Monday, February 14th, 2022

Happy Valentine's Day Families! 

I hope you enjoyed watching the exciting game last night!  Valentine's Day is here and we are looking forward to many other engaging learning experiences during the month!  We ended a busy January last week and have hit the ground running into February! 

Literacy 

The excitement for reading our current science fiction novel George’s Secret Key to the Universe has continued! The enthusiasm on the part of students to read each chapter has been evident! Throughout the story we have been working on a variety of literacy targets, such as how the narrator’s point of view affects how the story is told. Because this story, written by Stephen and Lucy Hawking, is the first in a series of books, we strongly encourage students to read others in this wonderful collection. Your local library and book store are sure to have copies available!

Writing
Students are in the final stages of writing their science fiction narrative stories. They’ve been inspired by the “George” book we’ve been reading, and have put their creativity and vivid imaginations to work! We have a vast array of storylines—everything from time travel to  space adventures!

Math

We are currently  in the middle of our unit on multiplying and dividing fractions with models. Students are becoming quite proficient in identifying and constructing multiplication models. Next week we will begin working with division of fractions. The models that students have been learning have given them a deeper understanding of these concepts.

*Please Note: We have our first math placement test this Wednesday, February 16th.

Social Studies
We have  spent the last few weeks learning about some important events in history and identifying the causes and effects of these events. We learned about Westward expansion and what motivated pioneers to head West. We also examined the effects of this migration West. In addition, we looked at the causes and effects of exploration in the South Pole. In preparation for a research project next week where students will choose an event in American history to independently research, students have been learning how to conduct a safe and effective internet search.

Upcoming Events 

*Monday 2/14- Valentine’s Day Parties in afternoon

*Monday 2/21- No School
*Tuesday 2/22- Early Release @ 2:00

*Tuesday 2/22-Orchestra Concert @ 7:30

Friendly Reminders 

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

**Please remind your child to charge his/her iPad every night. We use the iPad throughout the day.
**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack! 

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

Monday, January 30th, 2022 and The Math Unit 5 Fractions Algorithms and Models Document Link

Happy Monday Families!

I hope everyone has been staying warm during this cold and snowy January! Read below to find out what we have been up to in class! :) 

Literacy

The last two weeks have been busy ones in literacy! We read two different stories, Beyond the Horizon, and Pedro’s Journal. Both stories dealt with travel and discovery of the West Indies. We used both of these stories to discuss a character’s point of view and how it affects the story. This week, we started an exciting novel called George’s Secret Key to the Universe. It is a science fiction novel that will give us more practice with identifying point of view. Your child will have a chapter or two to read each night of the book for homework. This can count towards their daily 20 minutes of reading. We will also be practicing figurative language over the next couple of weeks.

Writing

To tie in with reading George’s Secret Key to the Universe, students have started planning their science fiction narratives. We are still in the planning stages of writing. We will be working on introducing our characters and setting, making sure events flow, and adding dialogue and sensory details. They are coming up with some creative stories! Ask them to share what they have so far!

Math

We finished our unit on multiplication using the standard algorithm. This week, we started our next unit, which is multiplying and dividing fractions. We will be practicing using different strategies and models to help us along the way.  This unit will not be reported out on report cards until Trimester 3.

I am also sharing a link to a document that has visuals on multiplying fractions. If your student asks for help, you can refer to the strategies in the document.

Unit 5 Fraction Algorithms And Models

Social Studies

We have started to learn about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion and on the California Gold Rush.  We have been focusing this week on the impact of the Homestead Act. Based on what we learn about Westward Expansion, students will construct and defend an argument of whether or not they would have traveled West. 

We also completed and filmed Westward Expansion readers' theaters. As soon as they are edited, I will make sure to share them with you, so be on the lookout!

Science

We wrapped up talking about how stars appear to move across the night sky because the earth is constantly rotating. We will wrap up this unit by learning how scientists use tools to help them observe Space.

Upcoming Events

*Monday 2/14- Valentine’s Day Parties

*Monday 2/21- No School

Tuesday 2/22- Early Release

Friendly Reminders

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

**Please remind your child to charge his/her iPad every night.  We use the iPad throughout the day.

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

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Have a great week!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, January 14th and Winter Break Party Pictures!

