FIFTH GRADE Open House Welcome! This year the fifth grade has several teachers helping both in and out of the classroom and bringing in their own unique teaching skills and styles to enrich the learning experience for the class. Victoria Shaw leads us at Morse Hill and does cooperative learning games and activities with the class to strengthen teamwork and cooperation among the students as part of the Adventure Program. Lori Castagna and Christine Paglia Baker also work regularly with our class. Students have one 40 minute Special per day: Please introduce yourself to each of the specialist teachers if you don’t know them, and say hello if you do. Your child’s Open House checklist has a list of each teacher and where to find him or her. We are off to a good start! Although I cannot answer all questions tonight, I look forward to speaking with each of you at Parent Teacher conferences. If you need to reach me before then or at any time, I can be reached at either 413-548-9144 x141 or via email: [email protected] Don’t forget to sign up for a Parent Teaacher conference time on the white board. At the conference, we will discuss your child’s progress in each subject, as well as the results of standardized testing. We can also use that time to discuss each child’s study habits and social/emotional health and growth. I look forward to talking with you all in depth at that time. Units of Study September -November Science mini-units (on-going through the year): Beginning with Life Science and the Greenhouse Endangered Species December-January World Geography and mapping Begin trout mini-unit in science (Jan. or Dec. start with Brook trout) February-March Ancient American History: Inca, Aztec, Maya Physical science mini-units April-May Macro-Invertebrate mini-unit (possibly in conjunction with trout) Earth Science mini-units Trout stock out May - June World Explorers: Age of European Exploration Human Body mini-units Canoe Trip Science and Social Studies Projects Endangered Species- Students will investigate and report on an endangered species. The report will have visual, artistic, and written components. World Geography - As part of our world geography unit, students will create a website on one of Earth’s continents, featuring natural landmarks and human- made monuments or architectural features on each continent. There will be specific focus on one country this year. Inca/Aztec/Maya- Students will research topics from civilizations in the Ancient Americas. They will create a travel brochure or fair focused on an aspect of one of these three pre-Columbian American cultures. World Explorers- Students will research and present the life of a world explorer. There will be both written and performance aspects to the presentations. Brook Trout Project- Students will hatch brook trout eggs and rear trout in the classroom, later releasing them into an appropriate habitat Class Play- Play to be determined by class based on interest and project explorations The date of the class play will be Friday, May 29, 2016 at 2:00, as part of the all school assembly. We will have an open dress rehearsal that week for parents unable to attend the afternoon performance. Language Arts Reading Workshop In the beginning of the year, students have been reading independently as we observe their strengths and abilities: - How they choose and stay with the books they choose - How they attend to what they are reading - How they read orally - How they share their understanding of what they have read - How they view reading and what makes a good reader It is our goal to provide opportunities for students to read for meaningful purposes - both for what we feel is meaningful and for what they think is meaningful. We will be doing the following types of reading this year: Independent Reading Instructional Reading/Conferences Oral Reading - individual or with readin
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