Saturday, October 26, 2019

October 25th

Hello 5DL Families!

Boy, have we been busy over the last few weeks!  Here’s a glimpse into what has been happening…

You’ll be noticing that anything that goes home with a grade on it will have one of these three letters on it.  These will match the progress reports you’ll get at parent conference time. It will mostly match report card language as well.  (We liked “A” for approaching whereas on the report card you would see a “U” for unsatisfactory.)

O- Outstanding (your child is achieving beyond grade level expectations)
S- Satisfactory (your child is achieving grade level expectations)
A- Approaching (your child is approaching grade level expectations)

*Math:
-We completed our first official fifth grade unit
-We played trashketball to review (a favorite of the students)
-Assessments went home last Wednesday 
-The students pre-assessed for unit 2 (Addition and Subtraction of Decimals)
-Unit two is underway and will be a quicker unit

*Literacy:

-Our first book clubs wrapped up this week
-We learned about a theme or themes from our books
-Each club thought deeply about theme
-New book clubs began on Thursday
-Please ask your child about what they are reading
-Students should be taking book club books home if they are not getting enough time in school to read for their club
-We are continuing Explode a Moment inwriting
-Students worked on drawing their moment then describing each drawing
-We worked on the theme or lesson learned from our moment to weave it into the conclusion
-We will be editing/revising with partners and adults next week

*Read Aloud:

-We have been reading Masterminds by Gordon Korman
-It’s a sit on the edge of your seat kind of book!
-Be sure to ask your child about it!

* Social Studies:
-We are wrapping up our Three Worlds Meet unit
-Students discovered why early exploration actually happened (trading routes)
-We specifically looked at the Columbian Exchange
-Students thoughtfully spoke about whether this early exploration was a positive or negative experience
-We will brainstorm some projects to do to showcase our learning

*Choose Love:
-We continued lessons with week with brave breaths
-Students talked about Courage and what it is
-Students brainstormed ways to show courage in difficult situations

*Mrs. Eitler’s Guidance Lessons:

-Mrs. Eitler talked about being assertive vs being aggressive
-Students looked at different situations 
-Students acted out those situations to show the difference between assertiveness/aggression

This Thursday, 10/31, will be Global Day of Play for all of SMS.  5DL will come up with ways we can all play, indoors and out to make it a successful day!  We will be talking with the students this week to ensure the students have an idea of what the day should look like and feel like.  They may bring in games and things to do from home. 

We look forward to seeing you all soon for parent conferences!  

Shannon

Enjoy some pictures from our team building!



Friday, October 4, 2019

Week of October 4th

Hello 5DL families!

Thank you for attending our open house last night!  The students did a wonderful job leading it. You should be proud of your child!  Remember if you have any questions about curriculum you can find it all right on our SMS website.

Here’s a glimpse into the last two weeks….

*Math
-We have worked hard on math menu with student choice and voice
-Students are through with grade 4 review
-We pre-assessed our first unit on Decimal Place Value
-Students were introduced to their first tracking sheet for self-progress
-Students were introduced to Edpuzzle
-Students learned about exit tickets and how to use them
-We had our first of many “problem solving Fridays” where students had to 
persevere through a difficult math problem with a partner

*Literacy
-Students are all in book clubs
-We have looked at character’s internal and external traits
-Character problems have been discussed as well as what we can learn from 
struggles
-Students looked at the Protagonist and Antagonist relationship in their 
Books
-We began learning about exploding a moment in our writing
-Students picked a snapshot moment and worked on brainstorming descriptions through the five sense about that moment
-We then practiced exploding that moment in a descriptive way

*Social Studies
-Looked at America before Columbus
-REviewed continents
-Talked about the THree Worlds involved in exploration
-Identity and perspective 
-Practiced quality note taking

*Guidance Lessons with Mrs. Eitler
-Mrs. Eitler has been in twice so far
-The first week she talked about mindfulness
-This week, she focused on active listening and the importance of doing so

*Choose Love:
-We began our first lesson from the Choose Love program
-We created our journals 
-We discussed the four components of the program: courage, gratitude, 
forgiveness and compassion
-Learned how to do a brave breath 

*Important Dates
-Early Release, October 11th DISMISSAL AT 11:50
-SHP 5th Grade Team Building on 10/18 (permission slip coming soon)
-Picture Retakes: October 24th 
-Fall Conference dates are 11/7 and 11/14 (Sign up will be coming in the near future)