Fabulous Fifth Grade!
Stay tuned for all the happenings on fifth grade hall...
Testing Time!
Ways you can help your child at home:
- encourage them to take their time.
- encourage them to underline and look back for answers.
- encourage them to show all their work for math
- have them correct any mistakes on work that comes home graded
- have them look over interactive journals for science and ELA
- use Moby Max and Read Theory to help them practice skills.
Mark your calendar...
Here are the upcoming events for our last nine weeks!
- May 19th - Icee Day
- May 25th - 5th Grade vs. Teachers Basketball Game @ 1:55
- May 26th - Field trip to Spruce Pine to meet our Penpals
- May 31st - EOG Testing
- June 1st - EOG Testing
- June 6th - EOG Testing (Science)
- June 8th - Graduation @ 9:00 am
- June 8th - Icee Day
Scientists at Work (4th 9 weeks)
When we return from spring break we will be focusing on test prep and review. We will start with weather and work our way through the standards again for an extra push and quick refresher. Students can go to ixl.com, mobymax.com, and study their vocabulary from journals or packet.
Helms Happenings... (4th 9 weeks)
ELA for the 4th Nine Weeks
READING Standards:
RI.7 : Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
RI.8 : Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point .
RL.10 : By the end of the year; read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
RI.10 : By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
What can we do at home:
Read as much as possible!!!!
Readtheory.org Great for answering EOG like questions about ELA passages
Students can bring home their ELA Interactive Journals to study the notes and vocabulary we have discussed this year.
Have your child correct any reading questions they have missed on homework or classwork. This is the best way for a child to learn by fixing their mistakes.
Mathematical Moments (4th 9 weeks)
In addition to this review we will be working on:
- MD.1 - Convert measurement units within a given measurement system (example: 100 centimeters = 1 meter; 4 quarts = 1 gallon)
- MD.2 - Make a line plot to display data
- G.1 and 2 - Graph points on a coordinate plane
- G.3 - Understand the attributes of shapes and how they are related.
- G.4 - Classify 2-dimensional figures (especially quadrilaterals)
How can you help at home:
- http://mobymax.com
- I will be sending home a study sheet for the measurement conversions. Please help your child study these conversions.
Scientists at Work...
Your child should know the major parts and functions of the following systems:
- skeletal
- muscular
- digestive
- circulatory
- respiratory
- nervous
They can also go to google.discoveryeducation.com to watch videos on topics we have already studied.
Standards for the 3rd 9 weeks are:
Genetics.
- 5.L.3.1 Students know that the life processes and species characteristics that define a population will be transmitted from parent to offspring
- 5.L.3.2 students will know some likenesses between parents and children are inherited.
Ecosystems
- 5.L.2.1 compare the characteristics of several common ecosystems including estuaries and salt marshes, oceans, lakes and ponds, forest and grasslands
- 5.L.2.2 classify the organisms within an ecosystem according to the function they serve.
- 5.L.2.3 Infer the effects that may result from the interconnected relationship of plants and animals in their ecosystems
Helms Happenings...
ELA Standards Covered Third Nine Weeks
Literature/Informational
5.RL.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
5.RI.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
5.RL.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
5.RL.9 Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
5.RL.10 By the end of the year; read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
5.RI.10By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
What Can Parents Do at Home?
My child doesn’t like to read!!! Teachers cringe when they hear this sentence from parents! We realize that there are many things that could have happened during your child’s early reading years to cause him/her to feel that reading is a bore. However, we must work together to help your child begin to enjoy reading.
Help your child become an engaged reader with this checklist:
Allow your child to see you reading. Talk about what you are reading with enthusiasm.
Visit a library to choose interesting reading materials. Libraries often display popular books and books with interesting covers. Ask a librarian to point you in the direction of books and magazines that cover your child’s interests, i.e. racing, horses, and etc.
Help your child choose reading materials that are appropriate for his/her reading level. Nothing turns a child off to reading faster than material that is “too hard.”
