Here is the study guide for Friday’s social studies test. Your student was asked to bring home their content binder and We The People book so they can begin studying.
Composition Books
Today students have brought home their composition books. These books are used for daily responses to topics which are on the board each school day. The responses are bell work, which is done first thing each morning. Typical topics at the beginning of the year include items such as asking students to write four complete sentences about their favorite vacation and explain their choice, or write four complete sentences about their favorite after school activity and explain their choice. This year so far there have 17 different topics and required responses. Students were informed that these responses would be used as a spelling grade, a language grade, and a writing grade. Students were notified on Tuesday 9/18 that the books would be collected for grading purposes on Friday 9/21. The responses are homework each day if they are not finished at school. Students are encouraged to keep up to date in their responses. There will be no rewritingregrading entries as students need to concentrate on upcoming entries.
Please review your child’s responses with him/her. The grades listed on the page of the final entry will be used towards their report card grades for the first marking period. We will continue to work in the composition books throughout the year. The spelling grade was based on correct spelling of fifth grade level words. The language grade was based on correct punctuation and capitalization at the fifth grade level. The content grade was based on complete entries. Entries which were only one sentence were not scored as these entries did not fulfill the 3 or 4 sentences requested by the written and verbal directions. Students with 10 or more of the 17 required responses were given full points as this is the time of year when routines are being learned.
Please sign the composition books and make sure your student brings it back to school tomorrow.
Government Study Guide
Here is the study guide for next week’s social studies test. Your student was asked to bring home their content binder and We The People book so they can begin studying.
T-Shirt orders due Friday!!!!
Don´t forget that the orders for the fifth grade t-shirts must be in by Friday September 21st!
5th grade shirt order forms are here!
Your student will be bringing home an order form for the 5th grade shirts. We order these every year and wear them for many different events. The shirts will have graphics on them and will include the number 19 with all the fifth graders signatures inside. The pjs also feature Lindbergh School graphics. Traditionally, all fifth graders have ordered a shirt.
If you need a second order form for any reason please use the link below.
Open House
Open House is tomorrow night from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Don´t forget you will be able to shop at the Book Fair too! See you all tomorrow night!!
Sept. 10 – 14
Open House is this Thursday 9/13 from 6;00 – 7:30 pm. Hope to see you all there!
Students have a half day of school on Friday sue to a math professional development for teachers. Release time for students is 11:45.
Please be sure you have subscribed to my blog and Remind account. For instructions click on class info.
We will be finishing the Math NWEA and taking the Science and Language NWEA tests this week.
We will continue the DRA and Progress Monitoring reading assessment this week. This assessment involves a fluency assessment read aloud with the teacher and a written portion to assess comprehension.
Remember that on any given day your fifth grader should be able to tell you what we did in school. The planner is a good reminder for them to help with this narrative. Sharing what they have learned each day is an excellent way to help students review.
The planner should be signed by a parent or guardian every day.
Homework might not always be a worksheet!!!!!
**Students should be working on multiplication facts every night.
**They should be working on Spelling City 10-15 minutes per night Monday – Thursday.
**Students should be reading 30 minutes each night. Their comprehension can be checked using the question sheet given to parents at conferences.
**Moby Max or Khan Academy- at least 20 minutes should be done each night.
**Students can use Ducksters, History.com, and Ben’s Guide to the Government to review social studies and/or science topics covered in class.
**Students will have assignments which need to be completed on Readworks.
**Content binders should come home every night so students can study and review that day’s lessons.
Math, social studies and science material in the binder should be studied each night to prepare for upcoming tests.
Math
In Module 1, students’ understandings of the patterns in the base ten system are extended from Grade 4’s work with place value to include decimals to the thousandths place. In Grade 5, students deepen their knowledge through a more generalized understanding of the relationships between and among adjacent places on the place value chart, e.g., 1 tenth times any digit on the place value chart moves the digit one place value to the right. Toward the module’s end, students apply these new understandings as they reason about and perform decimal operations through the hundredths place.
Social Studies-
This unit provides students with an opportunity to review essential civics and government concepts learned in previous grades. It also establishes a common foundation that sets the stage for deeper discussions about government throughout the year as students explore the question: Why is the federal government organized to give and to limit power? Students begin by examining what life would be like in the absence of government and hypothesize about the reasons people form governments. Next, students review core democratic values and principles upon which our government is based and investigate how they are rooted in the organization of the federal government. In doing so, concepts such as limited government, popular sovereignty, rule of law, and individual rights are stressed. Students analyze and explain how the Preamble to the Constitution reflects the purposes of government and explore other parts of the Constitution for evidence of federalism, limited government, and individual rights. In learning about federalism, students compare the powers delegated to the federal government and those reserved to the states (or the people). Contemporary examples of government in action are used throughout the unit. Moreover, this unit provides teachers with the opportunity to connect classroom rules with ideas about government, including why people form governments, what happens without rules or laws, and the importance of the rule of law. Finally, this unit allows for a seamless connection to Constitution Day, which is required by federal law.
Science-
In this unit on matter, students will be involved in activities that hone the following skills:
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
Writing–
The Common Core State Standards require Fifth grade students to write narratives in which they orient their reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator or characters with the event sequence unfolding naturally. Additionally, students are expected to use details including dialogue, descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words and phrases to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure. The goal of this unit is for students to write personal narrative stories that elaborate the tension or problem and focus upon an important message or heart of the story. Students will immerse themselves in age-appropriate personal narrative mentors to discern how these texts tend to go and to gather possible story ideas from turning points within their life experiences. They will draw on everything they’ve learned from writing small moment stories from Kindergarten- second grade, as well as personal narrative writing in third grade and fourth grades. Additionally, students revisit qualities of good writing and craft to write personal narratives. They will select their best work to revise, edit, and publish.
Reading-
We have begun the implementation and organization of our Daily 5 routine.
Lessons will emphasize students’ ability to identify key ideas and themes in a text, whether in print, graphic, quantitative or mixed media formats.
The focus is on reading to understand, during which students focus on what the text says. The premise is that students cannot delve into the deeper meaning of any text if they cannot first grasp the surface meaning. Beyond merely identifying ideas, students also see how ideas and events connect and evolve over the course of a text.
Grammar – We will review the parts of speech.
Spelling – Please see Spelling City for the current spelling list and activities. Click on the Spelling City in the links list on this page. We are on Week 2.
Math sheets.
As a part of our new Eureka math program we will be beginning a routine of fluency timed tests called sprints. These are a pair of sheets that are timed one minute each. They encourage fluency, speed, and the recognizing of patterns. These sheets will not be used for a grade on report cards. Ask you child to see their first pair of sprints today. The goal is showing improvement from the A sprint to the B sprint. You can discuss the sprint pages with your child and help them recognize patterns and facts. These sheets do not need to be returned to school.
Sept. 4 – 7
Please be sure you have subscribed to my blog and Remind account. For instructions click on class info.
We will be taking the Reading and Math NWEA this week.
We will begin the DRA reading assessment this week. This assessment involves a fluency assessment read aloud with the teacher and a written portion to assess comprehension.
Students are allowed to bring in birthday treats. The treats should be easy to serve to individuals for example cupcakes instead of a cake and juice boxes or water bottles instead of cups and large bottles. Per school guidelines, our celebrations will take place at 3:10.
Remember that on any given day your fifth grader should be able to tell you what we did in school. The planner is a good reminder for them to help with this narrative. Sharing what they have learned each day is an excellent way to help students review.
The planner should be signed by a parent or guardian every day.
Homework might not always be a worksheet!!!!!
**Students should be working on multiplication facts every night.
**They should be working on Spelling City 10-15 minutes per night Monday – Thursday.
**Students should be reading 30 minutes each night. Their comprehension can be checked using the question sheet given to parents at conferences.
**Moby Max or Khan Academy- at least 20 minutes should be done each night.
**Students can use Ducksters, History.com, and Ben’s Guide to the Government to review social studies and/or science topics covered in class.
**Students will have assignments which need to be completed on Readworks.
**Content binders should come home every night so students can study and review that day’s lessons.
Math, social studies and science material in the binder should be studied each night to prepare for upcoming tests.
Math
As we have implemented a new math program this year, our study of math will look a bit different. We are beginning Module 1 on Tuesday Sept. 4th.
In Module 1, students’ understandings of the patterns in the base ten system are extended from Grade 4’s work with place value to include decimals to the thousandths place. In Grade 5, students deepen their knowledge through a more generalized understanding of the relationships between and among adjacent places on the place value chart, e.g., 1 tenth times any digit on the place value chart moves the digit one place value to the right (5.NBT.A.1). Toward the module’s end, students apply these new understandings as they reason about and perform decimal operations through the hundredths place.
Social Studies-
This unit provides students with an opportunity to review essential civics and government concepts learned in previous grades. It also establishes a common foundation that sets the stage for deeper discussions about government throughout the year as students explore the question: Why is the federal government organized to give and to limit power? Students begin by examining what life would be like in the absence of government and hypothesize about the reasons people form governments. Next, students review core democratic values and principles upon which our government is based and investigate how they are rooted in the organization of the federal government. In doing so, concepts such as limited government, popular sovereignty, rule of law, and individual rights are stressed. Students analyze and explain how the Preamble to the Constitution reflects the purposes of government and explore other parts of the Constitution for evidence of federalism, limited government, and individual rights. In learning about federalism, students compare the powers delegated to the federal government and those reserved to the states (or the people). Contemporary examples of government in action are used throughout the unit. Moreover, this unit provides teachers with the opportunity to connect classroom rules with ideas about government, including why people form governments, what happens without rules or laws, and the importance of the rule of law. Finally, this unit allows for a seamless connection to Constitution Day, which is required by federal law.
Science-
In this unit on matter, students will be involved in activities that hone the following skills:
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
Writing–
The Common Core State Standards require Fifth grade students to write narratives in which they orient their reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator or characters with the event sequence unfolding naturally. Additionally, students are expected to use details including dialogue, descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words and phrases to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure. The goal of this unit is for students to write personal narrative stories that elaborate the tension or problem and focus upon an important message or heart of the story. Students will immerse themselves in age-appropriate personal narrative mentors to discern how these texts tend to go and to gather possible story ideas from turning points within their life experiences. They will draw on everything they’ve learned from writing small moment stories from Kindergarten- second grade, as well as personal narrative writing in third grade and fourth grades. Additionally, students revisit qualities of good writing and craft to write personal narratives. They will select their best work to revise, edit, and publish.
Reading-
We have begun the implementation and organization of our Daily 5 routine.
Lessons will emphasize students’ ability to identify key ideas and themes in a text, whether in print, graphic, quantitative or mixed media formats.
The focus is on reading to understand, during which students focus on what the text says. The premise is that students cannot delve into the deeper meaning of any text if they cannot first grasp the surface meaning. Beyond merely identifying ideas, students also see how ideas and events connect and evolve over the course of a text.
Grammar – We will review the parts of speech.
Spelling – Please see Spelling City for the current spelling list and activities. Click on the Spelling City in the links list on this page. We are on Week 1.
Happy New School Year!!!
Welcome students,
If you are reading this you are probably one of the students in my class this year! If you are an adult reading this alone please go get your student so they can read my blog with you! This blog will be addressed to the students, for the most part, all year. It will be expected that students will check the blog on a daily basis during the school year. Please subscribe to this blog by typing your email in the subscribe box.
PARENTS-I subscribe to Remind. This is a service which delivers short messages to you through texts. Please subscribe to Remind and my blog. I use both as important communication tools for my class. To subscribe to my Remind you will need to text @gc46c3 to 81010 or 313-908-5518. Here is a link if you wish to join that way https://www.remind.com/join/gc46c3. I cannot receive messages through Remind. Please email me if you need to speak to me at hicksol@dearbornschools.org I promise to respond within 24 hours of receiving your email at school.
I am very excited about the upcoming school year! We will have a learning community of fifth graders! It should be a terrific year!
The first day of school is Monday August 27th. School begins at 8:35 and ends at 11:45. Students will line up on the upper elementary black top. I will meet you there at 8:35. I can’t wait to begin our fifth grade adventure together!!
*The usual pencils, pens, and highlighters. You will use black, blue, and red pens this year.
*A small personal pencil sharpener. It saves time and I think sometimes that the sharpener in my room has a pencil eating troll living in it. 😀
*Loose leaf paper. Wide-ruled is probably best. It gives you more room to write neatly and besides…I have older eyes than you.
*You will need a couple of folders. I have plain ones, but if you want folders with Frozen, Star Wars (YAY), One Direction or something else on them you will need to go shopping.
*You will use three binders this year to stay organized. They should all be 1″ binders so they fit in your desk easily. One should be white and will be used for your Leadership Binder. You probably already have one from last year. The second one will be used for literacy. The third one will be used for the content areas (Math, Science, and SS.) I do not care what these two binders have on them…kittens, Red Wings, Star Wars (YAY again)…whatever. They can be soft side or hard side. The soft side binders will fit in your desks more easily.
*You will need a couple of packs of dividers to be used inside the binders.
***We will be organizing our binders on Thursday August 30th. Please be sure you have these items on or before that day.
*You also will be using crayons, markers, and colored pencils throughout the year. I have some, but if you want the crayons with names like Sunglow and Pink Carnation you will need to buy a big box.
*Dry erase markers are a must!! They don’t have to be fancy colors. Also, if you want to erase with something other than the baby socks I buy at the dollar store that I have you will need to bring that in too.
*We also always need lots of classroom size boxes of facial tissue and classroom size bottles of hand sanitizer.
*Headphones for the computer…we will be doing a lot of computer work this year. These do not have to be the most expensive ones. (But I guess that’s up to your parents.)
***Please note that we WILL be having time for a snack on the first day. Your snacks need to be healthy ones such as fruit, veggies, cheese & crackers etc. Please don’t bring in cookies, candy, pop, chips or other junk food for snacks. This is the rule for snacks for the whole year. Also, please avoid bringing nuts on the first day. I don’t know yet if this will need to be a rule for the year or just the first few days. I will let you know as soon as I find out. I do not keep a supply of snacks in my room for the class. If you want a snack, you will need to bring one with you.
Dearborn Public Schools Student Code of Conduct
Here is a link so you may read the Code of Conduct for the Dearborn Public Schools. There will not be a hard copy of this passed out to fifth graders unless they are new to the school district.
Safeties
******There will be no safety post on Monday August 27, 2018***************
I can’t wait to see all of you on Monday August 27th!!! This is going to be a great year!!!! I am very excited and I hope all of you are too!!!!!*************