Week of 1/12

Dear Families~

We had a great week last week. Once again, we will be very busy this week. Let's take a look at what we have going on:

Mon, 1/12: Reading Easy CBM test--data used to check your child's progress
Tues, 1/13: Tuesday Red Folders go home, Report cards go home,
Wed, 1/14: Math Easy CBM test--data used to check your child's progress
Thurs, 1/15: School Wide Spelling Bee--Congratulations Tanija and Jerry for representing our class
Fri, 1/16: Autobiography due in book form; Science test; Reading test
Mon, 1/19: NO SCHOOL

Homework
Please help your child stay on task this new year by setting aside time for them to do their homework. When students have a quite area and a specific time to complete the assigned task they are able to get the job completed much quicker than if they have tons of distractions. Your child HAS homework EACH night. They should be completing 40 minutes of independent reading as well as working on math. The math homework worksheet (spiral review) consists of 5 problems per night. Once they finish that, they should log onto IXL math and practice there as well. This will help build math confidence as well as help them with the daily rigor of math class. Thank you for your help.

Absences
Keep in mind that it is very important to be at school each day. However, if your child is sick, please do not send them to school. Students should be fever and stomach ache free for 24 hours before coming to school. If your child is absent, it is their responsibility to get the missed work to make up. When your child is absent, please be sure to send a note stating why. Thank you.

Report Cards
If you would like to meet with me to discuss your child's progress at school, please call the school office to schedule a conference (770) 287-2044. Be sure that you sign the report card and return it to school as soon as possible. 

Science
Students will continue working with Ms. Creel this week to study electricity and magnets! They will test this week. 

Math
We began one of our biggest units of the year - multiplying and dividing fractions. We started with what a fraction really means - it's a division problem. Therefore, 12/4 means 12 divided by 4. We created story problems for fractions to help us understand the meaning of that fraction. We do need to spend some time reviewing this week based upon our mini assessment done on Friday of last week. One thing that I noticed is students are having trouble with the dividend and the divisor.

This week after our review of what we learned last week, we will begin to work with multiplying whole numbers by fractions.

We will discuss that if you multiply a whole number times a fraction that is less than one, the product will “decrease” (less than the whole number). But if you multiply a whole number times a fraction that is greater than one, the product will “increase” (greater than the whole number). 

Please make sure that your child spends some time on IXL math at home if possible. Please go to section "N" Multiplying Fractions and begin with N.1. Continue to work and earn ribbons! We do not have any working technology in our classroom, so the only time that your child will be able to be on IXL will be at home. Thank you for allowing them to have this time.

Reading & ELA
Students will begin working with point-of-view (RL.6). There are two parts of this standard:

Point of View: 1st person (told from a character's point of view; I did this, we did that, this happened to me) and 3rd person (told from a narrator's point of view who is NOT a character in the story)

Viewpoint: how a character or narrator feels about something that has happened in the story or how they feel about another character

We will text this Friday.

This past week we began writing our own autobiographies. Students have has about 20-30 minutes each day to work on this in class. They should have brought home a paper to use as a guide. They may have even asked you some questions about themselves when they were younger. Students have been given several different examples of ways to make their autobiography into a book. The autobiography should be in chapter form and include either drawings or actual pictures of themselves/family. All autobiographies are due on Friday. We will have a very short amount of time each day in class to discuss and fix any errors. Please be sure to ask your child about this. Thank you for your help.

Week of 1/5

Dear Families~
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone enjoyed the wonderful break. Over the past 2 weeks I've relaxed and spent time with family and friends. I sure hope you were able to relax also.

Please keep in mind that as the weather continues to get colder, your child will need to come dressed for this cold weather. Please make sure that he/she is wearing layers to school. This might include a long sleeve shirt, sweater, coat, hat, gloves, and scarf etc. We will be going outside for recess as long as the temperature including the windchill is above 32 degrees.You may want to help remind your child to check the lost and found if they happen to misplace anything of theirs.

Since this is still the cold and flu season, please make sure that your child stays at home if they are SICK. When they come to school sick, germs spread. Please do not send them to school unless they have been well for at least 24 hours after being sick.

What's Going On this Week
Mon, 1/5: Teacher work day. No school for students
Tues, 1/6: Back to school; December Reading Log due; Tuesday Red Folders come home
Wed, 1/7: Return Tuesday Red Folders


Since we are in a new year, let's start it off right and focus on school work. We really do have a lot going on over the next few weeks. I know that I say that every week! (5th grade doesn't get easier as the year goes on).

ScienceStudents will be working with Ms. Creel this week to study electricity and magnets! They will test next week. 

MathWe are beginning one of our biggest units of the year - multiplying and dividing fractions. We are starting with what a fraction really means - it's a division problem. Therefore, 12/4 means 12 divided by 4. We will look at creating story problems for fractions to help us understand the meaning of that fraction. That will be our focus for this week. (standard NF.3)

Please make sure that your child spends some time on IXL at home if possible. Please go to section "N" Multiplying Fractions and begin with N.1. Continue to work and earn ribbons!

Reading
Students will begin working with point-of-view (RL.6). There are two parts of this standard:

• Point of View: 1st person (told from a character's point of view; I did this, we did that, this happened to me) and 3rd person (told from a narrator's point of view who is NOT a character in the story)
• Viewpoint: how a character or narrator feels about something that has happened in the story or how they feel about another character

We will be working with both of these topics for the next two weeks. Test will be next Friday.