The Weekly Prophet
Haines 5th Grade Class Newsletter
Week Ending September 27, 2019
Important Dates
9-26-19 4th and 5th Grade Peacemakers (Art room at 8 am)
9-26-19 1/2 Day 12:05 Dismissal
9-26-19 Birthday Recess (bring your own special snack)
10-3-19 Room Parent & Committee Chair Meeting (9-10 am in Cafeteria)
10-4-19 Bagel Day
10-4-19 Spirit Day: Favorite Sports Team Day
10-12-19 5th Grade Run @ Groves High School (9am)
10-14-19 PTA Meeting (7-8 pm in Maker Space)
10-16-19 Student Council Meeting (8:15-8:45 in Media Center)
10-16-19 ESL Parent Meeting (9-10 am in Room 13)
10-17-19 Peacemakers (8-8:45 am in Art Room)
10-18-19 West Maple's 1st Annual Trunk or Treat
10-25-19 Picture Retake Day
10-31-19 Halloween Parade and Parties
10-31-19 1/2 Day 12:05 Dismissal
11-1-19 Camp Fees and Forms are Due to West Maple office
Academics
Unit 1 is all about fractions. Students will use number lines to represent equivalent fractions. They will add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators. Students will use fraction bar models to visualize a sum or difference, as well as develop equations to solve real world problems involving fractions. With this unit, students are only to complete the Homework side of their take home Math homework. It is possible that my math students may not have math homework every night.
English Language Arts
We begin the year with fiction and analyzing theme. Students will be thinking deeper about literature and delving into author's meaning. they will develop their skills in inference and visualization of text. Students will jot their thinking in Reader's Response Journals and use those responses to discuss literature and how it connects to their lives. Once testing is done students will be working in guided reading and literature circle groups.
Our word study begins with prefixes and how the meanings of base words are changed when word parts are added to the beginnings of words. The prefixes for next week are: re-, ex-, in-, and de-.
Writing and grammar study begins with parts of speech and personal narrative writing.
Science
Our first unit in Science is Earth and Sun. The first investigation in our unit is The Sun. Students look at shadows throughout the day. They use this information to monitor the position of the Sun as it moves through the sky, and analyze what this information tells us about time and rotation of the earth to produce day and night. Likewise, students learn about the tilt of the earth and its revolution around the sun to determine the seasons.
Social Studies
We start our Social Studies year off by learning about the land bridge that formed and allowed people to travel to the new world. We will find out why they decided to make the trip and how their lives changed because of the new environment. We will also begin to look at four different regions found in what is now the United States: the northwest coast, the southwest, the great plains, and the eastern woodlands.
Health
Social-emotional health is our first unit of study. Students will engage in activities that teach them how to deal with strong feelings, stress, and anxiety through mindfulness and calming strategies. The unit continues with healthy ways to handle harassment and bullying. The unit concludes with finding healthy solutions to conflicts, respect for selves and others, and setting positive goals for health and happiness.