5th Grade Blog 2-8-19

Happy Friday Families,

With the chilly temperatures and the rain and ice, it seems as if Spring can't come soon enough. Trimester 2 is quickly wrapping up, and Trimester 3 is quickly on its way.  

Today Ivy Hall celebrated National Read Aloud Day by having guest readers from our staff in each classroom! We were lucky enough to have Mrs. Fooden, Ivy Hall's reading specialist, as our guest speaker! We loved it!

Here is what we’ve been working on in each of our content areas:

Literacy

**This week we read a story called Angel Island, which discusses the journey and challenges of Chinese immigrants as they entered the United States. To dig deeper into the topic of Angel Island, students also read about  Li Keng Wong, who recounted a personal story as a Chinese immigrant. By exposing students to first and second hand resources, we are continuing to explore more about perspective and point of view. As students read about Angel Island, many of them made connections to Ellis Island, which they learned about extensively in 4th grade. 

In keeping with our topic of liberty in social studies, we also read several nonfiction articles throughout which discussed areas if of world, such as Syria, where freedoms are limited and refugees are clamoring to leave their country.

Writing

*Now that everyone has completed their Real-life superhero essays, students will be sharing the visual element to their presentations in small groups next week. They have worked hard to augment their writing with visuals that capture the essence of the superhero they wrote about. Students will be able to have the opportunity to give each other feedback through our schoology discussion board.

Math

*Within Unit 5, we are continuing to work on multiplying fractions. This week, we've practiced multiplying fractions by fractions. The students are working on creating diagrams using the area model and geoboards to represent dimensions and the area of rectangles. As we head into the next week, students will be practicing their skills with fraction multiplication story problems. 

Social Studies

*We are beginning to learn about patriotism. Previously, we've learn about liberty and the Pledge of Allegiance. Connecting those two topics, students will explore the meaning and importance of patriotism. They will also discuss how people in the United States can show patriotism to their nation. 

Science

*We have started our unit about the Earth, the Moon, and the Stars. This week, we learned about the sun and other stars. Students read about how the brightness of star depends on their proximity to the Earth. We even learned that one star (Rigel) is 773 light years away from the Earth. This means that the light left that star 773 years ago! 

Upcoming Events

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