5th Grade Blog Update for 1-25-19

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Happy Weekend Families! 

It has been quite a frigid week with the low temperatures, but that hasn't stopped the students from working hard and giving in their best effort at school! At this point, we are more than halfway into Trimester 2, and the students have been focusing on developing their skills to grow in all academic areas. It is hard to believe that more than half of the school year is already over! With that being said, I'm so excited to see how much more the students will continue to grow in the latter half of the year! 

Continue to read all about the exciting happenings within our classroom!

Literacy

*Within literacy, we've recently finished reading our shared texts, Real Life Superheroes and The Great Migration. The students learned about significant historical figures who changed the world by embodying superhero traits such as selflessness, bravery, and compassion. In our previous unit, we read about injustices in history such as slavery and the challenging journey slaves possibly endured to achieve freedom. Within The Great Migration, the students read about the story of African Americans' relocation from the south to the north post Civil War/World War I era. They learned that this population shift redefined the climate and structure of the nation. Using our shared texts, we are continuing to practice informational targets such as summarizing, finding main ideas, and identifying differences in point of view. We've also really been focusing on vocabulary acquisition as a part of our shared reading routine. Today we played a game of quiz-quiz-trade and participated in an interactive game of Quilt on our I-pads in order to reinforce vocabulary introduced throughout the unit.

Writing 
*After conducting research, students are continuing to compose their informational essays about an individual who they believe resembles the attributes of a real-life superhero. Some examples of real-life superheroes students have chosen are Isaac Newton, Martin Luther King Jr., Florence Nightingale and Gandhi! The students are enjoying learning more about their real-life superheroes and are excited to learn about others by sharing  their finished essays with one another. Remember to ask your student all about their real-life superhero!

Math

*This week, we finished our unit on multi-digit multiplication, which required students to demonstrate mastery of multiplication using the standard algorithm. Your student will bring home his/her assessment on Monday. Please sign and look over this test to return on Tuesday. In a previous unit, we learned about adding and subtracting fractions, which helped build upon students' knowledge of fractions. Our next unit will focus on multiplication and division of fractions through solving equations and word problems. The students will be introduced to a variety of strategies such as the area model and geoboards to do so. Ultimately, the students will need to show proficiency in computation and conceptual knowledge through word problems of multiplying and dividing fractions. 

Social Studies

*We are continuing our Patriotism unit in social studies. Recently, we analyzed the Pledge of Allegiance to gain a better understanding of its meaning and representation of loyalty to our nation. This week, we've started exploring more about liberty. Living in America, there are many liberties that we may take for granted or overlook on a daily basis. By learning about certain countries with restricted liberties, the students will dig deeper into the significance of liberty in their own lives and country. 

Science 

*We have started our unit about the Earth, the Moon, and the Stars. This week, we learned about the sun and other stars such as Betelgeuse and Sirius. Students read about how the apparent brightness of stars depend on its proximity to the Earth. The sun may not be the biggest star, but its apparent brightness is much higher because it is the closest star to Earth. We even learned that one star is 773 light years away from the Earth. This means that the light left that start 773 years ago! 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, January 29 -- PTO Special Lunch/Early Release @ 2:00 pm
Friday, February 1 -- 4th/5th Grade Movie Night @ 6:30 pm
Friday, February 1 -- 5th Grade STEM Club Forms Due // More info on Ivy Hall Website

Tuesday, February 12  -- 5th Grade Band Concert (Twin Groves) @ 6:30 pm
Thursday, February 14 -- Valentine's Day Parties @ 1:45 pm
Monday, February 18 -- President's Day // No School
Tuesday, February 19 -- PTO Book Fair @ 6:00-8:00 pm
Tuesday, February 19 -- Ivy Hall Celebrates Diversity @ 6:30-8:00 pm
Friday, February 22 -- Half Day Dismissal @ 11:45 pm // End of Trimester 2
Tuesday, February 26 -- PTO Special Lunch
Friday, March 1 -- Teacher Institute Day // No School

Friendly Reminders 

**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain better than something healthy!

**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

** Please keep in mind that on MOST days students will be going outside for recess. Please make sure that your child brings appropriate outdoor clothing, including gloves, to school each day.

**Band and orchestra students should remember to be prepared with their instruments and music books on the days that lessons take place. Students are not able to call home once the school day begins.

Happy New Year Families!

We've hit the ground running into the new year! We enjoyed sharing our winter break adventures with each other, and now we are ready to resume the school year with renewed energy and enthusiasm!

Please read below to find out the specifics of what we've been working on!

Reading:

During shared reading we have been delving into a  nonfiction book entitled Real Life Superheroes.  Be sure to ask your student about some of the amazing individuals which are highlighted in this book! We are using this text as a springboard to work on literacy targets in the areas of finding main idea, summarizing and comparing and contrasting texts of similar topics. 

Writing: Along with reading about Real-life superheroes, we will also be writing about them! Students are selecting an individual in history who they feel has made an outstanding contribution to society--someone who they feel portrays the characteristics of a real-life superhero. After researching about this individual's life, students will be writing an essay which highlights the important biographical facts about them, as well as the reasons this person should be considered a hero. Upon completion, students will share their essays with each other so that we can all hear about the amazing accomplishments of these remarkable people!

Math:  This week we've been continuing the work we started prior to break with multi-digit multiplication. Upon completion of our unit, students should feel comfortable in utilizing the traditional method, as well as other algorithms such as partial products. Ideally, students will show proficiency in being able to solve two and three digit multiplication problems with accuracy. Those students who have already demonstrated mastery of such skills have been working on extending their skills with related challenges.

Social Studies:  Students have been "digging deeper" into the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. We've done a variety of activities to increase each student's understanding of what they are saying during our daily recitation of the Pledge. In coming weeks we will also be learning about patriotism and further explore the liberties we value in our country. During this learning, we will compare our liberties with certain countries that are not as fortunate to possess such rights and freedoms.

Science:   In science we are starting our unit on the Earth, Moon and Stars. Within this unit we will explore such concepts as gravity, how distance affects the brightness of stars, and how day and night occur.

** Please keep in mind that on MOST days students will be going outside for recess. Please make sure that your child brings appropriate outdoor clothing, including gloves, to school each day.

**Band and orchestra students should remember to be prepared with their instruments and music books on the days that lessons take place. Students are not able to call home once the school day begins.

Important upcoming dates to remember:

Wednesday, Jan. 16th--4/5th grade Orchestra concert at Twin Groves @ 7:00 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 21st--No school Martin Luther King Day
Tuesday, Jan. 29 PTO Special Lunch/Early release @ 2:00 p.m.