Week of October 7-11

​Hi Families,
I hope your 5th grader gets to catch up on some sleep this long weekend! Here is what we’ve been up to this week:

Field Trip to Project Adventure
Thank you for filling out the field trip permission forms so promptly! Students are very excited about this fun, thrilling, team-building experience. You can learn more about is here on their website: Project Adventure

Math: 
Unit 2: Fractions as Quotients and Fraction Multiplication. 
We explored the relationship between division and fractions. Students drew diagrams, wrote division equations, and wrote fractions to represent various situations in which items were shared equally. Students should now understand that 3 people sharing 4 [cakes] equally can be represented with a diagram of 4 rectangles split equally into 3 parts, as well as with the division expression 4 ÷ 3, and that each person will get 4/3 or 1 ⅓ of a cake. We also began laying the foundation for fraction multiplication and showing the relationship between division and multiplication.

• Ask your child what 5 ÷ 4 is, what  10 ÷ 4 is, and what 99 ÷ 4 is. Your child should recognize that each answer is a fraction, and that the numerator is the first number and the denominator is the second number, 4, making fourths.

English Language Arts
Science Fiction novel study of My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville.
We began reading this kid-friendly book about a 6th grader named Susan who discovers that her new substitute teacher is a literal alien! I’ve been pre-teaching vocabulary, background, and figurative language. We’ve learned some great words, such as “bleak,” “pitiful,” “gesture,” and “indignant.” I’ve been giving students a choice to read the assigned chapters independently or to follow along as I read aloud in a small group. Students are eager to make predictions and find out how Susan will rescue her favorite teacher from the sinister Broxholm. 

• Ask your child to summarize the story so far. Also ask them to make a prediction about how Susan can stop Broxholm.

We also wrapped up our planning and writing on the theme of The Watsons Go to Birmingham. I taught students how to complete a “Single Paragraph Outline” to build the framework for a well-developed paragraph. Some students were able to take it all the way through to a draft, others just got a taste of the planning process. We will continue to use the outline throughout the year for a variety of writing assignments.

Science: 
Wrapping Up Unit 1: Matter in Motion. 
We learned about the reason for the seasons, night and day, and the rotations and revolutions of celestial bodies this week. Students have another visit from Science from Scientists next week!

Community Building
We continue to develop our confidence, consideration, and listening skills during our Morning Meetings. Students really love the opportunity to say good morning to each other, play a little game, and gear up for their day. I’ve been giving out star tickets to role model students and we’ve even started a class tally chart in hopes of earning extra recess with top notch focus and behavior.

Homework
Most students have been doing a great job completing and returning their homework this week. Thank you for supporting them at home! Please remember to check their reading log in their planner each week and sign it by Monday morning. You can check my Homework Assignment Log to see what I assign and when it’s due.

Important Dates: 

• Monday, October 14:  No School Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day
• Friday, October 18: Monster Mash
• Friday, October 25: Term 1 ends
• Thursday, November 7:  Project Adventure Field Trip
• Thursday, November 14: Early release for parent teacher conferences
• Friday, November 15: No school for parent teacher conferences

Below are some photos from our chemical reaction science experiment as well as photos of students playing together during morning choice time.

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​Check out some great explanations on our Checkpoint A on fractions and division.