Talent Show Class Acts Friday, June 8

We are inviting parents to see our Class Talent Show acts this year but because of very limited space parents will only be able to stand at the very back of the cafeteria during the eight minutes of our act. You will be ushered in at the beginning of our act and then out as soon as it is over. It will be this Friday, June 8th, beginning at 1:15, I do not at this time know the order. Thanks!

Time for a Picnic!

ALL SCHOOL Picnic: You’re invited!  The Franklin/Randall Hmong and Latino Parent Empowerment Groups and the PTO Equity and Inclusion Group cordially invite you to our end of the year PEG (Parent Empowerment Groups) Picnic on Friday June 1st  from 5:30-7:00pm at the Brittingham Park Shelter. All Franklin/Randall families are invited to come dance the night away to Mr. Moffit’s band “The N’achos,” try out Hmong Jump Rope game, and enjoy a delicious meal with your friends and families!  Please bring a dish to pass (with serving utensil) and a blanket to sit on.  Paper goods/utensils and beverages will be provided.  We will celebrate our diverse community and accomplishments this year.  

Multiplication and Division of Decimals

The last couple of weeks we've been  working on multiplying decimals. Here is a video that was really well done, where  the teacher does a great job of explaining a brilliant way to model concretely how to multiply decimals. 

Here is the link to that video.  Watch it, it might blow your mind the way it does ours! 

Using area model to multiply decimals.

Here are some pictures of us practicing modeling the multiplication of decimals.

This week we learned how to divide decimals using a representation of base-ten blocks. Here is the anchor chart the students can use as a reference.

Movin' On

Volunteers Needed

5th Grade Tile Project: Volunteers Needed!  

5th grade students are designing and creating their tiles. Mx. Hemmerich will need some adult volunteers to attach tiles to the wall in late May/early June.   Times can be pretty flexible based on when you can help, whether that is during or after school.  Please contact Mx. Hemmerich with available times/days you are able to help!

shemmerich@madison.k12.wi.us

Thank you!

Summer Reading Program with the Badgers

Summer Reading Program with the Badgers

Dates to remember as the year winds down.

April 27the NO SCHOOL for staff development.

May 1 Reading MAP in the afternoon

May 10 Math MAP in the morning

May 10  5th graders to Hamilton for visit (Those attending Wright will stay at Randall)

May 21 Pioneer Museum projects due at school!

              Lunch with the Badgers!!

May 23  Pioneer Museum for Parents 1:30 PM. All parents, friends and families welcome!

May 31 Music Concert 1:30 PM

June 1 Devil's Lake Field Trip! Come one come all!!

Monday June 4 School Talent Show at West....attendance only if your child is performing.

Tuesday June 5 Super Bowl (Rain date of June 7)

Wednesday, June 6  5th Grade Movin' On Ceremony 1:45 PM. The plan is for us to be outside.

Friday, June 8  LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.   It's a full day this year.

Mile runners with inhalers

If your child has exercise-induced asthma AND they have an inhaler at school, please remind them to visit the health office BEFORE they go to gym this week and the next (since students will be practicing for and running the mile).  If your child does not have an inhaler at school, you should consider giving them their asthma medicine before they go to school.  Please call 204-3304 if you have any questions. Thanks!  -Nurse Lovell & Terri (nurse assistant)

Westward Expansion/Pioneer Museum

Our writing this unit is non-fiction writing around topics of Westward Expansion/Pioneers.  As we do the Pioneer Project students learn a TON of information about America and how it expanded westward. We will use this information, as well as use research to write a five paragraph piece on a single topic related to westward expansion.  Ask your child what their topic is.

This week students received their topic, and began reading books and online sources about the topic. Then we began taking notes on the topic using a card system that works really great for allowing kids to take notes and write sentences while avoiding copying/plagiarizing the sources they've read. Ask your child about the process, and how Sugar likes to use the word "aaaannnnnd".

As students are working on this at school they need to be thinking about how they will be presenting this information. We will have a Historical Museum on May 23, at 8:15 for the other fifth grade classes, and for parents at 1:30. Put the date in your calendars, students LOVE an audience!

HOW WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Students will need to complete some or most of their museum project at home. The research and writing will happen at school, but the presentation needs to be done at home. Students have already been introduced to how this will work, and also been given a list of ideas on how they could present their information.  Here are some ideas:

Technology: Prezi, slide show, video, stop animation, scratch, etc.
Poster: including pictures, text, titles, captions, maps, etc.
Diorama/3D model/hands on display: This is pretty open, and specific to topic
Other: Dress up to present, play an instrument or perform, serve food related to topic, etc.
The sky is the limit. Ask if you have questions or need help. The final products are due at school on Monday, May 21st.

Change in start times for middle schools.

Many parents had questions about the possible change times to late start for middle schools. Here is a link to the school districts information on the possible changes in start times.

Start Time Information

Pioneer Project Action

This week students began on the trail. First they wrote their first diary entry explaining who they were, and where they came from, as well as why they had decided to travel west to Oregon on the Hacker Trail. Here are some great examples:

Then they had to make a decision at Prairie Wells that would affect their entire wagon train.
Here's the situation, and some hard working pioneers.

Best Quote by wagon train member:  "We're not murderers, we're just trying to get water!" Luis B.

Converting Measurements

5 MD. 1
Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.

This week we have been working on converting measurements in math class. Students will be converting length, weight/mass, and liquid capacity.  

Challenge Projects

One way students can work to increase their movement on the Hacker Trail is by doing Challenge Projects. Challenge Projects are done only outside of school, and are about any Pioneer topic (not related to their in class topic). They can be arts, crafts, writing, cooking, etc.  Students complete them at home, then bring in the project to share with the classroom. The points earned will help them be more successful on the trail. Here is some more info....

The fun has begun! Pioneer Project

The PIONEER PROJECT has begun!  This is going to be a month long unit that simulates the westward expansion of the US via the wagon train experience. Last students found out about the project, saw their wagon train members, and chose their pioneer identities.  Ask your child who he/she is, how many children they have and more information they discovered about their character today.  This week will also include learning more about Manifest Destiny (the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable), travel by wagon, and pioneer life. 

This week they will apply this new knowledge by making supply lists, writing diary entries and making trail decisions. This project will include much writing, much luck and chance (just like on the trail), and other projects students will complete both at school and at home. The points they earn doing this work will allow their wagon train to move along the trail, hopefully arriving safely in Hacker's Valley in the end. Keep an eye out here on the blog for more information. 

Save the Dates

Attention Parents!

Two dates to put on your calendars!

Devil's Lake Field Trip is June 1st! It's all day, and we need lots of parents/chaperones willing to go with us. Parent/chaperones will need to drive themselves or carpool separately.


Movin' On Ceremony is June 6th at 1:45 PM.

Information from Nurse Lovell

​DONATIONS for PLAYGROUND: Do you or someone you know have gently used outdoor toys you would be willing to donate to Franklin or Randall playgrounds?  The Franklin-Randall Wellness Council is looking to gather the following for student 

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use on the playgrounds: sand toys (buckets & shovels), kid size snow shovels, sidewalk chalk & rubber kick balls.  Simply drop items in the cardboard box found inside the health office Franklin or Randall.  Thank you!

LICE: Dear Parents and Guardians,

This is a reminder to periodically check your student's head and hair for lice and nits.  It is especially important to check after breaks such as the beginning of the school year or after winter or spring break. These break times are when children are more likely to have had sleepovers or visit relatives.  Students then return to school, and are identified with lice. The school is not usually the cause of the infestation, but rather the location of identification. Listed below are some common questions:

·       How do I check my child for nits and lice? See recommendations from the CDC website for diagnosing head lice.

·       What do I do if I find nits and lice? If you find lice or nits (the small eggs which lice lay on hair) on your child, please let the Health Office staff know. That way, the staff can check other close contacts of your child at school (such as children who sit close to your child, play often with your child, or with whom they share a locker).  This gives us a better chance to prevent more spreading.  We do not share your child's name with other children or families. 

