Welcome to 2023!

December was a busy month at Liberty Drive! Our 4th and 5th graders participated and presented their research about Animal Adaptations and Ecosystems, students who showed positive behavior and academic efforts in the classroom were rewarded with a Glow Party, students learned about Holidays Around the World, and every student was given a board game for Christmas from donations of our community and educator partners.

It is so hard to believe that we are halfway through the 2022-2023 school year! We are so proud of all the hard work and growth that students have made. As we begin the second semester, continue to talk with your child about what they are learning at school and make sure they are reading and working on multiplication facts every night!

Mr. Hewitt and Mrs. Mosley

• citing evidence and making inferences using details in the text (RL.1)
• identifying theme(s) and summarizing (RL.2)
• analyzing the story's plot with an in depth study of characters and character relationships (RL.3)
• understanding and applying grade level vocabulary using context clues and other strategies (RL.4 and L.4)

We will also be continuing our daily learning of grammar skills - understanding and applying nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, proper nouns, pronouns, and simple/complex sentence structure and phonemic awareness - being able to identify and change individual sounds in spoken words.

Below are questions that students will need to be able to answer while reading during this unit:

• What are the major events that happen in the story?
• What details help you understand what is happening to the characters?
• What inferences can you make and what details from the text support your inferences?
• What does the text say? What do you think about that? Why is that important?

• What is the theme of this story?
• What details from the text led you to determine the theme?
• What details would you include from the beginning, middle, and end to summarize the story?
  

• How does _______ (character name) act at the beginning of the story? Why?
• What details in the text about the character’s thoughts, words or actions help you describe that character?
  
• How does the setting contribute to the story or a character’s actions?
• How does the character’s behavior change from the beginning of the story to the end? What details help you know this?
  

• What does the word/phrase ________mean in this sentence?
• What words do you know in the sentence that can help you figure out the meaning of that word or phrase?

*If you would like to take a deeper look at the NC Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts, please click on a link below.

• 4th grade NC ELA Standards
• 5th grade NC ELA Standards

• Finding the answer to division equations (with and without remainders) with up to three-digit dividends and one-digit divisors (ex. 9 ÷ 3 = ___ 34 ÷ 4 = ___ 125 ÷ 5 = ___ ) Students will solve these without using the standard algorithm and strategies that include place value understanding using rectangular arrays, area models, repeated subtraction, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. (NBT.6)
  
• Solving division word problems (OA.3)

*Check out these YouTube videos that explain the skills above!

• Dividing with the Box Method
• Division using Rectangular Arrays
• Division with Base 10 blocks

*If you would like to take a deeper look at the NC Standard Course of Study for 4th grade Math, please click on the link below.

4th grade Math Standards

This month 5th graders will begin learning strategies of division - how to divide large whole numbers with and without remainders, and then move to extending their previous understanding of decimals with dividing decimals. Skills that will be taught in January are:

• finding quotients with remainders when dividing whole numbers with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors using rectangular arrays , area models, repeated subtraction, partial quotients, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. (NBT.6)
• using models to make connections and develop the standard division algorithm. (NBT.6)
• Dividing a whole number by a decimal and divide a decimal by a whole number, using repeated subtraction or area models. Decimals should be limited to hundredths place. (NBT.7)
• Solving real-world problems with multi-digit whole numbers and decimal numbers.(NBT.7)

*Check out these YouTube videos that explain the skills above!

• Dividing with the Box Method
• Division using Rectangular Arrays
• Division with Base 10 blocks
• Long Division with Double Digit Divisors
• Dividing Decimals with Box Method
• Division with Partial Quotients (Double Digit Divisors)
• Partial Quotients Method for Long Division

*If you would like to take a deeper look at the NC Standard Course of Study for 5th grade Math, please click on the link below.

5th grade Math Standards

• Comparing fossils (including molds, casts, and preserved parts of plants and animals) to one another and to living organisms. (E.2.1)
  
• Inferring ideas about Earth’s early environments from fossils of plants and animals that lived long ago. (E.2.2)
  

Check out this website for more information and help with the explanation of the skills above.

Science Study Jams (Fossils)

*If you would like to take a deeper look at the NC Standard Course of Study for 4th grade Science, please click on the link below.

4th grade Science Standards

5.E.1.3

• Explaining how global patterns such as the jet stream and water currents influence local weather in measurable terms such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.

Check out this website for more information and help with the explanation of the skills above.

Science Study Jams (Weather)

*If you would like to take a deeper look at the NC Standard Course of Study for 5th grade Science, please click on the link below.

5th grade Science Standards

Social awareness: The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacity to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

Such as:

• Taking others’ perspectives

• Recognizing strengths in others

• Demonstrating empathy and compassion

• Showing concern for the feelings of others Understanding and expressing gratitude Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones

• Recognizing situational demands and opportunities

• Understanding the influences of organizations and systems on behavior

JANUARY

• 3rd: Required Workday

• 16th: MLK Holiday-No School

• 19th: Early Dismissal

• 26th: Required Teacher Workday

• 27th: Required Workday

• 30th: 3rd qtr./2nd sem. begins

FEBRUARY

• 2nd: Report Cards go home

Our teachers do an excellent job of communicating information regarding our programs and activities going on in our school. Here is way you can stay informed proactively:

A phone call or an email is an efficient way to communicate with your child’s teacher. Please remember that our teachers are with students throughout the day and will return the call/email as soon as they are able. At times, this may be the next school day.