Weekly Newsletter, May 6 to May 10

Writing:
Our focus for Quarter 4 in Writing will shift from informative essays to personal expression. Students will begin Earth Month (April) with an informative piece before moving on to write Autobiographies and Biographies.

This week our focus will be to completing our final draft of our autobiographies. Last week our focus was revising and editing our work.  It is important for students to hear their own writing to determine if it makes sense to them.  It is also important for students to look for grammar errors.  Next, students read their work to a partner to receive feedback.  Partners use the rubric to guide the discussion as they worked to help improve their partner's writing.  Following the student and partner revision will be a teacher conference.  Our goal is to complete our final copy by May 10th.

 

Students were given a graphic organizer that details topics and questions to answer for each of the 5 paragraphs required in this autobiography assignment (Introduction, Family Information, Favorite Activities, Hobbies/Special Interests/Conclusion). Students cut out each paragraph heading to glue into their writing journal. Then they answered the questions (allowing for as much specific detail as possible.)

As writers, we are always going back to our pre-write to make changes and add more compelling information, so we never really "complete" a piece of writing.

A link to a website for information on the 6 Traits of writing is below:
http://writingfix.com/classroom_tools/post_its.htm

 

Natural Reader:
This tool can be downloaded on your home computers to assist students with reading text that may be challenging. We use this in class for webpage research and for revising our writing. Students can listen to what they have typed and determine if it sounds right to revise. In addition, when gathering research, this tool allows them to read difficult text. We have this program at school, but it is a great tool for home use as well:
www.naturalreader.com

Social Studies: The Colonies Thrive
The focus of our unit will be to understand how government works and how people play an active role in the process.  We will use research strategies to examine daily life in the thirteen colonies during the 1700s.
During reading class this week, we will choose a specific colony to study.  We will gather both print and web sources of information to explain the geography of our colony and what daily life was like for our colonists.  We will then use Microsoft Publisher to create a travel brochure to display information we learned.  We will present the brochures by the end of May as our final social studies project.

Math 5: Unit 5 Linear Measures and Geometry
In Unit 5, students develop measurement skills and explore transformational geometry. Students apply what they have learned about measurement to multi-step problems involving area, perimeter, and volume.

For more information, access the parent newsletter by clicking the link below:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/math/elementary/grade5/MathNewsletterGrade5Unit5-English.pdf

This week our focus will include transformations.  Students in Mrs. Dynda's math class will take their unit 5 assessment on May 7 while students in Mrs. Johnson's math class will take their unit 5 assessment on May 8.

Math 2.0:  Equivalent Fractions 
Last week we focus on identifying equivalent fractions in thirds and sixths as well has halves, fourths, and eighths.  We made area models after seeing number models.  We used pattern blocks to determine if two areas were equivalent.
This week we will transition to representing equivalent fractions on a number line.

*A great website that allows students to work at their own pace on word problems/real world application of multiplication & division:
http://www.thinkingblocks.com/

We continue to use the Khan academy website to help practice our math at home. This is a great site where students (if a log in is created) can track their progress and have example problems to work on. It has been featured in CNN as an up and coming way for teachers to assess individual students learning.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Reading:

Our focus in reading has shifted from literature to informational reading.  Over the next month, students will read information to create a travel brochure on the thirteen original colonies and then read a biography to create a character snapshot of a person's life.  We will work to use the biographical information to create a wax museum to present to each other's classes.  Students will have the opportunity to select a book from our media center, from the public library, or from home. 

Spelling:
*Our spelling program involves the use of developmental word study rather than traditional spelling books. This“Words Their Way” approach allows students to practice target spelling patterns that best address their individual needs as a speller. Students work in spelling groups to analyze the pattern and look for clues as to how to generalize the correct spelling of words within that pattern/sound.

Our next spelling assessment will take place on May 17.