5th Grade Blog Update for 11/17/23

 Happy Friday!

It’s been a busy two weeks in fifth grade! We have been working hard and learning a lot!

Literacy

This week we read the story Washed Up. Our students loved this fictional story based on a survival show!  While reading, we identified important events in each chapter and then discussed how the characters responded to these events.  We also discussed how the theme of the story is the author’s main message.  Ask your child to tell you the theme of Washed Up.  Next, we learned how to summarize a text using the theme to help guide us. We introduced our summaries with a Name It (name of the text), Verb It (explain what happened), Theme It (theme statement). Then we used our graphic organizers to add in the important events and characters’ responses to those events.  Our students are on their way to being great at summarizing!

Writing

In writing, we shifted our focus from writing paragraphs to writing analytical essays.  We reviewed the parts of an introduction (hook, core 4, and preview) and a conclusion (core 4, review, and a final thought).   We practiced writing core 4 topic sentences.  Our students did a great job writing simple declarative sentences, number sentences, question sentences, and situation/stance sentences.  Then we introduced our next writing prompt. Ask your child to tell you what we will be writing about next week!

Math

This week we finished up Unit 3 in math.  Our students learned how to add and subtract decimals, compare decimals, and write decimals out in expanded form.  During Number Corner, we learned about triangles and how to move them on a coordinate grid.  Ask your child to explain the difference between a translation and a reflection.  Our next math unit will focus on using standard algorithms to solve multiplication problems. We will also practice metric conversions within U.S. Customary Measurement and the Metric System.  

Social Studies

We wrapped up our unit about Indigenous people of America.  Your children did a wonderful job on their final projects!  They worked together to analyze library books, Newsela articles, and videos to determine whether or not they should be used to teach about Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving. Their final projects were very well done! These projects allowed the children to understand the importance of reliable unbiased sources. Ask your child to show you his/her final project.

Science

Our students are very excited to learn about Earth Systems for our next science unit.  This week, we introduced the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere.  Throughout the unit, we will study each system independently and then learn about how the various systems interact. 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and relaxing Thanksgiving break!

Upcoming Events

• Friday, November 17 - Trimester 1 Report Cards Go Live at 3:00 PM

• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24 - No School (Thanksgiving Break)

• Tuesday, November 28 - Early Release (Dismissal at 2:05 PM)

• Friday, December 1-World Wide Wildcats (6:30-8:30 PM)

• Wednesday, December 6-Reading MAP testing

• Thursday, December 7-Math MAP testing

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 on the safe snack list

5th Grade Blog Update for November 3, 2023

 Happy November!

What an eventful two weeks we have had with our Halloween celebration and Trimester 1 coming to an end shortly. It's crazy to believe that we're almost through a third of the 23-24 school year! Included in this update, you will find the family letter for our upcoming unit in math on place value and decimals, which we just started at the end of this week. 

Literacy

Last week, we read a nonfiction text titled Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles. This text highlighted the details and impact of various explorers' expeditions throughout history. As we read the text, we worked on identifying the author's main point/s while determining reasons and evidence as support. This week, we continued to practice these skills with a variety of highly engaging texts! We read about electric cars, as well as an article about what happens to an astronaut's eyeballs in space (hint: they flatten!!) To practice determining the author's main point/s, we ask ourselves, "What does the author MOST want us to know or believe about what was written?"

Next week, after we take our Cycle 2 CFA, we will be shifting back to fiction to read Washed Up and practice determining the theme of the story. We will also look at how to summarize a text using the theme to help guide the summary.

Writing

Our students recently finished their first analytical writing piece, using the nonfiction text from literacy, Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles. Students had very strong opinions about which explorer was the worst! Their focus was to write engaging body paragraphs that include their big ideas and evidence. We also discussed what makes a strong topic sentence and conclusion sentence. Be sure to ask your child to share it with you! They made quite the compelling arguments!

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals in Unit 3. They are currently refining their skills in the area of reading, writing, modeling and comparing decimals. Today we took a checkpoint in order to gauge how well students are understanding these concepts. Next week, we will be working on expanding, adding, and subtracting decimals. Students are also learning about the metric system during our November number corner collection and will continue to work on conversions after our Unit 3 assessment. This month's number corner also focuses on identifying triangles based on their angles and sides!

Social Studies

Students have continued their inquiry based activities focused on exploring the rich history of the Indigenous people of America. We’ve been looking closely and analyzing different resources that describe the First Thanksgiving, looking for ideas that challenge commonly known ideas about the day. Students will be working cooperatively in groups, to research and present information they discover while looking through a variety of books and videos that may or may not accurately represent the First Thanksgiving.

Upcoming Events

• Monday, November 6 - Beginning Band Concert (@ 7:00pm)

• Monday, November 13 - Orchestra Concert (@ 7:30 PM)

• Thursday, November 16 - Family Reading Night (@ 6:30-7:30 PM)

• Friday, November 17 - Trimester 1 Report Cards Go Live (@ 3:00 PM)

• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24 - No School (Thanksgiving Break)

• Tuesday, November 28 - Early Release (Dismissal @ 2:05 PM)

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

• If your child participates in orchestra or band, please remind him/her to bring their instrument on their lesson day