October 11, 2012
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
We have been very productive here in the fifth grade this week! Thank you for turning in your yellow “Parent HW” forms. The following is a curriculum update for the week of 10/15 – 10/19.
Curriculum Update:
Religion-We are currently working on Chapters 2 & 3. They are short so we assess them together. We began Chapter 3 this week and we will continue next week during class. The test for Chapter’s 2 & 3 is on Friday 10/19. (This is a change from last week’s Boomerang.) The students have been working on the study guide for Ch. 2 & 3 in class. To prepare for the test students should review the study guide and reread the two Chapters.
Math
Monday: Test # 4
Tuesday: Lesson 26, Division Algorithm
Wednesday: Lesson 27, Reading Scales
Thursday: Lesson 28, Measuring Time
Reading – This week 5th graders focused on the skill of setting a reading goal and making a plan to accomplish that goal. We worked on breaking or ‘chunking’ the larger goal into smaller, more manageable parts. Our goal was that all 5th graders would be ready to take a test on Ch. 9-14 in Hatchet by Thursday. In order to successfully reach that goal, students read a section of the book each day and completed comprehension questions along the way. Another strategy we practiced this week was how to study with a buddy to prepare for a test. Students moved around the classroom, taking turns working with many different students, helping each other answer questions on a study guide using evidence from the story. We talked about how different strategies work better for some people than others, and that hopefully, we’ll hit on at least one study strategy that works for everybody. These strategies will be helpful to the students in other areas of the curriculum as they study and prepare for tests in the coming years.
Science: Students will take a test on Chapter 1, lessons 1-4 next Wednesday, Oct. 17th. Students will study the rock cycle to learn how rocks reveal changes on the earth. Students will also learn how fossils indicate how the earth has changed.
Social Studies: The Lesson 2 test is on Friday 10/12. Remember to practice the on-line test, review your interactive notebook and reread the chapter to prepare for this test. Next week the Fifth Graders will begin Chapter 3, Native American Cultural Regions. Students will be able to:
- List seven cultural regions into which scholars often divide Native Americans
- Identify selected environmental factors that promoted cultural diversity among Native American groups
- Describe selected examples of cultural adaptations made by the Kwakiutl, Pomo, Hopi, Yakima, Algonquin, and Seminole Tribes
Have a great week!
Ms. Semandiris