October 3rd, 2017
Good Afternoon parents/guardians!
I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend!
We have finished the first week of Quarter 2! It was a beautiful, fall week full of learning new concepts! We also took our field trip to Microsoft and I hope your scholars shared the experience with you. Make sure to check out the attached photos from the trip! I’m sure many of you also saw a Microsoft Field Trip Application form. While we were there, we set up our next field trip where scholars will actually begin training on Microsoft programs and code. We understand that not every scholar is interested in this, so that is why we decided to use an application for those who are interested in going. All of the applications from Ms. McBride and mine’s scholars will be reviewed by both of us, Mr. Felker, and Mr. Robinson. The next trip is not scheduled until January, so we will let the scholars know well before then if they have been selected!
Just a few reminders; please make sure you are checking your scholars agenda every night and initial/sign it. It will let you know if your scholar received any warnings for the day or if they had to leave the classroom for reflection. Also, please make sure to sign the green sheet in the back of your scholars Friday folder and return it with them the following Monday.
Please remember that you can always check your scholar’s grades, progress, and any missing assignments through PowerSchool. You can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
Novemeber 6th-8th: Class Spelling Bee
November 7th: Voting Day
November 7th: 5th Grade Dental Screening
November 9th: Report Cards Sent Home
November 10th: No School – Observing Veterans Day
November 13th: School Wide Spelling Bee
November 17th: First Quarter Achievement Recognition (10:00am)
November 17th: Mother-Son Movie Night
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This past week we started to learn how to divide decimals. We worked first with dividing by Powers of 10, where you don’t have to do any math but move the decimal to the left! We then worked on dividing a decimal number by a whole number and ended the week by dividing a decimal number by a decimal number. Please continue to encourage and work with your scholar as we start this new concept. Also remember that the BouncePages app can be used to scan your scholar’s math homework and will supply you with links to another look at the day’s lesson and additional practice.
This upcoming week we are going to continue to strengthen our skills on dividing decimal numbers by decimal numbers. We will also work on Order of Operations for a couple of days. We will be participating in stations and scholars will be expected to complete homework to practice these new skills!
Science:
This past week we continued our unit on Force and Motion and focused on motion graphs. We looked at position-time graphs and speed-time graphs. We practiced reading both types of motion graphs and answering questions. We learned that both graphs can show acceleration in an object as well as when an object is at rest or moving at a constant speed. Make sure to quiz your scholar on how they are represented differently on each type of graph!
This upcoming week we will be continue working on Motion Graphs and practicing reading them. We will also be using passages from the Science EOG Coach book to help us better understand the vocabulary and concepts associated with our Force and Motion Unit. Your scholars are expected to complete a vocabulary book for this unit and they will be due on Friday, November 17th.
Reading:
This past week we reviewed and practiced making inferences this week, completing a graphic organizer to track our thinking while watching videos. We then took a quiz on Friday using the same strategy to track our thinking and make inferences.
This upcoming week we will spiral back to identifying the Main Idea and Details when reading nonfiction. Scholars need to be able to identify details that are relevant and support the main idea of the paragraph, section, or book. We will use graphic organizers to track our thinking as we watch videos and read reading selections. Please refer to RL and RI 5.2 questions to assist your scholar with these skills.
Scholars will continue working with their Word Study words this week and will have an assessment on Thursday. They will be required to sort their words correctly.
Scholars should continue reading The Giver and preparing for our discussion groups by having answers prepared for the questions provided by Mr. Felker. Scholars not working with Mr. Felker are participating in a book study of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with me. PLEASE encourage your child to read at home in preparation for class discussions.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding.
Social Studies:
This past week scholars continued to research Native Americans based on the regions they lived in and began to create posters to exhibit the information they learned.
This upcoming week scholars will continue to add to their knowledge of Native Americans by creating posters and presenting the information they have learned to their classmates.
Writing:
This past week scholars used their researched information to begin writing a nonfiction book using the rubric they were provided. They began by learning what a topic sentence is and writing a strong topic sentence related to their topic.
We also began using a Word Study program, Words Their Way. Scholars were given word study cards and used the cards to sort their words into appropriate categories. They then looked in books to find other words which fit into those categories.
This upcoming week scholars will continue to work on writing their nonfiction books by writing an introduction and beginning to add nonfiction text features.
I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend!
We have finished the first week of Quarter 2! It was a beautiful, fall week full of learning new concepts! We also took our field trip to Microsoft and I hope your scholars shared the experience with you. Make sure to check out the attached photos from the trip! I’m sure many of you also saw a Microsoft Field Trip Application form. While we were there, we set up our next field trip where scholars will actually begin training on Microsoft programs and code. We understand that not every scholar is interested in this, so that is why we decided to use an application for those who are interested in going. All of the applications from Ms. McBride and mine’s scholars will be reviewed by both of us, Mr. Felker, and Mr. Robinson. The next trip is not scheduled until January, so we will let the scholars know well before then if they have been selected!
Just a few reminders; please make sure you are checking your scholars agenda every night and initial/sign it. It will let you know if your scholar received any warnings for the day or if they had to leave the classroom for reflection. Also, please make sure to sign the green sheet in the back of your scholars Friday folder and return it with them the following Monday.
Please remember that you can always check your scholar’s grades, progress, and any missing assignments through PowerSchool. You can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
Novemeber 6th-8th: Class Spelling Bee
November 7th: Voting Day
November 7th: 5th Grade Dental Screening
November 9th: Report Cards Sent Home
November 10th: No School – Observing Veterans Day
November 13th: School Wide Spelling Bee
November 17th: First Quarter Achievement Recognition (10:00am)
November 17th: Mother-Son Movie Night
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This past week we started to learn how to divide decimals. We worked first with dividing by Powers of 10, where you don’t have to do any math but move the decimal to the left! We then worked on dividing a decimal number by a whole number and ended the week by dividing a decimal number by a decimal number. Please continue to encourage and work with your scholar as we start this new concept. Also remember that the BouncePages app can be used to scan your scholar’s math homework and will supply you with links to another look at the day’s lesson and additional practice.
This upcoming week we are going to continue to strengthen our skills on dividing decimal numbers by decimal numbers. We will also work on Order of Operations for a couple of days. We will be participating in stations and scholars will be expected to complete homework to practice these new skills!
Science:
This past week we continued our unit on Force and Motion and focused on motion graphs. We looked at position-time graphs and speed-time graphs. We practiced reading both types of motion graphs and answering questions. We learned that both graphs can show acceleration in an object as well as when an object is at rest or moving at a constant speed. Make sure to quiz your scholar on how they are represented differently on each type of graph!
This upcoming week we will be continue working on Motion Graphs and practicing reading them. We will also be using passages from the Science EOG Coach book to help us better understand the vocabulary and concepts associated with our Force and Motion Unit. Your scholars are expected to complete a vocabulary book for this unit and they will be due on Friday, November 17th.
Reading:
This past week we reviewed and practiced making inferences this week, completing a graphic organizer to track our thinking while watching videos. We then took a quiz on Friday using the same strategy to track our thinking and make inferences.
This upcoming week we will spiral back to identifying the Main Idea and Details when reading nonfiction. Scholars need to be able to identify details that are relevant and support the main idea of the paragraph, section, or book. We will use graphic organizers to track our thinking as we watch videos and read reading selections. Please refer to RL and RI 5.2 questions to assist your scholar with these skills.
Scholars will continue working with their Word Study words this week and will have an assessment on Thursday. They will be required to sort their words correctly.
Scholars should continue reading The Giver and preparing for our discussion groups by having answers prepared for the questions provided by Mr. Felker. Scholars not working with Mr. Felker are participating in a book study of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with me. PLEASE encourage your child to read at home in preparation for class discussions.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding.
Social Studies:
This past week scholars continued to research Native Americans based on the regions they lived in and began to create posters to exhibit the information they learned.
This upcoming week scholars will continue to add to their knowledge of Native Americans by creating posters and presenting the information they have learned to their classmates.
Writing:
This past week scholars used their researched information to begin writing a nonfiction book using the rubric they were provided. They began by learning what a topic sentence is and writing a strong topic sentence related to their topic.
We also began using a Word Study program, Words Their Way. Scholars were given word study cards and used the cards to sort their words into appropriate categories. They then looked in books to find other words which fit into those categories.
This upcoming week scholars will continue to work on writing their nonfiction books by writing an introduction and beginning to add nonfiction text features.