5th Grade Weekly Update for Week of January 3rd
Thank you for all of your generous gifts before the break! We feel so fortunate and are grateful to have this group of awesome kids and parents!
ELA: We will be reviewing on Thursday for our unit commas test on Friday. Students were given a bonus commas packet before the winter break and can complete it to replace their lowest classwork/quiz grade in grammar. There’s also a list of fun online comma games attached to help review before the test. On Friday, students will be introduced to our research paper and discuss needed materials for the project. Resources and other materials to begin our research paper will be due by January 14th. Students will choose their president based on a limited list of presidents that are chosen because of availability of age appropriate resources and correlation to our requirements of this specific research paper. Presidential choices will be handed out on Friday. First, second, and third choices will be given to homeroom teachers on Monday morning.
History: In Studies Weekly this week, students will study how the U.S. became a world power. The focus will be on imperialism, the construction of the Panama Canal, and the military base Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Ocean.
Math: We will kick off our new unit on multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers! Our unit will begin with exploring the meaning of multiplying fractions using hands on manipulatives. Then, students will play fun partner games as they practice!
Science: Before we left for our winter break, we concluded Investigation One of Earth’s Forces. Investigation Two allows students to explore the effects of gravity in the context of unbalanced forces. Students make a small and a large object, find the mass of each object, then conduct trials to establish the time that it takes for these objects to fall to the ground. In analyzing these trials, students are introduced to the formula for calculating acceleration. Through collating and presenting their data, students come to understand that while the force of gravity is dependent on the mass of the object, acceleration due to gravity is a constant 9.8 m/s2.