Below you will find five sections (math/science updates, reading/writing/social studies updates, friendly reminders, and upcoming dates). If you have any questions or concerns, please send us an email.
Math Updates This week in math we started our unit on the structure of decimal numbers. We are working to understand the meaning of each place value (tenths, hundredths, thousandths) in the decimal system and make connections to how these place values function in similar ways to whole numbers. We engaged in a variety of hands-on activities to give decimals meaning, such as thinking about measuring liquid volume to the hundredths place and using meter sticks to measure objects around our classroom to the thousandths place. Many students are really starting to develop a deep understanding of what decimals are and why each place value is smaller than its neighbor to the left (i.e. tenths place is ten times smaller than the ones place). We also looked at “zooming” in between numbers on the number line to think about why decimals are the size that they are and why they fall on the number line in a particular place. We will continue our decimal unit next week. A few reminders - if you would like to check-in with your child about their math journal, please schedule a time with them to bring their journal home that is not a Friday and make sure they return their notebook the following day. Please continue to work on memorizing all multiplication facts, work on Khan Academy/ST Math at home, and reach out if you would like additional practice problems emailed to you weekly. Science Updates This week in science we started our unit on the solar system. Through hands-on experiments, we learned about the forces that held the Earth and Sun together (gravity and inertia) and how the Earth’s rotation impacts the time of day. We are going to be going deeper into moon phases in the upcoming week, and connecting this to the IB unit of “The Sun’s Impact on the Earth”. Again, a big thanks to parents who are contributing materials that help our students have more experiential learning opportunities! We continue to be very impressed with the scientific discussions the students are having, as it shows strong engagement and background knowledge. If you would like to continue these discussions at home, ask your scientist how the Earth stays in its orbit and what they know about gravitational pull! Reading/Writing/Social Studies Updates This week in reading we continued to discuss the differences between text types, in particular fiction vs. non-fiction (and the various types of non-fiction: expository, narrative nonfiction, etc.). Our main focus this week was text features. Students learned the various text features and their purpose. They practiced identifying text features and explaining/writing about their purpose using several non-fiction texts/articles: including ones about the U.S. women's soccer team and different bird species found in tropical rainforests. Students also had time to select newly arrived non-fiction books from the class library to read during independent reading. At the beginning of the year, our students all expressed hesitancy when it came to writing. What a difference a few weeks make! We now have two classes full of students who beg to have time to write each day. Inspired by Jon Sciezska’s books, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and The Frog Prince Continued, they have been working to create their own spin on well known stories and fairy tales. We hope to have completed, published works by the end of October. Be sure to keep your eyes open for their work in progress. In Social Studies we introduced in more detail the practice of close reading. Students were given various expository texts and articles and were instructed to read, re-read, annotate and summarize main ideas from the articles. Each step was broken down and explained to students in detail (with reviews during the week). They successfully worked with partners and small groups of three. At first, the texts were geared towards types of governments (in particular the history of democracy and the differences between a traditional (Greek) Gemocratic government and a Republic). However, we also found time to read articles that are a little bit more fun for 5th graders, including a NEWSELA article on Spelling-Bee phenom Akash Vukoti who made a name for himself on the national stage at age 6. Students watched a short video of his and then close-read an article that detailed his life journey. On one additional note: the classes this week held elections for the Peirce Student Council. Nominated students made posters and gave speeches to their class. Altogether the votes were extremely close, often coming down to just one or two. The students did a great job of campaigning and asking their candidates tough questions (ranging from the quality of school lunches, to recess time, to supporting new students, etc.). Results will be shared with students on Tuesday. We thank you for all the help and support that came from home to help make this whole process more meaningful! Friendly Reminders
Upcoming Dates October 14: No School October 17: 323 in the Peirce Garden during science October 18: 322 in the Peirce Garden during science October 22: 322 Bird Watching Field Trip October 23: Playworks Filming October 24: 323 Bird Watching Field Trip
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Below you will find five sections (math/science updates, reading/writing/social studies updates, friendly reminders, and upcoming dates). If you have any questions or concerns, please send us an email.
Math This week in math we finished our volume unit. We looked at capacity and how it is related/connected to volume. We also had many practice days on volume about both single solid figures and combined solid figures. Students took their volume summative assessment on Wednesday which will be passed back next week. Students may make test corrections to earn back half of their missed points, but these must be returned by Wednesday October 9th. Students also engaged in a fun mindset math activity that connected their learning about volume to the real world! Students worked with a partner to build a city out of cubes by thinking about the aerial and side views of city buildings. Continue to practice those math facts and Khan Academy/ST Math at home! Science This week in science we finished our first science unit about the four earth systems. Students were finally able to read their rain gauges that were left out over the weekend. We also created a delicious model of the four layers of the Earth and then a visual model for our science journals out of colored paper. Students did research on the thickness, composition, and temperature about each layer of the Earth. Students also took their final quiz on this unit which will be handed back to them next week. Our field trip today was our culminating activity for this unit where they connected all four earth systems to the water cycle through a real world authentic experience! Ask your child what they learned and experienced during this unit and on this field trip! Reading/Writing/Social Studies In Reading we wrapped up our introductory unit which covered text-to-text and text-to-self connections, as well as learning how to use self-monitoring strategies when reading fictional texts. Students took two assessments to demonstrate their knowledge in these domains. We then began our unit on non-fiction texts. We started out by discussing the differences between expository non-fiction texts and narrative non-fiction texts. As a class we read and analyzed an expository text called Rainforests and discussed the way the exploitation of rainforests is influencing the current state of the environment. We also began to talk about text features. In Social Studies we wrapped up our unit on “Being A Citizen”. Students played Kahoot to review for an assessment which covered types of governments and important terms related to the subject. Overall, we discussed the ways in which we can contribute as citizens to the formation of a better classroom, school and community/country as a whole, keeping in mind our rights and responsibilities. Friendly Reminders 1. Our classes still love our ever growing library. Our newest Scholastic Order will be sent on Wednesday, October 9th. If you would like to make an order, please do! Each order not only gives your student books to read at home, it gives our classroom points we are able to trade in for books for our classroom. You can order online by visiting scholastic.com/bookclubs and enter class code VTRHF. 2. We will be planning several field trips throughout the year and we need you to chaperone. *Volunteer chaperones must be cleared one month before the trip. If you can, please apply using this link as soon as possible. Cpsvolunteers.org Upcoming Dates October 4: Progress Reports Distributed - Please sign and return! October 9: Student of the Month Celebration October 14: No School A continuación encontrará cinco secciones (actualizaciones de matemáticas / ciencias, actualizaciones de lectura / escritura / estudios sociales, recordatorios amistosos y próximas fechas). Si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud, envíenos un correo electrónico.
Matemáticas Esta semana en matemáticas terminamos nuestra unidad de volumen. Analizamos la capacidad y cómo está relacionada / conectada con el volumen. También tuvimos muchos días de práctica en volumen sobre figuras sólidas individuales y figuras sólidas combinadas. Los estudiantes tomaron su evaluación sumatoria de volumen el miércoles, que se aprobará la próxima semana. Los estudiantes pueden hacer correcciones en los exámenes para recuperar la mitad de sus puntos perdidos, pero estos deben devolverse antes del miércoles 9 de octubre. ¡Los estudiantes también participaron en una actividad matemática de mentalidad divertida que conectó su aprendizaje sobre el volumen con el mundo real! Los estudiantes trabajaron con un compañero para construir una ciudad con cubos pensando en las vistas aéreas y laterales de los edificios de la ciudad. ¡Continúa practicando esos datos matemáticos y Khan Academy / ST Math en casa! Ciencias Esta semana en ciencias terminamos nuestra primera unidad de ciencias sobre los cuatro sistemas terrestres. Los estudiantes finalmente pudieron leer sus pluviómetros que quedaron fuera durante el fin de semana. También creamos un modelo delicioso de las cuatro capas de la Tierra y luego un modelo visual para nuestras revistas científicas en papel de color. Los estudiantes investigaron sobre el grosor, la composición y la temperatura de cada capa de la Tierra. Los estudiantes también tomaron su examen final sobre esta unidad que se les devolverá la próxima semana. ¡Nuestro viaje de campo hoy fue nuestra actividad culminante para esta unidad donde conectaron los cuatro sistemas terrestres al ciclo del agua a través de una experiencia auténtica del mundo real! ¡Pregúntele a su hijo qué aprendieron y experimentaron durante esta unidad y en esta excursión! Lectura / Escritura / Estudios Sociales En lectura concluimos nuestra unidad introductoria que cubría las conexiones de texto a texto y de texto a sí mismo, así como aprender a usar estrategias de autocontrol al leer textos de ficción. Los estudiantes tomaron dos evaluaciones para demostrar su conocimiento en estos dominios. Luego comenzamos nuestra unidad sobre textos de no ficción. Comenzamos discutiendo las diferencias entre los textos expositivos de no ficción y los textos narrativos de no ficción. Como clase, leímos y analizamos un texto expositivo llamado Selvas tropicales y discutimos la forma en que la explotación de las selvas tropicales influye en el estado actual del medio ambiente. También comenzamos a hablar sobre características de texto. En estudios sociales concluimos nuestra unidad sobre "Ser ciudadano". Los estudiantes jugaron Kahoot para revisar una evaluación que cubría tipos de gobiernos y términos importantes relacionados con el tema. En general, discutimos las formas en que podemos contribuir como ciudadanos a la formación de un mejor salón de clases, escuela y comunidad / país en general, teniendo en cuenta nuestros derechos y responsabilidades. Recordatorio amistoso 1. Nuestras clases aún adoran nuestra biblioteca cada vez mayor. Nuestra nueva orden escolar se enviará el miércoles 9 de octubre. Si desea hacer un pedido, ¡hágalo! Cada pedido no solo le da a su estudiante libros para leer en casa, le da a nuestros puntos de clase que podemos intercambiar por libros para nuestra clase. Puede ordenar en línea visitando scholastic.com/bookclubs e ingresando el código de clase VTRHF. 2. Planificaremos varias excursiones durante todo el año y necesitamos que usted sea el acompañante. * Los chaperones voluntarios deben estar autorizados un mes antes del viaje. Si puede, solicítelo utilizando este enlace lo antes posible. Cpsvolunteers.org Fechas siguientes 4 de octubre: Informes de progreso distribuidos: ¡firme y devuelva! 9 de octubre: Celebración del Estudiante del Mes 14 de octubre: No hay clases |
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