Welcome back to the school year! It’s been a great week and a half and I have loved getting to know all of the students. Before we get into our recap, let’s go over some important dates.
September 1: No School!
September 3-5 Wear your Fall Fest t-shirt!
September 4-7: Fall Fest!
Now, what have we learned so far? Love that you asked.
English Language Arts: We have practiced identifying nouns and subjects in sentences. Next week, we will work on verbs and predicates! We have also completed a Pirate Prompt, and I have loved reading the swashbuckling adventures of the fifth graders. Next week, we will begin using a program called “We Will Write,” which is an online platform with a huge range of interesting prompts. I can’t wait!
Math: We have worked very hard on understanding what “10 times as much” and “one tenth of” means. We use a lot of silly examples, like ordering 70 pounds of Dubai Chocolate, but only receiving one tenth of the shipment. Next week, we will get into exponents!
Religion: We have started our weekly Bible Study, which happens on Thursdays. I pick a passage or two, then we read it out loud and reflect on its meaning to us today. Each student has a small reflection journal.
Science: Our first lesson is on particles and the nature of matter. We explored why a soccer ball would shrink in the cold, but then expand back to its shape when it’s warm again. Each lesson has a small experiment to complete, so we’re going to have a lot of fun. Today (Friday, the 29th), we will make small pop rockets with alka seltzer and old mini M&M containers. Last Friday, we built structures out of spaghetti, marshmallows, string, and tape.
Reading: Last week and into this week, we presented our Summer Reading book reports. Everyone did a fantastic job! Next week, we will start reading George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt! I am very excited, this looks like a fantastic book full of adventure… IN SPACE! This week, we worked on our informational text comprehension and read about the Chinese New Year and Sharks.
