5th Grade Weekly Update for Week of October 29th
Photo Highlight of the Week: Happy birthday Maddox!!! We had fun celebrating with you!
ELA: On Tuesday, students will take their vocabulary test that covers chapters six through eight. Literature circles were very successful last Tuesday! Please check Friday folders for pink sheets that give you an update where they are in the process of finishing their next assignment. Graded literature circles are also included in the Friday Folder. Please review the comments to help prepare for the next week’s discussion. The next Literature Circle assignments will be handed out on Tuesday, after their group meets to discuss chapter two. Week three will cover chapters three and four. On Wednesday, we will review vocabulary for the next two chapters in Shades of Gray. We’ll read chapters 9 and 10 this week. Students will complete a writing assignment that correlates with chapter 10. It will be from our protagonist’s point of view. We will brainstorm together listing pros and cons of a decision that our main character has to meet before we learn the outcome!
History: Our Westward Expansion Before the Civil War Unit will come to an end this week, with a test on Monday. Students were given a study guide to prepare last Wednesday and it was reviewed on Friday. The Jeopardy game used to review on Friday has also been emailed, please use it! We will begin our next unit, the American Civil War, on Tuesday. We will cover the cotton gin, slavery, and what life was like for slaves before the Civil War started. In Studies Weekly, students will learn about the people that immigrated to America, the reasons why they came, and the challenges, hardships, and obstacles they overcame to become Americans.
Math: Last week, we learned the difference between prime and composite numbers, how to find the prime factorization of a composite number, and the difference between greatest common factor and least common multiple. If additional practice with prime factorization, check out this website https://www.mathplayground.com/factortrees.html . On Monday, we will create a graphic organizer that will help remind students of all these skills as we move forward. This week, we will focus on renaming fractions in greater and lower terms. We also have a fun Halloween math lesson in store! The Williams family is donating a pumpkin for each class! We will use these pumpkins to demonstrate math concepts we will learn this year. Then, two lucky students will take home the pumpkin with a carving kit!
Science: We are starting our Inheritance and Adaptations Cell! On Friday, we kicked off the unit by discussing the differences between inherited traits and learned traits/behaviors. Students enjoyed sharing some of the traits they have in common with their family members, and then we polled our class to discover how many inherited traits we have in common with one another. Students created bar graphs displaying the results, which will be on display in our room. Investigation One introduces students to the science of genetics. In our study of plant and animal cells, students learned that DNA is located in the nucleus. Within this lab, students will learn how to extract DNA from an onion cell, and they will discover that individual DNA molecules are not visible to the unassisted eye or even with a compound microscope!
Other: On Wednesday, we have invited students to dress up as a book character! We would like them to write down clues, which they will share with us as we try to guess who they are! We do ask that costumes be appropriate for younger audiences. We do not want to scare any of our little ones on campus. Therefore, no scary masks, etc. Students are welcome to bring appropriate accessories that may help us guess their character, but please only items that will be easy to put away during the day to limit distractions.
Open House will be on Sunday, November 4th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Our fifth grade families are welcome to join and meet the Upper School team! You are familiar with our stellar sixth grade team, but this would be a wonderful opportunity to meet our 7th and 8th grade teachers too!
Week at a Glance:
-Westward Expansion Test on Monday
-Shades of Gray Vocabulary Chapters 6-8 Test on Tuesday
-Dress up as a book character on Wednesday (with clues)
-Jack-o-lantern raffle on Wednesday
-Open House on November 4th from 2:00-4:00 p.m.