Barry 5th Grade Team Silver
Friday, October 19th, 2018
Important Dates
- October 19 - Report Cards Emailed Home
- October 19 - Incentive Day
- October 23 - Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-7:30
- October 25 - Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-7:00
- October 26 - NO SCHOOL
- October 30 - Fall Family Spooktacular 6:00-8:00
- October 31 - Fall Parties 1:40-2:40*
*A Sign-Up Genius for snacks/drinks was sent to each homeroom through email
Parent - Teacher Conferences
Don't forget to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences! Conferences will be held on Tuesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 25th. A Sign-Up Genius link was sent through email. Please use this link to reserve and/or confirm your conference time.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Ms. Shoup or Mrs. Hayes!
Reminders
- Please check your child's planner each night for updates on what we are working on in class, upcoming events/reminders, and behavior tracking. Your child can help you find this information, and provide more details.
- Read 20 minutes a night, 5 nights a week
- Practice on Reflex Math 15 minutes a night, 3 times a week
Reading
Second quarter began this week, and I have updated the Accelerated Reader goals for students on Team Silver. I am in the process of getting post its ready with students’ individual goals for them to put in their planners in the same way I had done for first quarter goals. Your child can also log into Accelerated Reader to check his or her new goal for second quarter. Students on Team Silver will need to continue to work on reading at home and at school toward their 2nd quarter AR goals. The students on Team Silver will have until the end of the day on Wednesday, December 19, the last day of second quarter, to take quizzes on the books they have completed to have points toward their AR goals.
I am encouraging the children to read at a good pace and to read carefully to help them have success on their AR quizzes. The children must pass their quizzes in order to receive points toward their goal on the books they read. The point value awarded for the book also goes down with each question missed on the quiz. I will be sending an Accelerated Reader Midterm home about halfway through the quarter as I did last quarter to keep parents updated on their child’s progress toward his or her Accelerated Reader goal. Students on Team Silver are given time in class to read during Reader’s Workshop but are also encouraged to read at home to help them work toward their AR goals. Students in 5th grade will receive a “W” for work in their planners for AR goals not met by the end of the quarter.
In order to help encourage students to meet their AR goals and reading goals I am asking students on Team Silver to read for at least 20 minutes a night at home for homework to help them make progress in their books. I am asking students to read for 20 minutes at home at least 5 nights a week. This is the main homework the students will be focusing on for ELA during the year other than working on writing projects or other projects that might need more time to finish.
During the first few weeks of second quarter, we will be exploring story elements in fiction text such as theme, conflict, characters, plot, and setting. During this unit, we will continue to practice our skills with inferring as we look at the clues and details the author gives us in the text to help us identify the theme or message that the author is trying to communicate to us through the characters in the story. We will also be learning how to create a story summary that summarizes important events and details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Writing
We have started planning our third person narratives this week in preparation for the Barry Spooktacular event that will be coming to Barry soon. Students on Team Silver are learning to create pieces in which a story teller or narrator reports on the characters and events in the story. We have learned that in a third person narrative, the author is not a character in the story but is simply a storyteller or narrator. The students are in the process of writing third person narratives with a spooky or mysterious storyline in preparation for the Spooktacular at the end of the month. They will have time in class to work on their stories, but can also take their stories home to work on as well if need be to help finish the assignment before the Spooktacular.
Students on Team Silver who wish to have their piece considered for the Spooktacular will need to have their third person narrative finished by Thursday, October 25. One student will be selected from each classroom on Team Silver to represent our team by reading their pieces at the Barry Spooktacular event which will take place at Barry on the evening of Tuesday, October 30. Look for a flyer to come home giving more details about many of the fun and fantastic activities for students and families that will be taking place at Barry that evening.
Math
In math, we are wrapping up Topic 3 - Fluently Multiply Multi-Digit Whole Numbers.
This topic includes:
- Using mental math to multiply by powers of 10
- Estimating products
- Multiplying 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers
- Solving word problems using multiplication
A study guide will be coming home for students to practice for the test this upcoming week. If your child needs any extra practice, feel free to find any 3-digit by 2-digit multiplication problems for them to solve.
Students should be practicing on Reflex Math 3 times a week for 15 minutes.
If your child has reached fluency on Reflex, or if he/she would like extra practice, he/she may go on Prodigy. Students have this log-in information in their planners. You can get to both websites by clicking on the links below.
Science
In science, we are finishing up our study of the Engineering Design Process! We have looked at the steps of this process, compared it to the Scientific Method, and have completed two labs. We have created a paper chair strong enough to support a stuffed animal and engineered paper airplanes with the goal of getting them to fly 40+ feet.
We will have a test over the engineering design process this coming week. Study guides will be coming home soon!
Steps of the Engineering Design Process:
- Define the Problem
- Generate Concepts
- Develop Solutions
- Construct and Test Prototype
- Evaluate Solutions
Social Studies
We have begun our unit on Regions of the United States and have also started our Geography Masters challenge.
During this unit, we will be focusing on:
the landforms, economy, history, culture, landmarks, and attractions of each region as well as finding the locations of the states and capital cities within each region.
We started our Regions of the U.S. studies with the Midwest and continued our studies as we focused on the Northeast this past week. Next week we will begin exploring the Southeast region of the United States. During class, we have been creating maps of the states and capitals of each region we are studying that can be used as study guides to help students locate each state and capital city within the region. Once a week, we will have a quiz over the states and capitals located within the region we are studying.
The students on Team Silver are participating in a Geography Masters challenge in which they will be eligible for a special pizza lunch and technology celebration if they pass each states and capitals quiz with 90% accuracy. If they do not get 90% accuracy on the first attempt at the quiz, they can have 2 more attempts to try to remain eligible for the celebration.
I am encouraging the children to look over their states and capitals study guide a little each day to help them practice for the quiz. They will have a copy of the study guide as well as a progress sheet for the Geography Masters inside their trappers.
Listed below are the dates for the upcoming states and capitals quizzes over each region as well as some helpful links and resources that can be used at home to help the children study and prepare for the states and capitals quizzes:
Quiz Dates:
- Tuesday, October 30 Southeast States and Capitals
- Monday, November 5 West States and Capitals
- Friday, November 9 Southwest States and Capitals
Contact Us
Ms. Shoup
Math and Science
(816) 436-9623 EXT. 3152
Mrs. Hayes
ELA and Social Studies
(816) 436-9623 EXT. 3145