November 19, 2015
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I look forward to seeing you all at conferences next week.
Reminders:
11/20 – Mass 8:45am Perfect Uniform
11/23-25 – No School for Conferences
12/4 – 5A leads the Prayer Service 8:30am
The following is a curriculum update for the week of 11/30 – 12/4.
Religion
We will continue to work through Chapter 14. Reborn In Christ. We have also been learning about Conflict vs. Bullying in our Steps to Respect Program. We will continue this as well after the holiday.
5A will be leading the Prayer Service on 12/4 at 8:30am. Please join us!
Math
11/30 – Ch. 4 L. 2 Hands On – Dividing Using Base Ten Blocks
12/1 – Faith Family – No Math
12/2 – Ch. 4 L. 3 Divide By a Two – Digit Divisor
12/3 – Check My Progress
12/4 – Ch. 4 L. 4 Adjust Quotients
5th Accelerated Math
Ms. Heuer will return after Thanksgiving Break to review Chapter 5: Adding and Subtracting Decimals with students and will end this unit with a chapter test. Students will then move on to multiplying and dividing decimals, building their understanding of these concepts through the use of estimation strategies and hands-on modeling.
Social Studies
The fifth graders have begun Lesson 6, Early English Settlements. We are learning about Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth. Students will work in small groups of three to complete an “Act it Out” assignment in class as well as complete pages 24- 27. This lesson will continue into the week after Thanksgiving.
The 1st Trimester ends on November 26th. Please have all missing/late work in by Monday November 30th.
Science
Students will 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.
Reading
This week, students will begin an informational selection about the Everglades. We will focus on text features such as captions and headings, as well as graphic sources like maps and charts. Learning how to use these features of informational text will enhance the reading experience and increase comprehension of more complex text. Also, this week I will begin assigning students to check their own PowerSchool grades once every couple of weeks – not just in Reading, but in all subject areas. It is important for students to become familiar with this helpful tool in monitoring their own academic progress.
Language Arts
This week in Language Arts the focus for spelling was homophones. Students learned about correlative and subordinate conjunctions in grammar and finished their procedure essay unit. Students wrote a polished final draft of the essay and then began learning about compare and contrast essays. We will continue our informative writing unit after Thanksgiving break with compare and contrast essays.