What we're learning about right now:
Writing) book trailers
Reading) independent reading
Word Work) n/a
Social Studies: emancipation!
Class, Grade, & School Announcements:
-5th-grade Talent Show: morning of Wednesday, May 25th!
-Yearbook distribution and signing: morning of Friday, May 25th!
-Last day/half-day (11:45) Friday, May 25th!
Quarter Three Subject Area Summaries
We continued our study of nonfiction reading in the third quarter. We learned various strategies for monitoring comprehension such as coding and translating a text, using boxes and bullets to jot our thoughts, and identifying topic, subtopic, and details of a passage. Students immersed themselves in persuasive writing, and practiced determining a thesis statement and its supporting arguments. We began our historical fiction book clubs and started piecing together important clues about the setting, time period, and character traits.
In Writing this quarter, we published our feature articles and reflected on the process. We shifted our focus to persuasive writing. Students made noticings of the characteristics of persuasive writing, and applied this knowledge as they brainstormed ideas for their own essay topics. We studied the structure of persuasive essays and began forming our own arguments about our topics. Students continued studying spelling word patterns with Words Their Way activities and tackled compound sentence structure with authentic grammar instruction.
In Social Studies, we learned about the arrival of Europeans to North America and eventually Texas. That included Christopher Columbus’s role in bringing Spain to the New World, the launching the Columbian Exchange, and the Spanish conquistadors who followed in search of the "3 Gs." We studied the French explorer La Salle and the broad impact his presence had on Texas. We discovered the role of Spanish missions in Texas and the relationship between American Indian tribes and the new explorers and settlers on their land. We concluded this era by hearing about the internal and external troubles Spain faced in controlling their Tejas region.
Students started the third quarter of science learning that the Sun is the major source of energy for the water cycle, and that there is continuous movement of water on the surface of the Earth. They also learned all about weather and how to make predictions using weather maps, weather symbols, and a map key. Our second unit focused on how the slow changes on the surface of the Earth are caused by weathering, erosion, and deposition from water, wind, and ice. The final unit of study this quarter focused on the properties of soil; including color and texture, capacity to retain water, and the ability to support the growth of plants. Students also learned about Earth’s natural resources (both renewable and nonrenewable) and the importance of conservation.
In math this quarter, we began with a study of basic algebra. In this unit, students learned to solve equations with variables, find rules for patterns, and analyze input-output tables. Our next unit of study was on fractions, and this lasted most of the quarter. We began with a review of the meaning of fractions, then progressed to finding equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. Students used models and number lines, as well as mathematical formulas to understand these concepts. They then used their understanding of fraction concepts in order to compare, add, and subtract fractions. Our final unit for this quarter was on measurement. We covered customary units, such as inches, feet, yards, miles, cups, pints, gallons, pounds, and tons, as well as metric units, such as centimeters, meters, kilometers, milliliters, liters, grams, and kilograms. After studying the relative size of each of these units, students learned to convert between them. Much of the math curriculum this quarter was new and challenging.
We continued our study of nonfiction reading in the third quarter. We learned various strategies for monitoring comprehension such as coding and translating a text, using boxes and bullets to jot our thoughts, and identifying topic, subtopic, and details of a passage. Students immersed themselves in persuasive writing, and practiced determining a thesis statement and its supporting arguments. We began our historical fiction book clubs and started piecing together important clues about the setting, time period, and character traits.
In Writing this quarter, we published our feature articles and reflected on the process. We shifted our focus to persuasive writing. Students made noticings of the characteristics of persuasive writing, and applied this knowledge as they brainstormed ideas for their own essay topics. We studied the structure of persuasive essays and began forming our own arguments about our topics. Students continued studying spelling word patterns with Words Their Way activities and tackled compound sentence structure with authentic grammar instruction.
In Social Studies, we learned about the arrival of Europeans to North America and eventually Texas. That included Christopher Columbus’s role in bringing Spain to the New World, the launching the Columbian Exchange, and the Spanish conquistadors who followed in search of the "3 Gs." We studied the French explorer La Salle and the broad impact his presence had on Texas. We discovered the role of Spanish missions in Texas and the relationship between American Indian tribes and the new explorers and settlers on their land. We concluded this era by hearing about the internal and external troubles Spain faced in controlling their Tejas region.
Students started the third quarter of science learning that the Sun is the major source of energy for the water cycle, and that there is continuous movement of water on the surface of the Earth. They also learned all about weather and how to make predictions using weather maps, weather symbols, and a map key. Our second unit focused on how the slow changes on the surface of the Earth are caused by weathering, erosion, and deposition from water, wind, and ice. The final unit of study this quarter focused on the properties of soil; including color and texture, capacity to retain water, and the ability to support the growth of plants. Students also learned about Earth’s natural resources (both renewable and nonrenewable) and the importance of conservation.
In math this quarter, we began with a study of basic algebra. In this unit, students learned to solve equations with variables, find rules for patterns, and analyze input-output tables. Our next unit of study was on fractions, and this lasted most of the quarter. We began with a review of the meaning of fractions, then progressed to finding equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. Students used models and number lines, as well as mathematical formulas to understand these concepts. They then used their understanding of fraction concepts in order to compare, add, and subtract fractions. Our final unit for this quarter was on measurement. We covered customary units, such as inches, feet, yards, miles, cups, pints, gallons, pounds, and tons, as well as metric units, such as centimeters, meters, kilometers, milliliters, liters, grams, and kilograms. After studying the relative size of each of these units, students learned to convert between them. Much of the math curriculum this quarter was new and challenging.
wax_museum_2018.doc.docx | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |