Fifth Grade Times
Happy New Year!
The fifth grade teachers look forward to a very successful 2016! Please use this opportunity to review Goshen’s behavior policy, homework expectations, and desired work
habits to ensure a smooth start to the new year. We know that all of our students are
capable of producing extremely high quality work with persistence and effort. In addition, we know that all students are capable of demonstrating appropriate behavior at all
times. Thank you for helping us to encourage your children to be their best every day!
Winter MAP testing:
All students will take the Map-R test this month. This test measures students’ progress
in reading. Please be aware that Montgomery County has recently changed the benchmark scores for this assessment. Students now need to receive a higher score by the
end of the year to be considered as reaching the benchmark for the 5th grade level.
Therefore, please help ensure success on these tests by encouraging your child to get a
good night’s sleep, eat a full breakfast, and put their very best effort into the test at
all times!
Family Life Committee
Jan. 2016
Important
Dates:
 1/13–
MAP-R
 1/18No school
 1/22–
End of
Quarter 2
 1/25–
No school
If you are interested in volunteering to be on this committee, please contact Mrs.
Peterman. [email protected]
Main Office Phone Number
301-840-8165
Jennifer Peterman
[email protected]
Eunice Kim
[email protected]
Erin Kleinman
[email protected]
Mai-Anh Weir
[email protected]
Curriculum:
Please visit the following website
for more detailed information
about what students are learning
in the second and third Marking
Periods!
http://
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/
curriculum/2.0/parentnewsletters.aspx
Curriculum 2.0 Skills
Students will continue focusing on metacognition and synthesis while completing all academic tasks.
Starting January 21st, students will begin learning about elaboration and intellectual risk taking. Encourage your child to explain what each of these terms means and how they can use these skills in everyday life!
Inquiry Project and Information Literacy (Media)
Students will be given the opportunity to present their 2nd marking period inquiry project Google Slides
describing a movement of change in our government. The third quarter begins mid-January. During this
marking period, students apply the inquiry process for extended research in order to locate sources
and record ideas for a narrative text. After selecting a genre for the Narrative Inquiry, students conduct research to provide details for a setting, characters and plot including setbacks and resolutions.
In addition to publishing their narrative, students create a book trailer for a multimedia presentation. We look forward to seeing our student authors shine!
Reading
Students will explore various informative text
sources that tell about Easter Island. Students will determine what they believe happened at Easter Island using conflicting perspectives within the texts. Students will then
study poetry and how to analyze poems by
close reading. In addition, students will continue to work on reading stamina by reading a
novel during small group reading time to practice reading strategies.
Writing
Students will write 2 opinion pieces in January. First, students will write a paragraph expressing which individual or event caused the
most significant change in their researched
movement for the second quarter inquiry project. They will then begin the third quarter
by writing an opinion piece about a topic of
choice to practice presenting an argument using logical and reasonable details.
Math
Students will work on multiplying
fractions. They will multiply fractions
by whole numbers using the partitive
model (finding the part of a whole by multiplying a fraction and a whole) and the measurement model (finding a total based on a
fraction multiplied by a whole number). Students will also multiply fractions by other
fractions, and will determine how multiplication is a way of scaling. Students will use various strategies and models to explore the effect of multiplying different numbers and
fractions of numbers.
Science
Students will study wave action and how
sound and light travel in waves, and how waves
are similar to magnetism and electricity. They
will also study how light interacts with different materials, and properties of light such as
reflection and refraction.
Social Studies
Students will study the basic rights of citizens in the United States. They will then determine how the Declaration of Independence
helped establish citizens’ rights, and how citizens get involved in the political process and
our government. Students will also learn about
health topics such as safety within the household and how to avoid or combat harassment.
Art
In January, Fifth graders will continue to focus on
art and human experience, and looking at connections
between art and other contents. We will look at abstract trees by artist Jolina Anthony to be inspired
for a painting of our own. In third quarter we will
start a printmaking unit on extinct animals using
trays, ink, brayers, and various colors of paper.
Music
Thank you for a wonderful chorus concert! Please
join us for our Spring Concert on May 24th. This
month students will be describing musical form in
music from diverse cultures. We will also continue
to work on partner songs and focus on singing with
increased expression and clear diction.
PE
In Physical Education, grade 5 is working on the fundamentals of volleyball. They will be focusing on the
underhand serve.
Instrumental Music
This is a very exciting and busy time of year for the
instrumental music program. We performed our concert on Tuesday, 12/15 and our students played with
great musicality and professionalism. Our advanced
students have their cluster concerts when we return
from winter break. The string cluster concert
is Wednesday, 1/6, and the band cluster concert
is Thursday, 1/7. These concerts will allow students
to experience what Instrumental Music will be like
at the secondary level. Both concerts are at
Gaithersburg High School in the auditorium, and students need to arrive by 6:00 pm wearing their black
and white concert attire. Information was sent
home with each student on November 9, so please
check with them if you have not received it. On
Tuesday, 12/22, the Forest Oak music program came
to Goshen to give a concert. We were very excited
to hear them perform, and we hope to see our
5th graders involved with one of these ensembles
next year!