·       How do I treat head lice? Call you school health office, call your healthcare provider or go to the CDC website and see treatment for head lice.

·       How do we prevent the spread of head lice? Although nothing can ensure that your child will not be exposed to head lice, there are a few things that can reduce your child’s chances of getting head lice. Your child should:

o   Avoid head-to-head (hair to hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, or camp)

o   Not share items such as hats, scarves, coats, hair ribbons, combs, brushes or towels.

·       Who can I go to in the school for advice about head lice?  School nurses are experts at identifying and treating head lice and we welcome any questions.

Just a reminder that we no longer routinely send home letters if a student in your child’s classroom has lice.  This is consistent with national recommendations.  Sending home letters has been found to not help find more cases of lice, and it can violate a student’s privacy and contribute to bullying.

Please know that we track cases of lice at school and if there is a trend in a certain classroom, we will then send home letters.  The good news is that lice is not a bigger problem than usual at Franklin or Randall.  The best advice, though, is to periodically check your child, and if you see them itching more than usual or if you have any concerns, let us know & we're happy to check them.

Nurse Lovell​ (clovell@madison.k12.wi.us)

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Science Change in Liquid

In Science we chose one variable to change in our previous experiment. That experiment used differing amounts of water to see how it would impact the growth of barley, corn, peas and radishes. We found that some plants grew better or worse in the different environments, some liked more water, while others liked less. 

This time we changed the experiment to include different liquids. In order to have a controlled experiment we kept ALL procedures the same, except we changed just the one variable, liquid. Here are our outcomes: 

Group 1: We did Kool-aid and it made peas grow very well in moist and wet soil. But very wet soil didn't make any plants grow. Radishes grew a bit in moist and wet. Barley nor corn grew in any environment. 

Group 2: Vinegar did not grow any thing at all except mold. The smell was not pleasant.  We think the plants didn't grow because the vinegar is acidic. 

Group 3: We used Mountain Dew. The only environment that plants grew in was moist soil. Three of the peas grew, the tallest being 9 cm. There was one radish, that grew up to 3 cm, and died in moist. The peas roots were REALLY long, one was 23 cm. See photo 2 below. 

Group 4: We were using lemonade instead of water for growing our plants. Some of the plants like barley and radishes did terribly, or didn't grow at all in any environment.  However, the peas grew like crazy, getting an insane number of leaves (19), and in one case two pea plants were actually connected by their roots. (Photo 1 below) It seemed like the less lemonade the better the plants did. Moist had the best growth, but nothing grew in very wet. 

Group 5: Our liquid was coffee and it helped in wet and moist soil. But barley didn't grow in any environments. The radish was popping up really high. Coffee was the only liquid that corn grew in. Peas grew a lot of leaves. 

Hamilton Orientation Information

https://hamilton.madison.k12.wi.us/fifth-grade-orientation

Math Art

Look how fun math class can be!

Math

In Math  place value and an introduction of numbers that are parts and pieces like fractions, but how we write them as decimals and percents.  Here are some shots of our work this week. Next week we will continue work with decimals and even move into adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals over the next month.

We also played a new version of Beat the Teacher. As your child how to play and 

maybe even try it at home!

Playground equipment

Do you or someone you know have gently used outdoor toys you would be willing to donate to the Franklin & Randall playgrounds? The Franklin/Randall Health & Wellness Committee is looking to gather the following for student use on the playground: sand toys (buckets & shovels), kid size snow shovels, sidewalk chalk, rubber kickballs, athletic cones. Simply drop items in the cardboard box found inside the Health Office at Franklin or Randall. Thank you!

-Nurse Lovell

Hamilton Math Meeting

Dear Parent / Guardian,

You are invited to attend a Math Information Meeting at Velma Hamilton Middle School on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the LMC.

The outcomes for the evening include:

• Build familiarity with how our math classrooms operate with inquiry-based learning
• Learn about the Common Core Standards for Mathematics and our Instructional Resource
• Understand the math sequences at the Middle and High School

We hope you can attend.

If you have questions, please contact Ann Haase @ 608.204.4644

Thank you.

Social Studies Chapter 13-14

In Chapter 12 we learned about the Declaration of Independence and some of the important people and influences in the formation of the Declaration. We learned about Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson's roles. We also studied the beginning of the Declaration of Independence and paraphrased it into language more common for an American 5th grader.

In Chapter 13 we did a Tug-o-War simulation of the American Revolution. We were broken into teams, representing the Colonists, the British and France. We watched as the tides turned from favoring the British to favoring the Colonists. The biggest factors in helping the colonists win were being close to home, having more to gain from winning and having allies (the French) to support them.

We all fought hard, but in the end, the colonists gained their independence! 

This week we will be working on Chapter 14 The Constitution. We begin our work by forming opinions and debating in four different categories:

Pool vs. Beach

Cats vs. Dogs

Cake vs. Pie

Soccer vs. Football

After debating our sides of the argument, they need to come up with a statement that the two sides of the argument can agree on. This activity is meant to represent the compromises that needed to be made in the writing of the Constitution, so that all sides would be happy. In the rest of the chapter we will learn about the different branches of government and the powers those branches hold. 

Reading

The last couple of weeks we have been back to guided reading groups in class. We've made some new groups with different teachers leading, so ask your child who his/her reading teacher is right now. If your child is a Moodle student ask them which books they have been writing about as they prepare for the upcoming Book Bowl on March 15th. 

During reading we also have shared reading experiences. We have been working on the CCSS 5.4 and 5.5. 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

We also wrote a poem that mimicked one we read called, An Ocean of Memories. After reading it and discussing it's figurative language, each student wrote a similar poem, using similar figurative language to tell what their family is like. Here are some great examples. 

Science

We have been working on Environments in Science class. After all of our waiting, and data collection we pulled up our plants to see how they reacted to the water amounts. We learned a lot about the kinds of seeds that grew in all/most environments (corn), and those that hardly grew in any environment (radish). Here are some shots of student work.

Next we will change a variable in the experiment in hopes to change the outcome. What do you think a good variable change could be? Ask your child what they think.

Advanced Learning

The Advanced Learning (AL) department is hosting the next Advanced Learning
Advisory Committee meeting at East High school on March 7.  
All are welcome -- they would love your input!  Dinner and child care provided.  
Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Decimals

We have started our unit on decimals. This week we began with reading and writing decimals, and representing them using base ten blocks.  Next week we will work on rounding, before we move on to adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. So much fun!  Here are some games students could use to practice.

Decimal Place Value Scooter Game

Decimal Place Value Football Game

Decimal Place Value Pirates Game

Rounding Decimals Scooter Game

Rounding Decimals Shark Game

Ordering Decimals Balloon Pop

From Nurse Lovell

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Please consider completing this 5 question survey about snacks in school: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkGvJKdwaK-Lf-x1R-Ae40kmUcZl6pE2hGxIITpxfzdOh2fQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you would like Nurse Lovell to send home a paper version of the survey, just let her know.

The Franklin-Randall Wellness Council would like to find out how staff and families feel about different snack recommendations and how the snacks are collected. We would like to see what works best for staff and families. The goal is to develop guidelines/suggestions for our schools on how snacks could be handled in a way that promotes nutrition, food allergy awareness, cultural sensitivity, and is realistic / easy for families and staff.  

Book Bowl

Book Bowl is on Thursday, March 15 at 8:30 AM. 

Science- Environments

We started our unit of study on Environments last week. We have begun with a study on Water Tolerance. We are testing four different kinds of seeds, corn, barley, peas and radishes, to see how they tolerate differing amounts of water. We used dry soil, moist soil, wet soil, very wet soil, and swampy soil. They grew so much in the first five days. Ask your child about how their groups seeds grew. Which seeds were the most tolerant? Which seeds were pickier about the amount of water they liked or could handle. Here are some great pics of our outcomes so far.