Monday, August 18, 2014

Week of 8/18

Dear Families~

I'm sorry this is late, I did not have any internet access this weekend! 

I'm sure that this will happen again.  It is just one of the many benefits to living out in the "middle of nowhere." 

Here are some pictures from the past week:




This week in math we were trying to find the better "deal" with sale ads.

Hard at work learning about The Bill of Rights.

We do enjoy our reading time.















Skills Class (7:30 am)
Students who attend MPACT and ESOL classes leave for those teachers during this time period. Other students will be divided up to receive specialized instruction based on their particular strengths and weaknesses. Please email me or call if you have any questions.

Agenda
Please be sure to check your son/daughters agenda. The homework for the week should be written in the agenda on Monday. These are the things you should expect to find:
  • 30 minutes of reading each night for homework
  • some sort of a math activity (you can ALWAYS practice math facts)
  • information about an upcoming social studies/science test-tests are usually every 2 weeks
  • any school wide information
We are in need of OLD "CLEAN" socks in our classroom. Please send them in if you can. Thanks.
Reading/ELA
Standards
  • RI.5.10. 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.
Essential Questions
  • What are the features of informational (nonfiction) text?
  • How can we use text features to help us read informational text?
Activities
  • Text-mapping several informational articles. Last week, we read about people who illegally smuggle exotic animals. The students really enjoyed that topic, so we are continuing the theme of exotic and interesting animals into this week!
  • Wednesday: Library Orientation
  • Friday: Text-mapping (informational text features) assessment
What We're Reading
  • "Hide and Sneak"
  • "Deep Sea Monsters"
  • "Cougars on the Move"
  • "Wild Animal Pets"
  • Wonder by  R. J. Palacio
What We're Writing
  • Opinions about exotic animal laws in the United States

Mathematics
Standards
  • 5.NBT.A.3 Read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths. 
Essential Questions
  • What is a decimal?
  • What are some different ways we can represent decimals? (Base Ten blocks, standard number form, word form, expanded form)
  • How are decimals and fractions related?
Activities
Our math class will be very flexible each week. I will watch and listen as students practice math to decide when we need extra practice and who might need to try something harder, and also to determine the pace at which we should move. We may finish all of these activities this week, or we may need to save some of them for next week.
  • Place value foldables for interactive notebooks
  • Greg Tang math games
  • Practice making decimals and the different ways to write them
  • Create Decimal Designs to calculate decimals using hundreds charts
  • Relating money values to decimals
  • Human Decimal game
  • High Rollers (competitive game where partners create decimals by rolling dice)
What We're Writing
  • What we've learned about decimals and decimal place value

Social Studies
Standards
  • SS5E2 The student will describe the functions of four major sectors in the U. S. economy. 
  • SS5E3 The student will describe how consumers and businesses interact in the U. S. economy. 
  • SS5E4 The student will identify the elements of a personal budget and explain why personal spending and saving decisions are important. 
Essential Questions
  • What are the four major sectors in the US economy?
  • What is fair trade?
  • How does competition work in our economy?
  • What is the benefits of saving versus spending?
  • How are budgets created? Why are they useful?
Activities
  • Play economics games! (Gas Station Game, Fair Trade, A Tale of Two Villages)
  • Create a foldable for the four sectors of the US economy
  • Create a zoo and discuss how economic principles are at work in running a business
  • Watch videos on budgeting, taxation, and supply and demand (www.brainpop.com)
  • Analyze banking brochures
  • Final assessment on Friday
What We're Writing
  • How to create a budget
  • How our economic system works