November 19, 2009
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
Next week is a short one due to Thanksgiving break. I hope that you all have a very special Thanksgiving Day. Let us remember all our relatives you have passed away. They are with us in Spirit and watching as we pass on all of our family traditions.
Math
Friday: Lesson 34, Division with Zeros in the Quotient
Monday: Lesson 35, Problems About Comparing, Problems About Elapsed Time
Tuesday: Lesson 36, Classifying Triangles
Wednesday: Test #6
Religion
Next Tuesday we will be using the religion class to practice for the Advent Prayer Service and make the Christmas Tree lot Thanks-you cards. 5A has the 12/4 Prayer Service 8:30am in school hall!
Social Studies
The 5th graders are busy working on Chapter 5, Routes of Exploration to the New World. There are graphing information about 8 European Explorers using a Matrix/Grid. Looking ahead the test for this Chapter will be 12/2.
Science
Thank you to Mr. Evans (ElliottÂ’s dad) for the petri dishes to multiply bacteria. Students will see how bacteria from a finger can grow and multiply. They will compare one untreated dish with another that has an antibiotic like drug in it to keep things from growing. Students will also learn how all living things are divided up into five kingdoms. They will then discover how scientists divide kingdoms up into smaller groups (genus and species).
Reading
5th graders were given the opportunity during class on Tuesday to admire each of the Newbery book reports. Completed reports are now on display in the hall for all to enjoy. Students were excited to read about other books, and some have already earmarked which book they plan to enjoy over the long Thanksgiving holiday!
This week 5th graders have been working independently to read and respond to comprehension questions for Ch. 12 and 13 in Hatchet. This activity has required them to re-read for evidence and detail to support their answers. I am encouraging the students to do their best on written assignments, with the focus on producing high quality work. There will be a short multiple-choice quiz on Friday covering these two chapters.
Language Arts
Students prepare for the test on Tuesday, November 23 that will cover: sentence types, subjects, predicates, and simple & compound sentences. A study guide has been given. Please check my webpage for a copy of the study guide, as well as several practice sheets the students can use to help them prepare. Many students took advantage of this extra practice before the last test and remarked on how prepared they had felt. There is no spelling assignment or test for this week; there will not be one given over Thanksgiving, either. You’re welcome.
Have a great week!
Ms. Semandiris