June News

May was a busy month which saw a field trip and Survival Day as well as weekly testing.  I am so proud of the focus and hard work that your children put into all this work!

Try asking your fifth grader some of these questions:

• Who’s your favorite character in the core books read this year, and why?
• What were some of the themes these books explored?

• Name the five kinds of text structure we have identified in our nonfiction reading this year.

• Who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and why was it written?
• What were some events leading to the Revolutionary War?

• How do you calculate volume?
• What is the order of operations?
• What is an example of the commutative property?

These are just a few of the important concepts we have learned about this year, and we are still learning!  This month in Math we continue to classify polygons, explore data and graphing, and convert units of standard and metric measurement.  We will also have an comprehensive math test, so we will be reviewing “oldies but goodies”, like fractions and division!

In ELA we are finishing Bud, Not Buddy this week.  Students have enjoyed reading about Bud and his search for a dad he has never met.  They are learning so much about The Great Depression, and have researched New Deal programs and created brochures explaining them.  We have also used this novel to explore figurative language and literary devices by  finding examples of simile, hyperbole, idioms, flashback, and foreshadowing.  Students’ poems were greatly influenced by the sensory language they were exposed to. We are in the process of making these poems into a class book, so that everyone may have a copy to take as they say goodbye to Fox Hill.  Students are also currently working on personal narratives about treasured Fox Hill memories. We are having a good time reliving these as we share our pieces and work collaboratively in Writer’s Workshop!

In Social Studies we are gearing up for “Independence Day” in Rooms 13 and 14.  Loyalists and Patriots are working with a partner researching topics such as Saratoga, Bunker Hill, Nathan Hale, John Paul Jones, Weapons of the Revolution, and Valley Forge among others.  Students will create a slideshow presentation in Google Slides to share their learning.  The tentative date for this presentation is June 12.  Students are doing all the research and writing in Social Studies class with their partner.  Their research is going very well, and they are earning points for their “side” by meeting behavior expectations in and out of the classroom.  This is a fun culminating activity, and students are very eager to share what they are learning!  After our unit on the Revolution we have a few more classes to explore what the Founding Fathers did next: The Constitution.  Though students were introduced to this document in September, we will spend a few classes learning about the three branches of government and The Bill of Rights.

Here are some dates to note on your calendar:

June 4            Parents Information Night at MSMS

June 5            Field Day

June 15- 19   School Spirit Week
June 15 Family Fun Festival

June 18          Fifth Grade Reception

June 23          Last Day for Students (half day)

I look forward to seeing you all at our Fifth Grade Reception on the 18th!  More information will be coming home regarding this event, but as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions!