Fifth Grade Parent Newsletter # 1
August 30 –
Dear Parents,
This will be our first newsletter from the fifth
grade teachers. We hope this will help
you to know what is being taught and assigned in each class, and when
tests/projects are due.
If your child is a “school messenger,” please return the envelope back to school the NEXT
day. It would help teachers to keep
better track of the envelopes.
Please
save empty baby food jars (glass) for a fifth grade Christmas project!
Listed below is a general outline of the work the
fifth grade students will be doing for the next two weeks (Aug. 30 – Sept.
12). Please check the student’s daily assignment notebook for
specific information. If your child is not
filling in the daily assignment notebook, please let the teachers know. This is an excellent means for you, as a
parent, to know what your child has to complete.
Religion:
Fifth graders will be using the religion text, Faith First. Each lesson is
built upon three foundations: word of God,
worship and prayer, and call to service. Besides using our basic religion text, the
Bible will also be used as a resource.
Students have been reviewing formal prayers: Our Father, Hail Mary, and
Glory Be to the Father. Please check to
see that your child knows these prayers.
Social Studies: The United States: Making a New
Nation is the text used for fifth graders. Students will study about the
early times and events of early
English: Students are working on turning the “theme”
and “problem” of a good book into a good paragraph. 100
Dresses, by Eleanor Estes, provided our ideas (the first trait of the 6-Trait
writing format), and students provided the specifics and details to support our
thoughts. Notes are being written in Language Arts spirals, another reminder
that your child will need to have and
use a Language Arts spiral. Our
hallway is decorated with “I love” personals from the students, and we shared
some individual verses in song during class time. Language Arts teachers throughout the
building have come together in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to focus specifically on student recognition of the
effects of prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
Fifth Grade has been assigned the four prefixes, ad, mis, uni, and trans. Spelling and vocabulary words for the
first couple of weeks will come from these prefix groups. You may check student Language Arts spirals
for the list of words for the week. A
form of spelling/vocabulary test is usually given every Friday. Spelling/vocabulary
words are introduced on Monday.
As
a class, we will begin reading Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee. This powerful and entertaining Newberry Award
winner is part tall tale and part realistic fiction. The students will look at how an author
weaves a fiction story around facts. The
book’s message, or theme, is one of racial harmony and human dignity. It is conveyed effectively and powerfully
through the legend of Jeffrey (Maniac) Magee, and his yearlong search for a
place to call home. Throughout three
sections, Spinelli develops the characters in painstaking detail, and students
will complete a character sketch project for this novel, as well as other writing
assignments.
Students
have received their individual reading logs with a reading goal for this
quarter. Points earned through
independent reading are applied toward that goal, and a percent grade is
included as a test score at the end of the quarter. Each student is responsible for his/her own
reading log. It should be kept in your
child’s Homework Folder, or in the Language Arts
classroom if the student is apt to
lose or forget the folder.
This
year, fifth grade students will be participating in a “Student of the Week”
exercise which involves student performance, discussion, and letter
writing. Teachers will model the program
this week, and your child will be signing up for a turn in the weeks to
come. An information sheet and more
specific details will be forthcoming.
Math: Classes did very well on their review of data
collection, graphing, and finding the median and mode averages for a set of
data. After an activity that reviews
these concepts, they will move on to Unit 2, which deals with place value and
working with big numbers. Students also
completed an assessment of addition and subtraction facts.
Science: Chapter 1 in the new science text deals with
cells and classification of organisms.
Classes have completed work on cell structure and will finish up their
egg experiments, which demonstrate the job of the cell membrane. They will move on to classification and will
be working to classify many organisms in the animal kingdom.
Sincerely,
Sister
Kathleen Marie (Religion, Social Studies)