Week of October 23rd-27th

It's been a great week in 5th grade reflecting upon making healthy choices and celebrating Red Ribbon Week! Please read the blog for important updates!

Classroom Updates:

In reading, we read a Junior Great Book, took part in a shared inquiry discussion, and continued on the stations.

In writing, we worked on finishing up our imaginative stories and published them.

In social studies, learners went back into Colonial times and participated in stations that taught them about education, religion, recreational time, craftsmanship, slave life, and the government back then.

This week in math we finished up our multiplication and division of decimals unit. The learners practiced strategies for dividing decimals. They also worked on their pre-test corrections and used digital tools to become the teacher and teach others how to divide decimals. 

In Science this week, we conclude our unit on mixtures and solutions.  The next unit we will focus on is energy.  We will explore the uses of energy, including mechanical, light, thermal, electrical, and sound energy.

5th Grade Announcements:

Spelling Homework
We will resume our spelling homework on October 30th. You will notice that the spelling lists that learners will be receiving are shorter than normal. We will continue with these shorter lists the rest of the year. Our main goal for our learners is for them to understand and learn the spelling pattern. We feel that having less words will really put an emphasis on learning the pattern instead of just memorizing words. Please contact Meredith Schaaf or Rachel Lim if you have any questions.

Mentor Sentences
We will not have a mentor sentence or grammar homework the week of October 30th-November 3rd. We will resume with mentor sentences and homework on November 6th. We will be integrating the American Revolution into our mentor sentences for the next five weeks!

Health Expo
We are very excited to have our very first Health Expo organized by Nurse Kane on Friday, November 3rd. We are so excited for this opportunity! Please look for the light purple handout that your child is bringing home for more information! Also, please only sign and return the form if you do not want your child to attend the growth and development program.

Sky Ranch Money
Please make sure that you have submitted your second payment for Sky Ranch!

Colonial Williamsburg Stations

5th Grade is putting a cap on drugs!!

Week of October 16th-20th

Classroom Updates

In Reading, we started to read our first Junior Great Book. Learners made predictions, asked questions, and made connections throughout our story. Learners were also engaged in stations reinforcing vocabulary and writing skills.

In Writing, learners focused on dialogue in both their mentor sentence and their imaginative writing piece. Learners are revising scenes from their story and making their characters more relatable.

In Social Studies, learners went on a 13 colonies webquest where they discovered more about the origins of the 13 colonies. Learners began to discuss the causes of the American Revolution.

In Math, we began learning strategies for multiplying decimals. Learners were able to recognize why multiplying a decimal by a decimal can give you a smaller product. We also practiced multiplying a decimal by a whole number. You can check out the Decimal Operations Presentation on our Google Sites to see the different strategies we are practicing in class.

In Science, we have been continuing our explorations on mixtures and solutions. This week the learners designed their own experiments to separate salt from water. Please see some of the pictures below!

TCE Updates

Report Cards

Report cards are being sent home today. Please check over your child's report card, sign it, and send it back in the envelope as soon as possible! 

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week will be October 23rd-27th! Please click the link to check out how we are celebrating Red Ribbon Week!

Reflex Math Homework
Please remember that your learner needs to be playing Reflex Math each week. The week begins on Friday and your learners teacher will be checking the next Thursday to make sure they are playing at least 4 times a week until they have reached their green light.

Health Expo
We are very excited to have our very first Health Expo organized by Nurse Kane on Friday, November 3rd. We are so excited for this opportunity! Please look for the light purple handout that your child is bringing home for more information! Also, please only sign and return the form if you do not want your child to attend the growth and development program.

Week of October 9th-13th

Thank you for taking the time to stop by our blog and read about what's going on in 5th Grade. Please be sure to check the Google Calendar that is linked at the top of the blog for important updates.

In science this week, we have been delving into mixtures and solutions by doing different explorations. We have tested separating mixtures through screens and funnels. Check Twitter for some fun pictures of the explorations!

This week in math we began multiplying and dividing decimals. We also looked at the average rainfalls in Coppell and other cities. Then, we took that data and put it into graphs.

In reading, we explored multiple meaning words. Learners identified words that can be tricky. Then, they used their schema and the context clues to make meaning of the words. If you would like to see how learners have grown this month, please log onto iStation using the parent portal.

In writing, we focused on possessive pronouns. Learners are still working on their imaginative writing pieces and going through to edit and revise their papers using the skills we covered in class.

In social studies, learners continued to work on comparing the thirteen colonies. We began creating a billboard to persuade colonists to come to their colony.

Announcements: 

Story Book Pumpkin Design Challenge

Please click the link below for more details. 

https://www.smore.com/u6hxg

The next Sky Ranch payment of $50 will be due the end of the month. 

Reflex Math is now up and running. Learners need to be playing until they reach the green light. 

Week of October 2nd-October 6th

Please don't forget that there is no school Friday or Monday for the kids! We hope that they enjoy their break, and we thank everyone who made time to come see us for Parent/Teacher conferences!

What's Happening in the Classroom?

In Reading, we have been continuing to work on how to summarize the stories that we have read through the character's problem and resolution.

In Social Studies, we focused on the Southern Colonies, and we started comparing and contrasting the differences between the three colonial regions.

In Math, we have been completing decimal activities to practice place value to the thousandths. Ask your learner to show you their Google site to see more of their completed work and activities!

In Science, we have been discussing similarities and differences between conductors and insulators. We have also begun our unit on solubility.

In Language Arts, our mentor sentence focused on simple, compound, and complex sentences. The learners are also continuing to write and revise their imaginative stories using rich adjectives and adverbs.

5B was SO thrilled to start reading the sequel, The War I Finally Won.

Airianna and Hannah presenting a passion project to the class!

What's Happening at TCE?

No School:

Just another reminder that there will be no school Monday, October 9th.

Sky Ranch payments:

REMINDER: The second payment for our Sky Ranch trip in April will be due Friday, October 27th. You can send the full payment of $200 at this time, or you can send your second payment of $50. Please make checks payable to Town Center Elementary. If your son/daughter has a different last name than the name on the check, please include your son/daughter's name in the subject line. Thank you to all who have already paid. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact your learner's homeroom teacher.

Writing Competitions:

CGA Writing Competition: The fourth graders have an opportunity to participate in this annual event. Here is a little information about the competition. 

- FREE for CISD students to enter.

- Open for any student in grades 4-12.

- Deadline of December 8, 2017.
- Categories: STORY and POETRY
- Rules are available at coppellgifted.org.