Happy Friday Families! 

Since coming back from winter break we have hit the ground running! Students have been working hard to complete class work, asynchronous work, and district assessments! We have also been learning about the many accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. We did a fun escape room after reading information about him and watching an awesome rap video about his life! We ended our day today on a fun note by doing a directed drawing of Dr. King! We have some talented artists for sure! We will continue our learning about Dr. King into next week.

Reading:

In reading, we spent the week after winter break looking at several nonfiction articles to compare and contrast the author’s points of view on various topics. Students particularly enjoyed reading about driverless cars! This week was spent assessing students’ skills at the conclusion of our 3rd unit of literacy instruction. Students completed two CFAs (common formative assessments) and one PBA (performance based assessment). Our CFAs included a fiction assessment testing their quoting and summarizing skills. The other was a nonfiction assessment to test the point of view target reviewed last week. For the PBA students were asked to combine information from three different articles to write an analytic piece of writing. With these assessments finished we look forward to our next unit where we will start by reading a fiction story called “Beyond the Horizon”. This is a text that your student should have received in the most recent material pick-up. If you do not have the text, please be sure to contact the Ivy Hall main office to pick up your copy. There is a PDF version available in Schoology as well, but having the hard copy of the book is always best!

Writing: We are just wrapping up our writing project about natural disasters. Students reported on the formation of their natural disaster, warning signs, and ways to prepare for when they happen. Next week will begin some writing skill practice to continue to enhance students’ skills.

Math:  Since break we have been working on multi-digit multiplication. While there are many ways to solve these types of problems (area models, ratio tables, etc), in 5th grade students need to be able to properly execute the standard algorithm for multiplication. This was introduced to students last week and continues to be reinforced.

Social Studies:  In social studies we have been learning about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion. We have also discussed the California Gold Rush. Next week students will be asked to answer and defend the argument of whether or not they would have traveled West.

Science:   In the coming weeks we will continue our unit on the Earth Moon and Stars. In the next section of this unit students will be discovering how stars appear to move in the night sky.

Important Dates

Monday, Jan. 18th - No School (MLK Jr. Day) 

Tuesday January 19th - No School (Staff Planning Day)

Monday Jan 25 - First day of Hybrid Instruction (A-L In Person Students Attend)

Thursday Jan 28 - First day for M-Z in person learners (grades 3-5)

Tuesday, Jan. 26 - Early release @ 2:00 p.m.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy your long weekend!