Monday P.E. | Tuesday Out and About | Wednesday P.E. | Thursday - Friday No School: Grading Days |
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Because we only have 3 days of school this week, we will not be doing any spelling homework. Instead, plan on reviewing your student’s colonial research packet. We will be taking notes on other students’ research presentations Monday, and will need to have 1-2 notes about each of the elements of setting that their peers researched (each box of the worksheet). On Tuesday night, students will be working on a fiction bracket. They will try to think of their 16 top fiction stories and think about the main theme. They will then decide which themes win in an either/or bracket to help narrow down what their own historical fiction narrative will be about. In Math, expect a worksheet on Monday night and Tuesday night. For reading, plan on reading the newsletter Monday night and on Tuesday read 20 minutes of a free choice book - or a lit circle book if your student has gotten a bit behind.
Project
Last week in project, we finished up our colony flags, tallied up our colony points and prepared to load our ships! This week, we will move forward into sailing rounds, loading our ships and starting our sea logs!
Ask your student: how big was a cargo ship? How long did it take to get from Europe to the new world?
Extend the learning: Early explorers, confined to a boat, had to think of ways to entertain themselves, by playing dice, cards, carving, playing musical instruments and practicing knots. See if you can teach yourself these three essential sailing knots! You could even have a knot-tying race with a family member!
Writing
Last week we finished our colonial setting research and made final touches to our slides. Students learned how to pull crucial information from sources they found as they were researching their colonial topic, and turn them into bullet style highlights. This week we will start off with a colonial research gallery walk, where students will have the opportunity to take notes on what their classmates found for their colonial topic. Once we are finished with our gallery walk, we will move into our Historical Fiction Narrative (secret word) writing. Students will begin learning about the elements of historical fiction, and they will have a chance to start thinking about what they will focus on for their own narrative.
Ask: What strategies did you use to decide on the highlights you will be presenting during our gallery walk? Did you find it easy or challenging to sort through your research to find highlights?
Reading
Last week in reading, we moved into focus 2 of our reading packets, and began to focus on how authors create characters and events that are easy to connect with across centuries! We thought about how some of the things in our books would be different now, and how some things that we know now would have been different in the time of our book. We also cited evidence from our boosk that we could connect to on a personal level. One of the quotes we found described someone being cold and wet, which reminded us all of outdoor school this fall! This helps us to remember that good readers find ways to connect to their stories, and it helps them to be curious about the rest of the story as well!
Ask: what part of your book would be different now than it was then? What was something that you were able to connect to your own experience?
Extend the learning: What is something that you would write about that you think your readers would be able to relate or connect to?
5th Grade Math
Signed test corrections and retakes were due Friday 1/24.
Last week, 5th grade mathematicians started the week off by focusing on test corrections. This gave 5th graders another chance to practice skills from our decimals and place value unit before moving on to our new unit. Then, we began unit 4 - Multiplying and dividing whole numbers and decimals. We started off by reviewing strategies for multiplying and dividing two and three digit numbers, then we practiced using tools like a ratio table in order to understand and solve more challenging multiplication and division problems. We ended the week playing the Product Game, and students used their skills and strategies to beat Bree. Success! This week, we will move into using ratio tables as well as the array model to determine cost and profit.
Ask: How does a ratio table work? How can we use ratio tables to solve multiplication and division problems?
6th Grade Math
Signed Reflections Due Wednesday
Last week, we wrapped up the block 4 test, worked on corrections and retakes, and started looking at models that help us to multiply one fraction by another fraction. Although models can be difficult to master, once learned, they help us to see things in a different way, and visualize something that otherwise might be hard to “see”. We will continue to look at multiplying and dividing fractions with both models and algorithms. If you are looking over homework with your student this week, be sure to ask them whether their homework is to practice the model or the algorithm.
Ask: What do you think you could use a fraction multiplication model for?
Extend the learning: watch this video with your family and see if you can explain it without the sound on. If you get stuck, just unmute it!