April 24, 2008
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Next Monday 4/28 is the Magazine Sale Reward Day. (So we do not have school.) Next Tuesday 4/29, is class picture day! Please remind your child to wear perfect uniform. (Bring a red sweater too because it looks better in the picture!) Also, please read the letter and review the Family Life book in todays boomerang.
Here is a brief curriculum overview for the next week:
Math
Tuesday: 91, Simplifying Improper Fractions
Wednesday: 92, Dividing by Two-Digit Numbers
Thursday: 93, Comparative Bar Graphs
Friday: Investigation 9
Religion
Next week we will begin Chapter 9, New Life. They will be learning that through the sacraments, Christ unites his followers to his Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Students will make a poster of how each sacrament celebrates the Paschal Mystery. Rubric will be handed out in class.
Social Studies
The fifth graders will be working hard to prepare for the big debate on Wednesday. Patriots vs. Loyalists. Tomorrow, the students will be broken up into small groups and given a specific Patriot or Loyalist in history. They will become that person in the debate on Wednesday. Each member in the group has a specific role. We will have the Chapter 11 test next Friday, May 2nd. Students should be studying the Interactive Notebook pages for this chapter, rereading the chapter and practicing on the on-line test a bit each night to study for the test next Friday,
Reading
We continue to read the novel, Number The Stars. The students have been very interested and motivated while reading this book. Ms. McLaughlins grandfather will come speak to both 5th grade classes on May 5th. He was a fighter pilot during World War II, and spent some time as a prisoner of war. He will help the students develop a deeper understanding of this story by sharing his experiences of that time and place. The students will be taking notes during his talk, and will write a brief summary of his remarks. We look forward to his visit.
5th graders should continue reading their books for the 3rd trimester book report. Remember, the major challenge of this assignment is actually reading a book from an unfamiliar genre. Additionally, students have been asked to independently set mini-due dates to help them stay on track during the completion of the assignment. The report forms, which have been passed out to the students, are to be completed neatly and thoughtfully.
Finally, I have encouraged all students to check in with Power Grade to see that they are up to date on all assignments. There are several students with 0s for missing assignments, which can have a very negative impact on an overall grade. Along these same lines, we continue to talk about the importance of completing the assigned reading and staying organized as we try to juggle the busy spring schedules that so many of us keep.
Language Arts: Students continue creating their comic books. Students are expected to create all artwork at home, as part of their homework. Artwork should be saved to a CD or flash drive. (The easiest medium to use with this software is digital pictures). In class, students will continue drafting their panels and transferring these on to Comic Life. Some students will need to complete the planning sheets for homework if they dont finish in class. Each student has several pre-writing sheets and a grading rubric.
Here is a schedule of due dates, which will also be posted on my web page.
Assignment Due Date
Planning Sheet: Panels #1-6 Friday, 4/25
Art Work: Panels #1-6 Friday, 4/25
Planning Sheet: Panels #7-12 Tuesday, 4/29
Art Work: Panels #7 -12 Tuesday, 4/29
Planning Sheet: Panels #13-18 Thursday, 5/1
Art Work: Panels #13-18 Thursday, 5/1
Planning Sheet: Panels #19-end Friday, 5/2
Art Work: Panels #19-end Friday, 5/2
Students will learn how oxygen gets to body cells from your lungs and how cells use oxygen to release energy from food (respiration). Students will take a test on Chapter 1 Thursday, May 8th.
Have a great week!
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Ms. Semandiris