Make reading a priority in your home while demonstrating that everyone reads, including parents. Drop everything and read for 20 minutes after dinner or find a system that works for your family. Then take turns sharing. Credits to: Jenifer Bazzit
READING IS A LIFE SKILL
Mathematical Moments...
Fractions, fractions, and more fractions!!!
- NF.2 - Students will be able to solve word problems involving the addition and subtraction of mixed numbers
- NF.4 - Students will be able to multiply fractions by whole numbers and fractions by fractions (ex. 4 x 1/5 or 1/2 x 1/5)
http://www.mathnook.com/math/brainracerfraction.html
- NF.4b - Students will be able to fInd the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths
- NF.7 - Students will be able to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.
- NBT.7 - Students will be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals to hundredths.
http://www.mathnook.com/math/ccss/5.NBT.B.7.php
5th grade math is just tough! These kids are working so hard every single day. Some of them are still struggling with knowing their multiplication facts. This definitely makes math much harder for them. Please take time to make sure your child knows their multiplication facts.
Also, if you have internet access at home, there are many great links to math games to help your child practice fractions. I have included a few in this list. I also email links out to your child from time to time for different math games and activities.
https://www.khanacademy.org/ - is a great resource if you need to have a refresher on math skills that you haven't used in a while! You can also sign your child up to practice.
We will be having a parent math workshop coming soon ~ Look for information coming home in the next few weeks!
Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any question!
Scientists at work!
Parents can help with the actual experiment completion at home. Everything else is completed at school. Due date for the project is January 5. They will be graded on January 5th.. Judging will be January 6. County STEAM Fair is January 28.
Helms Happenings...
Let me just say thanks to all of the parents and students for making the first nine weeks a success. I am so excited about our schedule and switching classes has been amazing. I have loved getting to know all of the fifth grade students! The students are doing a great job with turning in their homework each week. Responsibility is something we take very serious. We want the students to have a very smooth transition to middle school next year and keeping up with homework and preparing for their classes each day should help with this! I would like to give you an idea of what goes on in ELA everyday and how you can help your child at home to improve his or her reading skills. If you ever have any questions or need to speak with me please feel free to give me call during school hours and leave a message I will call you back at the end of the day or during my planning period. (724-4422) You can also shoot me an email at anna.helms@mcdowell.k12.nc.us.
What does ELA Block look like?
When your child enters my class we begin with Daily 5. This is independent work that has to be accomplished everyday and turned in at the end of the week. You should have seen packets that come home each week from my class. In their packets they have:
Daily Language activity - This includes practice with vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and sentence punctuation. These skills are very important to improve your child’s writing.
Daily Journal writing - Each week your child is giving a list of journal topics that have a common theme. They are allowed to choose which prompt they would like to write about each day. I really enjoy reading their responses. This writing helps improve their writing skills and allows them to be creative and think “outside the box”!
Daily Reading Response Log - Each day your child reads silently for 15 minutes. During this time the students are allowed to choose what they want to read. At the beginning of the year we spent several days discussing ways to choose books that were a good fit for them. I want them reading something that is on their level, but something they will enjoy! When that 15 min. is over the students have a list of reading response questions. They get to choose a question each day to respond to. This skill is very important. We work daily on our comprehension skills.
and 5. Daily Read to Someone and Listening to Reading - These two skills go on in small groups. Each day I meet with small groups of children at my back table. These small groups consist of students on the same level and reading ability. We work on vocabulary skills, reading allowed while listening to others read, discussion questions, and how to respond to higher level questions about a specific text. Even in fifth grade it is important to continue working on reading skills. Reading is like anything else we do in life you only get better at it by practice, practice, and more practice.
In addition to ELA I am also responsible for teaching your child’s Social Studies. What better way to do this but integrate it into our weekly reading. Your child learns about history through newspapers written just for 5th grade called “Social Studies Weekly” the students are allowed to work with partners or small groups on these. They have a vocabulary puzzle to complete and a comprehension quiz each week. You should be seeing these come home weekly also.
