5th grade BLOG for 4/22/22

 Happy Friday! 

The month of April is really flying by and students have been working hard to show what they know! This week we took several assessments. In math, we ended our geometry unit with an assessment to demonstrate all that we’ve learned throughout the unit. We also took the district CFA and writing assessment, which will be used to evaluate written expression skills for 6th grade placement. Next Wednesday, students will take their final 6th grade math placement test. No worries, though! Although we’ve been taking a number of assessments, we’ve had time for lots of fun and learning in between!

Literacy

Next week we will continue to focus on comparing fictional texts of  similar content and/or topic. We will begin to read a science fiction story called Jess and Layla’s Astronomical Adventure.  The two main characters of the story travel back in time and meet many of history’s famous philosophers and scientists!  As we read, we will continue to practice literacy skills such as comparing and contrasting characters and settings, analyzing themes and using quoted evidence from a text to support responses. Eventually we will read another science fiction story of the same genre called Mayday on the Moon of Jupiter, so that we can compare and contrast how the two stories approach their respective themes.

Writing

Now that our analytical papers about tablets vs. books have been completed, we will be moving on to another genre within analytical writing. Students will have the opportunity to write an expository paper on how to best prepare for certain activities, such as traveling or adopting a pet. We know that the students will find the topic choices highly motivating!

Math

After finishing unit 6 earlier the week, we spent the last few days engaged in some fun review activities in order to solidify previous learning from earlier in the year. Next week we will start our final math unit of the year, which includes skills such as long division and decimal multiplication and division. 

Science

This week we finished a series of lessons within our matter unit about how to know when new substances are created. We ended with an investigation where students mixed substances such as water, vinegar, baking soda and calcium chloride together in different combinations and observed whether new substances were formed! 

Upcoming Events

**PLEASE NOTE: The PTO Book fair will be open throughout next week for students to purchase books

Tuesday, April 26 —Early Release @ 2:00

Wednesday, April 27—PTO Pizza Bingo Night 6-7:15

Monday, May 2 -- Reading MAP test

Tuesday, May 3-- Math MAP test

Tuesday, May 12—5th Graders visit Twin Groves for tours and transition presentation

 We did it! We made it to the end of IAR testing! Students worked hard to show all the great things they have learned in both math and literacy. As we have tested each morning, new learning has continued each afternoon! If your child has not been absent during testing this week, then he/she is officially finished with IAR testing! Make-up testing will be next week for those who missed any of the sections. Read below to find out how we're currently expanding our brains! 

Literacy

After returning from spring break, we spent a week reading about influential women in history who showed a sense of discovery and adventure! The women we read about included Mae Jemison, Catherine Johnson, Wilma Rudolph and Bessie Coleman. At the end of the week, we compiled the information we learned about all four women to practice writing and speaking knowledgeably about the subject. This week we continued to work on the same target but with a new topic of Navajo Code Talkers. We read a book from Reading A-Z about the code talkers, watched videos of first had accounts, listened to a picture book called Chester Nez, and started reading a book on Epic. We will continue to learn more about the code talkers next week and conclude with a compilation of the information we gathered from all sources to write and speak knowledgeably about code talkers. Throughout reading about code talkers we are also working on explaining the relationships and interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas or concepts in a historical text based on specific information in the text. Some of the relationships we have looked at so far include cause and effect relationships and problem and solution relationships. We will continue this work next week as well.

Writing

After returning from spring break we started a new writing assignment. Students were given the prompt: In your opinion, what is the best way to read and/or learn information - with a tablet or by using books? Students formed their personal opinion on the topic, researched to find evidence to support their thinking, wrote core 4 / topic statements, created a t-chart to plan their writing, and are now in the process of starting to draft their essays. We have also taken some time to review the components of a good conclusion, including a core 4 / topic statement, a review of their big ideas, and a lasting impact sentence. We have practiced writing conclusions to go with provided essays and shared out with others. We will continue this work next week as we prepare for our next writing assessment, which is also used for middle school placement, to take place on April 21st.

Math

We have continued our work in Unit 6, which incorporates skills in the area of geometry. Since returning from break we have been exploring the hierarchy of polygons, with an emphasis on triangles and quadrilaterals. Using academic language related to angles and sides, students have been classifying shapes based on their attributes. We've been playing many games and using active engagement activities to solidify our learning! Yesterday we played a fun guessing game where students had the name of a geometry term taped on their back, and had to use questioning to guess what it was! Next week we will review and extend our thinking of the concept of volume, which was covered in unit 1. 

Science

In science we have continued to learn about matter. We have learned about various properties of matter and this week students completed a hands-on investigation where they observed the properties of several different types of matter that can be found in many homes. Students visually observed flour, baking soda, baking powder, talc powder, and salt, and recorded their observations. Then students mixed each with water to test their solubility. Next, the students mixed each substance with vinegar to see which ones produce gas / bubbles. Finally, the students mixed each powder with iodine and checked for any unusual color changes. Students really enjoyed acting like a chemist and observing the properties. As we continue in our matter unit we are going to look at chemical changes that can occur when substances are combined. We will have another great hands-on investigation in the coming weeks where students will combine various substances to see if new substances are created.

Upcoming Events

• April 15 - No School

• April 20 - Cycle 5 CFA (Reading)

• April 21 - Cycle 5 PBA (Writing) - Used for Placement and Report Cards

• April 22 - Half Day

• April 26 - Early Release

• April 27 - 3rd Math Placement Task

• April 27 - Pizza Bingo / Book Fair 6:00-7:15pm (See pto and principal messages for more details)

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

• Band and orchestra students should remember to be prepared with their instruments and music books on the days of lessons