5th Grade Families, 

End of quarter 2 equals WE MADE IT HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR!  What’s in store for quarter 3?  Take a look below! 

Mrs. Henceroth, Mrs. Jackson, & Ms. Tran

Important Dates & Reminder

• Monday, January 15th-No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Thursday, January 25th- Two-Hour early release, end of second quarter
• Friday, January 26th-No School, Teacher Work Day
• Wednesday-Friday, November 22-24th-Thanksgiving Break, No School
• Reminder: Please do not send soda, candy or gum to school with your child. 
• Students should be reading at least 30 minutes each night.

Language Arts 

What are we learning?

• Reading:  Narrative Nonfiction
  • Readers hold onto the story and learn new information about the topic.  
  • Readers think about the significance of the topic in order to understand the author’s message.  
  • Readers notice characteristics of fictional, informational, and narrative nonfiction texts.
  • Readers connect the events of a narrative nonfiction in order to understand the impact upon the world around them.  
• Writing:  Narrative Nonfiction
  • Writers generate nonfiction writing topics in a variety of ways: 
    •  What do you know
    • What you care a lot about
    • What you want to share with others
  • Writers turn their facts into scenes to develop their story.
  • Writers decide the focus of their piece and determine which facts to include.
  • Writers use descriptive imagery.
  • Writers use figurative language.
  • Writers share facts through a story or a narrative structure.

Home/School Connection

Continue to read to your child-they love it!

Have your child read to you and other family members! Have your child then write about what they read to practice their writing skills.  

Questions to ask your student:

• What book are you reading independently?
• What is the author’s message in this story?  
• What did you notice about the way the author wrote the story? 
• Why do you think this topic is important? 
• Why do others need to know about it?

Books We’ve Been Reading 

• The 6th Grade Nickname Game
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
• A variety of picture books of different themes

Math 

What are we learning?

• Solving decimal multiplication problems
• Solving decimal division problems
• Solving single-step multiplication and division word problems
• Coming soon: Fraction computation
• Advanced Math: 
  • Applying the distributive property and the order of operations
  • Recognizing the order of operations
  • Solving single-step multiplication and division word problems
  • Solving two-step word problems
  • Coming Soon:  Rational Numbers and Exponents

Home/School Connection

Have the students help you solve day-to-day math problems

Questions to ask your student:

• How much would it cost to buy eight of the same item?
• How would you split a restaurant bill between a number of people?
• What is the order of operations? 
• When would you do subtraction before addition?

Science 

What are we learning?

• Coming soon-Magnetism & Electricity

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

• How can a scientist plan and conduct experiments in order to produce valid results?
• What affects the flow of electricity?
• How are electricity and magnetism related?
• In what ways can energy be transferred or transformed?

Social Studies 

What are we learning?

• Coming up-Mesoamerica

Home/School Connection

Questions to ask your student:

• How does where a person lives affect how a person lives?
• How might geographical features (rivers, mountains) impact daily life for people?
• In what ways do the contributions and accomplishments of Mesoamerica continue to influence the world today?

Specials 

What are we learning? &  Home/School Connections:

• Library: We will continue our inquiry research project on countries, using multiple sources to gather information, including databases and websites. We will evaluate websites for currency, reliability, and relevance to their questions. Contact Ms. Wixtrom on Talking Points or email with any questions or anything you’d like me to know! I want to help your child thrive in their reading journey!
• PE: Thank you to all families for being strong co-teachers with us. Regarding pacing, we completed our “Gymnastics Unit” and “Routines Review” with all grade levels. Now, all students will move into their “Basketball Unit.” Learners will better understand the anatomy of a basketball court, and how to dribble with hands, bounce pass, chest pass, and shoot the basketball. Towards the end of the unit, we hope to teach different “playground games” such as “H.O.R.S.E.” and “Knock-Out.” As always, Mr. Bergin ([email protected]) and Ms. Brod ([email protected]) are here for any questions or concerns.
• Music: 
  • Ms. Shaw’s 5th graders are working on canon work with recorders, learning the song “My Paddle” with a partner.
  • In Mr. Sawasky’s music class, All grades are learning a frame drumming composition called, “Jennifer Bobby Bobby.” We are also learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and the song, “Hymn to Freedom” by Oscar Peterson. 5^th and 6^th will also be adding to their theory knowledge by composing their own melodies.
• Art: 
  • In the Forestdale art program, the primary goal is to create an environment in which every student feels confident, safe, and supported by Ms. Barrett and by the other students. The goal is that each student will reach a level of technical mastery and self-confidence that allows them to take risks with their own artwork and create work they value.
  • In January, all students will be wrapping up their COLLAGE units and doing planning drawings for the upcoming CLAY units! 
  •  5^th graders are creating collages of landforms in conjunction with their landform study in the classroom and in STEAM. Students are layering their papers using rainbow order (another 5^th grade science unit!) The dynamic feel of the layers creates excitement in the organic landform shapes.
  • All students’ collages are fantastic! They would look great in a frame, hanging on the wall – or at least on the refrigerator!
  • Thank you to all families for returning the Interview Forms for each Art unit! Students in grades 1st - 6th continue to use their Art Planning and Reflection Books, increasing their literacy skill practice during art classes!
  • As always, Ms. Barrett ([email protected]) is here for any questions or concerns regarding the art program.

AAP Corner 

• Hammurabi’s Code Document Based Question
• Concept based learning-Systems
• Socratic Seminars
• Project/Problem-based learning

ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages

During the month of January, all ESOL students will begin preparing for our annual assessment of their English language proficiency. The state of Virginia administers the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment from January 16-March 15. This assessment monitors students' progress in learning academic English in the areas of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Families can find translated information about this assessment at this link: https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/what-access-ells 

Students in grades 1-6 can practice at home for the assessment through this link: https://wbte.drcedirect.com/WIDA/portals/wida/assessment_selection?adminId=596372

Looking for books to read at home with your students? Unite for Literacy has free audio books with many language options to choose from! You can access them at https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/.