5th Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the 1st for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: Fractions

Activities: We have been practicing adding fractions, finding common denominators and adding numerators. Students started by adding with common denominators; then, moved onto adding two fractions with unlike denominators. We started discussing how to add mixed numbers together, but got stopped by a second winter break and a holiday. For the rest of this month, the class will review addition, multiplication, and division rules, which we have covered in class. Once students are more comfortable and remember the different approaches to addition versus multiplication, we will move on next month to subtraction. The fractions unit is one of the most important units of the year, so the better students get this unit, the easier math will become from this point forward.

Teacher Tip: Give students fractions and then have them draw an addition, multiplication, or division symbol out of a hat or cup. They can practice figuring out the answer before drawing the next symbol. Since each operation is handled differently, you can use the same two fractions for all three rounds!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Alexander - halexander@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Figurative Language, Winter Haiku, iReady Testing, