SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

We have officially hit our 1 month mark of school! There has been a lot going on in our classroom this past month, and we are looking forward to what the school year still has in store for us. Please read below to find out about all of the learning that is happening in 5th grade at Ivy Hall!

Here are the concepts we are currently/planning to work on:

Literacy

Last week, we finished our first shared text, Night of the Spadefoot Toads. Using this text, we practiced utilizing direct quotes from the text to answer comprehension and inferential questions. By identifying important events within the chapters, we worked on our summarizing skills. At the beginning of the week, we read about Cesar Chavez and his work to help labor unions and practiced finding the author’s main point and reasons. We have now shifted back to fiction and have started reading a short story called "Shells", which will give us more practice in quoting, identifying theme, and describing characters’ challenges.

Writing

Currently, we are in the process of planning and writing our first narrative! Within Night of the Spadefoot Toads, a character named Frankie displayed many characteristics of a bully. Using our shared text as a springboard, students are writing a story that includes a "bullyish" character. In the midst of planning and writing their narratives, students are working on developing elements of narratives, such as plot, point of view, characters, and setting.

Math

We are building up our knowledge of solving numerical expressions using the order of operations and writing numerical expressions. Using a variety of strategies, we are solving multi-digit multiplication problems. Multiplication strategies include the over strategy, doubling and halving, partial products, and five is half of ten. In Number Corner, we are identifying fractions using clocks and money models and finding the volume of rectangular prisms by using the volume formula (length x width x height) and math manipulatives (Omnifix cubes). We will be taking our Post Assessment for Unit 1 next week!

Science

We are continuing to learn about ecosystems. In the past weeks, we learned about the role of producers and how producers make their own food through photosynthesis. During an investigation, we explored the necessities that help plants survive. We learned that it is essential for plants to receive adequate sunlight, water, and air. However, we were surprised to find out that plants do not necessarily need soil to grow! To put this to the test, we planted lima beans only using a plastic baggie and wet paper towel. After about a week, we observed that our lima beans started to sprout!

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, September 20 - Early Release (Dismissal @ 2:05 PM)

• Monday, September 26 - No School (District Holiday)

• Wednesday, September 21 - PTO Ice Cream Social & Book Fair (6:00-8:00 PM)

• Friday, September 23 - PTO Special Lunch (Papa John's)

• Monday, September 26 - No School (District Holiday)

• Wednesday, October 5 - No School (District Holiday)

• Thursday, October 6 - No School & Family Educator Conferences (5:00-8:30 PM)

• Friday, October 7 - No School & Family Educator Conferences (10:00 AM-1:30 PM)

• Monday, October 10 - No School (District Holiday)

Friendly Reminders

• Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night

• Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!

• Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12