Fifth Grade Newsletter: March 2024
5th Grade Families,
As quarter 3 continues, the students are learning how much more responsibility is needed to stay focused and remain on track with their workload. One issue we have noticed is that many students are coming in tired and distracted. We know that one of the culprits is SOCIAL MEDIA. We will remind them how to use it appropriately and responsibly while we are here in the classroom. Feel free to have the same conversation at home! We will continue to help them get closer to working like 6th graders!
Important Dates & Reminder
- Tuesday, March 5th: No school for students
- Monday, March 11th: Ramadan begins
- Tuesday, March 12th-Field Trip to Science Center of Virginia (Richmond)
- Friday, March 22nd: Quarter 3 Ends
- March 25th - 29th- Spring Break (no school)
- Reminder: Please do not send soda, candy, large bags of chips, or gum to school with your child.
- Students should be reading at least 30 minutes each night.
Language Arts What are we learning?
- Reading: Poetry
- Readers pay close attention to the words the poet has chosen to examine how this creates a deeper meaning.
- Readers create images in their head using language from the poem.
- Readers examine how the sound of the poem contributes to the meaning.
- Readers connect to the mood, feeling, or ideas in the poem.
- Readers notice the many ways poets use language and poetic devices.
- Readers use rhythm, pause, pause, stress and volume when they read poetry aloud.
- Writing: Poetry
- Poets find inspiration for poems
- Inner thoughts and feelings
- Observations- what they see around them or amazes them
- Current events, disasters, human interest stories, discoveries
- Wonderings or questions
- Memories
- Poets consider the tone, mood, and feelings they want to evoke when planning their poems.
- Poets read their poem aloud and listen carefully to how it sounds.
- Poets find inspiration for poems
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 does this poem mean to you?
- What does this poem make you think about?
- What feeling or reaction does this poem evoke in you?
- What do you think the poem meant to the poet? What makes you think that?
- Which techniques does the poet use to convey meaning? What effect does it have on the reader?
- Why do you think the poet chose the form that he or she did?
- What stands out to you in this poem? Why do you think that part is important? Why do you think the poet included that part?
Books We’ve Been Reading
- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
- A variety of poetry books with different themes
Math What are we learning?
- Algebraic Reasoning
- Understand the meaning of a variable
- Understand patterns, models, and story contexts to algebraic expressions and equations.
- Use tables, words, and symbols to describe and express relationships found in number patterns
- Advanced Math:
- Solve one step linear equations in one variable.
- Represent a practical situation with a linear inequality including one variable.
- Solve one step linear inequalities in one variable, involving addition and subtraction and graph the solution on a number line
Home/School Connection
Have the students help you solve day-to-day math problems
Questions to ask your student:
- What comes next in this pattern (with shapes, letters, or numbers)
- Continue to work on basic facts-addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division
- What time is it? (Using an ANALOG clock)
- How much time is it until…What time will it be in 35 minutes? 90 minutes? 4 hours?
- How long did we spend at the store?
Science What are we learning?
- 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?
- Mesoamerica
Home/School Connection
Questions to ask your student:
- What is another name for Mesoamerica?
- How does where a person lives affect how a person's life?
- 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:
- 5th grade students are continuing to use databases to answer their research questions, and learning how to cite their sources. They are creating a question/answer card for our country “Did you know?” board in the geography section of the library. They will also be learning how to evaluate websites to answer new questions they have, learning how to determine elements that make a website trustworthy or not.
- PE:
- Hello Forestdale Families!
Your PE Team has completed the Winter round of fitness testing. We are now beginning our “Striking with Hands Unit” and will master these concepts through the sport of volleyball. Students will complete skill repetitions, play team games, net games, and practice their athletic communication habits during this unit. We’ve also discussed safety factors for this unit and how EMOTIONS always factor into our playing. - Perhaps discuss with your student: “How do you act when you’re playing a game that you feel GOOD at?” “How do you act when you’re playing a game that feels DIFFICULT for you?” “What is it like when a friend shows anger or disappointment while you’re playing with them?” “What does it feel like when a teammate encourages you?”
- Thank you and talk soon! ❤ Mr. Bergin and Ms. Brod
- Hello Forestdale Families!
- Music:
- Ms. Shaw’s fifth grade classes are taking a short break from recorders and are focusing on rhythmic notation and the song Scoo-be-doo to play on the xylophone.
- In Mr. Sawasky’s class, all grades will be working on our frame drumming composition. All students will know how to create their own rhythms.
- We will practice singing our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” All students will have the opportunity to express themselves through playing xylophones, frame drums and percussion instruments.
- 5th and 6th will also be adding to their theory knowledge by composing their own melodies. We will start learning about the blues and musical form.
- STEAM:
- 5th grade students will design and build circuits for game controllers.
- 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 that they value.
- In March, all students will be creating planning drawings for the upcoming Clay units!
- 5th grade students will create clay gargoyles. They have studied the history of gargoyles in world cultures and have many questions about the strange creatures.
- All students’ ceramic pieces are delightful.
- Thank you to all families for returning the Parent 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
All ESOL students have now completed their WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessments. The ESOL Team is very proud of how hard every student worked on each of their tests! Results from this assessment will be sent to families before the end of the school year. We are looking forward to seeing how much growth our students have made in learning academic English.