Welcome to 2012!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a refreshing break and is ready to come back full steam ahead!  The next few months are critical as we really push into new academic territory. 

Math --We will be spending a couple of days reviewing and refreshing material we have covered.  Then we will begin our unit study on fractions.  We will be learning about equivalent fractions, reducing/simplifying fractions, and comparing and ordering fractions.  We will also be learning how fractions, decimals, and percents are connected. 


Reading --We will be working out of the Harcourt text books for the first two weeks back.  After the assessments given during the first two weeks, we will then be breaking up into guided reading groups again, and delving into some really exciting novels.

Spelling--Our lists for the coming month are going to be as follows:
                 Week 1-repeat of I before E list.  The scores in December on this list were mediocre.  It is an important rule to learn.  The complete rule is:  I before E, except after C and in words that  say "ay" or "I"
               Week 2--working on suffixes again  ful, ness, ly

               Week 3--  Working on science words

               Week 4-- Compound words

Writing--The kids will be writing the summary for their Matter chapter in their science book, as well as be turning in their chapter on the American Revolution in their time travel book.  We will also be learning more about how to use the 4-square organizer to help with our writing.  This is a really useful tool.  My son is a senior in college, and still uses the basic organizer for his writing.  We will be using it to help us do our best in our Direct Writing Assessment.  This is a test every 5th grader in the district will take in February.    *Last month's focus was on descriptive writing.  Hopefully your child brought home his/her Christmas Is poem so that you could see how descriptive your young author is.  Several of the poems were published in Iron County Today just before Christmas.  Let me know if you did not see it, and I will make  copy of my issue.

Science--We are finishing up our Matter unit and will begin our study of magnetism and static electricity. 

Social Studies--We are beginning our longest unit of the year.  It covers Westward Expansion and is very fun.  We will begin with Lewis and Clark and finish up with the  Pony Express.  We will be covering The War of 1812, the Texas Revolution, the Trail of Tears, wagon trains, and the War with Mexico.  5th graders usually love this unit, so ask your child what he/she is learning about!

Please be aware I will be out of the classroom twice this month for training.  The first will be for a first-responder class.  Since we only have a nurse in the building once a week, we try to have several staff members certified as first-responders for student safety.    The second training I will be attending is an arts conference that also focuses on recycling and engineering.  In light of North's transition to a STEM school, and my belief that the arts are important to a well rounded student, I volunteered to attend the conference.

Best wishes for a fantastic new year!