May 7, 2009

May 7, 2009

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

Well, we are back from camp and still going strong!!! We had so much fun at Camp Seymour! The kids did a fantastic job in all the classes.

Here is a brief curriculum update for the following week:

Religion
The fifth graders are working on Chapter 19, The Sacraments of Commitment. They will be taking the test for this chapter on 5/13. The study guide for this chapter was passed out today and the students had the whole class period to work on it.

Language Arts
5th graders learn about personal and possessive pronouns. We also review contractions. We begin to explore the features and sections of the newspaper and learn about how these features reflect different writing forms (persuasive, expository, narrative and descriptive.) I will be asking students to bring in newspaper sections next week. If you receive the newspaper, we’d love to use it when you’re through (the day after or even a few days later.) Thanks!

Reading
On Thursday and Friday, 5th graders will be practicing the Target Skill of summarizing. A good summary is brief. It does not include unnecessary details or unimportant ideas.

Students should continue reading in their selected book for the 3rd trimester book report. It is due on May 21st.

Science
In Chapter 4 of the Family Life text, students learn the changes that occur during puberty. They will discuss the importance of growing in a balanced way-physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually.

Social Studies
The fifth graders are working on Chapter 14, The Constitution. They will be learning about the different responsibilities of the three branches of government by trying to solve hypothetical scenarios that could occur in real life. The test for this chapter will be on 5/14.

Have a great week!

Ms. Semandiris