Wrapping up Energy- Students took their first science test this past Tuesday. It was wonderful to see them take the studying process so seriously. Their hard work paid off, the test and rubric can be found in this weeks Friday Folder. In addition this week, students finished work on their own Rube Goldberg contraptions (Rube Goldberg machines are widely known as deliberately over-engineered or overdone machines that perform a very simple task, in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction.) Students worked very hard to brainstorm and map their design, then illustrated their "machine" and wrote a process paragraph, describing the various energy transfers. Look for these up in the hallway next week!
Math
Your children are making notable progress with multiplication and division, not to mention using a variety of strategies to effectively solve complex word problems. Throughout the year we will continue to work on these important skills, as Math in Focus is a spiraling curriculum, which provides ample opportunities to sharpen vital math skills throughout the year.
During WORD WORK this week we reviewed and expanded our understanding of parts of speech, focusing on nouns and verbs and how they function in sentences. We also began MegaWords, which is our word study curriculum. We began to study suffixes and plurals, looking closely at spelling patterns and how various suffixes can change the meaning of a root word.
Writing- As mentioned at conference starting NOW all fifth graders will be held to the below writing convention expectations for ALL written work.
Notes and Reminders
- As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child is coming to school with recess appropriate clothing.
- Dr. Yu will be holding a fifth grade parent "Learning Lunch" next Tuesday, the 28th from 12:30-1:30
- Lower School Spanish Language Information Night: Monday, Oct. 27 from 7-8pm in the Bovey, Middle School. The purpose of this evening is to share information on the phase-in of our proficiency-based Spanish program. We are delighted to welcome Greg Duncan, a language consultant who will share essential elements of a proficiency-based Spanish curriculum. We will also highlight progress with our phase-in this year, introduce our Spanish faculty and devote time for questions. We hope you can join us!
Fifth Grade Basic Conventions Expectations
Conventions Expectations: What YOU (fifth-grade student) are expected to detect and correct on your own, from now until forever!
Capitalization
First words in sentences
· Proper names of people and places
· I
· Titles: first word and all important words
Punctuation
· Ending sentences with periods, exclamation points, question marks
· Commas in a series (dog, cat, and mouse)
· Apostrophes for contractions (she’s = she is) and possession: the dog’s bone (1 dog) and the dogs’ bones (more than 1 dog)
Spelling
· REREAD your own work
· Run spellcheck (if your piece is written on the computer)
· Search for common spelling errors
· Look out for words that sound alike but are spelled differently:
o There-their-they’re
o Its-it’s
o Your-you’re
o Which-witch
o To-too-two
o Etc.
