Newsletter

Reading:

-We continue learning about personal narratives this week. Our focus is on "showing and not telling" with use of strong verbs and adjectives. We are also examining the use of personification and how it can add to our visual image and understanding of a situation. Finally, we will discuss the use of dialogue and how we can make inferences about character relationships through their conversation. Most of what we will learn is about what is NOT explicity told to us as the reader, but what is implied by the author through use of description, figurative language, and dialogue.

Morphology:

-Greek roots: (we will focus on these 4 for 2 weeks and they will be assessed next week)

graph/gram- To write or draw 

phon- sound 

photo-light

tele-distant or far 

Homework: Morphology worksheet (F/B)- Due Friday

*This was passed out on Monday and put in their Take Home sections of their binders.

In the coming week, we will have a few more lessons where we learn how to how a positive math mindset and the habits of successful mathematicians. Students are learning that math is a language and an agreed upon set of rules so we can communicate and understand one another. To practice this, students will create coordinate grids in small groups, choosing the topic of the graph and the 2 dimensions it varies along. Students have to think intuitively about what they want their graph to communicate without a title. We will analyze each others graphs and try to interpret what it is communicating. Through these activities students have to think strategically and attend to precision, habits good mathematicians use. We will also start to get into our first Module of the year after assessing where we are at. 

Homework:

We are starting homework this week. Students should complete one Simple Solutions lesson a night. The assigned lessons are listed below. We will check/grade our homework every Friday, so students have the opportunity to ask questions and review problems as needed. We will take a SS Quiz biweekly on Friday, starting this week. The quiz questions correspond to the homework, which is why students should take their time when completing a lesson and have an adult check over their work nightly. The homework is never counted as a letter grade, but the quizzes will be included in their Trimester averages. 

*Students may work ahead in their books, but please ensure to only work a few lessons ahead. This will help ensure the material on their homework align with the material on the Friday quiz.

SS Lessons #1 - 4 Due Friday

SS Quiz Friday 8/28

Last week, we began our discussion of how geography can impact culture and cultural development. We  discussed different types of governments and began our first project of the year. I am excited for the fifth graders to really get into their projects this week. 

I gave them a map of a fictional land set 2,000 years ago. The land is divided into four countries. The countries all have different resources and strengths, but they are dependent upon each other for goods and resources. Geographic obstacles restrict trade between the countries. The students were placed into groups and assigned a country. The students are to design a flag that reflects the value and history of their country. They are to decide which form of government their country might adopt and why that form is most likely. They will discuss religious development in their country and why they might adopt worship of certain gods or goddesses. They will discuss what types of people will be the most valued in their country, and finally, they will describe what they think a day might be like for a child their age in their country. 

This week we will work on the projects during class and they will turn in and present their projects on Friday. There is no homework this week other than to prepare for their presentations. 

In Writing and Grammar (WAG), we discussed what a noun is and how to identify nouns. We sorted them in to people, places, things, and ideas. This week will begin our discussion about the differences between common and proper nouns. We will continue our cursive practice during WAG. There is no homework in WAG this week.

Service Opportunity: Blessings in a Backpack @ Alex R. Kennedy Elementary

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