Friday, April 8th, 2016

Happy Friday Families!

We are refreshed from Spring Break and have been using our renewed energy to work hard on our Trimester 3 learning targets!  Here are the current concepts we will focus on over the next couple of weeks as well as a message regarding PARCC testing next week:

***Please Note: PARCC testing for 5th grade takes place Tuesday through Friday of next week. Most days we will have testing in the morning and afternoon. Please avoid taking your student out of school for doctor’s appointments if at all possible.  Please also be sure that your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a good breakfast each day! 

** A message from our art teacher: Please bring in an empty "cool whip container" or anything like it and some newspaper.

Literature

We have finished reading Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles  and Pedro’s Journal. which both focused on the theme of exploration.  We have compared and contrasted each book's text structures, as well as the valuable information contained in both texts.   In writing, we just completed an opinion essay about Christopher Columbus.  Through our extensive research, we learned that although Columbus's impact on America was significant,  his explorations and discoveries came with many negatives as well. The students wrote about how he was portrayed in the text we read, as well as his influence on our country’s history. 

Math

Today we ended unit 5 with a post test that encompassed three learning targets. Students were required to demonstrate their skills in the areas of measurement conversions, finding volume of rectangular prisms and finding volume of composite shapes where rectangular prisms have been joined together. Students who do not demonstrate mastery of such targets on the post test will receive an intervention next week.

Science

We are wrapping up the body systems unit and will begin light and sound soon. This week we started creating our human body board games. The kids are having a great time working with their peers to create games that utilize the knowledge they gained during our study of the body systems. We will continue to work on these games for the next few weeks.  At the conclusion of the project, groups will be given the opportunity to present the games to the class, as well as having an opportunity to play each other’s games!!

Social Studies

This week we started to discuss and read about the liberties that we are fortunate to have, living in our country.  We will also contrast our liberties with various countries who may not have some of the same freedoms that we enjoy.

Important Dates

** April 12-15: 5th Grade PARCC Testing

** April 15: Author Suzanne Slade Visits Ivy Hall

** April 22: Joshua's Jam Walk for DIPG Awareness - More information to come in the coming weeks.

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

A Message Regarding Variety Show Opportunities

Sasha Hite will be putting together a 5th grade finale act.  She will be working with any of the 5th graders who would like to be in the 5th grade finale during recess on the following dates: 

** Thursday, April 14th
** Tuesday, April 19th
**Thursday, April 21st

   

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, March 11th, 2016

Happy Friday Families!

It has been a breath of fresh air this week as we are enjoying some warmer, spring-like temperatures. It is hard to believe we are starting our final trimester. Here is what we are/will be working on in the next couple of weeks:

Literature:

We have been reading the book Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles. We are using this text to determine main ideas and details. We are also determining the author's purpose and point of view. The text is guiding the students' opinion writing as well. They are finding what motivated the explorers and supporting those motivations from good text evidence.

Math:

We are in Unit 5 working on measurement. This week we have practiced converting different sized standard measurement within a given measurement system, and using these conversions to solve multi-step real-world problems. Next week we will be working on measuring volume by counting unit cubes.

Science:

We are wrapping up the body systems unit and will begin light and sound soon.

Social Studies:

We are beginning our patriotism unit. We are starting by looking deeply into our Pledge of Allegiance and discussing its meaning.

Important Dates and Reminders:

**3/15 NO SCHOOL - Teacher Institute Day

**3/16 Variety Show Auditions - Beginning at 3:00

**3/17 PTO 5th Grade Guys Night Out

**3/23 Early Release at 2:00 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 pm

**3/24 NO SCHOOL-Parent/Teacher Conferences 10:00-1:30

**3/25 NO SCHOOL-District Holiday

**3/28-4/1 NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Joshua's Jam Website Link:

Please click on the link below to view Joshua's Jam DIPG Fundraiser T-Shirt website. You can view and/or purchase t-shirts, sweatshirts, and stickers directly from the site.

Joshua's Jam Fundraiser Link

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, February 19th, 2016

Happy Sunday Families!

I hope everyone had a fantastic week!  It is hard to believe that our Valentine's Day party was our last 5th Grade classroom party.  Thank you again to our parent volunteers for making the party one to remember!

Our students have been working hard to finish up all of the assessments to complete Trimester 2!    Here are the targets we will be beginning in the next few weeks:

Literacy:
We are completing our unit on the universe with the book, "Our Mysterious Universe".  The book covered many of the interesting phenomena and theories in our universe.

Writing: 

Our students are working on their second Scientific Journal writing project.  

We will revisit opinion writing in the upcoming weeks. 

​Math: 

We are completing our work on Unit 4 with the final assessment.  We will continue to intervene any of these targets next week prior to report cards going out.  

We will start a proportional drawing activity on Monday.  This activity will help introduce the next unit in math (Unit 5).  At your convenience, please read the parent math letter for Unit 5 using the link below:

Unit 5 Parent math letter

Unit 5 in Math will cover the following targets:

**5.MD.1- Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system, and use these conversions in solving multi- step,

real- world problems. 

**5.MD.4 Measure volumes by count unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units. 

**5.MD.5 Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume. 

​Social Studies: 

We are wrapping up our study of the early American Colonial Times.

​Science: 
We are finishing up our study of the human body systems.  Over the next few weeks, our focus will be on the circulatory system and how all of the systems work together.  We will also look at what positive and negative influences affect our health.

​Important Dates and Friendly Reminders:

**We are starting our proportional drawing activity in math next week.  Please send in any colored comic pages from your Sunday paper.  If you not receive the Sunday paper, please do not worry.  We usually have enough for everyone to share.  

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

** February 23rd - Early Release

**February 26th - End of the Grading Period

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic Sunday!

Friday, February 5th, 2016

Happy Friday Families!

February has gotten off to a great start and our students are hard at work!  Here is a brief summary of what is keeping us busy in 5th grade:

Literacy

* We are currently reading a science fiction story called Jess and Layla’s Astronomical Adventure.  The two main characters of the story travel back in time and meet many of history’s famous philosophers and scientists!  Throughout the reading we will work on skills such as understanding text structure, using context clues to understand word meaning, compare and contrast characters—-just to name a few.

Writing

* Last week, our students completed a writing assessment which required students to plan and compose a science fiction story in one session.  It was especially good practice for the PARCC assessments in the Spring!  This week, we started researching for a new informative essay.  Students were asked to select a historical discovery in the area of space and write a their version of a science journal entry.  It will include facts presented in an organized format, as well as visuals to support their topic.  Students will also be asked to evaluate and cite their sources.  All students have chosen a topic and have started their research.

Spelling

* We are continuing our work with the Words Their Way program.  New homework boggle sheets were sent home on Monday.  Just a friendly reminder that each boggle choice sheet is due on Friday with three completed activities.  Please encourage your child to start working on these assignments earlier in the week rather than waiting until the night before they are due.

Math

* This week we finished a short math target that involved interpreting the size of a product of a fractional multiplication problem based on the size of each factor.  We are currently working on solving real-world problems involving the multiplication of fractions.

We are also very excited about the high level of participation in the LearnStorm contest sponsored by Khan Academy!  We are proud that so many students are choosing to work at home to improve their math skills!

Social Studies

* We will soon finish learning about the Southern colonies and the practice of indentured servitude and slavery.  The “help wanted” posters our students created to "recruit" indentured servants look great hanging in the hallway!

Science

* This week we continued learning about the body systems.  We are finishing up the digestive system and moving onto the respiratory system.

Friendly Reminders and Upcoming Events

** Please remember that the 5th grade music show takes place NEXT THURSDAY evening, February 11, at 6:30.  Students should arrive by 6:15 and meet in the music room to get ready for their performance.

** Reading Logs - Please encourage your student to work on their “Book-o-Sphere” project, which corresponds with their home reading for the month of February.  Pacing their Book-o-Sphere project will help to serve as time-management practice!

** Valentine's Day Parties - We will spend the last hour of school on the 18th in our winter parties. Many thanks to all of the parents who have helped in the planning, will be attending the parties, or who are donating items.  If your child is participating in passing Valentines, please make sure that he or she brings a Valentine for every student in the class.   Please refer to Mrs. Gluck’s principal blog for the items that are allowed to be sent with Valentines if your child chooses to participate.

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, January 22nd, 2016

Happy Friday Families!

Our students have been hard at work since returning from Winter Break!  They are continuing to settle back into their routines and have their batteries recharged!  Here are the targets we are currently working on to start off the second grading period:

Literacy:

We just wrapped up our shared read of George's Secret Key to the Universe.  Our students absolutely loved reading about the book's characters (George and his friend Annie) and their adventures into outer space. The plot took so many twists and turns, but in the end, everything worked out in our main characters' favor!  Our classroom and small group discussions focused around comparing and contrasting characters and settings, as well as finding two or more main ideas within the text.

