprise for science class on Friday that will help everyone remember the cycle of the moon phases.

In social studies, we are continuing to work on our map skills.  We are learning the five themes of geography and all about the different types of maps.

In writer's workshop, we are writing personal narratives (stories about ourselves).  Who better to write about a subject than the person who experiences it every day?

In Language, we are reviewing parts of speech and learning all about the graphic organizers that we will use throughout the Language program.

In mathematics, we are continuing to do number puzzles, learn about arrays, and prime factorization.  If you would like more information about our math curriculum, there is a link on the blog.

How to add your comments...

Hey guys, students have commented in class that they do not know how to comment on our blog.  Below each post (like this one) there is a blue link that says "comments" or "no comments".  Just click on that link and it will bring you to a blank form that you can type your comment into.  All comments will be e-mailed to Mrs. Lohmer for approval before it will be added to the blog, so your comments may not appear until Mrs. Lohmer has had a chance to check in online.

Welcome 5th graders, parents, and guardians to the new Adjustment Classroom blog.  This page will keep you all informed of activities happening in the classroom, events coming up at school, and anything else of note.  Feel free to leave your comments and questions on this page.  All content will be moderated by Mrs. Lohmer before appearing on this page.