St. Wendel Catholic School

 Continued Learning!!

 TEACHER BIOGRAPHY   

 Ann Whelan

Degrees/Endorsements

1966-1968    University of Kentucky
1968-1970 University of Cincinnati – BS in Education
1977-1979 Indiana University – MS in Education
I am licensed to teach K-6 General Education; K-9 Math, and 7-12 Physical Education and Health.

Biography

I am starting my 29th year of teaching at St. Wendel School.  Prior to that, I taught Physical Education for four years at Westlake Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The year before that I taught a self-contained sixth grade class at New Haven Elementary in Florence, Kentucky.

Fun Fact:

I like to use humor in my teaching.  Speaking of humor, since I am originally from Kentucky, my students and former students think it is their duty to tell me every Kentucky joke that is acceptable and permissible.

Reading/Literature/Writing

The students will be able to:

• read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases
• read and demonstrate comprehension in a variety of literary forms
• read for a variety of purposes including fiction and non-fiction
• write for a variety of purposes
• produce written works using the six trait writing process
• record, research, and report information
• use oral language to express ideas clearly
• use study skills effectively

Mathematics

The students will be able to:

• understand place value of whole numbers and decimals
• build a strong sense of the numeration system
• add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, fractions,  mixed numbers and decimals
• round and estimate whole numbers, decimals, and fractions
• order and compare whole numbers, decimals, and fractions
• read, write, and draw fractions for parts of regions and sets
• identify and find equivalent fractions
• find factors of a number, and find prime numbers and composite numbers
• find multiples of a number and identify the LCM
• change fractions to decimals and percents
• identify and classify plane figures as polygons
• classify triangles by their sides and angles
• classify quadrilaterals and find the missing angle measure
• find the perimeter and area of specific polygons
• identify parts of a circle
• find the circumference and area of a circle
• represent and solve problems using geometric models and technology
• explore tessellation, symmetry, similarity, congruence, scale, transformation
• add, subtract, and convert units of measure within the metric and customary system
• solve problems involving probability

Social Studies

• identify and compare Indian groups of the Western Hemisphere
• trace routes of and explain the importance of early explorations of the Americas
• describe European exploration in North America and early colonial life
• explain cause and effect of the French and Indian War
• analyze the causes of the American Revolution
• explain the consequences of the Revolution and the achievement of independence
• identify historical figures who helped shape America
• describe the diversity of cultural backgrounds in America
• explain why the Constitution was created and identify those involved
• describe the three branches of government, their functions and relationships
• interpret historical maps in different historical periods using map elements
• recognize the five regions of the United States-their climates, resources, industry and land forms
• locate cities using latitude and longitude
• develop and interpret timelines showing major people, events, and developments in the early history of the United Stataes
• describe various kinds of elections, such as primary elections, local, state, and national elections

Religion

• identify the concepts necessary for understanding sacraments in the Church
• recognize that through Baptism and Confirmation, we are welcomed into the Church and strengthened in our faith
• understand that in the Eucharist, we celebrate what we as a community believe
• reflect how Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick are sacraments of healing  which are meant to be celebrated primarily in community
• present Matrimony in the context of the family as "domestic church" and Holy Orders as a sacrement of leadership and ministry
• experience prayer in many forms - blessing, adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise

Bowling at Franklin Lanes

Valentine Party

5TH GRADE CLASSROOM NEWS

Hatchet

        Gary Paulsen's Newberry Honor book Hatchet is being enjoyed by the class.  This story is about a young boy whose plane goes down in the Canadian wilderness after the pilot dies of a heart attack.  Brian Roberson, a city boy, must learn to survive.

          When the class has finished the novel, they will be given a Tic-Tac-Toe menu.  In groups of five, the students will choose three activities from the list to complete.  They might like to try their hand at creating a new cover and add information on the flaps about the book.  They could pretend to be a famous critic giving his/her opinion of the book on a television news show. They could choose to write diary entries that Brian might have written if he had kept a diary. Some students might even like an adventure in aeronautics by making and flying a simple glider.They could make a collage, write a poem, design a comic book along with several other options.

Outlining

        The class has been working on outlining this year to meet North Central Accreditation requirements.  To begin this graphic organizer, the students were given a handout called "How to Do an Outline".  This included a sample outline format and the guidelines to complete an outline.

         The students were then shown a model outline from a health lesson on the Circulatory System.  Later, a lesson from a social studies class was modeled.   The class was then asked to write their own outline from another social studies lesson.  I corrected these outlines and conferred with the students on ways to improve.  They then outlined yet another social studies lesson and showed remarkable improvement.

           During the third grading period, the students will receive additional practice in the Language Arts textbook which has a study skills lesson called "Use an Outline".

            Finally in March, the class will be required to make an outline for the purpose of writing a research paper.  The research paper will be on a significant individual during the American Revolution. The outline will need to be detailed to help organize and arrange their information in a logical order for this research assignment.

Math Fun

              The fifth grade class just completed a unit on probability in math class.  They began this lesson by identifying events and favorable outcomes.  They determined if an outcome was equally likely, impossible, less likely, more likely or certain. The students used fractions to represent the probabilities of events and they used probability to decide if a game was fair or unfair.  Throughout the unit, the class tossed coins, rolled dice, and took turns spinning a spinner.  They had fun making predictions, recording actual results, pooling their results to produce larger samples, and discussing their findings. They all decided that this unit was much more fun than the previous one on long division by two digits.

Backpack Awareness Day