Welcome to Fifth Grade!

Below is an overview of what I expect from your child this year

and what you can expect from me!

Homework Policy

I do give homework every night. All homework is due the next class day unless otherwise noted on the homework board. I also post homework on the website. I expect every fifth grader to make use of their planner and I will stamp theirs everyday to let you know it has been checked. Please make sure your student is bringing theirs home and using it to check due dates!

I allow plenty of time in class most days to work on homework, so your child should have little homework most evenings. I do not allow the fifth graders to work on math homework at school to assess them on retaining the information learned in class. This math assignment will be one worksheet going over material covered that day, or reviewing skills previously learned. There will be no math homework the night before a quiz, but a chapter review will go home with your student to study from.

I will check in with your child periodically to let them know if they are missing work. I expect each student to be on top of work not turned in on time. Late work is accepted but will incur one “late point” for small assignments and one point per day for long-term reports and projects. Extra homework pages are available at all times by the job board. If your student comes to school without their homework, they fill out a form to let me know. If I see several of these forms in a short period of time, I will contact you so we can meet with your child to help them set up a program to assist them with turning in their work on time.

Math

Text: Math (Houghton Mifflin)

Units:

Addition and Subtraction Review
Graphing
Place Value
Number Theory
Fractions
Decimals
Geometry
Measurement
Statistics and Probability
Multiplication and Division Review

Quizzes are given approximately every two-three weeks, depending on the chapter and are noted in the newsletter and on the website. Our textbook offers many different resources to help prepare for tests including chapter reviews and a website: www.eduplace.com/map. This website is also a terrific place to go if your child needs a refresher on the day’s lesson to help with homework (or if you need a refresher of fifth grade math! J).

Writing

Text: Write Source (Great Source Education Group) *NEW TEXTBOOK!*

We will be exploring different modes of writing throughout this school year through writing, reading, listening and speaking. As we explore each mode, we will take part in writer’s workshops. This is a way for your student to break down their writing into steps allowing them a more thoughtful writing experience. After each unit, the fifth graders will each compose a piece using the writing process. This includes brainstorm, pre-write, first draft, peer editing and final draft. We will word process most of our final drafts.

We begin the year learning about the seven traits of writing. These traits are Ideas & Content, Word Choice, Voice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, Organization and Presentation. These seven traits are the basis of grading for the writing pieces the fifth graders will be turning in the rest of the year. After each major writing assignment, the fifth graders will be graded with a rubric specific to that mode of writing.

Modes of Writing:

Reading

This year, the fifth graders will be taking part in literature circles. They will read an assigned number of pages in their novel and then complete a “job” based on that reading. Then, they will meet within their 5-6 member literature circle to share their job and summarize what has been read. All members of the group will have a different job for each literature circle meeting and rotate these jobs as they progress through their book. There will also be extra credit opportunities and book-long projects to enrich their reading. These structured literature circles will flow into more traditional literature circles towards the third trimester.

For the fist six weeks of school, the fifth graders will be working out of our classroom reading text. These first six weeks are designed as skill building weeks centered around short stories in the text. During this time, they will focus on a different element of stories each week, such as setting, characters, etc.

Starting around the middle of October, the fifth graders will be reading Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. This unit is specifically designed as a multiple perspectives unit exploring the novel from both the American Colonists’ perspective and the American Indians’ perspective. The fifth graders will learn about the tribe referenced in the story as they existed in 1769, when the story takes place, and currently in Maine and eastern Canada. In addition, we will also explore the process of acquiring land as an American Colonist during this time period. The fifth graders will be broken up into smaller groups to share their perspectives and ideas about the book as we read.

After we finish with this story, we will divide into five different book groups for the rest of the year. For their first book, the students will continue exploring their book through the use of “literature circle” jobs and rotate these jobs throughout the book for each groups meeting. The second book will require the students to utilize the knowledge they have gained throughout the year to take part in literature circle discussions in which they talk about questions, predictions, what they liked, what they didn’t like, what was confusing, etc. for each section they read.

Your student is also responsible for one book report book every six weeks. This book will be their choice, but needs to be included in the assigned genre given. Fifth grade book reports are project based and gone over in great detail with the students. The criteria, rubric and a suggested work calendar are also posted on our website.

Spelling

We will have a spelling list each week. At the end of the week, I will choose ten of the twenty spelling words for the week to quiz the fifth graders. This spelling quiz will be tied into their Morning Leap quiz. Morning Leap is our morning exercise comprised of DOL, math, analogies, grammar, and geography. One DOL sentence, one math problem, one analogy, one grammar question, and one geography question will be pulled from random Morning Leaps from that week for the Friday quiz. It is important the fifth graders correct their Morning Leaps along with me in class and take them home to review in preparation for the Morning Leap quiz.

*If we have a short week (4 days or less), there will be no spelling quiz, but there will be a Morning Leap quiz*

Wordly Wise

We will have a Wordly Wise list every other week. Most weeks, the Wordly Wise quiz will be on Wednesday. We will correct workbooks on Tuesday as a class. As we begin the year, we go over the first lesson in detail as a class to determine strategies for completing.

Religion

Our Religion textbook in the fifth grade is Faith First. This textbook explores the church and Christ’s teaching with a focus on the Sacraments of the Church. We will also incorporate Steps to Respect and Second Step into our Religion curriculum. These programs should be familiar from last year. It is a focus on positive social interaction and respecting others.

Science

In science class, we supplement the textbook with Interact Kits, simulated exercises. We will focus on one-two large units of study each trimester and complete several mini-units in addition. Our three large units will be:

Social Studies

In addition to using our textbook, we will also be incorporating some Interact Kits into our Social Studies units. We will be learning about American History and the Presidents. The Interact Kits we will be using along with our textbook are:

That about wraps up our year. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or concerns. Fifth grade is an immense leap, but I am confident your student will grow and learn with every challenge he or she is faced with.