March 10, 2011
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Thank you so much for turning in your Camp Seymour forms and payment! We will be sending a reminder list in next week’s Boomerang for the big trip.
Next week we will have our accreditation team visiting on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! We are very excited to have them be a part of our school.
Here is a curriculum update for the following week:
Math
Monday: Lesson 71, Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
Tuesday: Lesson 72, Area, Part 1
Wednesday: Lesson 73, Adding and Subtracting Decimal Numbers
Thursday: Lesson 74, Converting Units of Length
Religion
On Monday we will be learning about Catholic Relief Services and a story about a family in Haiti. We will take a closer look at the country of Haiti and the current situation they are in after the devastating earthquake hit last year. We will focus of the Catholic Social Teaching: Caring for God’s Creation. Students will be receiving the Rice Bowls and we will be making a goal for service during this Lenten season.
Thursday and Friday, will continue to study Ch. 18, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Science
Students are classifying different animals depending how they get energy. Students will study how energy moves through an ecosystem by creating food webs and energy pyramids.
Social Studies
The fifth graders participated in a debate between three Patriots and three Loyalists. They prepared for this all week and did an amazing job. The test for Ch. 11 is tomorrow 3/11.
Next week we will begin Chapter 12, The Declaration of Independence. By the end of the chapter, students will be able to:
• Identify the major events that led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the second continental congress, the popularization of Common Sense, Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the first draft of the Declaration, and the patriots’ signing of the final document.
• Paraphrase, in a simple language, key passages from the Declaration of Independence.
• Create short skits that capture important ideas from the Declaration of Independence.
Language Arts
Students review and prepare for a test on verbs (5B-March 10th, 5A-March 11th). Students brainstorm and write paragraphs that focus on the writing traits of “ideas and content” and “word choice,” with an emphasis on “showing not telling.” We do this using several techniques, including the use of similes, quotations and strong action verbs rather than helping or linking verbs, Fifth graders complete and illustrate paragraphs describing various settings using these techniques. Students will be formally assessed with a grading writing prompt next week in class. I will use the same rubric used for the descriptive paragraphs completed in class this week (see my webpage); however, there will obviously be a different writing prompt.
Reading
5th Graders have made their selections for our next Book Club unit. Students will be setting personal and group goals for reading and keeping literature response journals. These journals will be checked and graded regularly.
An unrelated reminder: students are always encouraged to make corrections to written work which comes home in the Boomerang. Corrected work can be turned in for additional credit.
Have a great week!
Ms. Semandiris