Writing: 

Our students are revising and finishing their science fiction narrative essays.  Their drafts truly showcase their creativity and their ability to think out of the box.  We are excited to see the final product!

​Math: 

We started Unit 4 in math with learning target 5.NF.3, which focuses on solving word problems that require an interpretation of a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator. Next week, our students will move on to learning how to multiply a fraction or a whole number by a fraction using more than one representation.

At your convenience, please see which targets we are covering in Unit 4:
Unit 4 Parent Letter

​Social Studies: 

Our discussions have revolved around how indentured servitude affected the growth of the early American colonies.

​Science: 

We are continuing to learn about the different parts and processes of the digestive system.

​Friendly Reminders:

 

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, January 8th, 2016

Happy Friday Parents!​

Happy New Years!  I hope you​ all enjoyed a restful and fun-filled winter break.  It has been great hearing all about the past two weeks!  Here are the targets we are currently working on to start off the second grading period: 

​Literacy:

During our shared read, we have been reading George's Secret Key to the Universe. It is a Science Fiction story about a boy named George and his friend Annie and their adventures into outer space. The book is also filled with many scientific facts about the entire solar system. We are focusing on comparing and contrasting characters.

Writing: 

The students have been planning and writing their science fiction narrative essays. We have talked about elements of science fiction, such as time travel or an alternate universe. We have also talked about the narrator's point of view. Specific word choice and details add to their stories and bring them to life. The students have been enjoying using their imaginations with this type of writing. 

​Math: 

Our final two targets of Unit 3 are solving expressions using the correct order of operations and writing and interpreting numerical expressions without evaluating them.​ The students will be taking the Unit 3 assessment later next week. 

​Social Studies: 

We will be starting our unit on indentured servitude and slavery.​

​Science: 

The circulatory system, digestive system and respiratory system will be our next unit. ​

​Friendly Reminders:

**NO SCHOOL- (Martin Luther King Jr. Day): Monday, January 18th​

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of our parent volunteers who helped make our Winter Party a huge success!!  The games and treats truly made for a fun party!  Also, we received a very nice and sincere letter from the Vernon Township Food Pantry thanking our class for the extremely generous food donations!  Enjoy the pictures of our students having fun at the party!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, December 11th, 2015

Happy Friday Families!

It’s hard to believe that we only have a week left until Winter break!  We will be busy right up until the last minute with the many learning targets and activities that we are wrapping up!

Literacy

* Over the last several weeks, our students have focused on several books based on a migration theme.  In The Great Migration, we read about the great exodus of African Americans, around the time of World War I, who left their homes in the south in search of a better life in the north.  In the story Angel Island, we’ve been reading about the main immigration station in California in the early 1900’s, which was set up to receive immigrants primarily from Asia.  The focus of our readings have been to find the main ideas and their supporting details.  

Writing

* Our students finished writing their informative essays on a real-life superhero and are now researching a second superhero to present in a Google Slide presentation.  Students are being encouraged to add creative visuals and use notecards with additional information during their presentation.  They will present the information next week.  We are also learning to evaluate the reliability and document the internet and book sources used.

Spelling

* We completed our second full week of our new Words Their Way spelling program. Most weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to sort and use for homework tasks.  Each boggle choice sheet is due on Friday with three completed activities.

Math

* Our students finished up two targets relating to adding and subtracting fractions in isolation and within word problems.  We started instruction of the next target which deals with the order of operations.

Social Studies

* We are continuing to learn about the colonization of America.  We will soon focus our instruction on the Southern colonies and learn about how our country transitioned to indentured servitude and slavery.

***Please remember that this will be the last weekend for students to prepare for the Fifth Grade trade show, which takes place NEXT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17th.  Students must have their item(s) and displays ready the morning of.  We are very excited to see everyone's creativity and negotiating skills!

Science

* This week we started our new unit on the systems of the body.  We started with an introduction to the major components of animal and plant cells and compared and contrasted their parts.

Reminders/Upcoming Events:

** Reading Logs - Completed December reading logs will be due when students return from Winter Break.  Although there is no homework assigned, students are expected to read consistently over the break.

** Trade Fair takes place next Thursday afternoon!

** Winter Parties - We will spend the last hour of school on the 18th in our winter parties. Many thanks to all of the parents who have helped in the planning, will be attending the parties, or who are donating items.  It will be a great way to kick off our vacation!

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan