February 22, 2019 Newsletter

This is what we have been learning in fifth grade:

In EL, students are working on their last unit of Module 3. Students began the unit by reading about Jim Abbott, another professional athlete who effectively led social change in the acceptance of athletes with disabilities in professional sports. They then compared and contrasted the factors that contributed to his success as a leader of social change with those of Jackie Robinson. Students are currently researching a new athlete leader of social change. Next, they will write an essay comparing and contrasting factors that were important to this new athlete with those of Jackie Robinson. Lastly, they will create a poster based on one of these factors and present this information to the class. Students are also learning about correlative conjunctions and including them in their writing pieces.
(RI5.3, RI5.7, RI 5.9, W5.2,W 5.4, RI5.1,SL5.4, SL5.5)

In math, we have been working with decimals. Students have been multiplying decimals with products to thousandths.  They also have been dividing whole numbers by a decimal and dividing a decimal by a whole number. Students have also been using various models and strategies to compute and solve real-world problems involving multi-digit whole numbers and decimal numbers. 
(5NBT5, 5NBT6, 5NBT7)

In social studies, students are continuing their study of  Government and Westward Expansion.  They spent time answering the essential questions – What influenced the development of US government ? They summarized the organizational structures and powers of the US government. (legislative, judicial and executive branches of government.) Students also learned the process of a bill becoming a law. They created bills and put them through our classroom congress to see if they could get them passed and signed into law. Students are now exploring factors that brought change and growth to the US. Next week, they will become experts on an important event during Westward Expansion and create a presentation to share with the class. (5.C.1, 5.G.1, 5.G.2, 5.H.1)

*The last week before track out we will be starting Human Growth and Development during our science and  
 soc. studies time.

February 4, 2019 Newsletter

Here's what we have been learning in fifth grade:

In EL, students are about halfway through the second unit of our 3rd Module. They have been continuing to study Jackie Robinson and build their understanding of the factors that led to his success in leading social change. They have been working with different texts and videos, describing and comparing each author's point of view on the factor that was most important in Jackie's success. On Friday, the student participated in a a text-based discussion on what they believed to be the most important factor in Jackie's success. (RI 5.1, RI 5.4, RF 5.3, W. 5.1 W. 5.2,SL 5.1, SL 5.3, L.5.2, L.5.4)

In math, we have been working on multi-digit multiplication and division. Most recently, students have been working on using various strategies and models to find quotients with remainders. They have also been solving word problems and interpreting and making sense of the remainders.
(5NBT 5;  5NBT6)

In social studies, students have started studying the topics of Government and Westward Expansion.  They will spend time answering the essential question – What influenced the development of US government ? Later, they will summarize the organizational structures and powers of the US government. (legislative, judicial and executive branches of government.) (5.C.1, 5.G.1, 5.G.2, 5.H.1)