This Week in Room 33! Sept. 7-11

I hope everyone had a wonderful 3-day weekend! A big thank you to all the parents that came to Curriculum Night! If you were not there, you should have received a yellow handout from your student (ABC's of our classroom). Also, check out the Parents tab at the top of the blog for the slides presentation I used. Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or thoughts!

Here's what to expect this week in 5th grade...

Science- We are continuing to work hard as scientists in our first unit on scientific investigations. We will be completing a series of 3 investigations to complete this unit. This week we will conduct the evaporation investigation and the paper towel investigation. We are using the scientific method and our science notebooks to record our data and conclusions!

Writing- This week we are continuing our unit on personal narratives as we collect more and more entries in our notebooks and choose one to take through the writing process! We will be writing from inside the story, thinking about our main character's perspective, setting goals, flash drafting, and bringing out the heart of our story- what it is really about. 

Reading- We are working really hard on our goals to read more than EVER before this year! We have students that are already on their 4th book of the year. We have also been learning that it is not only about VOLUME but about the QUALITY of our reading- our metacognition (thinking about our thinking!) We are showing our deep thinking about our books by using our reader's notebook. This week we are aiming to notice more elements of the story, carrying our thinking in the text as we read on, considering perspective, and learning to think analytically! 

Math- This week we are finishing up our study of place value. We will have our 1st test on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Students are always encouraged to study by doing practice problems in their textbook. Because we do not complete every problem in their book during school, there will always be an abundance of practice available to them. Study guide details will be given later this week. Another fantastic resource is their online textbook (see parents tab for video on how to access this). Each lesson has practice problems students can complete and the computer will check their answers (look for the checkmark icon).

Social Studies- Because of a very busy week last week, we were unable to start our SS stations- they will begin this week and continue into the next week. We will focus on navigating our social studies textbook, defining and understanding geography, political maps, and our states and capitals. 

Reminders-

Thurs., Sept. 10- LEAP grade 5 Curriculum night 7-8

Fri., Sept. 11- PTG movie night at Concord @ 6:30 (playing Big Hero 6)

Tue., Sept 15- Math Ch. 1 Test on Place Value

Wed. Sept. 16- Early Release- Leader Binders will come home!