Monday, October 24, 2016

Quarter 2 Week 2

Hello 5B Families!

I hope you all have enjoyed the long weekend as much as your children have. I know it has been a treat for me!

BLOG UPDATE PROBLEM
It has come to my attention that the blog updates are not functional, so to ensure that everyone is aware of the goings on in 5th grade, I will be sending the updates via email. I appreciate your patience and support with this matter.

BOOK FAIR
The book fair begins this week! It will be open for student previews on Tuesday and open to the public by Wednesday. I encourage you to check it out, and maybe purchase your child a book to read during the Read-A-Thon on Halloween, as we will have independent reading time that day. There will be a 5B wishlist for you to peruse as well.
In other news, related to the book fair, Costo is selling awesome book sets right now at a really competitive price. The Roald Dahl, Nancy Drew, or Hardy Boys sets would make a really awesome Holiday gift to the classroom too if you feel so moved. :)
Thank you for partnering with us to encourage a love of great stories! 

SUBJECT UPDATE

  • Language Arts
This week in writing we will begin our second formal writing assessment, a personal narrative.  We will start the week by discussing point of view and how to write an introductory sentence to gain the reader’s attention.  By the end of the week students will have completed their pre-writing.
In Literature we will begin Where the Red Fern Grows and will focus on point of view and using the text to describe the setting of a story.
We will also get back to Spalding, Greek and Latin roots, and poetry.
  • Science
This week in science, the students will be acquiring knowledge about the classification of living things. This unit on classification will last approximately two weeks. There will be 2 take-home quizzes and one final assessment. They will receive the final assessment study guide on Tuesday and should work one it and review the material a little but every night to ensure readiness for that final assessment. A take-home quiz will be sent home Friday.
  • History
This week, students will take an in-depth look into the powerful Medici family. They will work on a foldable to document their findings.
Students will also continue their geography unit by learning about the states in the New England region of the United States. They will have a short geography lesson every other Wednesday.
  • Math
We will continue to build upon our knowledge of fractions.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Last Week of the Quarter!

Language Arts


This week in grammar and writing we will be reviewing conjunctions, compound parts, and compound elements.  We will have a short quiz on Thursday combining all of the parts of speech we have learned so far this quarter.  As a reminder, there will be grammar tutoring on Thursdays (instead of Math) from 3:05-3:40 pm.  

Students received a roots study guide last week, we will review in class on Monday  and will be taking a test over roots 1-25 on Wednesday, Oct. 5th.  

This week in literature we will be completing reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and are looking forward to our literature celebration on Friday.  Thank you so much to all the parents who have signed up to help and bring in supplies! To culminate our reading, we will be writing descriptive paragraphs about a character from the book using textual evidence to support their writing.  

We are currently working on our last poem of the quarter, “Narcissa,” by Gwendolyn Brooks.  Students should be prepared to recite their poem by Wednesday, October 5th.

Science

We are continuing the chemistry unit this week. We will be finishing The Mystery of the Periodic Table and taking an open note quiz on Thursday.
The due date for the Science Fair Essay is quickly approaching! Please ensure that your child is working on the project such that they will be able to turn their essay in the last school day before Fall Break! Students will also be signing up for a project presentation date. They should bring in their poster board on the day they sign up to present.

History

This week, students will learn about the decline of the Aztec and Inca Civilizations. The unit test will be on Friday, October 7th. Note that this test is the day before students leave for Fall Break partaking in rest and relaxation! Students will turn in their journals on Friday as well, along with their completed study guides.

Math

We have completed Unit 2, and this week will move on to fractions.  We will spend a great deal of time focusing on factors and multiples this week and will use concrete materials to introduce fractions.  This unit relies heavily on a knowledge of both multiplication and division facts.  Please continue to review these nightly if your child is at all struggling.  Using flashcards or a math facts app in the car is a great way to practice.  The more comfortable they are with their math facts, the easier fractions will be!