November Newsletter

Fifth Grade News:

Our fifth grade started the year right with a wonderful class trip in October to Project Adventure. Students, placed in random groupings, learned to effectively collaborate, communicate and work as teams with the facilitation of Project Adventure guides. The groups played various games and problem-solving activities, and then tackled climbing challenges throughout the afternoon. In order to be successful, group members had to participate whole-heartedly, communicate, and work together. For example, the climbers relied on their belay team, and both parties needed to focus and communicate for everyone’s safety and success. It was delightful to see how supportive and encouraging team members were to each other throughout the day. Group members were impressed by how quickly they got to know each other, and how well they collaborated and worked together. It was truly an invigorating and rewarding day for all!

We continue to thrive academically, as well. In Math, we have concluded our unit on Numbers and Operations in Base 10: Decimals, Place Value and Computation, and have begun a new unit, Number and Operations in Base-10: Multiplication and Division. This is the time most of you have been waiting for! The fifth graders are learning the “standard algorithm” for multiplication. Up until this point, students have been exploring and learning various algorithms and strategies to build their foundational understanding of place value and the concept of multiplication. Now they are ready for the more efficient standard algorithm. They will also learn to explain and model how to divide whole numbers, and explain the meaning of remainders. And of course, we always check to be sure our answers are reasonable. Students continue to explain their thinking, the connections they’re making, and their problem-solving strategies. If students are looking to practice math skills at home, they may logon to IXL or XtraMath. They may also access other online math games via Google Classroom.

In Reading, we are still enjoying our Interpretation Book Clubs. After examining and discussing a video of a book club in action, each book club created their own “Book Club Constitution” to set the stage for positive and productive book club conversations. Students prepare for these conversations by reading analytically and writing about their thinking. Through these conversations, students push each others thinking, and help each other see stories from another person’s perspective. Throughout the unit, students have been learning to read analytically, and notice how different parts of the text are significant to the whole. They are also discovering that readers determine themes by tying together significant parts of the story, analyzing what they really mean. After the culmination of this unit, we will begin a new reading unit, Tackling Complexity in Non-Fiction.

In Writers’ Workshop, the students are in the final stages of their narrative small moment stories. They have been working hard to develop the theme of their story, and elaborate on the “heart” of their story. The students revise and edit throughout the entire writing process (as opposed to waiting until the end). Our next writing unit, Literary Essay: Opening Text and Seeing More, will teach students how to respond to texts in a meaningful way. They will learn to analyze the text, develop a thesis statement or claim, and then provide evidence from the text to support their claim.

In Social Studies, we are launching our study of Exploration and Early Settlement next week with a visit from the Concord Museum. Through a lesson titled “Two Worlds Meet,” students will explore the critical first encounters between Colonists and Native Americans in Massachusetts, looking at the reasons for conflict and the ways cultures work together. This lesson will inspire our own in-depth study, when we will explore the following big ideas:

• Environmental and cultural factors, such as geography, leadership, economics, and societal beliefs, influence the movement of people, goods, and ideas.

• Exploration occurs for many reasons (i.e. science, trade routes, goods, conquest of land, religion) and impacts the world in lasting ways.

•The impact of exploration on native people and the land included social/ cultural, economic, political, and geographic factors.

•Native Americans developed their own complex political, economic, and social systems.

Our study of Ecosystems in Science has been very interesting! Groups of students developed model ecosystems to demonstrate the movement of matter among producers, consumers, decomposers, and the air, water, and soil in the environment. Students understand that these models help us explore and understand our environment better, with limitation. Through various readings, videos and our model ecosystems, we are learning that plants produce sugars through photosynthesis, and that animals can eat plants and/or other animals for food. We are also observing and learning that some organisms, including fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms and recycle some materials back to the air and soil. The overarching idea is that earth consists of diverse and interdependent organisms linked to one another through the flow of energy within an ecosystem. We are also exploring how human impact and natural changes affect the stability of ecosystems over time.

Thank you for your support in making 5^th grade a wonderful experience. Our 5^th graders continue to enjoy their various responsibilities as the role models of Fiske School!