Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. We are really looking forward to our field trip to the Renaissance Fair tomorrow!

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “A watched pot never boils.”

Students turn in their roots study guide on 2/26 and the roots test will be on 3/4. 

Students learned about the poem “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on 2/12 and will recite it on 2/26.

In Literature, students will read through chapter 25. There are periodic journal entries which are numbered, but do not happen after every chapter. Students will do journal entry 17 this week. Please send in the book as soon as possible. 

In Grammar, students workshop their exercise essays on Monday, then we will evaluate their essays as a class using an AZMerit style rubric on Thursday. Starting on Friday, students will be led through guided lessons on reading comprehension during grammar and writing.

During this exciting week, students will continue working on their George Washington Carver writing project. On Monday, students will be given an outline and will use the information from the articles they read last week to create an outline of their paragraph. On Thursday and Friday, they will work in class to create a final draft in their best Spalding handwriting. Anything not finished in class will be finished for homework.

This week in History, students will begin studying the Civil War, including the causes that led up to war. We will begin this large unit with conversations of the state of slavery in the U.S. before the Civil War, growing abolitionist sentiment, and the Missouri Compromise. We will also discuss other differences between the North and South, such as their economic situations. Since this unit will take us well into the 4^th quarter, we will have a large quiz at the end of the third quarter discussing the causes of the Civil War. You and your child may access our textbook online at https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CKHG_G5_U11_CW_SR.pdf

In math, students will continue our unit on percentages. Students will complete word problems which use percent. There will be no math groups this week.

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).

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a restful 3-day weekend! Unfortunately, I was out with a sinus infection that I let go a little too long. I am grateful for antibiotics and happy to be on the mend!

Our field trip to the Renaissance Faire is one week from today, February 25^th! I will send out a more detailed email this week.

You may see that there is a cap and gown picture day. This is only for Kindergarten and NOT for fifth grade. We do not take cap and gown pictures.

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “Vice Versa.”

Students will learn about the roots gradus, plus, akros, and kata. Students will be quizzed over these next week. Students should expect a similar quiz every week. 

Students learned about the poem “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on 2/12 and will recite it on 2/27.

In Literature, students will read through chapter 24. There are periodic journal entries which are numbered, but do not happen after every chapter. Students will do journal entry 15 this week. Please send in the book as soon as possible. 

In Grammar, students finish their essays on music and conference with teachers on their work. We will do the same activity again starting Thursday with a different article and students will get the opposite style prompt than last week.

This week in Science, we will start a writing project focusing on George Washington Carver. Students will dive into his life and scientific achievements, with the goal of producing a well crafted paragraph that is either persuasive or informative based on which prompt they pick. Students will have time in class to read the primary and secondary sources, and will begin writing in class next week.

This week in History, we will finish our unit on Westward Expansion Before the Civil War. Tuesday will be the last day of formal instruction, when students will discuss the Mormon Trail and the California Gold Rush. On Wednesday, students will discuss readings (read in class) on President Andrew Jackson’s message on Indian Removal in 1830. Study guides are due on Thursday, when we will review the unit, and our test will be administered on Friday. Students may access our textbook online here: https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CKHG_G5_U10_WestwardExpBefore_SR.pdf

In math, students will start our unit on percentages. We will work on a foldable with helps students convert between fractions, decimals, and percent. There will be no math groups this week.

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).

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a lovely three day weekend! We had some fun professional development on Friday. My husband and I chose soccer…and both realized our ages for the rest of the weekend with how sore we were.

Great Hearts Day is this Friday. Please review past blog posts on guidelines for the day (no store bought valentines, etc.).

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “Tom, Dick, and Harry.”

Students will learn about the roots nonus, decimus, and electron. Students will be quizzed over these next week. Students should expect a similar quiz every week. 

Students learned about the poem “I Hear America Singing” on 1/29 and will recite it on 2/12.

In Literature, students will read through chapter 21. There are periodic journal entries which are numbered, but do not happen after every chapter. Students will do journal entry 14 this week. Please send in the book as soon as possible. 

In Grammar, students will practice reading AZMerit style writing prompts and thesis statements, determining the type of essay required. It is incredibly important that students know how to identify and write the correct type of essay! As explained in class, if the prompt asks for a persuasive essay and the student writes an informative essay, they will likely fail that portion of the assessment. Starting Thursday, students will read and outline an article about music education. Friday, we will split the class and half will start an informative essay and half will start a persuasive essay, using the same article.

This week in science, we will conclude our study of botany. Students will review the answers to the study guide in class on Monday, and on Tuesday will take the unit assessment. On Thursday, students will have the opportunity to disect a flower and identify the different parts as a hands on way to cap this unit.

This week in History, students will get close to finishing our unit on Westward Expansion Before the Civil War. They will understand the various adaptations of transportation that took place, the idea of America’s Manifest Destiny behind their westward march, and the accumulation and exploration of territories such as Texas and the Oregon territory. Students were given study guides for the unit on Thursday, January 30^th. These will be due on Thursday, February 20^th, with the test on Friday, February 21^st. Students may access our textbook online here: https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CKHG_G5_U10_WestwardExpBefore_SR.pdf

In math, students will start a short unit on volumes. This week, students will focus on converting liters and milliliters from cubic centimeters, and solve word problems involving volume. We will test on this very short unit on Thursday, 2/13. There will be math groups this week, Wednesday, 8:35-9:45.

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).

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a restful weekend after our Athletic Field Day excitement! While we earned 3^rd place in a very close competition, I was very proud of the citizenship and integrity I saw for most of the day.

Please return field trip permission slips as soon as possible.

Great Hearts Day is coming up! Please check last week’s blog for more specific information on guidelines for the day.

I saw a great increase in math quizzes being corrected for partial credit last week! I will continue to send a quick email to all parents regarding what important assessments to look out for in signed folders every week. With the excitement from Field Day, we did not get folders out on Friday. We will send them home today instead.

Our week in learning

Students will learn about the idiom “Time heals all wounds.”

Students will learn about the roots quintus, sextus, septus, and octavus. Students will be quizzed over these next week. Students should expect a similar quiz every week. 

Students learned about the poem “I Hear America Singing” on 1/29 and will recite it on 2/12.

In Literature, students will read through chapter 18. There are periodic journal entries which are numbered, but do not happen after every chapter. Students will do journal entries 11, 12, and 13 this week. Please send in the book as soon as possible. 

In Grammar, students will write learn about predicate adjectives. 

In science, we will continue our study of botany. Students will learn about differences in monocots and dicots on Monday, and practice that information with stations on Tuesday. On Thursday, students will play a Jeopardy review game as a whole class to review information from the whole unit. Students will turn in their study guides on the 10th and take their unit test on the 11th.

In History, students will gain an understanding of the Louisiana Territory and what Lewis and Clark encountered throughout their journey. They will be able to identify who Sacagawea was and why she was important to the explorers. Students will also present their explorers that were researched and written on in Grammar and Writing. We will end the week with a discussion of the Indian chief Tecumseh, who attempted to unite all Indians against the invading United States. Students may access our textbook online here: https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CKHG_G5_U10_WestwardExpBefore_SR.pdf

In math, students will start a short unit on volumes. This week, students will focus on converting measurements, review volume of a rectangular prism, and find the missing side of a rectangular prism when given the volume and area of the base. There will be no math groups this week.

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).