Fractions Galore A Snowy Day and A Poem for Peter Making Our Own "Elf Songs", Inspired by Tuck Everlasting Other News In math we continue to practice and learn about fractions. This week we touched on converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa, and we worked with models quite a bit to tie the calculation methods to visual thinking. Here the students are giving a mini lesson to the rest of their classmates. They are teaching each other fraction and mixed number conversion tips and tricks while sharing solutions to specific problems. As the snow fell (more of it than expected, I might add!) outside our classroom on Thursday morning, we read the once banned classic picture book A Snowy Day, and a new picture book called A Poem for Peter, and reflected on the story of Ezra Jack Keats, A Poem For Peter is a story about what inspired Keats to break diversity and inclusion barriers wide open when he wrote about a little child of color in his famous picture book in the 1950s. The book was later banned because Keats was a white man, and his writing this story about a boy with skin tone different than his was viewed as racist. Keats' goal was to portray more children of color in urban scenes in his writing so more children could see themselves represented in literature. The fifth graders has so much to say about A Poem for Peter and the story behind Keats' writing. In their typical fashion, they blow me away with their thoughtfulness and deep thinking about inclusion and what is right. And of course, the timing was perfect with the blanket of snow forming outside around us. In the story, author Andrea Davis Pinkney writes about the universal comfort and enjoyment that snow can bring, to children especially. Snow does not look at color of skin, it just falls, and spreads, and quiets everything down a bit. And Keats used snow as a way to bring his character, Peter, out of his brooklyn home into the city, happily walking in a state of joy. After we read this book, reflected on what we learned, and had some snack, we went outside to our own wintery wonderland in our own backyard! It was a nice morning. This week in Social Studies we focused the New England Colonies and the Native American tribes after the Plymouth settlement was established. We discussed "Land Greed" and how interactions between Wampanoags and English settlers went sour once Massasoit died and a new generation of settlers came to America. We studied the below map to see what we noticed about it. This discussion lasted 20 minutes at least! Next we move to the French and Indian war. This week seemed especially fun, since we also were working on a little technology/language arts/music project this week! Students were asked to reread a passage from Tuck Everlasting when the main character hears a twinkling music box melody coming from the woods near her home. Her grandmother recalls hearing the music box every ten years, and they decide it must be elves in the wood. The FA 5A class is making their own elf music using Garageband, with support from the amazing Mr. Felix. I even brought in my old music box that plays, "You Are My Sunshine", to show them what one might look and sound like. Students imagined and created their own whimsical melodies and shared with each other Friday afternoon.
As we near the end of the trimester, we are practicing more and more for the Winterfest performance, which is next Wednesday at 10:30 am. Dismissal will begin right when it ends, right around 12. I'm looking forward to the short week, their beautiful singing voices, and a restful start to break for all. Happy weekend, all! Sarah
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This week the students wrapped up two projects, their Plimoth Perspective Projects (see cover photos below), and Inside the Mind, our cumulative activity on Wonder. We also started our next all-class read, Tuck Everlasting. In math we are continuing with fractions. Fractions is a lengthy unit because it encompasses adding and subtracting, switching between mixed and improper fractions, multiplying and dividing, and connecting fractions to their decimal counterparts. So we will be hanging out with fractions for a little while! Hour of Code In connection with the global movement, our class participated in the Hour of Code this week. One of the choices they explored was designing their own Google doodle using Scratch. The kids have been wondering what website we may use in class are technically "teacher directed" outside of homeroom when it isn't actually part of an assignment. We will talk about this this week! & Other Math
This week we practiced adding fractions with unlike denominators. Last week they practiced making equivalent fractions, which is the first step in adding fractions with unlike denominators. In addition we practiced some fraction number sense by estimating fractions. We did this by finding benchmark fractions. One goal of estimating fractions is to double check if our answers to addition and subtraction problems are correct, because an estimate should be close to the exact answer. This week is our last full week before our winter break, so changes in schedule will require some flexibility. I will keep you posted with any noteworthy news, and hope you all got to enjoy the snow a bit this weekend! Sarah Art Class Field Trip Inside the Mind Plymouth Perspective Project Math: Fractions Looking Ahead Hello all! It feels like its been ages since I've published a regular old newsletter. We have been hard at work in 5A, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all here. First and foremost, I want to highlight our awesome field trip we took on Tuesday. Led my art teachers Wendy Goldsmith and Susan Cogliano, fourth and fifth grade piled onto one bus to travel locally to Alderbrook farm. There they are currently showing an art exhibit of 14 sculptures, "designed to bring art to the environment and provide visitors opportunities to experience nature and art in new ways." The art was created by Umass Dartmouth students, and the exhibit is running until December 15. Not only was the art a hit of course...Alderbrook is so much fun anyway! I highly recommend visiting again as a family if you live nearby. Curriculum update: -In Language Arts we continue to work on a new project, called the Inside the Mind project. Students are taking their expertise from our deep reading of the book Wonder and taking on the perspective of a character whose voice we do not hear during an event in the plot line. They first write part one of the project, which is a character study using traits and text evidence to describe the person they are studying. Then in part two, they write from that character's voice, using authentic dialogue from the text to stay true to the actions of the story. They also are creating cover art for this project- a large foldable head depicting that character. We can't wait to share the finished products, as I have enjoyed the writing process for this project thoroughly. -In Social Studies we are finishing our Plymouth Perspective Projects. Students are turning in these three journal entry-format essays and cover art this Wednesday. We are deep into writing these days! -In math we are reviewing our fraction knowledge from last year and adding to it. Students have been using IXL, their workbook, their math notebook, and games such as fraction bingo to reacquaint themselves with fractions. Looking ahead
-Basketball tryouts begin Monday afterschool for boys, and Tuesday after school for girls. Fifth graders are allowed to play this year, and anyone who tries out will make one of the teams. -Extra Winterfest practices will begin to pop up on our schedule. The event is at 10:30 on the 20th. Afterwards, we begin our long winter break! Please let me or Putnam know if your child won't be able to attend. Have a great rest of your weekend! Best, Sarah |