5B - Mrs. Volinski

5th grade has had a busy first semester.  We started the 2nd quarter by continuing to explore different multiplication strategies.  These strategies help make multiplication of large numbers a little easier.  We are now focusing on fractions.  We are looking at finding fractions that can be translated into decimals through the use of money and finding fractions on a clock.  Both forms of fractions are helping us to add and subtract fractions with different denominators and introducing equivalent fractions.

In science, we spent much of the quarter learning about plants.  We focused on the different parts of a plant and the functions of plant parts.  After our plant unit, we spent two weeks designing a Rube-Goldberg inspired playground as part of a playground design contest.  Our designs were submitted to the Rube-Goldberg Playground Contest committee and we have a special certificate hanging outside our classrooms.

We have been studying the parts of the Mass in Religion.  We have practiced our responses and gestures.  We have prepared and read for all-school Masses and prayer services in the Chapel.  We even get the special task of reading a thank you letter to the Priests during Catholic Schools Week.

In Reading, we have been focusing on informational texts.  We have explored various short stories, practiced using context clues to expand our vocabulary, and improved our comprehension skills.  Additionally, we are working on understanding character perspectives and summarizing, which helps deepen our understanding of what we read.

In English, we are writing step-by-step essays to teach others how to make a recipe or play a sport.  Next, we’ll begin an informational writing unit, where we’ll research famous African Americans and share a short summary about their lives with the class.  To help practice writing key information from research, we created trading cards about our favorite activity.  We had to do some research about how our favorite activity began.

5th grade has moved on from ancient civilizations to geography and maps.  We have focused on building skills that allow us to interact with different types of maps to enhance our understanding of geography.

Our Enrichment focus has been on gearing up for winter MAP Testing.  Our preparation has included reading articles in Achieve3000 and practicing math skills on Reflexmath.  We have all set goals for the upcoming winter MAP Testing that we are working hard to achieve.