WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 30

Junior Achievement Program
Our class will be starting Junior Achievement on Tuesday, October 1st. Our Junior Achievement volunteer, Mr. Blocker, will be visiting our classroom over the next several weeks to present lessons about creating and running a business. The sessions will teach students different concepts such as supply and demand, use of resources, cost of business, and profit. This program shows students real-world applications of several ideas from Social Studies.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 5 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday.
• English - Students will review about subjects and predicates. Students will also learn about the implied you as the subject of imperative sentences, and determine when to use the conjunctions and, but, and or.
• Reading - We will finish up our work with tall tales. Then students will apply what they have learned about the elements of a tall tale by creating their very own. 1st Trimester Reading Project: Students have all selected a "good fit" realistic fiction book to use for their Memory Bag Project. The next step is to start reading. It may be helpful for students to create a reading goal. For example, "I will read 40 pages each week so I finish the book by October 25th. Then I still have plenty of time to complete the project and practice presenting my Memory Bag."
• Science - We will learn about the scientific method and work through a fun investigation to put it into practice.
• Social Studies - The students will read more about life in New Spain. Ask your child to describe the different levels, or classes, found in Spanish society. 
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will head into Chapter 2 about the multiplication of whole numbers. Students will begin by recognizing the difference between prime and composite numbers. They will then learn several strategies for identifying the prime factors of a whole number, and understand how to express the prime factorization correctly.

Mark Your Calendar:

Oct. 1 - Blackhawks Spirit Day!

Oct. 1 - Junior Achievement (Session 1)

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 23

Thanks for Attending...
Thank you to all of the parents who were able to attend 5th Grade Curriculum Night. If you were not able to come, your child brought home a packet of information for you to review. There are still a few students who have not returned the pink 5th grade policies form yet. Please find this in the packet and return it to me as soon as possible.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 4 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday.
• English - Now that we know how to identify the "split" between the complete subject and predicate, we will try to identify the simple subject and predicate in sentences. In other words, we will find the word(s) that tell exactly who/what and exactly what is/what happens in the sentences. This can be tricky for some students, so you may want to do some practice or review at home.
• Reading - Students will continue to read Tall Tales and identify figurative language, use context clues to figure out difficult words, and practice summarizing the plot of the story. 1st Trimester Reading Project: Students received information about an independent reading project for this trimester (which can be found in their reading folders in their binders). The first step is to select a "good fit" realistic fiction book and get it approved by the teacher by Friday, September 27! 
• Science - We will learn about different inquiry skills used in science. Students will understand how these skills allow scientists to investigate the world around them.
• Social Studies - The students have read about the Spanish conquistadors defeating the mighty Aztec Empire. Ask your child about the Aztec mask they are creating as we learn a little about the culture of that group of Native Americans. Next week, we will read about the Inca and how they were conquered by the Spanish as well.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Ask your students what they learned about the Dewey decimal system. Students will review how to compare and order decimals, and learn how to solve word problems using a 4-step plan. The Chapter 1 Test is scheduled for Thursday, September 26! 

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 26 - Fall Pictures

Sept. 27 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 16

5th Grade Curriculum Night
Don't forget that 5th Grade Curriculum Night is Tuesday, September 17th at 6:30 p.m. I look forward to the opportunity to share some important information about the 5th grade curriculum, classroom expectations and routines, and how we might work together to make this a successful school year.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 3 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday.
• English - We will identify the two parts of a sentence: the subject and the predicate. The subject answers the question "who/what" is the sentence about, and the predicate tell "what is/what happens."
• Reading - Students will continue to read Tall Tales. We will identify figurative language in them, such as simile/metaphor and hyperbole. We will also talk about the use of context clues to help us figure out word meanings. During "Read to Self" time, we will continue to build our reading stamina. Ask your child how he/she might work on stamina at home.
• Science - We will talk about the difference between weight and mass, and identify the tools used to measure these attributes. We will also discuss safety and why it is important to have rules in a laboratory.
• Social Studies - The students will review the "big ideas" about Christopher Columbus and his voyages before reading about the Spanish conquistadors establishing new colonies in North and South America.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will apply what we know about writing whole numbers in expanded form to expressing decimals in this way. We will also compare and order decimals. Ask your child to think about how a librarian might use decimals in his/her job.

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 17 - 5th Grade Curriculum Night (6:30 p.m.)

Sept. 26 - Fall Pictures

Sept. 27 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 9

Request for Head Room Parent
No experience necessary! I would like to have a head room parent who can be in charge of organizing and contacting the other parents signed up for our classroom parties. This person does not need to attend any of the parties. Please contact me if you are interested or have any questions.

5th Grade Curriculum Night
Don't forget that 5th Grade Curriculum Night is Tuesday, September 17th at 6:30 p.m. I look forward to the opportunity to share some important information about the 5th grade curriculum, classroom expectations and routines, and how we might work together to make this a successful school year.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 2 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday.
• English - We will recognize the difference between a sentence and a fragment, and identify the four types of sentences.
• Reading - The students have organized our classroom library and have selected "good fit" books. We have developed a list of expectations to follow during "Read to Self" time, and we had our first few practices of it. We will continue to build our independent reading stamina next week. Also, we will begin a unit on Tall Tales. Students will distinguish between realistic and exaggerated details in the stories.
• Science - Did your child tell you about our exciting Sewer Maggots activity? If not, ask them if Mrs. Strong really ate one in the name of Science!! We didn't get a chance to explore some of the tools used in scientific inquiry, so we will do that this upcoming week.
• Social Studies - The students have started Chapter 4, Lesson 1 about the voyages of Columbus.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will use models to make the connection between fractions and decimals, and understand decimal place value.

Mark Your Calendar:

Sept. 9 - Magazine Drive Kick-Off

Sept. 11 - Red, White, and Blue Spirit Day in Remembrance of 9-11

Sept. 17 - 5th Grade Curriculum Night (6:30 p.m.)