Suey, Suey, Welcome All Pig Lovers

to Mrs. Walker's 5^th Grade Class

"I Love Chocolate!" (Art by Chloe, Greeting by Andrew)

Welcome to our room!

(9/99) I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and your children. It is very important that we maintain a close home-school communication. If a problem arises, please feel free to call, stop by the classroom before or after school, or send me an e-mail at cwalker@gusd.net. Urgent matters are best handled in person, or via a telephone call.

My goal is to have a classroom atmosphere where all children can work and learn. In order to reach that goal, certain rules must be followed. These rules are always posted, and we go over each rule on the first day. There is also a posted set of consequences if a child chooses to not follow a rule.

Here are some interesting things I think you'll enjoy:
apple Staff Spotlight on Mrs. Walker
Pig Pen Press, Our Class Newsletter
Advice from last year's class 1998-99
apple 5th grade page
5th grade expectations
Internet sites that support 5th grade curriculum
apple Card Chart System
Grading and Homework Policies
Book Reports (includes printable forms)
apple BOOK IT!® National Reading Incentive Program (includes verification form)
Monthly Mini Reports
Field Trips (includes links to home pages of the places we'll be visiting)

Mrs. Carla Walker, Teacher

Staff Spotlight

Mrs. Carla Walker has been teaching at Monte Vista since September, 1992. This year she is also Assistant to the Principal and the staff advisor for our web site! Mrs. Walker recently started teaching 5th grade, which she enjoys because she enjoys the challenging curriculum and finds this grade level very rewarding.

Mrs. Walker is no stranger to Glendale, having graduated from Balboa Elementary, Toll Junior High and Hoover High Schools. At Toll, English Teacher Joyce Brace taught Mrs. Walker the importance of writing. Mrs. Walker's students today receive many fun creative writing assignments. Her interest in writing carried through to college, where she received her B.A. in English from UC Riverside. She got her her M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of LaVerne, which she is putting to good use here as our Assistant Principal during the 1999-2000 school year. Education is a family thing for the Walkers -- husband Bill also teaches fourth grade in the Glendale Unified School District at Keppel Elementary. They met while teaching together at John Muir Elementary in Glendale. When Mr. Walker is off track he occasionally substitutes for Mrs. Walker, but his most memorable visit to her classroom was his April Fool's Day marriage proposal to the former Miss Jurukov in front of her entire class. The proposal was a serious one and they were married in February, 1995.

As a PQR (Program Quality Review) consultant, Mrs. Walker works with other school districts to make sure schools are in compliance with the state standards and she makes suggestions for improvement within the schools in various curricular areas. She also works for our school district to train teachers in Thinking Maps and Write From the Beginning, programs which are based on brain research. The activities allow students to organize their thoughts in order to become more proficient writers.

Mrs. Walker was recognized as Monte Vista Teacher of the Year in 1997-98 and received the Masonic Recognition Award in 1999 for her outstanding achievement and meritorious service to public education.

A memorable moment for Mrs. Walker is the time she traveled to Washington, D.C. as a fifth grader when her class won an award for amateur film makers. She and her class were honored at the White House by then President Jimmy Carter for their film Daydreaming.

When Mrs. Walker isn't out hunting down the bargains at outlet centers, you might find her pursuing her creative side with decorative tole painting projects or relaxing with good books by Danielle Steel or Roald Dahl, or enjoying her cat Bonnie and her Cairn terriers, Annie and Scruff. All her students know that her favorite animal is a pig, so it only makes sense that she recommends Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, and the movie Babe. After a long day, Mrs. Walker enjoys a quiet dinner (dessert is chocolate, of course), with background music by Bryan Adams or Neil Diamond, and later any movie with Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson.

Mrs. Walker's Homework Tip: Always complete your homework assignments early in the afternoon so that you can enjoy the rest of the day. Make a schedule and stick to it!

Book Reports

(9/99) This year you will have the opportunity to read a variety of books and have different ways to report and share them with our class. The books you choose may be from the classroom, school, library, home, or borrowed from friends. They should be books that you have not read before, and they should be at your reading level -- not too easy or too hard. All books should be about 100 pages or longer. If you aren't sure about a book, please ask questions before you start reading it. Turn in reports any day up to the 15th of the month they are due. (September reports are due by the 25th and June reports are due the second week of the month).

Book report forms or project directions will be passed out one month in advance of the due date. Some of them are available here on the web page. (We couldn't post the others because of copyright restrictions.) Please complete all projects/reports carefully and neatly according to the directions. Remember to proofread your work!

ONLY NEATLY WRITTEN WORK WRITTEN WITH PEN USING CURSIVE OR WRITTEN ON A COMPUTER WILL BE ACCEPTED !!

NO PRINTING PLEASE!!

Oral book reports will be scheduled on the sign up sheet one month ahead of time. You need to be prepared on your assigned day. Late book reports are not acceptable. Please plan your reports carefully each month. Extra Credit book reports may be done any time. Please label them E.C. at the top. You may do as many as you wish as long as they are neat and you follow directions.

Good luck and have fun!

Book Report Schedule and Forms (1999-2000)

September: Free choice. Select one element -- theme, setting, characterization -- to represent. Create a collage. Use collage directions.
October: Mystery. Use Curious Clues haunted house form with questions on the back of the paper.
November: Poetry. Poetry Mobile Project. Use directions for mobile.
December: Free choice. Peephole Box Project. Choose a favorite scene and create a three-dimensional effect inside a shoe box. Write a summary (50-100 words) on a large index card which will be provided. Include your name, book title (underlined), author, and number of pages.
January: Biography. Complete biography form.
February: Realistic Fiction. Suitcase Display Project. Use directions for suitcase. Realistic fiction is made up of stories that take place in modern times. The events in the book could actually happen.
March: Non-Fiction. Complete non-fiction form. For extra credit you may choose to make a poster or chart describing/showing what you have learned or you may conduct an experiment in front of the class.
April: Science Fiction/Fantasy. Pop-Up Book Project. Use directions for creating a pop-up book. Look at sample for clarification and suggestions.
May: Fiction. Book Jacket Project. Use directions for making a book jacket which resembles a CD inside of a CD cover. The front should be creatively illustrated.
June: Free choice. Oral Presentation. Use directions for oral book report. You may dress up like a character, pretend to be a news reporter, pretend you are a book which can talk, or create a mural to explain your book. Sign up on the schedule. Plan ahead and practice. Nothing written required this month!

Monthly Mini Reports

Research is an important part of the curriculum. Students need to know how to access information from a variety of sources and synthesize the material into their own words. Each month students are assigned a mini research report on one of a variety of subjects. Most reports are 2-3 pages in length and require a bibliography. The exception is the State Report, which has very specific guidelines; students will have approximately 3 months to work on that report.

Mini Report Schedule (1999-2000)

September	Geographical Feature
October	Energy
November	Native Americans
December	Explorers and the Spice Trade
January	Michelangelo
February	President
March	Composer
April	Mathematician
May	State Report
June	Famous Artist