I Would Like to Take the Opportunity to Welcome You and Your Child to a Challenging And

Oak Chan

Elementary School

5th Grade

Back to School Night

Mrs.

Wolking

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome you and your child to a challenging and exciting school year. Iamlooking forward, with great pleasure, to working with this year’s class.

It is in your child’s best interest that we work together to aide in his or her education. Therefore, please be diligent about checking PowerSchool Parent. I will also be in close contact with you throughout the year regarding your child’s progress in the classroom.

Sincerely,

Melissa Wolking

School Wide Behavior Plan

The behavior plan at Oak Chan focuses on acknowledging positive behavior in the classroom, on the playground, or anywhere on campus. This plan includes behaviors such as, being safe, kind, on task, respectful, and responsible. These behaviors have been discussed in the classroom and during a school wide assembly. Every classroom will reinforce these behaviors using a variety of methods, such as, Dragon Dollars, tickets, points, verbal praise, etc.

Scholastic Book Clubs

Throughout the year Iwill be sending book order forms home. Ordering these books or computer games is an option, not a requirement. If you order from two forms, please send in one check, made payable to the Scholastic Book Club.

Library Books

Our class goes to the library once a week. During this time your child may check out two library books. These books are your child’s responsibility. They may be taken home or left at school. The books are due back at school the following week for turn-in or renewal, or they will be considered late.

Music

All 4th and 5th grade students participate in the FCUSD music program. Students have a choice of general music, orchestra or band. Music is on Wednesday and Friday at 11:10.

PE

The fifth grade classes will participate in physical education one day per week plus additional minutes from the classroom teacher equaling 200 minutes in a 10 day period. Along with regular skill building activities, students will also be preparing for the fifth grade physical fitness testing. Please make sure your child wears appropriate clothing and shoes on his/her assigned PE day.

Classroom Texts

All classroom textbooks may be taken home at any time, however, they must be returned the following day for use in the classroom. Lost or damaged books need to be replaced immediately.

Math

The math series we are using specifically targets Common Core Curriculum. All students will be taught on grade level, however, extension activities will be offered to those who need acceleration.

Along with the math series, students will also take daily timed tests. These tests include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Students are allowed to take tests home to practice at any time.

Language Arts

Thelanguage arts program in fifth grade is in line with the Common Core Curriculum. There are directed lessons in reading, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and writing. In addition to the series literature, students will also be reading a variety of novels throughout the year.

Included in the language arts program is spelling, vocabulary, and grammar. These are integrated within the program, so very little homework will be related to these items.

Throughout each week, we will be working on specific reading strategies besides comprehension. These strategies include summarizing, author’s purpose, questioning the literature, fact vs. fiction, inference, etc.

Students will also be taking weekly spellingtests. Students will be involved with various spelling, grammar, and vocabulary activities during the weekending with the quiz by the end of the week.

Students will be participating in various writing activities throughout the year. The three types of writing we will focus on include expository, personal narrative andopinion.

Reading Journals and Logs

We will be participating in the reading logs provided by the district. The students are to read 15 minutes and complete an activity Monday through Thursday. They are to be turned in to me on Friday mornings. These require a parent signature after each activity.

There will be a big focus on learning about the different genres of literature. Each child will be required to read 24 books over the course of the year (eight per trimester). We will be keeping reading journals in class which will be used to assess comprehension. The traditional Accelerated Readers quizzes will not be used for a grade but will be available for extra credit.

Social Studies

The fifth grade social studies curriculum covers early United States history and the fifty states and their capitals. After each unit, there will be a test. Each child will be given a study guide to fill out. There is also a PowerPoint Quiz Show on my Social Studies website to help your student prepare for the test. Your child will also be required during the year to memorize all fifty states and capitals. We will be presenting this with fun activities for the kids to do while learning the information.

Expect a few long-term home projects throughout the year. The big Social Studies project of the year will be the STATE REPORT. More details to follow.

Science

We will be implementing the Next Generation Science Standards in our curriculum. You can learn more about all of the standards at Only about five of our chapters cover the standards, so additional materials will be supplemented to address all of the standards.

Homework

The assignments for the day will be listed on the whiteboard. Students are expected to copy the assignments into their agendasand bring home all the necessary books and papers needed to complete the assignments. We encourage parents to check the agendas and homework to make sure it is complete. Any textbook may be taken home to finish incomplete work.

Homework is due the following day at 8:25 am. Assignments brought to school for a student after this time will be considered late. All late assignments will receive only half credit. Please remember that homework assignments are part of your child’s grade.

Students who are absent have one week after his/her absence to turn in missed work.

Homework will include math, science, social studies, and reading assignments.

Grading will be based on timely completion of assignments, quality of work, and student’s ability to work at his/her ability level. The grade scale is as follows:

A =100-90

B =80-89

C =70-79

D =60-69

F =0-59

Power School

Please log intoPowerSchoolto be sure you have access to the system. I do not send home grade checks on a regular basis. You will need to make sure you can successfully log into PowerSchool Parent so that you can continually track the progress of your child. This process eliminates any “surprises” at the end of the trimester at report card time. I will still be communicating with parents if your child is having difficulties, but PowerSchool Parent is an excellent way to stay informed.

Have a GREAT YEAR!