5th Grade Newsletter December 2008

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The Anne Sullivan School

P.S. 238

1633 East 8th Street Brooklyn, NY 11223

5th Grade Newsletter

December Events

On Monday, December 1, the fifth grade will be going on a trip to the Staten Island Museum to see an exhibit on geology called “Fire and Ice”. This trip correlates to what we have been studying in science since November and what we will continue to be learning more about this month. On Tuesday, December 16, 5-321 will be going on a trip to Historical Richmondtown in Staten Island. There they will become historical detectives and examine primary documents that were important in the 1700 and 1800’s in American history. On Monday, December 22, P.S. 238 will have its annual Winter/Talent Show. We hope all of you can attend this exciting and fun night of dancing and singing! There will be no school from Wednesday, December 24 to January 2, 2009. We would like to wish everyone a happy holiday and new year! Please make sure your child is reading every night and completing his/her reading homework in preparation for the ELA Test in January. On day one, the students will be required to read several passages and answer questions and respond to one short answer question. Day 2 consists of a listening passage followed by four questions and one short answer response as well as an editing passage where the students will have to correct several errors in capitalization, punctuation and grammar.

Reader’s Workshop Our emphasis for December is on reading realistic fiction books, survival and adventures stories. We will be exploring high quality books through Literature Circles. The students will work independently, with a small group of their peers and with their teacher to examine these selected texts. The students will conduct discussions that facilitate comprehension and accountable talk to complete written tasks which will demonstrate their comprehension skills. They will each be assigned a job in their literature circle. During December, the fifth grade will continue to read for stamina during independent reading. We will be focusing on important reading strategies and skills during Reader’s Workshop to increase the students’ literacy and fluency skills which they will apply during guided reading and Literature Circles. We will continue to prepare for the ELA State exam which will be on Tuesday, January 13 and January 14.

Encourage your child to read as many books/essays on these genres as possible that are on his/her “Just Right” reading level. Ensure that your child reads for a minimum of 30 minutes and completes their Reading Log entry every night. Your signature is required on the Reading Log. Please make sure that your child is also responding to what they are reading by using the 50 Sentence Leads for Reading Responses. Ms. Escowitz’ class is assigned two leads a night. Please encourage your child’s comprehension by asking him/her to restate, summarize, and make connections to what he/she has read.

December 2008 Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 2

Writer’s Workshop In December, the fifth grade will publish their realistic fiction stories and continue to use the writing process to begin writing a Response to Literature. The students will learn strategies to engage the reader, advance a judgment that is interpretative, analytic, evaluative, or reflective; supports judgment through references to the text, other works, authors, or personal knowledge; and demonstrates an understanding of the literary work.

Mathematics

We will cover Unit 5 and Unit 6 of Everyday Math. Unit 5 focuses on Fractions, Decimals and Percents. We will review fraction concepts such as exploring mixed numbers, comparing and ordering fractions, and finding equivalent fractions; practice turning fractions into decimals and percents; and review the properties and construction of bar and circle graphs. Unit 6 focuses on Using Data and Adding and Subtracting Fractions. We will formulate conclusions and make predictions from graphs; develop and explain an argument verbally, numerically, and/or graphically; and use a variety of strategies to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers. Use the Family Letter for Unit 5 and 6 to help your child learn the math vocabulary and to review your child’s Study Link HW.

Social Studies and Science

This month in Social Studies, the fifth grade will learn about the geography of Latin America with an emphasis on its landforms; its economics. its people and key events that help shape this great region. The fifth grade will also study the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. This month in Science, the fifth grade will continue to learn about Earth Science with an emphasis on the earth’s landforms and its topography. The fifth grade will also learn about the structure of the Earth, volcanoes and

earthquakes.