Happenings from the week of April 8 - April 12

Happenings from the week of April 8 - April 12

UPCOMING DATES:

Thursday April 25....Poetry Brunch- note coming Monday
Friday May 3.........Charlton Field Trip (I have 3 volunteers)
Friday May 10......Track and Field Day (note soon-volunteers needed & all parents welcome)
Tuesday May 14......Field Trip to Request Foods (no parents needed)
Friday May 31........Dunes Field Trip (info in April- volunteers to help needed & all parents welcome)
   
  I was glad to see everyone back from Spring Break and spending time sharing about the time off. It's been a very wet week and we have been inside a lot! They have handled it well- we played basketball in the gym on Wednesday and many of the kids have finally started to choose playing board games when inside along with drawing and writing.

CHARLTON PARK: I have 3 chaperones for this trip. I sent a note home on Thursday showing the remaining field trips and the opportunities to be part of them.

Math: We began our geometry unit this week. We have studied types of lines & angles, classified triangles & quadrilaterals, and practiced measuring angles. We will review next week and test the following week. We are also reviewing fractions, decimals, multiplying and dividing numbers.  

READING: We compared nonfiction to fiction and again discussed reading strategies specific to nonfiction. Students are partner reading and taking turns summarizing the main idea of paragraphs as they read. 

    We began a nonfiction unit that centers on ecosystems- specifically factors affecting ecosystems positively and negatively. (This ties into our next science unit.) We focused on cause and effect and  compare and contrast structures. Students read an article about the effects of an underground coal fire that caused a town to be deserted. We also read about prescribed fires that are purposely set to encourage forest growth and compared the two articles as well as responded to various types of comprehension questions. Today students read in pairs about an oil spill and wrote cause and effects.

WRITING:   Luckily we were barely into our newspaper project because it works for all three 5th grades to have our Poetry brunch on April 25th. So we are postponing the newspaper unit and we began a poetry unit that focuses on grammar, metaphor, and simile. We discussed the importance of rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and imagery. A lot of eye rolls for poetry when I started on Monday, but they are having fun with it! 

POETRY BRUNCH: April 25th we will have a Poetry Brunch in the morning.This will be a time for students to share their poems with an audience and have a brunch. Students will keep poems and school until this event is over. 

A note will come home on Monday!

SCIENCE:We have been reviewing for the Forces and Motion test this coming week and getting a start on our next unit- Systems. 

Science Test:Tuesday, April 16th.

Spelling: Lesson 22 spelling test will come home Monday.The word list for Lesson 23 was sent home earlier this week. The skill is possessive nouns.

 Enjoy your weekend!