Happy New Year Families!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break! Since returning from break we have really hit the ground running as we have steamed to the middle of our 2nd trimester of school! Read below to find out what your student has been up to! :) 

Literacy

After we returned from break, we spent time reviewing standards that were previously taught using various passages. Standards reviewed included comparing and contrasting author's points of views in nonfiction texts, as well as summarizing and quoting accurately in fiction texts. We also spent time looking at multiple meaning words and using context clues to determine their meaning as used within a text. This week students took their end of unit assessments to test on these standards. We are now starting a new book, called Beyond the Horizon, that we will use to continue to practice summarizing, quoting and vocabulary. We will also later use this text with other texts to compare and contrast the authors' approaches to theme. 

Writing

Before break, students finished up an opinion based writing piece about whether video games have a positive or negative effect on kids. After break we worked together to write an analytical piece about the best type of class pet to have. We completed this writing together as a model and review for the end of unit writing assessment that was given this past Thursday. As we move into our new unit we will be shifting our focus from analytic writing to narrative writing with a science fiction based prompt.

Math

Students have been working hard to master the standard algorithm of multiplication for both 2 digit by 2 digit and 3 digit by 2 digit problems. Students took a checkpoint on this skill today. We will be spending the next week working on long division. This skill will not be formally assessed for mastery though until closer to the end of the year. After multiplying and dividing whole numbers, our next unit will focus on multiplying and dividing fractions.

Social Studies

Our students wrapped up their discussions about the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments, which revolved around the pros and cons of a democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  In the coming weeks, we will learn about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion and on the California Gold Rush.  Based on what we learn about Westward Expansion, students will construct and defend an argument of whether or not they would have traveled West. 

Science

Before break we began our science unit on the Earth, Moon, and Stars. Students have been learning about stars and how the closer stars are to Earth, the brighter they appear. Students have also learned about constellations and how stars appear to move across the night sky because of the earth is constantly rotating as well as revolving around the sun. Students participated in a hands on activity where they made "a universe in a box" to help them understand why we see different stars in the sky at different times of the year. 

Winter Break Party Pictures

Upcoming Events

*Monday 1/17 - No School

*Tuesday 1/25 - Early Release

*Students can begin purchasing 2nd lunches and snacks at lunch time. Click Here for the principal's blog for more information.

Friendly Reminders

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

**Please remind your child to charge his/her iPad every night.  We use the iPad throughout the day.

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

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, December 3rd, 2021

Hello 5th Grade Families!

Happy December! I hope that everyone had a wonderful, restful Thanksgiving break! From spending time with family and friends, traveling, shopping, eating delicious food, and relaxing, the students were excited to share all about their break! Included within this week's update, there is a family letter regarding our upcoming unit in math, which focuses on multi-digit multiplication.

As we begin to wrap up 2021, here's what's going on within our classroom!

Literacy
This week, our shared text featured an excerpt of the novel, Hatchet. The text tells the story of Brian, a thirteen-year-old boy, who encounters a completely unexpected and unfortunate event that leaves him stranded in the Canadian wilderness to survive by himself with nothing but a hatchet. Using Hatchet, we discussed Brian's thoughts, actions, and feelings in order to analyze the challenges he faced and determine the overall theme. We also practiced our summarizing skills by identifying the main events and character responses in the text.

Writing
Our analytical writing focuses on the students' opinions of whether they think video games have a positive or negative effect on children. After researching, students have been utilizing graphic organizers to organize information into reasons and evidence that support their stance. Instead of composing a multi-paragraph essay, students are utilizing Book Creator, an application, to create a digital book based on their research and opinion. Within their digital book, students are required to include elements of analytical writing, such as an engaging introduction, well-developed body paragraphs, and an effective conclusion. Ask your student about his/her opinion regarding the effects of video games!

Math
We wrapped up our math unit on decimals and place values by reviewing learned concepts and taking the end of unit assessment. The Unit 3 targets included reading/writing decimals, comparing decimals, rounding decimals, and adding/subtracting decimals. Our upcoming unit encompasses mulit-digit multiplication. Students will be learning how to use the standard algorithm to multiply. In Number Corner, we measured our height and feet length within inches. Throughout the month of December, we will regularly plot the data onto a line plot. We will also be plotting the data onto a scatter plot to analyze the correlation between height and foot length.

