Important Dates
3/12 - Parent Teacher Conferences
3/14-3/22 Spring Break
3/25 - 3/27 CMAS Testing 10:00-12:30
3/31-4/2 CMAS Testing 10:00-12:30
4/7-4/9 CMAS Testing 8:45-10:00
4/13 - Outdoor Ed Stone Canyon (Larkspur) Field Trip
Outdoor Ed Field Trip
Our field trip to Stone Canyon Outdoor Ed is Monday, April 13th, 2020 for Mrs. Broecker and Mrs. Rayens' classes and on April 14th, 2020 for Mrs. Burggraff and Mrs. Hagerty's classes. The cost is $50.00.
In order for your child to participate in this field trip/program you must register (includes online permission form) & pre-pay on-line by going to:
MySchoolBucks.com > Login > Add your student if you have not already done so > Go to School Store in upper right corner > Field Trips >GRE - 5th Grade - Outdoor Ed 19-20. The MySchoolBucks link can be found on GRE’s website under Parent Info or click here. Registrations MUST be completed by 2 days prior to your field trip.
Please note:
- Online registration is for your student only- please do not register yourself or younger siblings.
- Free/Reduced students will have the option of selecting "no payment" but must still register.
- No refunds
Reading
For the next couple of weeks we will be working on thinking skills: determining importance, connecting, inferring, synthesizing, monitoring for meaning, visualizing, and asking questions. Through our book clubs, whole group, and social studies we are working to deepen our comprehension by paying attention to what are "inner voice" is saying to us about what it is we are reading. Once CMAS is over, we will be diving into fantasy. This unit has us revisiting themes and symbols in reading. We will be using fantasy books in our clubs and digging into the multi-faceted characters, multiple plotlines, shifting timelines, tricky narrative structures, and complicated symbolism. The read aloud that we will be using for this unit is The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. It is an exciting fantasy novel that takes students into another world to discover that what you wish for isn't always what it is cracked up to be. :)
Writing
When we get back from spring break, we will begin to dive into our informational essay. Here, students will be researching about colonial times and eventually the American Revolution to develop a well-written informational essay on a topic from one of those times. After Spring Break, we will no longer have our literary essay for homework, but will continue to reading and write about our reading through an online reading journal.
Math
This month, we will be working through a couple of units: Volume, Graphing on a Coordinate Plane, Measurement Conversion and Geometry.
Volume
In this topic, your child is learning about volume. He or she will learn how to find the volume
of a rectangular prism, then use that understanding to formulate a plan to find the
volume of a solid figure that is the combination of two or more rectangular prisms. Your
child will also use models to develop the formula for volume and to recognize a cube with
a side length of one unit as a unit cube having one cubic unit of volume. This will give him or
her the skills necessary to solve problems involving volume, the area of the base of a prism
multiplied by the height of the prism.
Here is an activity you can do with your child:
Think Inside the Box
Materials: everyday examples of rectangular prisms, such as a tissue box, cereal box,
jewelry box, or shoe box
Step 1: Have your child use estimation to compare the examples of the
rectangular prisms, for example, by size, shape, length, width, and height.
Step 2: Discuss volume as the number of unit cubes needed to fill a figure.
Step 3: Have your child use estimation to compare the volumes of the
rectangular prisms. Ask questions such as: Which box seems to have a
greater volume than the tissue box? How might you order the boxes from
least to greatest volume?
Optional Work: together to measure the dimensions of one of the
rectangular prisms. Find its volume by using the formula for the volume
of a rectangular prism.
Volume = (length × width) × height
For example, the volume of the cereal box pictured is 312 cubic inches
because V = (8 × 3) × 13 = 312 cubic inches.
Graphing on a Coordinate Plane
In this topic, your student will plot points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane by
using ordered pairs of numbers, called coordinates. Your student will learn to interpret
coordinate values of points in the plane in the context of a real-world problem.
Measurement Conversion and Geometry
Your student is continuing to develop his or her understanding of customary and metric
units of length, capacity, weight, and mass. This topic focuses on converting among
different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system, as well
as converting among units of time. Your student will use this understanding in solving
multi-step and real-world problems
Your student is also continuing to develop his or her understanding of geometry.
Your student will be able to classify two-dimensional shapes in a hierarchy based on
properties. He or she will understand that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category.
Help your student reinforce his or her ability to identify two-dimensional shapes by
completing the following activity together.
Social Studies
We are continuing our expedition into learning about the New World. Recently, we developed theories about what happened to the Lost Colony. Next, we will be choosing which colony we would like to settle in (Jamestown, Yorktown, Virginia Colony). After that, our social studies world will merge with our writing world. We will be reading to learn about the various colonies (Southern, Middle, and New England) and pick a topic from those to write about. I cannot wait for the kids to dive deep into Early Colonial History!!
