Happy Friday!  I hope you all had a wonderful week!

This week in Fifth grade we have been very busy, as always! :

Science:  In science we are continuing to learn about the solar system and space.  This week the kiddos started working on a Planet Research Project.  We picked planets out of hat and then began collecting information on our assigned planet.  Once the research portion of the project is finished they will create a presentation to share with the class.  They are very excited!

Writing:  Our second memoir is underway and I have seen tremendous growth in each and every child’s writing.  Each week they amaze me with their deep thinking and their descriptive writing.  I challenged them, this time around, to pick a topic that was more meaningful to them than they had chosen for their first piece.  At first they were feeling frustrated that they had to write a whole new memoir but this week their attitudes have turned around.  The pieces they are creating are AMAZING and their enthusiasm for their work is what makes me most proud!

Math:  This week’s main focus was working with mixed numbers.  We have learned how to turn an improper fraction into a mixed number and how to add/ subtract mixed numbers.  We even learned how to subtract mixed numbers with renaming.  Today we spent time reviewing for our Chapter 9 test that will be given on Tuesday, February 3rd.  We will review again on Monday to make sure that we are confident going into this test.  I sent out an email earlier today giving you a practice test and other resources to use to make sure they are feeling ready on Tuesday for the test.  I appreciate you taking time to go over these concepts with them at home.  

Reading:  We have read several more historical fiction books this week.  They serve as great mentor texts for our own writing and for comparisons across genres.  Our discussions this week were mainly centered on characters and setting in historical fiction books and how they can help us better understand a specific time period and the effects of the event.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Please always feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.  Thank you for everything you do!

Meredith DiFranco

Good afternoon!

We have had a busy week here in 5th grade!


Writing: We finished our first memoir this week!  We spent most of our time drafting our memoir.  The kids have learned how to peer edit/revise and how to ask themselves questions to help them come up with ideas on how to push their writing forward.  We will start our second memoir on Monday.

Math: We had our chapter 8 test on Tuesday and are now about halfway through chapter 9.  We have been learning how to add/subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators.  Our knowledge about LCM has really come in handy during this chapter!  We have also been practicing how to change an improper fraction into a mixed number.  I continue to ask the kiddos to practice their basic facts at home.  I also asked the kids to go on to ALEKS (an online math program that we use here at school) this weekend.  It is a great resource!

Reading: We have been reading and learning about historical fiction.  The kids have really enjoyed reading fiction stories about true events from history.  They are so curious about the events and I have been encouraging them to select these types of books from our school library.  We will continue on with this unit next week.

Our field trip to The Sheldon Concert Hall will be on Tuesday, January 27th.  If your child has not brought in their field trip permission slip please sent it with them on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco

Science: We have been learning about the sun and its physical characteristics.  The kids are so excited about this chapter and it has been really fun watching them learn hold such knowledgeable conversations around these topics. It has even inspired some of them to read nonfiction books about space!  :)

Writing: We have started drafting our first memoir this week.  We have been learning a variety of strategies to use when writing which has helped us as our drafting has gotten underway.  I have given each kiddo a checklist that breaks down each part on their writing.  On the checklist each section is described. This helps them hold themselves accountable for the work they do.   I am looking forward to reading these thoughtful memoirs when they are all finished!

Math: Fractions!  This week we continued to work with fractions and reviewed for our chapter 8 test.  The test will be given on Tuesday (1/21).  The kiddos completed the study guide from the book on Thursday and we went over it today during math.  I also sent another study guide home with them today that they were able to start in class.  If they use these study guides and their previous homework sheets to prepare for the test I am sure they will do great!

Reading: We wrapped up our discussions about theme and started talking about historical fiction.  I read them the book Star of Fear, Star of Hope by: Jo Hoestlandt to start off our discussion.  The kids were so intrigued by the book.  We will continue talking about the characteristics of historical fiction next week.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful three day weekend!  

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco

Happy Friday!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break and had a smooth transition back into school with the kiddos.  I was thrilled to see their smiling faces on Monday morning after not seeing them for two weeks!

Science: We have started a new chapter this week, the solar system!  The kids are super excited and interested in this topic.  This week we started off our unit by reading books, watching video clips, making vocabulary cards, and engaging in conversations with our peers all based around how the Earth revolves and rotates.  Next week we will be learning about stars.

Writing:  At the beginning of this week students participated in an On-Demand writing session as the final piece of our informational unit.  We are now underway in our unit based around memoirs.  We have enjoyed reading memoirs and using mentor texts to help guide us as we create our own memoirs.

Math:  It is that time of the year where we have begun working on fractions.  While many students expressed concerns about fractions, they are doing a great job of pushing themselves and sticking with the problems even when they become tricky.  I introduced them to the “ladder method” today which is a shortcut they can use for several of the concepts we have discussed this week: simplifying fractions, greatest common factors, and least common multiple.  Ask them to show you!  It is pretty fancy. :)

Reading: We have been working on finding themes in a variety of books during reading.  We also discussed the difference between a main idea and theme.  Reading has been a great supporting resource for writing this week!  

Social Studies:  We have been learning about European explorers this week .  Students have been practicing how to read a text and then take notes on the information.  Main idea and supporting details have playing a huge role in our social studies work.

This week we also started the D.A.R.E. program.  All 5th grade classes will have a police officer come to their classroom for a 45 minute lesson, centered around drug abuse prevention, each week.  Our D.A.R.E. days are on Tuesday afternoons.  The kids are very excited!  

I hope you enjoy a relaxing weekend.  Stay warm!

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco