The Week of December 2, 2013

Math: We will be starting Unit 5 (which is a long unit). We will complete the first part of the unit, which covers fractions, mixed numbers, and ordering/comparing fractions, until December break. We will learn the contents of part 2 in January. Please encourage your child to practice on IXL(skill practice) and Xtramath (fact practice) a few times a week. It is a great preview/review resource. 

Writing:  We will begin WEX Book 2 (Response to Literature) in January. Until then, we will be doing a unit on Character traits. We will identify traits of a character in our books, think about what traits we would like to have if we were fictional characters, and then create a COMIC LIFE graphic novel illustrating various traits. This will connect nicely with the books students are reading during our novels time. 

Reading/Novels:  We will be working on Activating/ Connecting our knowledge with our Reader Response notebooks. Students will be given guided practice with a National Geographic article, then practice in pairs, and finally practice independently. Their post-it notes as they read, and their written responses will serve as their assessment pieces. 

IMPORTANT:

There will be no monthly letter for the month of December.

Social Studies:  We will be doing a partner research activity on various Revolutionary War battles. Students will research, then present their findings with the class We will start our science unit, "Watery Earth" in January. 

Research in the LMC:  Our "Various Perspectives" research project ended last week. Please look for rubrics/evaluations in your child's home folder. You can also see their editorials below. 

Special Events

• Many students are looking forward to the upcoming Geography Bee. Here are some resources to help prepare. 
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/sample-questions/
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/quiz/today/
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/puzzlesquizzes/quizyournoodle-geography-bee/

Editorials

For our LMC research project, students researched the pros/cons of various current-day topics and wrote an editorial based on their findings.

Josh
Rayvn
Noah
Daniel M
Chrystel
Gianna
Justin
Christina
Penny
Jason
Hailey
Erica
Won Jun
Kyle B
Jillian
Daniel
Preeti
Renusree
Patryk
Pareena
Zoey
Carlos
Kyle S

Week of November 18, 2013

Math:  On Monday students will have a chance to review for the Chapter 4 test which will be given on Tuesday. If students need additional time, Wednesday will be offered as well. On Thursday, we will begin to review fraction concepts to prepare for Chapter 5. We will finish out the week with problem solving. Students have been explicitly taught various strategies/approaches. They are also expected to explain what they did/why they did it for each step of the problem. I suggest over Thanksgiving break students practice with fractions on IXL. 

Writing:  Students are finishing up their final drafts of poems. In addition, we will do some fun writing prompts/poems that relate to Thanksgiving. 

Reading/Novels:  This week students will practice noticing text features and their purposes in non-fiction texts. In addition, we will be reading a historical fiction story entitled, "Sleds on Boston Common". We will be making inferences and using text clues to do so. This is our last week with our current novel groups. 

IMPORTANT:

Monthly Letter Template on Google : Remember, if you turn it in before break, it will be extra credit. Otherwise, it is officially due on Dec. 2nd (just like your book report!)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will finish Chapter 13 and a project that highlights four major reasons for winning the war. Students can expect a test on Thursday. 
States/Capitals Game!

Research in the LMC:  We have 4 lessons in the LMC this week to finish our research project. Students should have completed their independent research by now, and will soon be expected to write a script in which they share what their research indicates. 

Special Events this week!

-Report Cards! 

-Conferences are next Monday/Tuesday

Week of November 11, 2013

Social Studies Discussions Link for 5th Grade

Math:  We will be finishing up the concepts of Chapter 4. Students are encouraged to practice division concepts on IXL. A test can be expected next week. 

Writing:  We are finishing up the writing portion of our poetry unit. Students will be typing up their poems, revising them, and sharing them with the class. 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will be learning some new comprehension strategies. We will be using National Geographic articles. 

My novels group:
Comprehension Quiz 4

Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google : Remember, if you turn it in before break, it will be extra credit. Otherwise, it is officially due on Dec. 2nd (just like your book report!)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will be learning about the four contributing factors to winning the Revolutionary War. 

Research in the LMC: Students researched either a patriot or loyalist from Chapter 11 of the History Alive book. This week we will be having small group discussions about the varying viewpoints and record them/post to our blog. Stay tuned! 

Special Events this week!

-No school on Monday due to Veteran's Day!

Week of November 4, 2013

Math:  Students will get back their Unit 3 tests that went over geometry concepts. All students will need to get a parent signature and make corrections. Unit 4 will cover long division. We will get through 4.4 this week. Students will still be encouraged to do IXL independently for 20-30 minutes each week, as well as practice math facts on Xtramath. 

Writing:  Students will continue to be introduced to a variety of poems. They will get a chance to finish up their Tankas on Monday. We will learn about figurative language and how it impacts poetry (similes, metaphors, alliteration, personification). 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will be doing mini-lessons on monitoring our comprehension using the "Read, Write, Talk" strategy. I will model good reading behaviors, students will practice in pairs, and then will have the opportunity to practice the skill independently. I will be providing students with differentiated articles based on their lexiles.  For novels, we will continue to switch classrooms, depending on which novel your child is reading. 

My novels group:

Quizes:
Vocabulary Quiz 2
Comprehension Quiz 3

Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google (Remember a letter & your project on mysteries is due before Thanksgiving break)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will finish Chapter 12 and have a test on Tuesday. We will begin Chapter 13 on Weds. 

Research in the LMC: This week we will be there Thursday & Friday for our newly assigned project. 

Special Events this week!

- Friday from 2:30-3:30 Mrs. Albrecht will be doing a challenge activity with our class.