16th Fifth Grade Newsletter

Fifth Grade Newsletter

16th Ten Day Cycle  April 30-May 14

Reading Workshop

We will soon finish our poetry reading unit and begin our final unit of the year:  Author Study.  In this unit, students will identify one writer who speaks to them and will read as many books by this author as they can, becoming experts and insiders on everything this author has written and also everything the author stands for.  As the unit unfolds, students will come to know their chosen author even better in their author book club.  In this way, students will not only get to know the books written, but also have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the author’s craft and intention.   

While enjoying the works of a favorite author students will:

• study how a particular author crafts characters, settings and worlds
• note choices authors make to use these craft moves in their own writing during writing workshop
• analyze and interpret themes across texts

Writing Workshop

5th graders are in the process of planning, researching for, and drafting their independent writing projects. What an amazing breadth of topics and genres the children have selected to write.

As we finish up the independent projects, we will also revisit and review how to show our best writing for the WrAP test.

On Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th, students will take the WrAP test in class. The WrAP, or ERB Writing Assessment Program, is a standardized writing exam. The students’ essays will be sent to the Educational Records Bureau in the U.S. and the scores will be returned to us and mailed to you.

Therefore, please ensure that your child is well rested and has a healthy breakfast always, but especially on the testing days. The children will work on planning and drafting during the first 50-minute testing session on Tuesday. On Tuesday evening, your child can discuss the prompt and his/her essay with you. On Wednesday, s/he will work through another 50 minute testing session to complete the final draft of the essay.

Once the students have completed the WrAP, we will begin our last writing unit of the year, Memoir. Our fifth graders will reflect on experiences from the year, their time in the lower school, and their childhoods to craft a compelling memoir weaving together narrative and reflective elements. Our work in reading about themes and character change will be directed inward as they begin to define themes and changes in their own lives.

Science

Friday, we take the second test in this unit which covers evaporation and condensation. Your child will bring it home for your signature next week; please look for it.

Next up, the “pressure is on” as we learn how convection currents work, both in water an on land. This concept is essential to understanding phenomena like wind, ocean currents, and weather. After that we’ll build on our understanding of convection currents and air density to grasp atmospheric pressure.

Additionally, while the reading covered in this unit will be studied in class, here are the pages in the textbook for your reference:

Math

We completed our study of fractions with the Unit 12 assessment of adding and subtracting fractions.  Please be looking for the student profile to come home at the end of this week or the beginning of the following week.  Next week we will continue our study of Geometry.  During this unit of study, we will be using the Math Connects resources from both chapter 13 and chapter 14.  The concepts and skills to be covered in each chapter include:

Chapter 13: Identify, Compare, and Classify Geometric Figures – Students will be expected to

• Identify and classify different types of triangles and quadrilaterals
• Measure and draw angles using protractors
• Draw quadrilaterals and triangles from given information about sides and angles

Chapter 14: Measure Perimeter, Area, and Volume – Students will be expected to:

• Know and use formulas for finding area and perimeter of triangles and parallelograms
• Relate the area of a parallelogram to the area of a rectangle
• Relate the area of a triangle to the area of a parallelogram

Technology

Grade 5 students are continuing their journey with Javascript coding. In the next two weeks, we will finish up the tutorial lessons and work on basic game development. Many students have asked if they can continue working through their tutorials on their own at home. They are welcome to but not required to. The website is http://www.codeavengers.com/.

For our digital citizenship component, I am speaking with each grade  5 class about accessing or using personal email and/or messenging accounts at school. Many of our students have created personal Google Hangout accounts and other social networking accounts that require users to be 13 and older. Since our students are not yet 13, TAS does not permit students to access these sites here at school. If your child is using Google Hangouts or Google chat at home, please know these features are not available through their TAS email accounts and that your child is using a personal Gmail account to access these programs. With so many children registering for online accounts independently, it may be a good time to have another conversation with your child about what your family expectations are in regards to personal email accounts, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networking sites. If you have any questions about this issue or other technology issues, please feel free to contact Leanne Rainbow at rainbowl@tas.tw.

Mr. Whalen—Counselor’s Corner

At this time of year the focus of guidance is Middle School preparation. Students will be making many decisions in the next few years and we use the STAR decision making model.

This unique TAS acronym stands for: 1. State the problem/decision; 2. Think about the options. 3. Act; 4.Review and Reflect

One key element of decision making for Middle School students is allowing them to have more options. One choice we plan to give students the last two weeks of school is the use of the TAS snack bar. On two scheduled days, your child will be allowed to try out their decision making skills and make some wise choices. They are growing up, which means more responsibility and more freedom!