December 3, 2014 Track-out Newsletter

Happy almost track-out! Just a few last minute reminders...We will have our classroom Spelling Bee on Thurs. Dec. 4th. We will also be having a special snack in the afternoon of the 4th, as well. Our last day before track-out will be Friday, Dec. 5th. We will have a movie in the afternoon that day for both Track 1 classrooms. Report cards will be going home on Friday, as well. The students have worked very hard this quarter! To ensure your child retains what they have learned, over track-out, students can continue to read daily , use Lexia and Moby Max(math). We appreciate all their effort this quarter and all your help and support at home! Have a wonderful track-out and holiday! See you all in 2015!

November 19, 2014 Newsletter

Here is what we have been learning in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete the menu entitled: James Forten.

Students will analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic noting similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.  They will also rewrite a scene from the James Forten story from a new perspective.

Writing: This week we will complete the opinion piece on a topic supporting a point of view with reasons and information. Students will share stories with the class.

Math:  Students have finished up their unit on dividing decimals . They have now moved into using parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluating expressions with these symbols. They will also be writing simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them. The following is an example of this: express the calculation "add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2" as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum or product.

Social Studies: The students have started their study of the Revolutionary War with Mrs. Beyer.  They will learn: how independence is gained; how European settlements changed the land and people of North America; the causes of the Revolutionary War and the aftermath of the American Revolution.

November 5, 2014 Newsletter

Here is what we are currently learning in fifth grade: 

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete the menu entitled: Toliver’s Secret.  Students have been working to compare and contrast two stories considering the author’s point of view using evidence from the text.

Writing: This week we will continue and try to complete an opinion piece on a topic supporting a point of view with reasons and information. They will strive to provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

Math:  Students have finished their multiplying decimals unit and are starting to divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies. They also will be relating the strategy to a written method and explaining the reason it was used.

Social Studies: The students have started their study of the Revolutionary War with Mrs. Beyer.  They will learn: how independence is gained; how European settlements changed the land and people of North America; the causes of the Revolutionary War and the aftermath of the American Revolution.

 

October 22, 2014 Newsletter

What we have been learning in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete their Daily 5 Menu entitled: “Katie’s Trunk”.  We will continue to review text structure and also analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting similarities and differences in the point of view they represent. 

Writing: This week we will begin to write an opinion piece on a topic supporting a point of view with reasons and information. They will strive to provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

Math:  Students have fininshed the coordinate grid unit and are now starting multiplying and dividing decimals. They will be multiplying and dividing decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction. They also will be relating the strategy to a written method and explaining the reason it was used.

Science: We are finishing up our force and motion unit. The students were given a study guide on Monday. They need to complete 20 of the 29 questions by this Friday. They can work on this in class and at home. Their test will be next Tuesday, the 28^th and their Case 21 will be on Wednesday the 29^th. 

October 8, 2014 Newsletter

Here is what we have been learning in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete their Daily 5 Menu entitled: “And then What Happened, Paul Revere?”; a biography.  We will be concentrating on nonfiction this quarter. Students will spend time learning to compare and contrast the text structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.  Examples of text structure we will cover include: chronology, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution.

Writing: In Quarter 2, students will write an opinion piece on a topic supporting a point of view with reasons and information. They will strive to provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

Math:  Students are finishing up their geometry unit, where they have been working on understanding that attributes belonging to a category of two dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category. For example, all rectangles have four right angles and squares are rectangles, so all squares have four right angles. They have also been learning to classify two-dimensional figures in a hierarchy based on properties. Next, we will be moving into using and understanding coordinate grids. They will be representing real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

Science: We have started our Force and Motion unit. The students are beginning to understand the concepts of force and motion and the relationship between them. They are also inferring the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time and the direction in which they travel.

August 20, 2014 Newsletter

Here is what we have been learning in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete their Daily 5 Menu entitled: “The Golden Lion Tamarin”.  Students are working to identify text features used in this story and write a brief description of what they learned from each feature.  They will also determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text.

Writing:

 Students will explore mentor texts that discuss features of a memoir and begin to think like a writer as they prepare to write their own memoir.

