December 8, 2011
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Thanks you so much for all the donations for our Adopted Family. We are doing well and we decided to let people bring in funds tomorrow as well just in case they forgot today! We will also be making a stocking for each of the family members as well as items from their wish list. Mr. Schreck and I will be donating a gift card and gift for the mother. Thanks so much!
We will have our class “Thank-you” auction next Thursday. Please bring in any items you would like to donate $5.00 and under…(the dollar store has some great ideas!) We brainstormed as a class some ideas of items to bring in for the Thank you auction.
12/8 – Report cards
Math
12/12 – Lesson 45, Classifying Quadrilaterals
12/13 – Test # 8
12/14 – Lesson 46, Stories About a Fraction of a Group
12/15-Simplifying Mixed Numbers
Religion
Today we began Ch. 14 Reborn In Christ. Students received the study guide for this lesson and completed the first page in class. If they did not finish the first page they can finish it for homework tonight. Students also received the final Draft paper for the “My Baptism Story”. Students will be taking the time tonight to ask you these questions and then write the answers in their 5-subject notebook. If you need more time to find the answers to the question that is fine, I just wanted them to start it tonight. I will be giving the rubric out with the details of the assignment tomorrow. We did not have time today to go over the rubric in class.
Social Studies
The fifth graders will take the Lesson 5 Test tomorrow 12/9. Next week we will begin Lesson 6, Early English Settlements. In this lesson we will take a close look at the settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth. We will begin this next week and continue it after the Christmas break. Students will we creating “Act it Outs” to better understand the reasons for settlement, hardships the settlers endured and reasons for the success or failure of each settlement.
Reading
5th Graders have been asked to bring Christmas picture books to Reading class each day next week. We will be using them to study story elements, practice oral reading fluency, and to get into the Christmas spirit!! As these books will be shared among all of the students, please leave keepsake type books at home. Thank you!
Science
Students will learn about the smallest living unit, the cell, by examining the internal structure of an onion. Students will observe and sketch the cells in an onion using microscopes. Students will also explore some characteristics of life by observing the reaction of yeast, sugar and warm water.
5th Grade Language Arts
This week students have been working hard in class on additional descriptive paragraphs. In the weeks to come, students will be learning more about subject and predicate, conjunctions, and content words. In preparation for Christmas break, students will be working hard in class on special pieces of writing to give to loved ones for the holidays.
Please make sure your student is studying their spelling words. On average, students should be spending at least 15 minutes a night studying to be prepared for their Tuesday spelling test.
Ms. Semandiris