5th Grade BLOG update for 10/22

Hi Parents, We've had a busy week of learning! This was the first week of a challenge from Dreambox that I signed our class up for! Starting this week until mid-November, any student who completes 5 lessons during a week will be qualified for a prize giveaway from the Dreambox company! If nothing else, students seem motivated to work towards this goal! We also have weekly goals for utilizing our Lexia reading app. Each student can see how they are progressing towards their personal goal when they login to Lexia on their iPad. I have been starting to do supplemental activities during intervention with students when skill needs are identified on Lexia. If you are interested in seeing your student’s progress, have them login to show you! Today, as with every Friday, we had “First Chapter Friday”! Here, I read the first chapter of a book to entice the kids to want to read the rest on their own! I also show a book trailer to “hook in” my visual learners! This week’s book was one with a spooky feel for Halloween titled Bunnicula by Deborah Howe! We also had Fluency Friday Poetry today that featured two Halloween poems. Each weekend, if students read these poems at home and get a parent signature, they are rewarded with a raffle ticket on the following Monday! Please encourage your student to take a few moments to read these poems to you, and improve their fluency! Here’s a quick update to let you have peek into the content we have been covering in each of the academic areas: Literacy This week we finished reading a historical fiction book titled Road to Freedom. The story was narrated by Emma, a young girl who was trying to escape slavery along the Underground Railroad. This story helped students understand how the particular point of the narrator, can affect how the story is being told. Through the viewpoint of Emma, students were able to see the unique perspective of a young girl facing such unimaginable challenges. Writing We have now moved onto the genre of analytical, nonfiction writing. We started the process by analyzing our prompt: “Should students be allowed to have cell phones in school?” After reading several nonfiction articles which have presented both sides of the argument, students have been using using graphic organizers to classify this information. Once they have chosen which side of the information they most support, students will develop a plan to compose an essay. They will be guided through the process of how to write an effective introduction, and then move onto body paragraph writing. Math We are nearing the end of our second unit in math which focuses on fractions. The unit 2 targets include addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators and solving fraction story problems. Students have completed two checkpoints on these targets, and are receiving instruction based on needs identified in those assessments. The end of unit assessment for these targets will be given next week. In number corner, we've been weighing two carrots regularly to track the information on a double line graph. Our smaller carrot has lost a considerable amount of mass! Ask your student to describe its appearance! Yuck! Science We recently wrapped up our first unit on Ecosystems around the world and have started our next unit on the Earth’s four main systems. Throughout this unit, we will be learning about how the Biosphere, Geosphere, Hydrosphere and Atmosphere interact to affect weather, shape landforms, and support living things. Social Studies This week, we have been working hard to answer the question, What are the Responsibilities and Powers of the officials in the US after gaining independence? To do this, we have been studying the three Branches of Government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) and have been exploring the checks and balances in place to ensure that one office does not have more power over the other. Upcoming Events Tuesday, October 26 th—Early Release @ 2:00 Friday, October 29th—Halloween parade and classroom parties Friday, November 12—Trimester 1 report period ends

5th Grade Blog update 10/1/21

 

Happy October Families! 

Please read below to find out about all of the wonderful learning that is happening in 5th grade at Ivy Hall!

Here are the concepts we are currently/planning to work on:

Literacy
We have finished up our shared text, Night of the Spadefoot Toads, which we used to practice utilizing direct quotes from the text to answer questions as well as determining theme and summarizing. After finishing Night of the Spadefoot Toads, we read a short story called Shells, which we also used to practice quoting, identifying theme, describing how characters respond to challenges they face, and summarizing a text. This week we also completed our first district CFA (common formative assessment), to assess where students are at with the targets we have been practicing in class. Next week will begin a new cycle of study with another short story called Operation Clean Sweep which is a historical fiction about Women's Suffrage. With this story we will begin to look at how the narrator and characters points of view affect the way a story is told.

PLEASE NOTE: Each Friday your student should read his/her fluency Friday poems to you over the weekend. 

Writing
We are wrapping up our current work on narrative writing. Students used our shared text as a springboard, to write a story that included a "bullyish" character. This week students completed a district PBA (performance based assessment) where they were asked to write a new narrative based on a given writing prompt. As we begin our new cycle of study in literacy next week, our focus will shift to analytic writing.

Math

Last week students complete their unit one math post test that covered order of operations, writing expressions, and calculation volume of rectangular prisms. This week we moved on to unit 2 with a focus on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We started the unit by connecting fractions to money values to help students add and subtract. We also introduced using clocks as a model for adding and subtracing unlike fractions. As we proceed through this unit we will also be spending time teaching students to make common denominators in order to add and subtract fractions. In Number Corner, we have continued to reinforce skills regarding volume and to practice skills with fractions and decimals.

PLEASE NOTE: Init 1 post test assessments were sent home for you to view. They included targets on number expressions and finding the volume of rectangular prisms. If your student did not reach mastery level on any of the 3 target being assessed, I will be meeting with them to reteach the skills and give them another chance  to achieve mastery.

Science
We are continuing to learn about ecosystems. In the past couple of weeks we have been learning about consumers and the flow of energy through an ecosystem. We learned that consumers must eat other animals in order to survive. We also learned that the flow of energy starts at the sun and flows to the producers and then to the consumers. On Thursday students conducted an investigation where they were able to dissect owl pellets! If you follow me on Twitter you can see some great photos I posted Students were amazed by the various bones they found within the pellets. This information allowed us to create food chains that show the flow of energy from the sun to the owl. Next week students will be assessed on the knowledge gained from these lessons and the investigation.

Social Studies
In the coming weeks, our students will explore the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments.  Our discussions will revolve around the pros and cons of a democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  Of the four governments, our students will work to create an argument of which government best uses their powers and responsibilities for the benefit of its citizens.

Upcoming Events

• Friday, October 1st - Half Day (Dismissal @ 11:45 AM)
• Thursday, October 7th - Early Release (Dismissal @ 2pm) - CONFERENCES
• Friday, October 8th - No School for Students - CONFERENCES
• Monday, October 11th - No School

Friendly Reminders

• Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night
• Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!
• Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12