September 24, 2009
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
We have had another fantastic week with such a beautiful class. The students of 5A are doing very well adapting to the new schedule and procedures of the fifth grade. I have given all powerschool slips to Mr. Barker and he promptly enters the information so if you gave me a slip then you should be able to access powerschool. If you have not yet signed up for powerschool please do so immediately.
We have a 2-week turn around policy for inputting grades into powerschool. I usually will have daily assignments in earlier.
Please remember to follow the process of background check to be considered to volunteer at Holy Rosary as well as a chaperone/driver for a field trip. This is very important and requires an inservice as well. Please read the FCE for the information on how to complete this process.
The following is a brief curriculum update for the following week:
Math
9/28 Lesson 12, Lines, Number Lines, Tally Marks
9/29 Lesson 13, Multiplications as Repeated Addition
9/30 Lesson 14,Missing Numbers in Subtraction
No Math
10/2 Lesson Making Multiplication Table
Religion
The study guide for Chapter 1 was due today. Students were assigned a worksheet to be due on Tuesday reviewing the Bible story of the Woman at the Well. We will have a test on Chapter 1, on 9/29.
Social Studies
The fifth graders took the Lesson 1 test, Geography of the United States yesterday. Today we began Lesson 2, Native Americans and Their Land. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain how one Native American group believes the world began, trace the migration routes of Native Americans into North America,
Describe some of the natural environments that Native Americans encountered in North America,
identify some ways the Inuit adapted to the environment in the Arctic.
Students will first experience a Visual Discovery activity, then they will work in pairs to examine images of Native American migration routes, four natural environments in North America, and an Inuit family in front of their Arctic home. They will discover why Native Americans migrated to North America and learn how they adapted to the environments they encountered.
The test for this lesson will be next Friday 10/2.
Science
Students have begun a unit on astronomy. Students have tracked the sun’s movement across the sky to investigate the earth-sun relationship. Students will be able to describe why the sun seems to move across the sky in a recognizable pattern. Students will be able to describe the two ways Earth moves in space. Students will construct and use pocket sun clocks to make observations about the passing of time.
Reading
This week 5th graders have been working with the Target Skill of Character. Understanding characters through what they think, do, and say, can help increase our enjoyment of the story. There will be a short Selections Test covering comprehension questions, character and vocabulary from the story, Faith and Eddie.
Watch for some corrected homework and last weeks Selection Test to come home this week. I tried to make helpful comments on students homework as to ways they can improve their written work. I was fairly lenient on grading this first assignment, but students know that I expect them to use black or blue ink, work neatly, and to use proper punctuation and complete sentences in their written work. If there are images in this attachment, they will not be displayed. Download the original attachment
Language Arts
Students will learn to write using a variety of adjectives as we begin composing descriptive paragraphs. We use all of the senses to brainstorm words and phrases that paint a picture in the readers mind. We focus on the trait of word choice as we use specific action verbs and interesting adjectives. Spelling homework is due on Monday; our spelling test is on Monday.
Have a great week!!
Ms. Semandiris