5th Grade Newsletter

May 1st-May 5th

Religion – We finished up Beatitudes this week.  Next week we will move into a unit on Morality.  We will be finishing the year discussing the importance of Mary in our church as well as the mysteries of the Rosary.  Students will be assessed in May on the Hail Holy Queen and The Apostles’ Creed.  Please continue to add these to your daily prayers at home.  We will be participating in praying one decade of the rosary each week in the month of May with the K-4th graders.  5th grade will be leading the first rosary on Monday May 1, 2017 at 8:40 in the church.  Please feel free to attend.

Reading/Language Arts –  We continue to complete mini lessons/activities for the comprehension strategies.  Mrs. Schaffer’s class will continue to work with the Special Needs Lit Circle Unit.  Students will work in a group to read a novel based on a character with a special need and will research a special need and present the findings to the class. Mrs. Anderson’s class is continuing with Lit Circles.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.

Math –  We are finishing up the unit over fractions.  An assessment will be administered after we have a review in class next week.        

Science -Students tested over our Weather Unit this week.  Those are coming home to be corrected and signed, please return Monday.  Many students took me up on creating a weather related video for a Dress Down pass.  They were AWESOME!!!  We had fun outside exploring the Earth, taking photos of God’s creation this week.  Several students are putting this into a slide show for all to enjoy.  Friday was filled with all we could fit in about the country of Cuba for Cultural Day. Students watched several videos and are in the process of creating a brochure about Cuba.  Those who did not finish this need to work on it this weekend, it is due Monday.  Our next unit of study is all about living things.

Language Arts – The Poetry Slam was a huge success!  The students all did a great job writing poems and sharing their poems with the class!  Today we celebrated Cultural Day by enjoying a Tajada (a Cuban fried banana) and wrote a descriptive paragraph about the Tajada.  Ask your child about the experience.  Throughout the week and into next week, we will continue  a unit on adjectives and Persuasive Writing.

 

Spelling –  Our next Spelling list includes words that are homonyms.  

5th Grade Newsletter

April 24th-April 28th

Religion – We continued working on Beatitudes this week.  Next week we will finish this unit and move into a unit on Morality.  We will be finishing the year discussing the importance of Mary in our church as well as the mysteries of the Rosary.  Students will be assessed in May on the Hail Holy Queen and The Apostles’ Creed.  Please continue to add these to your daily prayers at home.

Reading/Language Arts –  We continue to complete mini lessons/activities for the comprehension strategies.  Mrs. Schaffer’s class has started with the Special Needs Lit Circle Unit.  Students will work in a group to read a novel based on a character with a special need and will research a special need and present the findings to the class. Mrs. Anderson’s class is continuing with Lit Circles.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.

Math –  We are continuing to study the concepts of fractions to increase the student’s understanding of WHAT happens when fractions are multiplied by fractions, fractions multiplied by a whole number, or mixed fractions by mixed fractions.  The students are starting to feel a lot more comfortable with the understanding of these concepts.  It has been fun to watch the light go on!!! :)       

Science -We continued our unit over weather this week and how to measure it.  We discussed severe weather, how to stay safe, weather instruments, the atmosphere, air pressure, the water cycle, and the 4 main clouds.  Our test over this unit is Monday.  We reviewed Thursday and played Kahoot today.  Your child should have their ISN which has all they need to study for this exam.

Language Arts – We will end our Poetry Unit with the Poetry Slam on Monday!  A traditional Poetry Slam is a contest in which poets recite their poems in front of an audience, usually in a public space such as a coffee shop or cafe.  A panel of judges is present to give each poet a score based on a “free verse” poem.  Poetry Slams began in Chicago in 1984 when a poet named Mark Smith launched a Poetry reading at a Jazz Club.  The idea took hold and spread to other big cities.  Schools often replicate the idea as a forum to share poetry as well.  Mrs. Schaffer’s classroom will turn into a “cafe” with baked goods and hot chocolate to celebrate and share poetry. Please have your child bring a coffee mug on Monday.  We’ve also started a unit on adjectives and will begin a Persuasive Writing Unit next week.

 

Spelling –  Our next Spelling list includes words that have the Greek or Latin Roots audi, aero, ambi, and anti.   We will also re-visit Antonyms.  

5th Grade Newsletter

April 10th-April 14th

Religion –  We will observe Holy Week next week by going through the Stations of the Cross in detail.  We will watch short videos about the Stations of the Cross and reflect on them in a journal.  Please feel free to view these videos at the following website.  They are well done, meaningful and relevant to the students’ lives today.   http://bustedhalo.com/video/virtual-stations-of-the-cross

Stations of the Cross will be held on Friday at 2:30 in the church.  Please feel free to join us.  We will continue with The Beatitudes following our Holy Week and Easter unit.

Reading/Language Arts –  We continue to complete mini lessons/activities for the comprehension strategies.  Mrs. Schaffer’s Class and Mrs. Anderson’s Class are continuing with Lit Circles.  Mrs. Anderson’s class presented group presentations over the special needs projects they have been working on this past week.  Lots of great information and presentations.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.

Math –  After reviewing what we know about fractions, we are adding and subtracting fractions.  Skills such as finding common denominators, equivalent fractions, changing from improper to proper fractions all have a new purpose!  I love when the kids start realizing the importance of the skills building on each other!! :)       

Science -We tested over the Respiratory this week and started our unit on Weather Thursday.  Today students watched a presentation by Zach Sharpe from the KCCI Storm Chasers.  Students loved all the great video footage he brought and asked tons of questions to get our weather unit going.  We will continue with this unit next week.

Language Arts – We are continuing to work through a unit on Poetry.  Students will learn Poetry Terms, different types of Poetry, how to study Poetry, and will try their skills at writing Poetry.  We will culminate this unit with a “Poetry Slam.”

 

Spelling –  Our next Spelling list includes words that have -le, -el, or -al at the end of them.  We will also start pairing some vocabulary words with spelling each week to engage the students in a bit more practice with word study.  Context clues will be revisited next week as well.

5th Grade Newsletter

April 3rd-April 7th

Religion –  We continue to re-visit our Lenten Theme-Moving Toward Jesus.  Each student filled out a Lenten Plan that will be reflected on weekly during Lent.  There will be a Lent Prayer Service on April 4th at 8:45.  Please feel free to attend.  We will be finishing up our unit on The Ten Commandments and moving on to The Beatitudes.   As a reminder, Mrs. Alsin’s class will be leading mass next week on April 5th.

Reading/Language Arts –  We continue to complete mini lessons/activities for the comprehension strategies.  Mrs. Schaffer’s Class and Mrs. Anderson’s Class are continuing with Lit Circles.  Mrs. Alsin’s Class is continuing to read the whole class book Bridge to Terabithia.

Math –  We are currently working with positive and negative numbers.  Our next unit of study will be furthering our understanding of fractions and ratios.  We will continue to practice writing the homework assignment and concepts to study in the planner at the end of each class just like they will be expected next year.        

Science -Students have done a great job grasping the concepts and function of the Respiratory System this week.  I have moved the final test for this unit to Wednesday April 5th.  

Language Arts – We are continuing to work through a unit on Poetry.  Students will learn Poetry Terms, different types of Poetry, how to study Poetry, and will try their skills at writing Poetry.  We will culminate this unit with a “Poetry Slam.”

 

Spelling –  Our next Spelling list includes words that have the Greek and Latin roots homo, phobia, auto, and tract.