This is all going on in a 90 minute block of time. The students must stay focused and busy to accomplish all of these tasks during the week. They receive weekly grades on all of these things. We spent a couple of weeks at the beginning of the year going over my expectations and how I want their assignment completed. I do not accept anything but their BEST if they have incomplete work or failing assignments they must re-do it! It is very hard to make a bad grade in Mrs. Helms’ class because I do not accept failing grades. If a student receives anything below a 60% we work together to see what the problem was and how we can fix it!!!
The North Carolina Standard Course of Study
The state requires me to teach your child certain skills in ELA. Each week I go over the standard we are learning in class and we look at what skill they should be able to accomplish by the end of the week. On Friday we have reading assessments that test your child on the particular skill we have worked on during the week. You should see these assessments coming home weekly also. They are not graded I check to see if your child passed or failed. If they fail the assessment they work with me in the afternoons during our “WIN” time to make corrections. This extra one on one instruction time we have added to our day has really helped the students!!!
These are the standards we are working on this nine weeks:
Literature/Informational
RL.3 : Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
RI.3 : Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
RL.6 : Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.
RI.6 : Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
RI.9 : Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
What Can I Do at Home?
Read, Read, Read!!! The more your child reads the better they become at it. Try to find something they are interested and find books on that subject.
Let them see you reading. Children watch what we do. Set the example set a twenty minute time each night where everyone in the family is reading.
They love electronics allow them to read online. Kindle, and Ibooks have many free books for kids to read. They also can access RAZ Kids at home and earn rewards for reading leveled books. Each child in fifth grade has a Raz Kids account and they know how to access this from home. I have each child placed on their reading level.
Ask your child to tell you about their books. Tell them to give you a summary of what they just read. This skill is so important they have to be able to comprehend what they are reading!!!
Have your child read aloud this helps with fluency and the more fluent you are at reading the better you will understand the text. Many times we forget our older kids still need to read aloud!
Thanks for all you do at home. I know if we work together this year your child will have great success and be prepared for their middle school transition!
Many Blessings
Anna Helms
Mathematical Moments
Grading
You may notice that many of the papers that are sent home have no grade on them. Many times students are given the opportunity to fix mistakes or to work with a tutor to correct their work. On tests I give students multiple opportunities to score above a 70. A failing grade on a test means that they need to be retaught. After reteaching, students will test again.
Fun Links
- http://www.multiplication.com/games/all-games (for multiplication fact practice)
- Fractions Livebinder - access key: 5thfractions
- Volume Livebinder - access key: 5volume
- Tenmarks - each student has a login. I will send home parent information this week!
2nd Nine Weeks
Here is a sneak peek of what we will be working on this 9 weeks.
- NBT.1 - Students will be able to identify place value using base ten.
- NBT.2 - Students will be able to use exponents with the powers of ten. They will also be able to multiply and divide by powers of ten.
- NBT.3 - Students will be able to read, write and compare decimals to the thousandths place.
- NBT.4 - Students will be able to round decimals to a given place value.
- NBT.5 - Students will be able to multiply whole numbers using the standard algorithm (the way you were taught in school...YAY!) Students will multiply up to a 4 digit number by a 2 digit number (example: 2,489 x 75)
- NBT.6 - Students will explore strategies to divide up to a 4 digit number by a 2 digit number. - You may see a variety of strategies for doing this. We will send home examples for you to look over.
- NBT.7 - Students will add and subtract decimals to the hundredths place value.
Ways you can help at home:
- Make sure your child knows his or her multiplication facts. 5th grade math is very difficult if they do not!
- Since we are working with adding and subtracting decimals, you can have your child practice adding and subtracting money. Grab a sales paper and let them add up the cost of the items they would like to have. Let them plan a Thanksgiving dinner using the grocery store papers. You could even throw in a little bit of multiplication with this too!
- Students can round prices in the store to the nearest dollar or dime.
- Use Tenmarks at home.
Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions (724-4422) or email me stephanie.roland@mcdowell.k12.nc.us
I love working with these kids! I look forward to the rest of the year with them!
~Mrs. Roland