Grade Five Update September 8, 2018
Happy Weekend Everyone!
Here’s the end of the week update on our Grade Five experience at Lincoln School:
The students have really begun to hit their groove in Grade Five this week! We welcomed a new student, Fikreab or “Fik”, on Thursday and he is fitting right in!
In math, we completed our very first assessment. Those assessments have been checked and sent home. A circled question means that the student needs more practice on that concept. Ms. Nixie and Mr. Curtis have a running record of the concepts that students have missed and will be working to ensure that those concepts are touched on again soon. The bottom of the cover page is set up for the parent to sign and return to school as proof that they have seen it. Students that return the signed slips promptly receive a Scootpad coin bonus. We use these coins for our weekly auctions on Fridays. We started our second unit in math, diving into place value and powers of ten to round out the week.
In science, we continued to look at how scientists build models to inform their thinking. We investigated the Drought-Stopper which ultimately didn’t solve the world’s water shortage problems but did teach us about siphons and the effects of gravity on a liquid. We also further explored our unit on matter by investigating different concentrations of Gatorade solutions. Learning about constants and variables helped us understand more about how changes in solutes and solvents either add to the concentration or dilution of a solution.
Writing saw us finally focus our lens on the ending of our personal narratives. The students worked with their writing partners to ensure that the ending of their personal narrative pointed to the heart of the story and left the reader feeling satisfied. Next steps involve peer and teacher edit advice and polishing our final drafts.
Chapter one and two are “in the books” of Armstrong Sperry’s Call It Courage. The story of a Polynesian boy who conquers his fear of the sea. We met in our book clubs twice this week to investigate themes, character motivations, and work on building theories together as a group. We learned that there is a lot we can learn from each other and practiced seeing the story “through each other’s eyes.” We are expected to read chapter 3 on our own this weekend and make reflections. Mr. Curtis will be posting the audio to the chapter later this weekend or Monday for students to reinforce their reading comprehension.
What an inspiring week! Be sure to check out all our posts, pictures, and videos on the website to stay up-to-date on the happenings here in Grade Five!
Mr. Curtis