Here's our weekly slideshow!
Dear families,
I can't believe that August is behind us already! I hope you and your loved ones have had a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. I certainly enjoyed being able to be a little lazier than usual!
The fifth grade teachers are gearing up for a great September. Let's take a look at what you'll be in for this month.
First of all, thanks to everyone who placed a Scholastic book order! We received 16 free books for our classroom library. The order has been placed and the books should be here by next week.
9/11 Day Project
Next week, we'll be participating in our annual 9/11 Day Project. Each homeroom will pack a care package for someone serving in the military overseas. We have names of soldiers recently deployed to Afghanistan from North Georgia. You received a newsletter about this project in last week's red folders.
Please consider sending in some of the following items. for our care packages:
9/19 International Talk Like a Pirate Day
I LOVE, love, love TLAP (Talk Like a Pirate) Day! Each year, I read pirate stories to the students, we eat piratey snacks, and talk in a pirate voice using pirate words! This year it falls on a Friday (perfect), so we are gearing up to learn more about pirates by watching videos, reading articles, and writing about life as a pirate. I encourage students to wear stripes and any pirate gear they might have. If you'd like to send in some pirate "booty" for us, here's what we like to have:
9/30, Monthly Service Project
The fifth grade team has devoted one day a month for service learning. In September, we do the 9/11 project as a separate endeavor. Our first "monthly" project date is 9/30. The students will be able to choose what they want to do each month for their projects. In the past, we have made cards for sick children in the hospital, made cards for the elderly, made sandwich lunches for the homeless, and created stories or sang songs for our friends at The Guest House. For more information on some of these projects, please see the "Service Learning" tab at the top of the page. I will let you know which project our students have chosen next week!
Now let's take a look at what we'll be doing this week in class.
What's Happening This Week:
Skills Class (7:30 am)
Students who attend MPACT and ESOL classes leave for those teachers during this time period. Other students will be divided up to receive specialized instruction based on their particular strengths and weaknesses. Please email me or call if you have any questions.
Reading/ELA
Standards
We are starting our first novel unit! We are reading Bridge to Terabithia in small groups. Students will be covering language arts standards in small groups as well.
Read 30 minutes each night! I'd still love to see thirty minutes of reading over the weekend. It can be done a little each day or all at once. We are also currently doing a 30-Page Club in class. Students who read over 30 pages each night get to sign their names to the club sheet! We finished the 20-Page Club last week. How can I tell if a child has read enough each night? I do Status of the Class every single day to record what page students are on and to check comprehension. I truly appreciate when students have done the required reading! For students who have not done the reading, we discuss the importance of it and develop a plan for reading. If your child is not reading at least 30 minutes every night, please set aside a quiet space and time for this very important task. I do not require a reading log each night since I check it in class each day :)
Mathematics
Don't forget - our first math test is this Friday!
Standards
Students are loving small groups in math! Here's what we'll be doing this week:
Students will receive a homework page (front and back) onTuesday. It is due on Friday.
Science
Students are with Mrs. Hawkins for science this week - test on Friday! They are back with me next week for Social Studies. We'll begin studying the Civil War!
I can't believe that August is behind us already! I hope you and your loved ones have had a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. I certainly enjoyed being able to be a little lazier than usual!
The fifth grade teachers are gearing up for a great September. Let's take a look at what you'll be in for this month.
First of all, thanks to everyone who placed a Scholastic book order! We received 16 free books for our classroom library. The order has been placed and the books should be here by next week.
9/11 Day Project
Next week, we'll be participating in our annual 9/11 Day Project. Each homeroom will pack a care package for someone serving in the military overseas. We have names of soldiers recently deployed to Afghanistan from North Georgia. You received a newsletter about this project in last week's red folders.
Please consider sending in some of the following items. for our care packages:
- turkey jerky
- packaged cookies
- sunflower seeds
- trial sized shampoos, body wash, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, bars of soap, etc.
- sunscreen
- packs of playing cards
- magazines
- baby wipes
9/19 International Talk Like a Pirate Day
I LOVE, love, love TLAP (Talk Like a Pirate) Day! Each year, I read pirate stories to the students, we eat piratey snacks, and talk in a pirate voice using pirate words! This year it falls on a Friday (perfect), so we are gearing up to learn more about pirates by watching videos, reading articles, and writing about life as a pirate. I encourage students to wear stripes and any pirate gear they might have. If you'd like to send in some pirate "booty" for us, here's what we like to have:
- Pirate Booty, a white cheddar cheese puff (these often will come in individual bags at Target in those first few aisles, getting ready for Halloween)
- M&Ms (represents jewels found in treasure chests)
- Juice boxes or water bottles (can't think of anything really *creative* for this, but it's nice to have something to wash down our snacks, argh!)
9/30, Monthly Service Project
The fifth grade team has devoted one day a month for service learning. In September, we do the 9/11 project as a separate endeavor. Our first "monthly" project date is 9/30. The students will be able to choose what they want to do each month for their projects. In the past, we have made cards for sick children in the hospital, made cards for the elderly, made sandwich lunches for the homeless, and created stories or sang songs for our friends at The Guest House. For more information on some of these projects, please see the "Service Learning" tab at the top of the page. I will let you know which project our students have chosen next week!
Now let's take a look at what we'll be doing this week in class.
What's Happening This Week:
- Tuesday, 9/2: Red folders come home; homework page assigned (due Friday)
- Friday, 9/5: First math assessment! NBT.3 and 4 - reading, writing, comparing, and rounding decimals. Students will also have a science test for Mrs. Hawkins on cells.
Skills Class (7:30 am)
Students who attend MPACT and ESOL classes leave for those teachers during this time period. Other students will be divided up to receive specialized instruction based on their particular strengths and weaknesses. Please email me or call if you have any questions.
Reading/ELA
Standards
- RL.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
- RL.5.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
- RI.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
- L.5.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- How can I make an informational text easier to read?
- How does an author help us understand his or her characters?
We are starting our first novel unit! We are reading Bridge to Terabithia in small groups. Students will be covering language arts standards in small groups as well.
- Interactive Notebook: characterization foldable
- Mrs. Thompson: introduce how to closely read an informational article; discuss inferencing based on characters' thoughts, actions, words, choices, and feelings
- ELA/Writing: complete Classroom Practices #10 and #11 in Shurley English, Chapter 2 (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and sentence end marks)
- Computer: continue earning smiley faces in Typing Pal
- Independent Reading: Read chapter 4 in the book this week
- Skills/Practice Center: Work on "drawing conclusions" task cards; watch a BrainPop video about pirates
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- "Go Outside and Play!" (nonfiction article)
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
- Opinions about the benefits of playing outside (continued from last week)
Read 30 minutes each night! I'd still love to see thirty minutes of reading over the weekend. It can be done a little each day or all at once. We are also currently doing a 30-Page Club in class. Students who read over 30 pages each night get to sign their names to the club sheet! We finished the 20-Page Club last week. How can I tell if a child has read enough each night? I do Status of the Class every single day to record what page students are on and to check comprehension. I truly appreciate when students have done the required reading! For students who have not done the reading, we discuss the importance of it and develop a plan for reading. If your child is not reading at least 30 minutes every night, please set aside a quiet space and time for this very important task. I do not require a reading log each night since I check it in class each day :)
Mathematics
Don't forget - our first math test is this Friday!
Standards
- 5.NBT.A.4 Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.
- What is rounding?
- How can a number line help us round decimals?
- Why is it important to be able to round decimals?
Students are loving small groups in math! Here's what we'll be doing this week:
- Interactive Notebook: how to round decicmals
- Mrs. Thompson: rounding decimals using a number line and benchmarks
- Computer: IXL (If you want, your child can work on this at home! They have new login numbers and will write these down in their agendas. The sections of IXL we are working on this week are C.6 and C.5 - work on C.6 first)
- Partner Work: Compare city statistics using WolframAlpha.com and round those numbers
- Independent Work: Practice ordering and rounding decimals
Students will receive a homework page (front and back) onTuesday. It is due on Friday.
Science
Students are with Mrs. Hawkins for science this week - test on Friday! They are back with me next week for Social Studies. We'll begin studying the Civil War!
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