Updates and announcements
Ms. Vaughn and I would like to
thank you all for the generous holiday gifts! We had a wonderful and relaxing
break. Mine was filled with cat cuddles while I played some video games and
made delicious food.
Our week in learning
Students will learn about the idiom “Sit on the
fence.”
Students will learn about the roots naus, navis,
homos, and heteros. Students will be quizzed over these next week. Students
should expect a similar quiz every week.
In Literature, students will learn about the era
surrounding “The Secret Garden” and begin reading the book. Please send in the
book as soon as possible. Students will read through chapter 4.
In Grammar, students will review direct objects and
learn about indirect objects. On Friday, students will be introduced to the
Explorer’s essay. This is a large assignment in which students will need a book
resource from the library. More information will be in the packet students
bring home on Friday. If you have any questions, please reach out to a teacher.
This week in science,
students will begin their study of plants. We will begin by studying
characteristics shared by all plants, and then dive into the characteristics of
non vascular plants that include mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Study guides
will be passed out late this week.
This
week in History, students will start their unit on the Age of Exploration. We
will learn about Marco Polo, the Spice Islands, and the instruments that were
used to explore during this age. We will finish the week by exploring some of
the routes taken from Portugal, and what travels were like for sailors,
including how to avoid scurvy! Students will receive study guides on Monday,
which have a question and/or vocabulary assigned for each evening. Study guides
will be due on or around Tuesday, January 28th. Once we get
closer, the specific date will be clarified.
In math, students start a lengthy unit on decimals.
This week, students will focus on place value, rounding, estimation, and
dividing decimals. Graph paper is extremely helpful for students to use to keep
track of their decimals and place value. All students are allowed to use graph
paper in class, on homework, and on tests. Students may request graph paper
from their teachers.
When a “test b” (multiplication test) is assigned
for homework, it contains questions very similar to a quiz the following day.
We take a lot of low-stakes math quizzes in fifth grade. All math workbook
assignments are half of every type of problem. Please keep in mind that
students may do test corrections on any math quiz for partial credit (fill in
the blank sheets, not multiple choice homework sheets).
