September 25, 2008

September 25, 2008

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

We have had a wonderful week! Next week seems to be very busy and filled with much curriculum content. The following is a brief curriculum update for the following week.

Math
Friday: Lesson 13, Multiplication as Repeated Addition
Monday: Lesson 14, Missing Numbers in Subtraction
Tuesday: Lesson 15 making a Multiplication Table
Wednesday: Story Problems About Separating
Friday: Test 2

Religion
We will have a religion test on Chapter 1, Longing for God next Thursday. (10/2) Students should complete the Chapter 1 study guide by Tuesday 9/30. We will have a review of the study guide and chapter on Tuesday 9/30. The fifth graders colored all the “Thank-you” tags for the HRS Golf Tournament this week! They did such a wonderful job.

Social Studies
Students took the Lesson 1 test today in class. Friday we will begin Lesson 2, Native Americans and Their Land. The major objectives of this lesson are:
? Explain how one Native American group believes the world began
? Trace the migration route of Native Americans into North America
? Describe some of the natural environments that Native Americans encountered in North America.
? Identify some of the ways the Inuit adapted to the environment in the Arctic.

We will be working in groups using a Visual Discovery activity to examine images of Native American migration routes, four natural environments in North America and an Inuit family in their home. Interactive notebook: pages 2.3-2.5 will be class work and I will assign vocabulary as well. Please see HW page on web site for details.

Reminder: Electing a President Quiz on Wednesday 10/1. (pages 4-16 see study guide)

Reading
This week 5th Graders have been focusing on the Target Skills of Character and Setting. We have practiced these skills using the selection, Faith and Eddie, from our Scott Foresman Text. There will be a short Selections Test tomorrow. Tonight’s homework should serve as an adequate review of the skills and vocabulary.

The first mini-due date for the book report is today when all students should have selected and reported their book choice to me. Students may need to be reminded to keep notes in their 5-sub as they continue to read their book.

Science
Students will model the pattern of the Sun’s movement in the sky using their bodies as models of the earth. This kinesthetic activity will help them grasp more difficult concepts such as the pattern of the sun’s movement both daily and through the seasons; the position of the earth in the solar system as it orbits the sun, the pattern of the apparent movement of stars in the sky during the night over the course of a year.
Students will also begin Chapter 4 Astronomy (p. C110) in their science text. Students will begin Lesson 1, What Makes Up the Solar System?

Language Arts
Students review basic parts of speech as they complete a project using “Comic Life” on our laptops. We begin writing descriptive paragraphs, focusing on adjectives and adverbs. Spelling homework is due on Monday; our test is also on Monday.

Ms. Semandiris