News from Pollock’s Den

Here’s the latest from room 243:

Ask Your Child About…

• Character Trait ~ Ask your child about how he/she shows the trait of CITIZENSHIP both at school and home. See if he/she can give an example of how a person can be a good citizen.
  
   
• Math ~ Ask your child about division – see if he/she can show you the difference between the partial-quotients algorithm and the traditional algorithm. Have your child estimate the distance between two locations on a map referring to the scale.

• Reading ~ Ask your son/daughter to summarize our Junior Great Books activities. In reading “No Guitar Blues,” we discussed whether or Fausto made the right choice in lying to the rich couple. Ask your child his/her opinion and see if he/she can back that answer with text evidence.
  
   
• Social Studies ~ As the week progresses, have your child describe some of the Loyalists and Patriots we are learning about as we discover the pros and cons of declaring independence from Britain. Have him/her explain the primary differences between their points of view, and how that difference will be included in their CBA (Classroom-Based Assessment).

• Science ~ Later in the week, have your child describe the Oceanography Book he/she is creating.

MATH – This week, we wrap up Unit 4 on DIVISION. We will investigate division of decimal numbers, interpreting the remainder, and complete some skills review with the game “First to 100.” We will take the Unit 4 assessment on Thursday.

SCIENCE – We continue our study of OCEANOGRAPHY this week, completing our Oceanography book and taking an assessment.

SOCIAL STUDIES – We continue studying chapter 11 on the question of whether or not the colonies should declare independence. This week, we will work in teams to prepare for a “panel” debate consisting of Loyalists and Patriots.

WRITING – This week, we wrap up some activities in preparation for the CBA (Classroom-Based Assessment) in social studies, which we will begin later in the week. The CBA is a written essay based on content we’ve learned in social studies, and is a state-wide expectation as an assessment in 5^th Grade. Students will discuss the question of whether or not the colonies should declare independence from Britain. They will identify the stakeholders’ points of view, how each stakeholder’s position is beneficial, and write a call to action (stating their opinion). This written piece is accompanied by citation of at least two sources, and will continue from now until the holiday break.

READING – We will wrap up our first story in the Junior Great Books collection, “No Guitar Blues.” Toward the end of the week, we will begin our first novel study, The Fighting Ground, using our Literature Circle format.

CHARACTER TRAITS – Our November focus is on the trait of CITIZENSHIP. We will complete some activities and take time to recognize those who show this trait.