Week of 11/3

Dear families,

Can you BELIEVE it is November already? I'm just in awe of how quickly this year is passing by! It's also hard to believe that we only have three weeks of school until Thanksgiving Break. (Then three weeks after that until Christmas... it really just blows my mind!)

Be sure you flip through the slideshow above with all the pictures from our Pumpkin Day last Friday! Thanks to all the moms who brought us lunch and helped roast pumpkin seeds. And also a big thank you to all the parents and grandparents who delivered pumpkins! We couldn't have had such a fun day without the support of our wonderful families!

Another big THANKS to everyone who sent in coats for our coat drive in October. We, along with Mrs. Weiser's class, delivered 38 coats (and 30 lunches made by Mrs. Hawkins's students) to New Walk Ministry last week. They operate the Facebook page "Homeless in Gainesville, Ga." Here's a picture they posted of a man who received one of our coats. My students (along with Mrs. Weiser's students) wrote notes to go on the coats - notes with encouraging words. I loved receiving this picture; look at him reading the note of encouragement while wearing a coat he'd been given - it really filled my bucket!

We are going to do a sock drive for NEW socks in the month of November. Any kind of thick, wooly, or fuzzy pair of socks would be greatly appreciated! We will deliver those on November 18th. 

Well, as you may know, the learning never stops in 5th grade. Fortunately for all of us, though, this week is a little less chaotic than the last couple of weeks; however, there's still lots of learning taking place. Let's take a look at what's happening.

This Week

• Mon, 11/3: Math homework given out (due on Friday)
• Fri, 11/7: Math homework due; Chick-Fil-A breakfast sandwiches, $2.50

Reading/ELA
Standards

• RL.5.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

Activities

• Party in Room 302: Tasks A and B Read the story "Party in Room 302." For task A, identify all the instances of figurative language. For task B, explain what some of the examples mean. 
  
• StoryWorks “Like Magic” (October 2014) Read the entire story. After reading it, find the 3 similes on page 22. On a sheet of notebook paper, write down the sentence that has the simile, underline the simile, and tell what it means. Do this for all 3 similes.
  
• RL.4 Choice Board Complete one activity for each letter: READ. Color in the square for the activity you’ve chosen.
  
• Figurative Language Task Cards Choose some of the activities on these cards to complete. Some of them are tough! Be sure your thinking cap is on.
  
• Study Island Take the figurative language test on Study Island. Take your time and think carefully! This will show me what you know.

What We're Reading

• "Princess Penelope"
• "Party in Room 302"
• "Like Magic"
• One for the Murphy's

What We're Writing

• Stories with figurative language (primarily similes and metaphors)

English

• Starting Shurley English Chapter 4 
• Grammar: compound subjects, compound verbs, and compound objects of prepositions
• Skills: Types of sentences - simple, fragment, simple with a compound subject, simple with a compound verb
• Test next week

Mathematics
Standards
NBT.7 Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.  

We are going to continue reviewing and practicing multiplying with decimals, but this week, we are introducing dividing with decimals. 
Activities

• Divide Decimals Page Front and back. Show your work on paper and staple it to your paper when you’ve finished. Check your work by multiplying!
  
• Solve the Riddle! Solve the division problems to find what number goes with each word. Then enter each word in the spaces below to find out the riddle.
  
• NBT.6 Task Cards Complete at least 3 problems for each operation: addition, subtraction, multiplying, and dividing. Show your work on paper. Keep that to turn in with this menu board. 
  
• IXL – Dividing Decimals Please master all of these: H.13, I.3, I.5

Homework
This week, we have some 4th grade and 5th grade review on the front of the homework. The back of the homework has 9 problems - 6 multiplying with decimals problems, and 3 problems with dividing decimals. 

Social Studies
My homeroom is back with me for the next two weeks! We'll begin studying World War 1 this week! The kids are very excited.
Standards
SS5H4 The student will describe U.S. involvement in World War I and post-World War I America. 

1. Explain how German attacks on U.S. shipping during the war in Europe (1914- 1917) ultimately led the U.S. to join the fight against Germany; include the sinking of the Lusitania and concerns over safety of U.S. ships, U.S. contributions to the war, and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. 

Activities

• Watch BrainPop video on WWI; discuss the background to the war
• Read and write about military alliances; color a WWI alliances map
• Watch videos about the sinking of the Lusitania and read about how it prompted the US to enter WWI
• Read about and discuss home life during WWI

Test: Next week