December 5, 2013
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Tomorrow 5A will be leading the morning prayer service. Join us to light our Advent Wreaths! Please read the list of reminders below as we have a busy two-week period ahead of us!
Reminders:
12/6-8:30am Prayer Service
12/9-8:45am Mass Immaculate Conception
12/12-6:30pm Christmas Program
12/13-Frist Trimester Report Cards
12/17 – 8:45-10:00am Oratorical Festival – Fifth Grade December Project!
12/19 – 5A Class Thank-You Auction
5A & 5B Adopted Family!
We have adopted a family, which consist of a mom and her two children ages 2 and 11 for Christmas. There is a detailed list for the children. We will be collecting donations in monetary form until 12/13. We will also need volunteers to go shopping for the various gifts. Then we will be wrapping the items together as a class.
In addition to the list, it’s nice (not mandatory) to do the following:
1. Christmas stockings for all the family members
2. Food card for grocery store, for holiday dinner plus extra expenses, such as feeding kids since they won’t be in school and receiving free breakfast and lunch
3. Something for the mom
Religion
We will be Practicing for the Oratorical Festival next week. We will also be reviewing and reading the Nativity Story in the Gospels.
Math
Monday: Mass – No Math
Tuesday: Check My Progress Quiz Lessons 1-3
Wednesday: Lesson 4, Adjust Quotients
Thursday: Lesson 5, Divide Greater Quotients
Friday: Lesson 6, Problem Solving-Solve a Simpler Problem
Reading
This week 5th graders are using their reading detective skills as they enjoy a fictional story about two young detectives. Like the detectives in the story, students are collecting evidence from the story and combining it with what they already know to draw conclusions about what they read. This is an excellent strategy for building comprehension and higher level thinking skills. After collecting and comparing evidence, students will take a Selections Test on Thursday covering some vocabulary and comprehension questions from the story, Missing Links.
Social Studies 5th
We are currently working on Lesson 5, Routes of Exploration to the New World. Students are have been paired up and are becoming “Experts” on one of the eight explorers. Students will also be responsible for knowing the information on the other explorers. They will be completing the Interactive Notebook in class as well as at home for this lesson.
Lesson 5
Students will be able to:
- Explain how the voyages of Christopher Columbus encouraged the major powers of Europe to explore the Americas between the 15th &17th Centuries.
- Identify areas in North America claimed by explorers sponsored by Spain, France, Holland, and England.
- Describe the impact of the various European expeditions upon Native Americans.
The test for this lesson will be on December 19th.
Science
Students are practicing using their microscopes. Students will learn how to prepare a wet-mount slide. They will also learn to focus up and down over the surface of an object that has depth. Students will then use their skills to identify unknown specimens using a microscope.
Language Arts
Students have completed their Thanksgiving essay and have submitted their essay for grading. This week I have been meeting with students for a one-on-one writing conference where we are grading their essay together. Please gently remind your child to study for upcoming spelling tests. The next spelling test is December 10th, followed by another spelling test December 17th.