Hello Families,
I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. This week we will be working on the following:
Math - We are continuing to work on fractions. Our focus this week is on multiplying fractions by whole numbers. The students have learned that the word "of" can be used to replace the "x" in these types of problems. For example: 1/2 x 6 is really 1/2 of 6, which is 3.
Social Studies and Writing- This week we will begin researching various explorers in small groups. The class will learn how to use the internet for research, identifying reliable sources and cross-checking the facts. We will be using this information to write an expose' about five different explorers.
Science - Tomorrow we will be revisiting the steps of the Scientific Method in order to begin designing experiments. Our experiments will help us to understand how this method helps scientists answer questions. We will also practice writing lab reports.
Reading - Today we finished our read aloud book, "Sahara Special." In the next few days, the class will begin a culminating project for this wonderful book.
Have a great week!!!
Debby
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
What's Happening in 5D???
Hello Families,
I truly enjoyed meeting with all of you last week to discuss your children's progress in fifth grade. It's always a pleasure to share wonderful news.
In the past week we worked on the following:
Math - We are still working with fractions. We have learned how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators as well as with mixed numbers (whole numbers with fractions). On Tuesday, we will have a math test that covers the above as well as comparing fractions and making fractions from division problems. After the Thanksgiving break, we will work on multiplying and dividing fractions.
Reading - We are just about finished with our read aloud, Sahara Special. This week we focused on how characters change throughout a story and why authors present certain information, but leave other parts to inference. We also looked at how readers have complete knowledge of the main character's thoughts and feelings and how that relates to ourselves and to people we know in our everyday lives.
Writing - Since we had our publishing party, this week was a little light on the writing side. After the break, the students will be journaling more as well as working on some Social Studies writing.
Social Studies - We are continuing to study exploration and it's impact on world history. In the coming weeks we will study various explorers up close. Students will work in groups to write expose articles about the explorers' lives as they uncover new information.
Science - We have completed our study of the Moon and have started to learn about the Scientific Method. In the coming weeks we will be trying various experiments and documenting them using the Scientific Method to organize our data.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and thank you for allowing me to work with your children.
Sincerely,
Debby
I truly enjoyed meeting with all of you last week to discuss your children's progress in fifth grade. It's always a pleasure to share wonderful news.
In the past week we worked on the following:
Math - We are still working with fractions. We have learned how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators as well as with mixed numbers (whole numbers with fractions). On Tuesday, we will have a math test that covers the above as well as comparing fractions and making fractions from division problems. After the Thanksgiving break, we will work on multiplying and dividing fractions.
Reading - We are just about finished with our read aloud, Sahara Special. This week we focused on how characters change throughout a story and why authors present certain information, but leave other parts to inference. We also looked at how readers have complete knowledge of the main character's thoughts and feelings and how that relates to ourselves and to people we know in our everyday lives.
Writing - Since we had our publishing party, this week was a little light on the writing side. After the break, the students will be journaling more as well as working on some Social Studies writing.
Social Studies - We are continuing to study exploration and it's impact on world history. In the coming weeks we will study various explorers up close. Students will work in groups to write expose articles about the explorers' lives as they uncover new information.
Science - We have completed our study of the Moon and have started to learn about the Scientific Method. In the coming weeks we will be trying various experiments and documenting them using the Scientific Method to organize our data.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and thank you for allowing me to work with your children.
Sincerely,
Debby
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Election Day
Hello Families,
It's an exciting day today. We have been talking about the election in the past weeks, but today we learned the "nitty gritty" of how our voting process works. We learned about the electoral votes and what they mean in an election. We also talked about the popular vote and what happened in the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. We even voted on vanilla and chocolate using this system. We found out that the electoral votes were 7 to 3 for chocolate, but the popular vote was only 8 to 7! It was a great example of the difference between the two counts. Finally, we discussed the swing states and their impact on elections. For homework, I have asked the students to keep up with how the election turns out in the swing states. They have the states in their Scholastic News magazine, along with an electoral map. Please allow them to state up late enough to get the outcome for most of them. I estimate that the majority will be in by 8pm, since most are in the eastern region.
Thank you,
Debby
It's an exciting day today. We have been talking about the election in the past weeks, but today we learned the "nitty gritty" of how our voting process works. We learned about the electoral votes and what they mean in an election. We also talked about the popular vote and what happened in the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. We even voted on vanilla and chocolate using this system. We found out that the electoral votes were 7 to 3 for chocolate, but the popular vote was only 8 to 7! It was a great example of the difference between the two counts. Finally, we discussed the swing states and their impact on elections. For homework, I have asked the students to keep up with how the election turns out in the swing states. They have the states in their Scholastic News magazine, along with an electoral map. Please allow them to state up late enough to get the outcome for most of them. I estimate that the majority will be in by 8pm, since most are in the eastern region.
Thank you,
Debby
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