5th Grade May Newsletter

The Anne Sullivan School

P.S. 238

1633 East 8th Street Brooklyn, NY 11209

5th Grade Newsletter

May 2009 Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 9

*Marvelous May is here!*

The Fifth Grade will be going on so many exciting and wonderful trips this month! Monday- May 4th-Earth Movie Tuesday-May 5th-Festival of Cultures Wednesday-May 20th-Staten Island Museum-Staten Island Ferry New York Harbor Tour Thursday-May 21st-Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Cinco de Mayo Fiesta-The Fifth Grade will celebrate this historic event on Wednesday, May 6. Both fifth grade classes will the opportunity to eat some traditional Mexican dishes and listen to Mexican/Hispanic music. On Thursday, May 21, P.S. 238 will be having their annual Anne Sullivan Society ceremony. Congratulations to Ady, Allie, Andy, Daniella, Julieta, Kevin, Olesya, Melissa, Rida and Sara. Mrs. Ferrara and Ms. Escowitz are SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS! Monday-May 25-No School in Observance of Memorial Day

Reader’s Workshop In May, the fifth grade will continue to read and comprehend informational books and reading passages to develop understanding and expertise. The students will learn how to restate or summarize information into their own words; relate new information to prior knowledge and experience; extend their ideas; and make connections to related topics or information. Encourage your child to select good books on his/her “Just Right” reading level. Ensure that your child reads for a minimum of 45 minutes and completes his/her Reading Log entry every night. Your signature is required on the Reading Log. Children must answer one question each night from the sheet titled “50 Sentence Leads for Reading Responses.” Parents- Also encourage your child to continue to work hard and diligently on specific GOALS in his/her classroom in reading, math, writing, science and social studies.

Writer’s Workshop In May, the fifth grade will use the Writing Process to write a Narrative Procedure that engages the reader; provides a guide to action that anticipates a reader’s needs; makes use of appropriate writing strategies; includes relevant information; excludes extraneous information; and provides a sense of closure to the writing. Students will pick a topic of their liking and present their reports and demonstrate their procedures in their individual classes.

Mathematics The fifth grade will complete Unit 9 and begin Unit 10 of Everyday Math this month. Unit 9 focuses on Coordinates, Area, and Volume and Capacity. The fifth grade will learn how to plot coordinates on a grid, how to find the area of a specific shape and find the volume of a rectangular and right prism. Unit 10 focuses on Algebra Concepts and Skills. We will learn how to solve algebraic expressions, solve pan balance problems, read a graph and find the circumference and area of a circle. Please refer to the Family Letters for Units 9 and 10.

Science and Social Studies This month in Science, the fifth grade will learn about nutrition and how foods affect our diets. The fifth grade will also be learning about the new food pyramidMyPyramid as well as keeping a food journal of what foods they eat everyday. This will hopefully make them pick better food choices throughout the day. This month in Social Studies, the fifth grade will learn about the country of Mexico which will include its geography, its people, government, its cities and other important aspects of this vast country.