Sunday, September 25, 2016
It was great to see so many parents at Back-to-School Night!! I hope you enjoyed hearing about the 5th grade curriculum, our daily routines, and the many different ways our students are learning and growing each day. Here’s a sampling…
Reading: Last week, we took part in some pre-reading activities to tap into our prior knowledge (schema). Then, we began reading our first whole group novel, the historical fiction text, Number the Stars. Our guided reading groups are up and running, and students are engaged in focused, purposeful discussion of leveled comprehension questions. Each week, I will be joining their groups to monitor progress, check for understanding, observe group dynamics, and focus on specific comprehension strategies.
Language Arts: In addition to daily word study practice, students took time this past week to prepare our classroom for back-to-school night. They examined the structure of the friendly letter, and composed welcome letters to you. Then, they each wrote their own Bio Poem to hang on our lockers, and even included a self-portrait!Next week, students will be introduced to a weekly fifth grade activity calledNews Room. Every Monday, a News Room team will be chosen for the week. Working together, each team member will choose two New York Times articles to read closely, “unpack”, and present to us on Friday during our live presentation of What’s New in Room 202? (More on this great skill-building activity in the weeks to come!)
Religion:Our study of the Sacrament of Confirmation continued last week. First, students took a quiz on Chapter 8. Then, we moved on in our text to reflect on the many ways we are strengthened spiritually through this Sacrament. As I have done in the past, I plan to invite the St. Michael Confirmation candidates to share their preparation experiences with this year’s fifth graders in a roundtable discussion. Additionally, our classroom bucket continues to fill up with “shout-outs” for the many acts of kindness we observe each day. Next week, we will meet as a community to share the contents of our bucket, and turn our attention to next month’s virtue – Respect.
Science: We moved forward in our study of forms of energy last week with another hands-on lab activity. Students built ramps of varying heights to investigate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. Then, we reviewed the important concepts of this lesson with a few friendly games of Jeopardy in preparation for Thursday’s quiz. Next week, we will delve deeper into the many forms of energy that fall into these two broad categories, and look closely at the ways we use them in our daily lives.
Social Studies:Using the equator and prime meridian as our guides, we sliced and diced our planet last week to explore the concept of hemispheres. As they placed the Earth’s continents into the northern, southern, eastern, and western hemispheres, students discovered that there is more than one way to divide a sphere in half. Ask your child which hemispheres North America is in! In the weeks to come, we will engage in a map-making workshop, andcreate our own physical world maps, including topographic features. Look for them soon decorating the hallway outside our classroom!
A few words about the week ahead…
- Here is a snapshot of our upcoming quizzes. (We will have plenty of in-class review for each quiz.):
- Wed. 9/28: Religion – Chapter 10
- Thurs. 9/29:Science – Unit B: Chapter 3/Lesson 2
- Fri. 9/30: Soc. Studies – Globe Skills
- Friendly Reminder: Homework is posted daily on my homepage of the G.C.S. website. We also block out time at the end of each day to jot down homework in agendas and collect necessary materials. All homework must be completed and turned in on time.
Happy autumn to all!
Mrs. Greco