Science
We are continuing to dive deeper into our unit about the Earth's systems. Recently, we analyzed how farming and industries negatively impact Earth's four systems (biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere). We also discussed ways that people could protect the Earth, which involves the conservation of resources, such as fossil fuels. In our recent investigation, we took upon the role of engineers and used various materials to design a water filter that could remove dirt and produce clean water. Through this investigation, we explored the consequences of pollution and ways to protect the Earth's systems.

Social Studies
In the coming weeks, we will learn about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion and on the California Gold Rush.  Based on what we learn about Westward Expansion, students will construct and defend an argument of whether or not they would have traveled West.

 

Parent Volunteers Needed

Our class is in need of parent volunteers for our Winter Break party on December 17th.  The party starts at 2:00pm and ends at 3:00pm.  If you are able to volunteer, please contact Becky Salasche at beckysalasche@hotmail.com.

Upcoming Events
Monday, December 6th - Reading MAP Test

Tuesday, December 7th - Math MAP Test

Tuesday, December 14th -  Early Release (Dismissal @ 2pm)
Friday, December 17th - Classroom Winter Parties
Monday, December 20th - Tuesday, January 4th - Winter Break

Friendly Reminders
Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night
Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  
Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, November 19th, 2021

Happy Friday Families!

I hope everyone is staying warm during this November cold!  But as we deal with the weather, our students continue to work hard, starting the second grading period.

School Progress Reports

***Your child’s progress report is available online. 

Parents, please note:
Your child’s progress report indicates his or her current progress toward an expectation. When a standard repeats in more than one trimester–as is typical in literacy instruction, for example–we do not expect students will master the knowledge and skills indicated until the completion of the last trimester in which the standard is reported on. In fact, it’s likely that many students will earn a score of Developing.

For example, we assess students using text we expect they will be able to master by the end of the school year. For a literacy course standard that repeats, we report each trimester based on your child’s progress toward those end-of-year expectations. This practice gives you consistent information regarding where your child is performing currently, compared to where he or she should be later in the school year or at the year’s end. 

What might you expect to see for a standard that repeats in more than one trimester? You might expect to see a steady progression, such as Not Mastering (1) or Developing (2) in Trimester 1; Developing (2) in Trimester 2; and Mastering (3) in Trimester 3.

Here's What's Happening in Class:

Literacy

We are currently reading a shared text titled Washed Up, are story about three families who encounter various challenges while trying to win a survival reality show.  Within the text, students are working hard to look at the text to help them locate the best evidence to support their thinking.  In the coming weeks, we will explore various texts to help our students practice summarizing (Literary text) as well as analyzing multiple accounts of the same event, while noting similarities and differences in the points of view each party represents (Informational text).

Writing

Our students recently finished their first analytical paper, discussing whether or not students should be allowed to bring and use cellphones during the school day.  Their focus was to write engaging introductory and concluding paragraphs, as well as working to add evidence to support their key ideas.  They made quite the compelling argument!  Currently, our students are creating and defending an argument whether or not video games have a positive or negative effect on children.  They should be interesting read!

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals.  They are currently refining their skills in the area of using expanded  decimal notation, comparing decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and rounding decimals. 

Social Studies

Our students wrapped up their discussions about the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments, which revolved around the pros and cons of a democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  In the coming weeks, we will learn about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion and on the California Gold Rush.  Based on what we learn about Westward Expansion, students will construct and defend an argument of whether or not they would have traveled West. 

Science

We are currently learning about earth systems in science. The unit discusses the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. In addition to learning about their attributes and characteristics, we are also identifying interactions that occur between the systems. Our most recent investigation involved "mining" chocolate chips, while preserving as much of the land (cookie) as possible.  Our students were rewarded with their own chocolate chip cookie to eat for their valiant efforts!

Upcoming Events

**Wednesday, November 24th - Friday, November 26th: No School (Thanksgiving Break)

Friendly Reminders

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

**Please remind your child to charge his/her iPad every night.  We use the iPad throughout the day.

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

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, Friday, November 5th, 2021 and Halloween Pictures

Happy Friday Families!

It is so hard to believe we are already in November and nearing the end of the first trimester!

