December

5th Grade News

As the weather gets colder and the days become “shorter”,

sometimes it becomes difficult to maintain energy and a positive

attitude toward school work. Our jobs are to be the constant in the students’ lives to guide them through their challenges. We all need to remember that family and well-being come first. We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

- The 5th Grade Team

Mrs. Calabretta, Mrs. Finn, Ms. Haines, Mrs. Hogan, Ms. Maloney

December Curriculum Connections

Reading / Writing

We are wrapping up CKLA Unit 3: Poetry and beginning Unit 4: Adventures of Don Quixote. This unit exposes students to the timeless aspects of this classic work, such as the relationship between Don Quixote and his sidekick, Sancho Panza. Students will trace the development of plot, characters, and literary elements over the course of the novel. They will also read excerpts from an adapted version of Adventures of Don Quixote, which will enable them to compare and contrast the two texts used in the unit. The writing lessons provide multiple opportunities for peer collaboration. Students will regularly engage in written responses to the texts they are reading and will work on writing a persuasive essay.

CKLA Caregiver Letter Unit 4

Math

Grade 5 Math

In module 3 students will engage in adding and subtracting fractions. Students will add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators by replacing different fractional units with an equivalent fraction or like unit. To begin we will use a rectangular fractional model because it is useful for creating small units by means of partitioning. Be sure to ask your students about the homework and homework helpers that correspond with each lesson. These are a great resource to monitor your child's progress as many of the strategies and vocabulary terms are new. You can access the parent tip sheets digitally on the Great Minds Website.

Grade 5 / 6 Compacted Math

Module 1 of grade 6 Eureka Math introduces the concepts of ratio and rate. Their previous experience solving problems involving multiplicative comparison serves as the conceptual foundation for understanding ratios as a multiplicative comparison of two or more numbers used in quantities or measurement. They will begin by developing an intuitive understanding of equivalent ratios by using tape diagrams to explore possible quantities when one of the quantities is given.

Great Minds Website

Science / Social Studies

Science

The Grade 5 Unit 2 focus question is: What happens to our garbage? Students plan and set up an investigation using landfill bottles to answer the question, Do garbage materials change in a landfill bottle? They also collect initial data that they will later use as evidence for observing changes in the properties of materials and for establishing conservation of matter.

Social Studies

Students will describe the varied ways multiple groups of people resisted enslavement, including in Maryland. They will also learn how people responded to the work of abolitionists, including those who were pro-enslavement.