Week of March 13, 2017

Highlights from Last Week:

Meteorologist Matt Noyes from NBC Boston visited fifth graders on Tuesday to talk about weather. Students got to see the Weather Warrior weather tracking vehicle. Check out the video at the bottom of this page.
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This week we got some good practice in for reading open responses. Students learned how to structure a written response about a prompt by mirroring the prompt, stating a literary action, provings support, and unpacking the meaning. The level of students' responses just went to 11.

Students learned how to model fractions times fractions in math. The algorithm is easy, but understanding why it works through modeling is where the real brilliance occurs. 

In writing, students explored how to use text structures to enhance their informational writing projects. Students brainstormed ways to incorporate three different text structures into their work: topic/detail, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution. Students are getting pretty creative in how they present information.


What We Didn't Get To:

• One group of students still needs to look at the standard algorithm for fraction multiplication.
• In Social Studies, we started learning about the northern, middle, and southern colonies. We also didn't get to look at life as a slave.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​​​

• CSA Book Fair -Monday thru Wednesday, March 13th, 14th, & 15th.
• Early Release -Wednesday, March 15th. Parent Teacher Conferences.  Sign up Here
• Field Trip to the Ecotarium --Friday, March 17th. We'll learn about weather, the seasons, the sun, and much more.

Special Activities:

• Field Trip Friday! 

Math:
Fraction Multiplication.​

• Standard Algorithm for Fraction Multiplication –Once students understand the concept of fraction multiplication, we will practice the standard algorithm and simplifying fractions.
• Whole numbers times mixed numbers –Mildly challenging.
• Mixed numbers times fractions –Challenging.
• Mixed numbers times mixed numbers –The ultimate challenge in fraction operations!

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.
• Informational Text Structures --We look at various ways of structuring informational texts, such as topic/detail, compare/contrast, sequence, and cause/effect.

Writing:
Informational Writing.​

• Developing Vocabulary --Students will learn how to use precise language and expert vocabulary to explain their topics.
• Linking & Thinking Words --Students will learn how to incorporate linking and thinking words and phrases to connect ideas, paragraphs, and topics.

Social Studies:
Colonial America.

• Short Research on Colonial Culture –Students will choose a topic they were interested in from the book, “Your Travel Guide to Colonial America,” and research it further. They will work in partnerships to create a short presentation to teach the class about their learning.
• Journal Writing –We will take what we learned from our Colonial America reading and write from the perspective of an American Colonist.

Science:
We switched to Social Studies.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details.

1. Students continue working on their Homework Project, "Creature Feature." Due date is Monday, March 20th.
2. Students will get a partner this week and will need to write to their partner on Reading Response Blog #8.
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.​

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