What about that amazing March weather! 4 snow days in two weeks! Even with all the disruptions we found our way through Topic 8 in math. Multiplication of fractions (including mixed numbers) was challenging for many students. I am available for morning support in math on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 8 am. We are currently learning how to divide fractions, both whole numbers by fractions and fractions by whole numbers. In our daily Solve and Share portion of our math lessons we create visual models that help us understand fraction concepts at a deeper level. Still, continued and consistent practice is necessary to solve problems with accuracy. It helps to keep multiplication and division facts fresh also. ST Math is a great resource for working on math fluency and is available to all students as a supplement to regular math homework assignments.
In language arts we have focused our attention on preparing for MCAS testing. We've used the "Two-Column Note" strategy to gather information related to the stories we are reading and then turned our notes into written responses to the text. We've studied poetry, plays, essays and fiction. Some of our note taking work involves gathering information from a story that allows us to write a continuation to that story. The story continuations are fantastic! Our vocabulary work is focused on preparing for the science MCAS in May. Each week students are given 7 words. Their assignment paper gives them a task to perform with the words each night of the week. If you are not connected to Seesaw please consider getting connected. If you need support with getting connected let me know. You will be able to see your child's finished Planet Book and leave them an encouraging comment!
In science we are studying Classification. Mr. Musselman has presented to all the fifth graders on the Design Process and students are ready to begin planning and designing animal habitats.
Thursday, March 29th Kali Flanagan visited Fox Hill School! Kali talked about her dream of becoming an olympic athlete and the work it took to make that dream come true. The fifth graders asked great questions and were great hosts.
Wednesday, April 4 and Thursday April 5 are the dates for MCAS testing in ELA. Our 5th grade field trip to the Concord Museum is on Tuesday, April 24th. Permission slips were sent home on Monday, April 2nd.
