Only 5 Weeks Left!

Dear families,

I can't believe the school year is almost over! Despite the warming weather, 5th grade will continue working hard right up until the last day of school. We are in the home stretch and working on some exciting projects.

In math, we are culminating a year's worth of study with an integrated math and science project. Students are studying and measuring solar energy with daily science experiments to lead them towards the eventual design of their solar house. Please stop by on project night to take a look at their process and ask questions about what they've learned so far about solar energy. For more information about solar power, please visit http://www.need.org/solar. In addition to this project, students are reviewing the concepts taught this year -- particularly multiplication, division, and fraction operations.

Our final book of the year is Julius Caesar. Students will learn how to interpret Shakespearean language and study the plot development and historical implications of this classic. They will spend lots of time reading the text aloud and discussing in both formal Socratic Seminars and informal discussions, as well as completing quickwrites about their thinking.

As we approach the final days of the school year, students apply their research, writing, technology, and historical thinking skills to study a Civil War soldier. Students select a solider from online archives which have only recently become available. They then craft a short research paper (one or two pages) and a presentation for the class. All students will receive a copy of each other's research papers to compile into a folder, and they will leave 5th grade with a class book of everyone's soldier. For more complete information about the project, please read the assignment sheet here. 

As you can see, our work in 5th grade has become very integrated, with most assignments touching more than one subject. Learning across disciplines allows students to challenge themselves in multiple curricular areas at once and prepares them for 21st century life.

Field Trips, Assemblies, and Curriculum, Oh My!

Dear Families,

Spring Break is fast approaching, and we have exciting events on nearly a daily basis until then! Please review the updates here and email me if you have any questions. 

This Friday: Field Trip to the de Young museum

We will be visiting the Colonial and Revolutionary galleries to culminate our fall-winter American History curriculum. We will also look at some of the westward expansion and Civil War art to prepare for the final months of 5th grade. You may visit the de Young's education website here for more information. 

Next Friday: 5th Grade Assembly!

The 5th grade has been hard at work preparing for our next assembly. I will discuss costumes with the kids on Thursday, so please check in with your child to find out what they need to wear. As a general note, everyone but Maya, Mia, Lea, Ava, Erik, Miles, and Duncan will need to wear dress pants (black or khaki slacks). If you don't have any, please let me know so we can come up with an alternative plan. 

April 1st through 3rd: Sacramento!

Please check the Sacramento Master Doc for information on this field trip. It will be updated frequently prior to and during the trip. Please email me if you have any questions. 

Academics

In math, we are studying multiplication and division of fractions. The Common Core standards do not call for mastery of these concepts in 5th grade, but instead require building a strong foundation for future work. You can learn more about the standards here. For more information about the type of work we are doing, check here for an online tutorial. 

Soon, we will begin work on geometry concepts. Topics will include graphing ordered pairs on the coordinate plane, classification of polygons, and a review of volume. 

To merge reading, writing, and history, we are deeply engaged in the historical fiction novel My Brother Sam is Dead. We read about 2 chapters per week, and students respond to writing prompts (available online through google docs, though students may opt to write their answers by hand). Students are to state a main idea and support it with strong evidence from the text. Students have the opportunity to revise their work with teacher feedback and resubmit when necessary. 

After Sacramento, we’ll study the Constitutional Convention and students will write a brief persuasive essay to convince the constituents of their chosen state on the question of ratification.