March 26th, 2017

After our presentations on Colonial American life.

Highlights from Last Week:

Students had been working during the week on creating short presentations to teach about an aspect of Colonial American life. They studied colonial homes, healthcare, jobs, travel, entertainment, and more, and compiled their knowledge into entertaining little skits and slideshows. 

Students also shared their Creature Feature projects. Creativity abounded with a variety of creatures roaming the imaginations of students. We saw a wide range of imaginary creatures, all with unique adaptations that help them survive in their sometimes imaginary environments.


What We Didn't Get To:

• In Math, fraction division. The area model for multiplication was trickier than anticipated.
• In Reading, rewriting a story from another character's point of view.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​

• Talent Show Set Design Work --Tuesday, March 28th from 3-4pm;  Thursday, March 30th from 3-5pm;  and Tuesday, April 4th from 3-5pm.
• Conference Make-Ups --Wednesday, March 29th (also an early release day now)
• District Choral Concert --Wednesday, March 29 at 6:30pm in the Mudge Auditorium. "Dress to Impress."
• Council on the Aging Choral Performance --Thursday, March 30th at 1:45pm.
• Grade 5 ELA MCAS --Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, April 5th-7th.

Special Activities:

• Citizenship Project -Students will select an organization and cause to support. We will discuss ways to support the cause/organization and take steps to action.

Math:
Begin Fraction Division.​

• Fractions divided by whole numbers -Fifth graders learn fraction division by modeling. We'll cut fractions into smaller parts and relate it to multiplication.
• Whole numbers divided by fractions -We'll fill wholes with fractions to see how many fit in.
• Review for a Fraction Multiplication and Division Assessment. Study Guide here.
• Assessment --Students test their understanding of fraction multiplication and division.

Reading:
Book Groups and Informational Reading.

• Book Groups & Literary Analysis --We continue our discussions and students work on writing summaries, asking questions, and identifying important information.
• Rewriting a story from another character's point of view -Students will learn craft techniques that help their writing have a distinctive point of view.

Writing:
Informational Writing.​

• Helping Readers Imagine --Students will practice bringing their readers into their text using short narrative elements.
• Using Quotes from Experts --We'll learn how to incorporate the words of scientists, historians, and other experts into our writing.
• Conclusions --We'll learn how to write summarizing conclusions that help readers think back on all that was covered.

Social Studies:
Finish Colonial America.

• Colonial Life Project --Students finish their profiles and journal entries. 
• Colonial America Quiz --Students take a short quiz about Colonial America to see what they learned from their research and presentations.

Science:
Begin Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems.

• Food Webs –We will learn how organisms are related to one another by what they eat in their ecosystems. We’ll learn about producers, primary and secondary consumers, decomposers, and more.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. There is a new homework project called, "Invention Convention." It is due Tuesday, April 11th. 
2. The Reading Response Blog is glitching, so we're moving to Google Classroom for the next blog. Students will summarize a part of their independent reading.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.

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Thanks for Reading!
That's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.​