April 11, 2016
Dear 5th Grade Families,
Welcome to another great week of 5th grade! Here is a look at what is happening in our classroom.
Social
Studies
Unit: The Revolutionary War
Science
Unit: Mixtures and Solutions
-summarize the key events that created tensions between the colonists and Britain.
-explain key arguments made by Patriots for independence and by Loyalists against independence.
-identify the major events that led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence: the
Second Continental Congress, the popularization of Common Sense, Thomas Jefferson's writing of
the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, and the Patriot's signing of the final
document.
-describe key passages from the Declaration of Independence.
-compare and contrast the American and British forces at the beginning and end of the American
Revolution.
-explain the key factors that allowed the American colonies to defeat Britain in the Revolutionary
War.
-list the major provisions of the Treaty of Paris.
-Measure the mass of objects to the nearest gram using balances.
-Measure the volume of objects using a graduated cylinder.
-Classify substances as pure or mixed.
-Make a mixture by combining solids and/or liquids.
-Separate the components of a mixture by sorting, filtration, magnetism, and screening.
-Separate the components of a solutions by using evaporation
-Describe the physical properties of mixtures
-Identify saturated solutions
Math
Unit: Decimals: Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
Reading
Unit: Reading for Social Issues
-explain the effect on the value of a digit if that digit is moved to the left or right.
-explain the patterns that occur when multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10.
-use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.
-use concrete models, drawings, and/or use strategies based on place value, properties of
operations, and/or relationships among operations to solve problems involving computation with
decimals.
-relate strategies for computation with decimals to written methods.
-explain the reasoning used for computation with decimals.
-use clues stated in the text to understand what is not explicitly stated.
-analyze a story to discover the details (character reactions, important events, etc.) which
contribute to the larger, synthesized whole (a theme related to a social issue)
-draw conclusions about the author’s intended and unintended messages.
-consider multiple perspectives (whose voice is heard and not heard).
-construct big ideas about stories by identifying clues that deal with social issues
-identify or infer the traits of both literary characters and real people by studying their
relationships to individuals/groups and how they respond to challenges.
-identify who has the power in a text to gain insight on social issues.
-identify the pressures the character (literature) or person/group (informational text) faces.
-empathize with the characters in literature or people/groups in informational text to grow ideas.
-actively revise and reflect on their thinking to form new ideas and understandings.
-evaluate information in an unbiased way, considering multiple perspectives
-Read critically: 1) Preview - learn about a text before reading it. 2) Identify the main ideas
of/themes in text 3) Recognize the difference between your values and attitudes and those
represented in the text 4) Evaluate an argument (informational text), i.e., separate good evidence
from bad 5) Compare and contrast themes in literature and points of views in informational text,
specifically multiple accounts of the same event or topic across texts, genres, time periods,
settings, etc.
-describe how the narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences the description of events.
-participate in meaningful discussions – listen actively, contribute ideas, and speak at an
understandable pace.
-when participating in discussions, sequence ideas logically and use appropriate facts and relevant,
descriptive details that support main ideas or themes.
Writing
Word Study
6.
Unit: Literary Essay
-reflect on big ideas and determine themes in literature.
-identify an idea from literature that compels them to write.
-develop the idea or focus with relevant evidence and examples from multiple pieces of literature,
to include quotations from text.
-organize an essay using compare-and-contrast structure
-organize their writing by linking ideas using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., in contrast,
especially).
-use various qualities of good writing, such as an effective lead, precise language, etc.
-provide a concluding statement.
-use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence
(e.g., However,…; In the beginning of the book,…).
-use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.
-quote accurately from a text.
-use grade-appropriate words and phrases that signal contrast, addition, and other logical
relationships (e.g.,however, although, nonetheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).
-continue use of appropriate grammar techniques
-be able to identify parts of speech and understand different parts of a sentence
-use correlative conjunctions to join various sentence elements
-be able to recognize and use grade level appropriate homophones
-use verbs to convey time and sequence
-use "verbs of being" to express state and condition (am, is, are, was, were, been, being)
-use verbs that create vivid mental images for my readers
Believe it or not, but there are only 6 weeks left of fifth grade and this school year. While we are
still a little ways away from the end of the year, the fifth grade team wanted to make sure we got some
very important dates on your calendar to ensure you could be part of our celebrations at Mason Ridge.
Here’s your calendar for the month of May. There will be more information coming your way soon. 
 Monday, May 2-Friday, May 6: MAP Testing
 Tuesday, May 10: West Middle Visit (at West Middle)
 Thursday, May 12: Beautification Day
 Friday, May 13: Mason Ridge Carnival
 Tuesday, May 17: Fifth Grade Graduation in the Ramsey Center
 Tuesday, May 17: Fifth Grade Celebration at Longview Farm Park
 Wednesday, May 18: Field Day
 Thursday, May 19: Last Day of School – HALF DAY
Here is a quick look at our 2-week schedule.
Monday 4/11
Tuesday 4/12
Cardinals Home
Opener – Wear Red
Strings
Monday 4/18
Strings
Tuesday 4/19
Wednesday 4/13
Thursday 4/14
Friday 4/15
Math Facts
Scholars 8:15
Choir 8:00
Fire Drill
Library
Wednesday 4/20
Math Facts
Scholars 8:15
Strings
Thursday 4/21
Choir 8:00
Strings
Library
Friday 4/22