January 31, 2008
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Tuesday Night: February 5th, Camp Seymour Informational Meeting (Parents Only) 6pm-7pm HRS Library
Here is a brief curriculum update for next week:
Math
Friday: Investigation #6
Monday: Lesson 63, subtracting a Fraction from a Whole Number Greater that1
Tuesday: Lesson 64, Using Money to Model Decimal Numbers
Wednesday: Lesson 65, Decimal parts of a Meter
Thursday: Test #12
Religion
Next week we will be preparing for Lent. Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday 2/6. On Monday we will be making goals for lent and the students will be writing how they will have a Change of Heart through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We will be moving into Chapter 16, Gathered for Mass on Wednesday and Friday.
Reading
We have been talking about different types of questions; Right There, Think and Search, Author and Me, and On Your Own. The 5th graders have been learning how to gather information from different places in the text, and put it together with what they already know to answer questions thoroughly.
Next week we will begin reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe together in class. Be sure to stay on top of your Book Report!
Social Studies
This week we briefly began Chapter 8, Facing Slavery. In this lesson students will learn about slavery from the perspective of West Africans facing difficult dilemmas as European slave traders take them farther and farther from their homeland. Students will be able to describe three key dilemmas faced by Africans during the enslavement, identify various ways in which West Africans responded to the dilemmas they faced and empathize with West Africans who had to respond to such dilemmas.
Language Arts: Students learn to identify verbs in sentences. We work on using good word choice in our writing, especially by choosing powerful verbs. Students have a spelling assignment due on Monday. Their test is also on Monday.
Science
Students are learning how adaptations help organisms meet basic needs. They will be able to describe the difference between structural and behavioral adaptations. Students will learn how adaptations help organisms survive in water and on land.
Have a great week!
Ms. Semandiris