Hi Parents! Happy Fall! We've ben quite busy in 5th grade! Please read below to find out some of what we've been up to!
Literacy
Literacy
*We are preparing for our first unit assessments next week. We have been practicing the skill of summarizing and determining the theme of a story. We’ve read some great folktales from around the world that have taught us some great lessons. We have also been practicing using context clues to identify difficult or unknown words within a text.
On Monday, reading logs will be collected and the month long reading log project is due. Please check in with your child to be sure his/her slide presentation is complete. We will begin sharing them with each other on Monday. I’m hopeful that the kids will get some great ideas of books to read from one another!
Students were introduced to October’s book project today. It is called “Book in a Bag” and is posted in schoology. The assignment and due date for completion can be found on schoology in the literacy course.
Next week we will begin the implementation of our Words Their Way word study program. During most weeks, students will meet in small groups with Mr. Halstead and myself on Mondays for an introduction to the the week’s focus list. Most work in this area will be completed at school, however students will have 2-3 assignments with their word sort for the week using the Spelling City site on their I-Pads. I have a personal subscription to this site and I feel it gives the students valuable practice in focusing on word meanings and usage. Nest week I will review with students how to access their personal lists on the site. More details will be forthcoming next week.
Writing
*Students continue to work on narrative writing. After utilizing graphic organizers to plan, students developed their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Encouraging students to infuse dialogue into their writing was also an emphasis. We are working on elevating their writing by adding higher level transitional words and figurative language.
Math
* We have begun our second unit in math. In Unit 2 we are working on 5.nf.1., ( add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators). and
5.nf.2, ( Solve story problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions). We have been using money and time as models for their target practice.
Today in math we had the opportunity to apply some of the knowledge we’ve gained about fractions by creating a map in partners of a hiking trail. Students were given certain specifications on what needed to be included on their map in terms of fractions!
Social Studies
*Students were given a new paper copy of the October current events schedule last week. They can also find the schedule posted in schoology under the social studies course. Please be sure that your child is aware of his/her assigned date(s)!
* We plan on starting geography in the coming days. We will start with locating states and countries based on relative location.
Science
*This week in science our focus on ecosystems continued. In particular, we learned about the role that producers play in our environment. Today we participated in a very exciting investigation with owl pellets! After dissecting the pellets, we found the remains of they prey that the owl had regurgitated! This year’s owl pellets revealed some great bones! Be sure to ask you student about the details! Would you care to see an owl engaged in this fascinating process? Simply click the link below and enjoy! :)
Upcoming Events
Book fair Monday Oct. 2 to Wednesday Oct. 4th.
4-Ice Cream Social from 6-8
9 – NO SCHOOL – Columbus Day
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