September 8th - 12th

We encourage all families to join our 5th Grade Facebook page! While the same information is always sent home through email, our Facebook page is a great place for quick reminders and to see photos of what’s happening in 5th grade. It’s an easy way to stay updated and feel connected to the exciting learning and events happening in our classrooms.

Each 5th grader now has a Student Data Binder, which will be sent home on selected Fridays, usually in the middle and at the end of each 9 weeks. Binders should be returned the following Monday. Please note: papers should remain in the binder at all times. Inside, you will find an acknowledgment form—parents/guardians should sign this form each time the binder comes home.

Parents also have access to their child’s daily work through Google Classroom. If you need help accessing it, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher. At the end of the school year, the binder will be yours to keep as a record of your child’s growth.

This first binder will focus on your child’s Beginning of Year (BOY) assessment information.

✅ Quick Review

📅 Sent home selected Fridays (middle & end of each 9 weeks)

📖 Return the following Monday

📝 Do not remove papers from the binder

✍️ Sign the acknowledgment form each time

💻 Daily work also available in Google Classroom

🎓 Binder is yours to keep at the end of the year

Our fifth graders will work on becoming independent readers who think deeply about what they read. During the first nine weeks, students will build stamina, learn how to select “just right” books, and practice strategies that help them understand texts on a deeper level. They will analyze characters, themes, and author’s craft while discussing ideas in book clubs and jotting down their thinking as they read. Our goal is for students to experience “reading growth spurts” and develop a lifelong love of reading. 

During this time, we will also be meeting individually with each student to complete their Fountas & Pinnell reading assessment. These assessments help us learn more about each child’s reading strengths and areas for growth so we can support them best throughout the year.

We have begun reading Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This moving story follows a boy named Kek, who has immigrated to America from Sudan. As he adjusts to a new culture and navigates the challenges of loss and change, he discovers resilience, friendship, and hope.

We’ve chosen Home of the Brave because it is one of the core texts in Lucy Calkins’ 5th Grade Interpretation Book Clubs – Analyzing Themes unit. It provides rich opportunities for students to notice recurring ideas, make deep connections, and practice identifying themes that stretch across characters and events—an essential part of their growth as thoughtful, independent readers.

Our fifth graders will continue their writing journey by learning how to craft thoughtful literary essays. Students will practice reading closely, analyzing characters, themes, and author’s craft, and then use their ideas to write clear, organized essays about literature. They will learn how to develop a strong thesis, support their thinking with text evidence, and revise their work for clarity and style. Our goal is for students to grow into confident writers who can express their ideas about reading in meaningful ways. 

Unit 1: Whole Number Operations - Your child is about to explore multiplication and division algorithms. To master this skill, they will build on their knowledge of multiplication and division from fourth grade. In fourth grade, your child learned models, strategies, and algorithms to solve multiplication and division problems. As your child extends their knowledge of this concept throughout fifth grade, they will learn the following concepts:

•  Fluently use multiplication and division algorithms

  • For example: The first model shows partial products in the area model. When compared to the standard algorithm (second model), you can see how the same partial products transfer to the standard algorithm. 

• Understand prime and composite numbers to support becoming fluent with multiplying three digits by two digits and with dividing a four-digit dividend by a two-digit divisor.

  • For example: The number 7 is a prime number because it only has two factors (1 and 7). There is only one type of array that can be formed: 1 by 7. The number 8 is a composite number because it has at least three factors (1, 2, 4, and 8). There are two types of arrays that can be formed: 1 by 8 and 2 by 4.

While working with your child at home, the following vocabulary terms might be helpful in your communication about multiplication and division algorithms. These are terms your child will be encouraged to use throughout our explorations and during our math chats, which are short, whole-group discussions at the conclusion of each activity.

● Terms to Know

○ prime number: a number with exactly two factors—one and itself

○ composite number: a number with at least three factors

○ square number: the result multiplying an integer by itself

○ long division: an algorithm used to find the quotient of two numbers

○ product: the answer to a multiplication problem

○ quotient: the answer to a division problem

We will do many explorations in class to help your child learn these concepts from firsthand experiences. Encourage your child to share these experiences with you and to teach you what he or she has learned. As your child to identify examples of what he or she is learning in everyday life, such as finding the total cost of an item paid over many months or finding the amount of vehicles needed for a certain number of people going on a trip.

Thank you for your support as your child begins this new learning adventure.

We are now in the second lesson in our unit on Matter and Energy!  We will be comparing and contrasting the physical properties of mixtures vs. solutions.

1. Compare and contrast properties of matter - analyzing the three different states of solid, liquid, gas and understanding that each state has its own unique properties

2. Properties of mixtures - comparing mixtures (solids mixed together) versus solutions (liquid and solid mixed together)

3. Conservation of matter - understanding matter cannot be created nor destroyed

4. Particles of matter - realizing matter is all around us even though it is made up of particles too small to be seen

In Social Studies, students are exploring Native American cultural regions. Through matching collections of photographs and artifacts, they will identify, compare, and contrast the seven cultural regions across North America. Students will also analyze artifacts to determine how Native Americans adapted to their environment and used available resources to meet their needs.

📌 Essential Question: How and why did Native American cultural regions differ?