This is what we have been learning in fifth grade:
EL: Students started Unit 2 of the 1st module of EL this week. They are continuing to read the novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Students are reading and making connections to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are also comparing and contrasting characters' reactions to situations and events in which their human rights have been threatened and interpreting metaphors woven throughout the story to determine how they convey themes.
Math:
Students recently finished their graphing unit. Students are now learning about volume. They have started to recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.
a) A cube with side length 1 unit, called a "unit cube," is said to have "one cubic unit" of volume, and can be used to measure volume.
b) A solid figure which can be packed without gaps or overlaps using n unit cubes is said to have a volume of n cubic units. Students will also be measuring volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units.
Science: The students have been learning all about ecosystems; how living and non-living things are dependent on one another. They have been learning about the different roles each organism plays, for example.. producers, consumers, decomposers and scavengers and relating it to our class eco-columns. Student have also been learning about how energy flows through food chains and food webs, and lastly, how humans can have an impact on ecosystems. They are currently working hard on researching terrestrial and aquatic biomes. They will be putting all this information into a flip book that they can use as a tool for review. This will complete the Ecosystems Unit next week. The students were given a study guide today and they are due Friday. Aug. 3rd. They should have all the information they need to fill out the study guide in their science binders. Their test will be Tuesday, Aug. 7th.
