Happy Holidays to
all our Clearspring
Families!
Fifth Grade Newsletter December 2015
LANGUAGE ARTS
It’s an exciting time in 5th grade
language arts! At the start of Quarter 2, we
began our first whole group novel study of the
fiction story, Peak, by Roland Smith. Peak is
about a 14 year old boy who sets out to, not only
rebuild his relationship with his long-lost
father, but also strives to become the youngest
person to climb Mount Everest. It’s a great mix
of endurance, survival, and persistence.
In preparation for this unit, in writing,
students worked in collaborative groups to
study a survival topic, prepare an informational
poster, and present it to the class. In addition,
independently, students created a collage that
represented the concept of survival to them.
Upcoming, we are about to begin our brand new,
to the Center, narrative writing assignment; a
Graphic Novel. This is sure to be a favorite!
All reading groups are working hard in
novels all geared to the many concepts of
survival. If you haven’t talked to your child
about the great books we are reading in class,
find some time to sit and discuss the challenges
their characters are experiencing and how they
are choosing to survive those challenges.
Math Info:
In math we have just finished the
Proportional Reasoning project. The
students did a great job calculating
the proportions and creating their
presentations. We are wrapping up
the quarter with converting between
fractions, decimals and percent and
calculating percent of a number.
Please continue to review long
division and multiplication with
decimals at home with your child.
Science & Social Studies
During Science, the students began their
second unit on electricity and
magnetism. Students observed and
explored static electricity in the
classroom. Students also worked in
groups to discover electricity needs a
closed loop (closed circuit) in order to
produce measureable results. Finally,
students built series and parallel circuits
and examined what would happen if
bulbs were removed from the circuits.
In Social Studies, the students started
their next major assignment – the
Movement Perspectives Diary. The
students will be writing from the
perspectives of two different people who
lived during a major movement in U.S.
history. Each diary entry will focus on an
important event from the student’s
chosen movement. The rough draft of
the diaries are due Tuesday, December
15th and the final copy will be due
Tuesday, December 22nd.
Contacting the teacher:
If you need to contact the fifth grade
teachers, email is the fastest method.
Emily Bizzell
[email protected]
Robin Weber
[email protected]
Stephanie Wilhelm
[email protected]
(There are underscores between each
part of the name.)
Some upcoming events:
Dec. 3 – Newseum Field Trip
Dec. 5 – Clemente Test
Dec. 10 – “Google Expeditions”
and Progress Reports sent home
Dec. 14 – Baker Concert for all 5th
Graders
Dec. 16 – Instrumental Music
Assembly – 2:15-2:45 and 7:00-8:00
Dec. 17 – Artist in Residence
Dec. 23 – DHS Marching Band
Performance 10:45-11:15 and
Winter Sing-Along 1:45-2:45
Dec. 24-Jan. 3 – Schools closed for
Winter Break
Jan. 4 – Classes resume
Homework Reminder:
Students should be writing all
assignments down in their planner
daily. If your child is absent, please
see Google Classroom for homework
and/or missing assignments.
Please enjoy a safe
and happy Winter
Break.
-The Fifth Grade Team
**In order to save paper, our monthly
newsletters will be sent electronically. If you
prefer to receive a hard copy of the newsletter,
please contact your homeroom teacher. Thank
you!!**