Students are hard at work in room 203.

The fifth grade language arts class has been working on reading aloud with fluency and prosody. They have been reading Alex’s Lemonade Stand to the other classes at Stonybrook School. They are reading to these classes with fluency and prosody. In Writer’s Workshop the fifth graders are publishing their personal essays. They did a fantastic job writing these essays! The next genre of writing they will be working on is realistic fiction.

The third graders have begun to work on their realistic fiction stories. They have generated several story ideas. They have also begun to CREATE their main character. In Reader’s Workshop the third graders are studying realistic fiction. They have listened to lots of stories and talked about why they are realistic fiction and where they think the author got his/her idea for the story. They have also analyzed the main character. There is still more learning to be done with this story genre.

The fifth grade math class has completed their study of geometry. They have learned about all types of polygons. They have also learned how to use a compass and a protractor. Isosceles, scalene, quadrilateral, parallelogram, and tessellation are just some of the new math vocabulary words the fifth grades have been using. The next unit is long division. Do you remember, “Don’t make silly boo boos?”

Our Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation fundraiser is in its final weeks. The fifth grade math class is making graphs to display the amount of money that is being raised. Stop by and have a look at the bulletin board outside of our classroom.

The really big question in the classroom is: “When will have a snow day?” The students are starting to believe that there may not be any snow days this winter. Hmmm, any meteorologists out there?

Wishing you much joy,

Mrs. Lummer

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

My fifth grade language arts and math classes are helping to fight childhood cancer. One of Stonybrook’s past teachers now works for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. She came to visit my fifth grade math class. When she visited she read the book Alex’s Lemonade Stand to the students and talked to them about a simple way they can help. She told them that she would give them a plastic cup, one that you could put lemonade in, but instead of lemonade the students were told that they could put coins in the cup. They were told to imagine if every student in Stonybrook School brought a cup home, and for one week filled it with coins, how much money could be raised to fight childhood cancer. The fifth grade students were very excited and they wanted to get the whole school involved. Beginning this week  my fifth grade students will be visiting all the other classes in Stonybrook. They will be reading the book to the students in the other classes, and giving each student a cup. After one week they will go back and pick up the cups. The fifth grade math students will be counting the coins and graphing the collection. Our goal is to collect $1,000.00 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. They are very excited about this event. If you are interested in learning more about this foundation please go to www.alexslemonade.org. If you type Lummer into the search box it will lead you to our class page.

It’s Almost the End of the Second Marking Period

Happy New Year!

Friday, January 20, is the end of the second marking period. Report cards will be coming home on Friday, February 5.

  The third graders are completing their unit on writing Informational Books. While the fifth graders are finishing up writing Personal Essays. In reading, the third graders are concluding their study of nonfiction. They have learned the purpose of nonfiction is to provide information. They have also learned that we can identify what we learn and what we wonder when we read nonfiction. The fifth graders are studying how fluency and prosody affect our oral reading and our comprehension.  The fifth grade math class is about to conclude Unit 3 in their Everyday Mathematics book. In Unit 3 the students studied geometry. They have been working with protractors, compasses, and rulers.

Happy Holidays!

I would like to wish all of you a very joyful and peaceful holiday season! I sincerely thank you for the privilege of teaching your children.

Mrs. Lummer

Writer’s Workshop

It is a very exciting time in room 203! All of the students are working hard on writing. The third graders are working on writing Informational Books. While the fifth graders are working on writing Personal Essays. Both grades have concluded writing Personal Narratives.

In reading the third graders are studying nonfiction. They are learning the purpose of nonfiction is to provide information. They are also learning that we can identify what we learn and what we wonder when we read nonfiction. The fifth graders are studying narratives. They are learning that narratives all have the same elements of character, setting, problem and solution (plot) and ending.

The fifth grade math class has concluded Unit 2 in their Everyday Mathematics book. In Unit 2 the students studied multiplication of whole numbers and decimals. They also studied probability. This winter the class will use probability to make  predictions about the weather. Next, they will study geometry.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Mrs. Lummer

Writer’s Notebooks

This week in Language Arts for both grade 3 and grade 5, the students will begin to use Writer’s Notebooks. The students will be asked to bring in some photos that they would like to use in their Writer’s Notebooks. If you would like the photos back, please include a note and I will scan the photos and return the originals.

Grade 5 Math: We have begun to use Khan Academy in class. If you have not signed your child up yet, and would like to do so, would you kindly consider doing so today? Thank you.

Once again, if you have any questions please call or email me at:
973-838-6762 ext. 203 or lummert@kinnelon.org

Homework

Our first three weeks of school have been quite successful! Your child has been working hard to learn the routines of the classroom. I want to take this post to explain homework procedures with you.

Grade 3 Language Arts: Students should read for 15 minutes a night, Monday through Thursday, and log it in their reading log. Students may also choose to go on to Study Island or Tumblebooks for some extra reading and writing practice. The links to those websites are on this blog.

Grade 5 Language Arts: Students should read a minimum of 20 minutes per week night (not including Fridays) and log it in their homework log. They will also begin to have reading homework in their Reading Response Journals Wednesday, September 28. Students can also choose to go onto Study Island or Tumblebooks for extra reading and writing practice. The links to these websites are on this blog.

Grade 5 Math: Students will usually have a math worksheet to complete. When they do not they should go onto Study Island or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes. The links to these websites are on this blog.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call me or email me at:
973-838-1881 ext. 203 or lummert@kinnelon.org

Welcome!

I am excited to be working with your child this school year! This blog will serve as one way that we can communicate. I welcome your comments on the blog. Please remember to use your child’s code name.

For questions or concerns you can reach me at:
lummert@kinnelon.org or 973-838-1881 ext. 203

I am looking forward to a fantastic school year!

See You In September

Hi! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!
I am thinking that no one has had the time to visit this blog this summer. Therefore, I have decided to wait until September, after we are back in school, to post again. See you then!

Hi! I know that it is very hot this week, and many of you are spending time at lakes and pools, but please be sure to set some time aside for reading and writing. I have included, in this post, this week’s Wilson passage. This passage is about a dust storm that occurred this summer in Arizona. My cousin lives there. Fortunately, she was not affected. The writing prompt this week is to have your child write me a letter telling me about their summer. I promise to write back to anyone who writes to me.

Keep cool!

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