September 25, 2014
Dear Fifth Grade Parents,
This week has been very busy and productive. The following is a curriculum update for the week of 9/29 – 10/3.
Religion
The Chapter 1, Longing For God test is on 10/1. Students will need to turn in their study guide before the test on 10/1 as an assignment. We already went over the study guide in class this week. Students should be reviewing the study guide and rereading the chapter to prepare for the test.
Math
9/29 Chapter 1 Test – Review all lessons in Chapter 1 on the e-book. I suggest watching the video tutorials for all lessons in Chapter 1.
9/30 Chapter 2, L. 1 Prime Factorization
10/1 Chapter 2, L. 2 Hands On Factorization
10/2 Chapter 2, L. 3 Powers and Exponents
10/3 Chapter 2, L. 4 Multiplication Patterns
Science
Students will determine what evidence shows that continents have moved. They will learn about the theory of plate tectonics. They will also be able to describe what events are caused by plate movement.
Reading
This week, 5th graders identified prefixes and suffixes to better understand unfamiliar Vocabulary words. Next week we will work more with context clues to help us understand new words. Our Comprehension strategy will be making inferences and predictions while reading.
Language Arts
This week in Language Arts students’ spelling focused on the long a and the long e sound. In grammar students reviewed the four types of sentences and worked to identify these and create examples of their own. Students continued to work with narratives in writing and focused on the voice trait this week. Students worked to use vivid details and descriptions to bring out their character’s personality and voice in their writing. Students are beginning a rough draft about a time and place that presents a challenge.
Social Studies
Next week we will begin Lesson 4, Why Europeans Left for the New World. In this lesson students will be able to explain the several factors that led to European Exploration of the Americas in the 15th & 16th centuries. They will be able to categorize eight artifacts of exploration in one of three ways: as motives for exploration, as new technology that encouraged exploration, or as “new” products from the Americas. Pairs will take on the role of underwater archeologists to investigate eight placards each of which contains an image of an artifact from this time. Students will dive down to the sunken ship and retrieve the artifact and the swim to the surface to analyze it carefully and research it in the text. Students will need to bring swim goggles next week to class.