Dear Parents,
Hello! My name is Bobbie Dinkel. I will be teaching English Language Arts, reading, math, and writing. This is my 28th year with USD 489. I began my career at Jefferson Elementary and have been at Roosevelt since 1998. I have spent at least one year at each grade level K-5. I love teaching fifth grade because the students and the curriculum at this level are so much fun!
ELA will be one of our trade classes, so all fifth graders will have this class. We will be working on standards to supplement the reading and writing workshop curriculum. This will include working on Greek and Latin roots, vocabulary, figurative language, grammar, and spelling. The Sitton spelling program focuses on developing word and proofreading skills to enable students to improve their spelling in their writing. The program works with the 675 most frequently used words in students’ writing. It does not focus on memorization of a new list each week. Students will have a list of words to study, but these will be individualized and will be developed using words missed in our weekly cloze tests. These tests have 5 new words each week, with the remaining words being recycled from previous weeks and grade levels. Students will need to study their “Words to Learn” list each week. They will also have a spelling word work activity due each week.
We are using the Go Math series again this year. A concern I have heard from parents in the past is that the strategies taught are sometimes different from the ones they learned. I will only send math homework when the skills are something students should be able to do independently. However, if your son/daughter is having difficulty, please encourage them to visit with any of the fifth-grade teachers for extra help.
This is the third year that our district will be using the workshop model for instruction in both reading and writing. This model begins each day with a brief mini-lesson and focuses on giving students time to practice reading and writing at their independent level every day. Individualized instruction is given to each student through one-on-one conferencing and small-group work.
I am looking forward to working with your son/daughter. I know this will be a great year! If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please feel free to contact me at Roosevelt, (785) 623-2520. The easiest way to contact me is probably via a private message using SeeSaw or by e-mail at bdinkel@usd489.com.
Sincerely,
Bobbie Dinkel