 

Here’s a quick update to fill you in on what we have been covering in each of the academic areas:

 

Literacy

This week we read two different articles about whether we should be going to Mars. These articles helped students practice finding the main point, along with reasons and evidence that supported the article. We ended the week by doing more practice with finding the main point, reasons, and evidence by reading articles about using plastics and voting.

 

Writing

We are continuing to work on our “Should Cellphones Be Allowed in School” analytical paper. Students chose a side, and have been going through the writing process step by step, writing the introduction, working on body paragraphs, and then conclusion. They will end with editing their work.

 

Math

We have begun our third unit already- Adding & Subtracting Decimals! We are starting the unit by looking at place value, multiplying and dividing by 10’s and powers of ten. We have also been working on reading and writing numbers. Next, we will be learning how to add and subtract those decimals, along with comparing and ordering the decimals on a number line. We will have our first checkpoint on this unit next week. This unit won’t be reported out on report cards until Trimester 2.

 

Science

We began our second unit, looking at the Earth’s four main systems. We started by learning more about the Biosphere, Geosphere, Hydrosphere, and Atmosphere. Next, we will be diving more into how those spheres affect weather, landforms, and living things.

 

Social Studies

This week, we have been working hard to answer the question, How do declarations of independence from other places in the Western Hemisphere compare with the United States Declaration of Independence? To do this, we have started looking at other types of government, Parliament, monarchy,  and dictatorship. The students have really done well comparing and contrasting them with one another!

 

Upcoming Events

Friday, November 12—Trimester 1 report period ends

Friday, November 19- Trimester 1 Report Cards sent out

Wednesday, November 24th- Sunday, November 28th- Thanksgiving Break

Thank you for your continued support and have a great weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, October 1st, 2021 and Science Investigation Pictures!

Happy October Families!

Please read below to find out about all of the wonderful learning that is happening in 5th grade at Ivy Hall!

Here are the concepts we are currently/planning to work on:

Literacy
We have finished up our shared text, Night of the Spadefoot Toads, which we used to practice utilizing direct quotes from the text to answer questions as well as determining theme and summarizing. After finishing Night of the Spadefoot Toads, we read a short story called Shells, which we also used to practice quoting, identifying theme, describing how characters respond to challenges they face, and summarizing a text. This week we also completed our first district CFA (common formative assessment), to assess where students are at with the targets we have been practicing in class. Next week will begin a new cycle of study with another short story called Operation Clean Sweep which is a historical fiction about Women's Suffrage. With this story we will begin to look at how the narrator and characters points of view affect the way a story is told. 

Writing
We are wrapping up our current work on narrative writing. Students used our shared text as a springboard, to write a story that included a "bullyish" character. This week students completed a district PBA (performance based assessment) where they were asked to write a new narrative based on a given writing prompt. As we begin our new cycle of study in literacy next week, our focus will shift to analytic writing.

Math
Last week students complete their unit one math post test that covered order of operations, writing expressions, and calculation volume of rectangular prisms. This week we moved on to unit 2 with a focus on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We started the unit by connecting fractions to money values to help students add and subtract. We also introduced using clocks as a model for adding and subtracing unlike fractions. As we proceed through this unit we will also be spending time teaching students to make common denominators in order to add and subtract fractions. In Number Corner, we have continued to reinforce skills regarding volume and to practice skills with fractions and decimals.

Science
We are continuing to learn about ecosystems. In the past couple of weeks we have been learning about consumers and the flow of energy through an ecosystem. We learned that consumers must eat other animals in order to survive. We also learned that the flow of energy starts at the sun and flows to the producers and then to the consumers. On Thursday students conducted an investigation where they were able to dissect owl pellets! Students were amazed by the various bones they found within the pellets. This information allowed us to create food chains that show the flow of energy from the sun to the owl. Next week students will be assessed on the knowledge gained from these lessons and the investigation.

Social Studies
In the coming weeks, our students will explore the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments.  Our discussions will revolve around the pros and cons of a democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  Of the four governments, our students will work to create an argument of which government best uses their powers and responsibilities for the benefit of its citizens.

Upcoming Events

• Friday, October 1st - Half Day (Dismissal @ 11:45 AM)
• Thursday, October 7th - Early Release (Dismissal @ 2pm) - CONFERENCES
• Friday, October 8th - No School for Students - CONFERENCES
• Monday, October 11th - No School

Friendly Reminders

• Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night
• Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!
• Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12

Have a wonderful weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan