Our week in learning 10/30

 Click here for the Fungi and Protists Presentation

The second week of block has already arrived! Students have been enjoying changing classes and experiencing new teachers.

The read-a-thon takes place on October 31! Our class is having a lunch pizza party, so students do not need to bring lunch to school.

Friday, November 3 is a half day.

Note - due to starting a new unit on Wednesday, there will be no math groups Wednesday, November 1.

This week in History, students will begin learning about the Reformation. We will be addressing this topic as a historical event-not labeling “good” and “bad”. Students will be learning about the objective corruptions within the Catholic church at this time, then the Counter-Reformation, and lastly, the Reformation’s effect on science. This week, we will discuss the Counter-Reformation and the revolution in science that occurred with Copernicus and Galileo during the Reformation. Study guides will go home on Monday, October 30th and due Monday, November 6th. The Reformation test will take place on Tuesday, November 7th. We will also learn about the Northwest region of the United States. Please note that there will be a 50 states location test before Thanksgiving Break. The study guides for this 50 states test will go home on Wednesday, giving students 3 weeks to prepare.

In language arts this week, students will be practicing coordinating conjunctions. There will be a quiz on Friday. In literature students will read chapters 4-6 in Where the Red Fern Grows. They will take a cumulative roots quiz on Friday that includes roots 34-36. Recitations of the poem "Narcissa" will take place on Wednesday.

This week in Math, students will finish our first fractions unit. We will review on Monday and take their test on Tuesday. We will jump right into our next unit on Wednesday, so there will be no math groups on Wednesday. Our next unit is continuing with fractions, focusing on multiplying and dividing fractions. Open tutoring is on Mondays, 3:05-3:40.

In science week, students will continue their study of the Animal Kingdom and will be assigned a take-home quiz on Monday, due Thursday. They will also learn about the Fungi Kingdom and complete a take-home quiz over the weekend. Students will fill out portions of their Classification study guides concurrent with the day’s lesson each night. Study guides will be collected for points at the end of the Classification unit.

 

Our week in learning 10/24

 Click here for Classification presentation

Click here for Kingdom Animalia presentation 

Welcome back from the long weekend! This week begins block. Grammar will be with Ms. Speagle, History will be with Mrs. Lynch, and all other subjects will take place in the homeroom. I am pleased to see that students are so excited for this change.

This week in History, students will begin learning about the Reformation. We will be addressing this topic as a historical event-not labeling “good” and “bad”. Students will be learning about the objective corruptions within the Catholic church at this time, then the Counter-Reformation, and lastly, the Reformation’s effect on science. This week, we will focus on

Zwingli, Calvin, and briefly, Henry VIII. We will get to have an enrichment day going over Henry VIII more in-depth after the unit is finished. On Wednesday, students will take the Midwest, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountain Region location quiz. We will also learn about our own Southwest region of the United States. Please note that there will be a 50 states location test before Thanksgiving Break.

This week in Math, students will continue with our fractions unit. We will work on converting measurements and solving word problems. Our unit test will be next week. There will be math groups this Wednesday, 8:00-9:00.

In science this week, students will begin their classification unit, studying the animal kingdom and several different phyla and classes. They will learn the traits of different kinds of animals and how scientists distinguish them from one another. Additionally, students will put their roots skills to work learning species’ scientific names in Latin. There will be an open-note take-home quiz on Friday.

This week, students will learn about pronouns. They will begin reading “Where the Red Fern Grows.” Expect to see a homework comprehension sheet for each completed chapter.

In grammar, students will learn roots 30-33 and take a short quiz on Friday. They will review classifying and diagramming throughout the week. Next week, students will begin studying possessive nouns.

 

Our week in learning 10/16

 Roots quiz link: https://www.playfactile.com/vanceroots/play

Welcome back from fall break! This parent conference week is comprised of half days to ease into our second quarter. This week students will remain in their home rooms, and next week block scheduling begins!

 This week in Math, students will continue with our fractions unit. We will work on multiplying fractions by whole numbers and estimating answers for reasonability. There will be no math groups this Wednesday.

In grammar this week, students will review subjects and predicates and will begin writing bi-weekly prompts focused on showing, not telling. Students will have the opportunity to strengthen their descriptive writing skills by sharing and discussing their paragraphs with the class.

There will be a short roots quiz on Friday, 10/20.

This week in history, students will begin their Reformation unit, learning about important figures such as Johannes Gutenberg and Martin Luther. They will use their Reformation folders that they constructed before fall break to keep track of vocabulary and notes for this unit.

This week in science brings our much-anticipated science fair presentations. Students’ diligence and perseverance has paid off with the result of wonderfully-constructed science fair projects. All this week, students will present their projects to classmates in their home rooms during approximately 5-minute long presentations. Please note that everything your child needs to present his or her project should already be at school - the trifold board and written essay. Other components of the projects should not be brought to school; however, students may bring additional pictures they wish to share.

On October 25, our all-school fifth-grade science fair will take place. All students’ projects will be submitted to qualify for awards! You are invited to come with your child and explore the fifth-grade projects, but attendance is not necessary for your child’s submission.

Parent Conference Sign-ups

 Your child has been working hard, and fall break is finally here! I hope everyone has a refreshing R & R break and comes back ready to begin a new quarter and block scheduling.

 Parent conferences begin on Monday, October 16 and run through Thursday, October 19.  Conferences will take place from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday and until 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Please sign up using the link below.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084ba9a72fa2ff2-quarter

You may sign up for conferences with specialists using the following link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4ea8a92aa7fe3-25specials1

Our week in learning 10/2

 The last week of the quarter is already here! Our end of book party will be on Friday, October 6 at the end of the day. Students will play games, do crafts, and have lots of snacks related to the book! 

Science projects are due on Friday, October 6.

In science, students will learn about Mendeleev’s ordering of the Periodic Table - so precise that he even guessed where undiscovered elements would fit on it! Students will learn about atomic properties and their relations to the Periodic Table, and watch two videos about the mystery of the Periodic Table, relating historical discoveries to our modern-day understanding of chemistry. On Friday, students will take an open-note matching quiz on the chemistry unit. Science Fair packets and projects are due on Friday, October 6!

This week in History, students will finish the Renaissance Unit. Study guides were due today, Monday, 10/2. The Renaissance test will be on Tuesday, 10/3. We will be learning about the Great Plains region of the United States this week. We will set up their Reformation foldables on Thursday.

This week in Math, students will continue with our fractions unit. We will work on adding mixed numbers, word problems, multiplying fractions. We will have math groups this Wednesday 8:00-9:00.

This week in language arts, students will finish up their final drafts and begin typing and publishing them within the class.

In literature, students will finish out the Voyage of the Dawn Treader with a test (they will be expected to put main events of the story in chronological order) and discussions about the characters and their journeys.

Friday, we celebrate the end of the quarter and the end of our book!

Please bring in Where the Red Fern Grows after fall break. :)