Sign of the Beaver & Other Things

Chilly!  We hope everyone is having a great week!  We've enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with everyone during parent conferences to discuss students' progress through the first nine weeks.  If you haven't scheduled a conference with your child's teacher, please do so, as this first conference is mandatory as we give out report cards and discuss students academic progress.

As you know, this is a short week due to conference night on Thursday night.

This week we began our novel study of Sign of the Beaver by Eliazbeth George Speare.  This is a class favorite every year!  This novel is an excellent introduction to life among pioneers and Native Americans in the eighteenth-century American colonies. Full of precise detail concerning the tasks and objects that filled everyday life, the novel also contains a good deal of adventure and suspense. Most notable is Speare's insightful and sensitive portrayal of the relations among white settlers and Native Americans. Intertwined with the exciting plot is a strong but not didactic commentary on the tragedy that ensued when settlers forced the Native Americans from their lands. We will also be integrating reading skills and grammar instruction within this novel study.  Students have been given their own copy of the book, which is to remain at school, as these are newly purchased copies.  If students are absent, or fall behind in reading, they'll be allowed to bring home an older copy of the book in order to catch up.  Students should not be reading ahead in this book.

In grammar, students have been learning more about singular and plural possessive nouns.  Plural possessive nouns can be tricky, but students are plugging along!  We are planning on giving a test on nouns (common, proper, singular, plural and possessive) next week.

In math, students have been studying operations and equations in Algebra.  They'll be taking a Mid-Chapter Checkpoint Quiz this week as we're at the half-way point of the chapter.  Students can get extra practice on lessons covered in class by going to Think Central and go to "Online Intervention" in the "My Library" section of their account under math.  This section provides students with short mini lessons re-teaching the skill along with individual practice.  As we discussed during "Meet the Teacher Night," students should be working on FCAT Explorer on the 5th grade math and science modules at least thirty minutes a week.  While we understand that schedules are tight for everyone, this website provides students with essential practice for the "you know what!"

In science, we're continuing our unit on energy.  Students have learned about the different forms of energy (light, sound, thermal, kinetic, potential) and we'll begin our study of electricity.  As a culminating activity in our study of sound, students engaged in a STEM activity where they had to construct headphones out of common household items to see if they could make them more sound proof than a regular set of headphones.  A common definition  of STEM is

an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy. Students really were excited and engaged during this activity.  We look forward to doing more with them as we move through the year.

We hope science fair projects are moving along smoothly.  Please make sure to pay attention to the dates that were posted on November's calendar!

Bundle up, and enjoy the long weekend!!