Happy Thursday, Families!

It’s hard to believe that we are headed into our final month of school!  Over the course of the last couple of months, our students have made it through the bulk of their placement testing. They’ve demonstrated great perseverance and the end is in sight!  We will take the MAP Reading test on Monday and the MAP Math test on Tuesday.  As always, please be sure that your child gets a good night’s rest and has eaten a substantial breakfast.  

Please be sure to refer to the important upcoming dates at the end of this blog. 

Literacy
**We started our new unit this week, which encompasses the theme of "Understanding the Universe". Our grade level text is George's Secret Key to the Universe, written by Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy. The novel tells the story of a boy named George who is discovering the mysteries of the universe while learning about various aspects of space, such as stars, planets, and moons. We started reading the first five chapters this week, and the students are very excited to see how the story will unfold. Using the novel, we will also continue to work on our literacy targets and skills.

Writing
**Connecting to the theme of the universe, the students started to plan their own science fiction narratives. They brainstormed characters, events, and others ideas to include within their stories. Let the creative juices flow! Remember to ask your student all about the sci-fi narrative he/she is crafting up.

Math
**Our students are navigating through our current unit, identifying patterns within powers of ten and multiplication/division of decimals to the hundredths. We recently finished working with powers of ten and will be moving onto the multiplication and division of decimals. The end of our unit will focus on the division of fractions and whole numbers.

Social Studies

**As we start to wrap up our economics unit, our students are critiquing articles with a focus on the U.S. - China Trade War. We have also been "digging deeper" into the concept of supply and demand, and how prices are affected when those factors vary.

Science
**Next week will will switch back from social studies to science. We will continue to explore the states of matter. Previously, students learned about identifying the changes in matter and substances. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to discuss matter by learning how changes in substances affect their weight and how engineers improve materials people use on a daily basis.

Important Dates

**Friday, April 30--No in person learning--1/2 Day Asynchronous learning at home

**Monday, May 3rd - Reading MAP Test

**Tuesday, May 4th - Math MAP Test

**Monday, May 24th - IAR Testing

**Tuesday, May 25th - IAR Testing

**Monday, May 1st - No School (Memorial Day)

**Thursday, June 3rd - Last Day Of School

PLEASE NOTE: A 5th grade celebration is in the works! Stay tuned for details! They are forthcoming!

Reminders

**Please have your students come to school with a fully charged iPad and Logitech Crayon. 

**Snacks eaten in-person need to be from the safe snack list.  

**Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Blog for 4/16/21

 Happy Friday, Families!

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

Reading:

Over the past couple of weeks, students have been reading a nonfiction text called "Real Life Superheroes". Throughout this story students have learned about four amazing people: Thomas Bernardo, Richard Martin, Raoul Wallenberg, and Rosa Parks. Students have learned about the many contributions these incredible human beings have made to society and the legacies they left behind. Through reading this text we have been working on integrating information from multiple sources to write and speak knowledgeably about a topic. To do this we have included readings from other sources about the same people within the superhero book. We have also been working on explaining relationships and interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text. Some of the main relationships we have looked at involve cause and effect, problem and solutions, sequencing of events, and various dependent relationships. Students have been working to ensure that they support responses about these relationships with direct quotes from the text provided.

Writing: Students have been enthusiastically working on a research project and oral presentation. Piggybacking off the work we have been doing in literacy, each student was asked to choose someone they feel is a real life superhero to research and give an oral presentation about to the class. This project incorporates many reading and writing targets for students. Students began by conducting research about their person and organizing it into a tree map. Then students took information from their tree map and composed note cards to be held and used during an oral presentation. Students have been given time to practice their presentation with partners and the option to include props! The kids got a good chuckle when I modeled a presentation that showed everything they SHOULD'T DO! :) Of course, afterwards I modeled another, highlighting the appropriate way to present :) So far, the kids have been doing a great job! I'm so proud of them! They are projecting their voices and not letting masks hamper their ability to be heard! Those listening in the audience are recording something they learned from each presentation!

Math:  Before spring break, we completed our 5th unit of study in math and wrapped up with an assessment that covered multiplication and division of fractions. Students showed a lot of growth throughout this unit and we are very proud of our 5th graders! We have since moved on to a new unit that includes dividing whole numbers, dividing fractions, and multiplying and dividing decimals. When working on division in 5th grade, students are not required to use the traditional algorithm, as ratio tables and other strategies are accepted. However, many students have shown great interest in learning the standard algorithm (traditional long division), so it has been introduced and is being worked on during small group time. For students just learning the traditional long division strategy, any practice at home would be valuable!

Social Studies:  We recently began a new social studies unit on economics. Students have been learning about the importance of trade as they investigate the concepts of importing and exporting goods between countries. 

Science:   We recently concluded our unit on matter. Throughout this unit, students learned about the 3 main states of matter, how substances can change from one state to another, and about what happens when two substances are combined. We were able to engage in some hands on investigations throughout this unit to enhance the learning for students!

Reminders

-Please have your students come to school with a fully charged iPad and Logitech Crayon. 

-Please have your students come to school with a set of headphones.

-Snacks eaten in-person need to be from the safe snack list. 

-In person students can begin to bring back materials. Many materias can stay at school in their cubbies. Online students can return any materials they are not using such as literacy books to the main office for collection.

Important Upcoming Dates

Monday April 19th - Reading Assessment (District CFA)

Tuesday April 20th - Writing Assessment (District PBA--Used for Placement)

Friday April 30th - No students attending in person. Students will have a half day’s worth of asynchronous work to complete at home.