Recently, we read The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg.  We used the pictures in the book to create our own stories.  Take a look and be sure to let the students know what you think!

Recently, we have been learning how to write persuasive essays.  We decided to put this to the test with our debate on whether or not Batavia City Schools should or shouldn't have students wear uniforms to school.  Read our opinions and let us know your thoughts!

Our class read information on the Presidential Race!  Read our latest blogs to find out who our class would vote for and why.

We're back for another exciting year filled with learning and discovery!  Since we just finished our first read aloud, Mick Harte Was Here, and so many students wanted to share experiences they have had with helmets, we have decided to write our fist blog based on our personal experiences with using bike helmets.

Read and enjoy.  Be sure to comment onthe writing!

Our students practiced writing commercials for one of our upcoming fund-raisers.  Check them out and be sure to leave a comments!  We look forward to hearing from you!

Every year millions of people make New Year's Resolutions.  Our class decided to make School Year Resolutions in order to better ourselves scholastically.  Check out what we wrote!

In class this week, we have been consuming and critiquing "organization" books.  Using the Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague as a model, we are creating our own organizational pieces.  Each student drew the Secret Shortcut as their graphic organizer, and then actually used these pictures to organize their own writing. Read their resulting masterpieces on their individual blogs. 

So there I was correcting my students' blogs when all of a sudden the temperature dropped, the sky opened up, and it started to hail.  When I say hail, I mean really hail.  For about five minutes, the hail came raining down.  The chilly temperature as well as looking at the hail got me thinking about snow.  I really love snow.  Actually, I can't wait for the snow to come.  Winter might be my favorite time of year.  What is your favorite time of year?  Is there a particular season that you enjoy the most?  Why?  What do you do that makes it your favorite?

We welcome another new year and another new Best 5th Grade in the World!  As this is our first blog of the year, I thought we should use the new laptops that our school has received.  With all the new technology we have at our disposal, what is your favorite technological tool that we have?  Why is it your favorite?  

We just finished our writing unit on determining the "BIG IDEA" in an author's text. Instead of using short passages or books, we decided to find the BIG IDEA in songs. We read the lyrics to the song, listened to it, determined the BIG IDEA, and finally thought about what emotion the author of the song was trying to evoke in us.

As the students reflected on the past week of work, they wrote a blog entry on their own blog. Read what the students thought of the unit, what they learned, as well as other information they decided to include. As always, be sure to comment on the blogs. The students and I look forward to hearing from you!