November 17, 2011
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
This Boomerang will include curriculum for next week (11/21-11/23) as well as the week of (11/28-12/2). I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Reminders:
Friday 11/18 Spirit Day – (Read message below)
Wednesday 11/23 – 8:45 Mass & Noon Dismissal
Hear ye, hear ye, all kings and queens of the land! A crystal ball has
shown us images from the 18th of November ~ this Friday ~ of children
dressed as Cinderella, Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldie Locks, Little
Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin and other fairy tale characters. It’s a spirit
day to celebrate the 2011-2012 yearbook theme – Once Upon A Time! The
class who shows the most spirit will win a 15 minute photoshoot and a whole
kingdom (page) of candids in this year’s yearbook. So dress as your favorite
fairy tale character this Friday and remember to return ye yearbook
parchment (order form). Please leave pet dragons and unicorns at home as
we are low on food.
Math
11/21 –Lesson 38, Fractions and Mixed Numbers on a Number Line
11/22 –Lesson 39, Comparing Fractions by Drawing Pictures
11/28 –Lesson 40, Pictures of Mixed Numbers
11/29 – Test #7
11/30 – Investigation 4, Measuring Angles.
12/1 – Lesson 41, Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Common Denominators
Social Studies
Next week is a short week due to Thanksgiving break. The Fifth graders will learn about the history of Thanksgiving. The following week, we will begin Lesson 5, Routes of Exploration to the New World. In this lesson students will learn how European explorers claimed land in North America by creating an illustrated matrix that shows important details about the explorers’ expeditions.
Language Arts
Great job to the students on recent Spelling Tests! The 5th grade spelling test average was 2.5 points higher last week!! Woohoo! Please make sure your student is continuing to study for upcoming tests. The next spelling test will be November 29th. This week students have been busy brainstorming adjectives on Thanksgiving and studying the positive effects sentence fluency has on their writing. Students will be assigned a short essay about Thanksgiving before break. The Thanksgiving essay will be due December 1st. Please be on the lookout for the Thanksgiving rubric, which will be posted on my classroom webpage by November 22nd.
Science
Students begin a research-based science unit called Microworlds. In this unit, students will learn to use their powers of observation with the help of magnifying lenses and microscopes to see familiar things in a new way. They are also introduced to a fascinating new world-the cellular structure of living organisms.
Have a great week!
Ms. Semandiris