Week of August 16-20

           It's time for the first full week of school!  We have had a lot of fun getting to know one another through a variety of activities including a "snowball" fight that was a lot of fun!  The kids filled out papers about themselves and then wadded them up and tossed them all over the room.  It was the one time I allow paper balls to fly across the room!  Once the "snowball fight" was over, each child picked up a paper and read about the person while the rest of the class raised their hands to guess whose paper it was.  It was a lot of fun!  We also had a very successful game of Catastrophe (a Harmony tradition for 5th graders) during the MegaSkills Assembly on Friday over Teamwork and Perseverance.  It is now time to apply what we know about perseverance as we start diving into our content areas!  I am excited to watch these students learn and grow into mature adolescents this year!  Each week I will fill you in on the topics we will be learning about in the various content areas.  I will also post any upcoming tests or quizzes on this page as well.  Please check the Homework page for the week's homework assignments.  

This week's units are as follows.

Math:  In math this week we will with the first unit of Everyday math.  We will learn about how to use rectangular arrays to find factors of numbers.  We will also learn about divisibility and learn some strategies for telling whether or not a number is divisible by different one digit numbers.  We will even learn about prime and composite numbers.

Social Studies:  In social studies this week we will continue to focus on the big ideas of social studies which are culture, economics, geography, government, and history.  Please remember that your culture box is due on Friday.  Don't forget to follow the project guidelines and to use your rubric to prepare for your presentation.  

Writing:  This week during writing we will continue to launch our Writers' Workshop.  We will establish a routine for writing and discuss the types of entries one would expect to see in a writer's notebook.  We will also learn to use the work of other authors as inspiration for our own writing.

Word Study:  This week's word study lessons will be over the rules of capitalization.  Students will also be learning the difference between a common and proper noun.  A quiz over this will follow next Tuesday in which students will be required to write me a letter in which they will use correct capitalization.

Reading:  Reading lessons this week will be tailored to helping students select appropriate books for independent reading as well as helping students set goals for themselves as readers.

Upcoming Tests/Quizzes:

Word Study Quiz next Tuesday, August 24 over the correct use of capitalization

Culture Box assignment due Friday

Kids,

        Please remember that starting this week you need to read for 20 minutes each night.  I would like for you to record the book title and pages read every night at the bottom of your agenda.  Please remember to get a parents signature to show me that your parents have seen your agenda and to indicate that you have completed your nightly reading.  Table points will be awarded daily for completed homework and signed agendas!

~Mrs. Whitley  :o)