Hello Families,
With the Winter Break coming upon us, we will be working hard to learn as much as we can in this last week. Here's what's on the calendar:
Math - We are continuing our unit on fractions by reviewing division and multiplication word problems. There will be a test on the Wednesday after we return from the break. We will be sure to have a comprehensive review on that Monday and Tuesday.
Social Studies - We have completed our Explorers unit and are moving on to Settling a New World. This unit focuses on North American colonization laying the foundation for our future units about the Thirteen Colonies and our fight for freedom from British rule.
Writing - We are working on finishing the explorer articles this week as well as return to our journaling to spark creativity for our next published story. Our next unit is Realistic Fiction: Suspense. Students will have time for creative writing in class as well as for homework.
Reading - We will be starting our next read-aloud, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, after the break. This week we will be looking at some short stories from The Arabian Nights. These stories were told by Sherehezade to captivate King Shahryar. They are full of action and mystery.
Science - We are continuing to explore the Scientific Method with new experiments. Each experiment is followed by a lab report. This week the students are practicing their observation skills in order to have a better understanding of how scientists develop hypotheses and use data to draw conclusions.
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the break!
Debby
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
This Week in 5D
Hello Families,
Here's what we're working on in the coming week:
Math - Today we had a quick review of all the material we have covered since September. This is one way we can solidify information previously learned. The Singapore Math program allows for this review time as we work through each unit. For the rest of the week we are working on multiplying and dividing fractions.
Reading - We are focusing our reading on non-fiction at the moment. There is a lot of information to learn in our Exploration unit and we will be combining Reading with Social Studies content.
Writing - We are continuing to work on our exposes about the various explorers. In addition, the students are working on a final project to complete our read aloud, Sahara Special. This project involves creating a file (an actual file folder) that shows who we present to the world on the outside and then some more personal things that not everyone knows on the inside. A three-paragraph essay about why we share and hide certain things about ourselves, whom we choose to share ourselves with and what might we like to change about our "file" if we could. The essay will be done in class, but the rest of the assignment is to be done at home. It is due on Friday.
Social Studies - We are continuing our study about Exploration. We have already discussed the Spanish and Portuguese explorers and have touched on colonization. We will continue on with English, French and Dutch exploration as well as how these discoveries affected Native Americans.
Science - This week the students will learn how to write up a lab report. We designed an experiment about which paper towel was the most absorbent and carried that out last week. At the time, we took notes about our method, data, and materials. This week we will translate that into a report.
Other News - In the past two months or so, the middle school classes have invited the fifth graders to visit their classrooms. Our students have had some great opportunities to both interact with the middle school students as well take a peek at some of the exciting activities available to the students.
We have visited the Financial Literacy class (an activity period class) where the students had made bracelets and were "selling" them to our classes. We used their version of money called "Biz Bucks" to make the purchases and the we were allowed to keep them.
We have also visited the PinHead Cafe. This is a special activity that only happens a few times a year in Mr. Taylor's class. The classroom is set up as a small cafe with an "open mic" for students to share various creative works they have developed. The eighth graders get all dressed up and students take turns pouring drinks and handing out food to each other as the performances continue. The lights are dimmed and the ambiance feels very intimate and "safe" for students to freely express themselves. It was a wonderful experience.
In our visit to the Robotics class (another activity period), we were able to see how the students created various robots which they programmed to do certain "tricks." This was a great class for technology-minded students to expand upon their interests and skills.
This Friday we are visiting Mr. Lyon's 6th grade class to watch the students present various projects relating to their current Social Studies content (Ancient Civilizations). I'm sure it will be a great experience as well.
Have a great week!
Debby
Here's what we're working on in the coming week:
Math - Today we had a quick review of all the material we have covered since September. This is one way we can solidify information previously learned. The Singapore Math program allows for this review time as we work through each unit. For the rest of the week we are working on multiplying and dividing fractions.
Reading - We are focusing our reading on non-fiction at the moment. There is a lot of information to learn in our Exploration unit and we will be combining Reading with Social Studies content.
Writing - We are continuing to work on our exposes about the various explorers. In addition, the students are working on a final project to complete our read aloud, Sahara Special. This project involves creating a file (an actual file folder) that shows who we present to the world on the outside and then some more personal things that not everyone knows on the inside. A three-paragraph essay about why we share and hide certain things about ourselves, whom we choose to share ourselves with and what might we like to change about our "file" if we could. The essay will be done in class, but the rest of the assignment is to be done at home. It is due on Friday.
Social Studies - We are continuing our study about Exploration. We have already discussed the Spanish and Portuguese explorers and have touched on colonization. We will continue on with English, French and Dutch exploration as well as how these discoveries affected Native Americans.
Science - This week the students will learn how to write up a lab report. We designed an experiment about which paper towel was the most absorbent and carried that out last week. At the time, we took notes about our method, data, and materials. This week we will translate that into a report.
Other News - In the past two months or so, the middle school classes have invited the fifth graders to visit their classrooms. Our students have had some great opportunities to both interact with the middle school students as well take a peek at some of the exciting activities available to the students.
We have visited the Financial Literacy class (an activity period class) where the students had made bracelets and were "selling" them to our classes. We used their version of money called "Biz Bucks" to make the purchases and the we were allowed to keep them.
We have also visited the PinHead Cafe. This is a special activity that only happens a few times a year in Mr. Taylor's class. The classroom is set up as a small cafe with an "open mic" for students to share various creative works they have developed. The eighth graders get all dressed up and students take turns pouring drinks and handing out food to each other as the performances continue. The lights are dimmed and the ambiance feels very intimate and "safe" for students to freely express themselves. It was a wonderful experience.
In our visit to the Robotics class (another activity period), we were able to see how the students created various robots which they programmed to do certain "tricks." This was a great class for technology-minded students to expand upon their interests and skills.
This Friday we are visiting Mr. Lyon's 6th grade class to watch the students present various projects relating to their current Social Studies content (Ancient Civilizations). I'm sure it will be a great experience as well.
Have a great week!
Debby
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