Math:  Students have been working on rounding decimals and powers of 10. Next they will be adding, subtracting decimals to the hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction. They will also relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

Science: The students in Mrs. Beyer’s class are working hard on their biome research projects.  They will be completing their flipbooks this week. . They also will be putting together their eco-columns and discussing the roles of the organisms that are living in the eco-column. The students will be getting a study guide on Thurs. the 21st. They are to complete 18 of the 23 questions by Wed. the 28^th. We will go over the rest of it in class and the ecosystem’s test will be on Aug.29^th. Both classes will take the Science Case 21 the last week before track out.

Social Studies:  This Tuesday students will take a vocabulary and short answer test. Afterwards they will begin a research project from a specific period in time.  They will research trading partners with the US, imports and exports, and economic growth of that time period. Students will present projects in class when they are competed.

August 6, 2014 Newletter

Here is what we have been learning in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE: This week students will complete their Daily 5 Menu entitled: A Boy Called Slow.  They have been working to determine the theme of the story and how characters respond to challenges. They have also worked on story vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Writing:

This week students will continue working on narrative writing but the focus shifts to memoirs later in the week. Students will explore mentor texts that discuss features of a memoir and begin to think like a writer as they prepare to write their own memoir.

Math:  We have been reading, writing, and comparing decimals to thousandths place. We will be moving into rounding decimals and powers of 10. The students will be recognizing that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.

Science: The students in Mrs. Beyer’s class are starting the ecosystem unit. We will be discussing living and non- living things and how they depend on one another in an environment. The students will be researching land and water biomes and creating a flip book with this information. 

Social Studies:

The students in Mrs. Topoll’s class will begin the unit on Economics. We will answer the question, “How do economic decisions affect our lives?” They will begin by learning the importance of developing a budget for savings and spending. We will also spend time discussing the role of international trade between the US and other countries.  We will work on unit vocabulary and practice taking notes.

July 23, 2014 Newsletter

5th Grade Track 1

Mrs. Beyer and Mrs. Topoll

Here is what we have been learning so far in fifth grade:

Daily 5/CAFE:

This week students will have completed their first Daily 5 Menu. The first story entitled, “The Grizzly Bear Family Book which relates to our Ecosystems science unit. They are also learning how to work on menu items and budget their time to complete assignments on time. Students will be meeting with their teacher in a strategy group throughout the week to work on selected story skills and comprehension tasks. Students will pose questions and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion in a mini lesson. They will also practice summary writing in this menu using a graphic organizer.

Writing:

Students will practice writing their first Personal Narrative based on topics they have generated in the Writer’s Workshop.

Math:  The students have been discussing place value and powers of 10. They also have been multiplying multi-digit whole numbers using a variety of strategies such as, the rectangular sections and rows methods, and short – cut method.  In addition, we recently started division and finding quotients of whole numbers with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors. We have done this by using a variety of strategies such as, area model and short-cut method. They have been discussing the relationship between multiplication and division and continuing to review all the different problem solving strategies using real world multiplication and division word problems. Next, we will be moving into decimal place value. The test over this material will be on Friday.

Science: We are working on our Ecosystems unit. We discussed living and non- living things. We also discussed how living and non-living things depend on one another in an environment. The students put together their eco-columns and discussed the roles of the organisms that are living in the eco-column. The students are researching land and water biomes and creating a flip book with this information. They were given a review sheet for the test that will be due next Wed. the 30^th. The test will be August 1^st.

Social Studies:  Students have been learning how economic decisions affect our lives. They will be taking a test on Tuesday covering vocabulary and several short answer questions discussed in class.  This week they will begin an economic s project in class. Students will research trading partners with the US during their assigned time period, imports and exports, and economic growth.  Projects will be presented in class.

Announcements

**Thank you to Mrs. Merritt for volunteering to be Mrs. Topoll’s head room mom.**

** Thank you to Mrs. Pudelski and Mrs. Miller for volunteering to be grade moms for Mrs. Beyer.**

**If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom, please be sure you register and cleared by Wake County. You must register every school year.