5th Grade Weekly Update for Week of December 2nd
Photo Highlight of the Week: Thank you for joining us for our family feast in celebration of Thanksgiving! Making new memories with those you care about is the best part of the holiday season!
ELA: On Monday, we will hold our final class discussion of Turn Homeward, Hannalee and introduce a new set of vocabulary terms. Students will also need to turn in the reading assignment for chapters 9 and 10. We will also begin reading our final chapters of Shades of Gray. Before we left for Thanksgiving break, students learned how to identify different types of conflict within a story, including character vs. character, character vs. nature, character vs. society, and character vs. self. We analyzed various examples of these types of conflicts within our two novel studies. As we conclude our novels this week and next, we will examine the story elements. Students will learn the meaning of a plot and identify the important elements of a plot, including the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Math: On Monday, we will play a fun review game to help refresh memories after the week long break! Then, students will complete the unit test for chapter 4 on Tuesday. Please look in Friday Folders for the study guide that students previously completed. On Wednesday, we will dive into adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers! Students are familiar with adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators. Therefore, this unit builds on those previous skills and also introduces how to rename mixed numbers when adding and subtracting. As we learn these new skills, please encourage your child to use the graphic organizers we will create to help as he or she practices at home!
Science: This week, we are diving into our final investigation of our Simple Machines Cell. In Investigation Five, students will be introduced to a third simple machine, the inclined plane. Students will explore the relationship between the effort needed to move a load over inclined planes that are the same in height but differ in their steepness. By performing several investigations focused on this relationship, students will discover that, because the inclined planes are the same height, as the steepness of the inclined plane increases, the length over which an object moves decreases and the force to move a load increases. In addition, students will find that when comparing the work done with inclined planes that have the same height but a different steepness the work remains the same due to an inverse relationship between effort to move the load and the distance over which the load is moved. It is important that students study their flashcards 5-10 minutes every night in preparation for the unit test that will take place after this investigation.
History: We will finish up Lesson 17 this week that covers the woman’s role in the Civil War. Our Civil War unit is split up into two different sections because of its length. We’ll test after Lesson 17 and then again after 25. Study guides will be passed out on Monday in preparation for the test on Friday.
Week at a Glance:
Monday: THH Ch 9 and 10 assignment due
Tuesday: Chapter Four Math Test
Friday: Civil War History Test
