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Two weeks until break! Let's finish strong by being sure to complete work, do our best to avoid distracting others, and practice kindness toward classmates and teachers!

Read-a-thon

Last Friday, PSO provided popcorn donated by Miss Hannah's so that we could have a popcorn movie party. This was a reward for all the minutes spent reading for our Read-a-thon Fundraiser! Great job, 5th Foxes!

Literature Circle

Many students are participating in literature circles as part of their reading instruction, and we are reading Save Me a Seat. Students have time during class to read, but they may also choose to read at home. A copy of the book is posted on Google Classroom for at-home reading, and it is also available as an audiobook in Epic Books.

These literature circle groups are going well, and students are learning to engage with fiction text at a deeper level and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Writing

In ELA this month, we will be consolidating our knowledge of the six traits of writing and applying the strategies we have learned to some new writing pieces and revising older pieces. We will practice applying the traits by

1. Ideas: fully developing our ideas

2. Organization: exploring different ways to organize our writing,

3. Voice: showcasing our own points of view as we write

4. Word Choice: selecting the best words for the job

5. Sentence Fluency: writing a variety of smooth-sounding sentences

6. Conventions: following the rules of reading and writing

Math Groups

Students have been split into different math groups to meet specific needs, and they seem to be working well. We're seeing more progress and greater understanding from everyone. Reminder that students will have homework Monday - Thursday and the Homework Chart is where students can remind themselves of what needs to be completed before the next day.

While we are not assigning a "grade" for every homework assignment, practice is essential for mastery. It is also an effective practice for students to check their own work and identify mistakes. Sometimes they are able to recognize the error (math fact error, sloppy writing, forgotten step, etc.) and sometimes they need to ask for clarification. However, being able to ask about a specific step will improve understanding far more than simply saying, "I don't get it."

Science & Health

In Science, we have begun to study Astronomy: Earth's Place in the Universe and it is a popular topic for many students. In Health, we are continuing to talk about emotions and keeping oneself physically and emotionally safe.

Absent Work

As we continue to navigate cold and flu season, please remember that the Homework Chart and Google Classroom are good sources for keeping up with much of the assigned work. Some work cannot be completed at home, however. Students will need to complete the work upon return to school or skip a practice task until the next opportunity. Math videos can be found on digital.greatminds.org

Returned Work

Work that is not digital is returned to "inboxes," and students are responsible for collecting their work and taking it home. Inboxes are also where they get take home flyers. If you are not seeing papers coming home, please remind your student that it is their responsibility to collect papers. We remind them during pack up time before car line as well.

Agriculture

We had our ag lesson on Friday, and the students learned more about the Hopi people and why we are sending them the amaranth seeds we harvested. They also created seed packets to store the seeds in.

Music

Reminder that a link to the 5th Grade Play was sent via email and will only be available until Deceber 17. Students are also practicing for a recorded musical on December 12.