5th Grade Weekly Update for Week of January 8th
Photo Highlight of the Week: I am so proud of all the students who volunteered to participate in our mystery scientist project! These students included Thomas, Bella, Sydney, Bisher, Sohini, Jordin, Clara, Dillon, Leanne, Alex M., Blythe, and Ale! You blew us away with your presentations!
ELA: Please make sure to send in all research paper resources and supplies on Monday. This includes printing off websites and online encyclopedia articles. We will start using our resources next week! Our focus this week will be practicing how to take proper notes from research materials and recording them on note cards. Students will practice using smaller amounts of information about familiar presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They will also work with small groups to critique sample note cards. Once they have practiced, they will begin their own research on their chosen president! In grammar, we are moving to the last unit in the Grammar Workshop book because it directly relates to the skills they will be using while working on their research papers: writing sentences correctly and using capitalization with proper nouns.
History: Students did a wonderful job on Friday creating a practice outline based on Jefferson Davis. We will finish those outlines on Monday, and then move on to Lessons 20-22. Lesson 20 covers some of the final major events of the Civil War: the Battle of the Wilderness, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and the surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse. We’ll learn about Lincoln’s assassination after the Civil War ended and how the South was affected by the Civil War.
Math: Last week, students enjoyed using graham crackers to illustrate the meaning of multiplying fractions. Then, we used an interactive online tool to help us better understand how this concept is modeled with pictures. Here is the link to that tool if students would like to explore it further: https://www.geogebra.org/m/RqRdUusq
This week, we will learn how to multiply mixed numbers and dive into dividing with fractions! On Monday, students will receive a problem-solving packet, which is due Friday.
Science: I’m so proud of the students who volunteered to participate in the extra credit mystery scientist project. It was evident that all participants worked hard to design creative ways of sharing the life of his or her scientist. We all enjoyed listening to the presentations, and some of the posters are hanging in the classroom for others to see!
In lab, students completed Investigation Three. Students discovered that rougher surface types have a higher degree of frictional force, which causes objects to travel shorter distances. We will build on this understanding as students learn how to measure the frictional force acting on an object using our spring scale. They will also explore the relationship between an object’s mass and frictional force.
Other: Don’t forget to mark your calendars for January 15th, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will not attend school this day. To celebrate the life of this important historical figure, we will meet with our book buddies on Friday to create a mural honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. If you and your family are looking for ways to give back to the community on this day, check out the link below. The Atlanta Journal Constitution listed some wonderful opportunities that may interest you!
http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/events/where-volunteer-mlk-day-service-2016/njgWw/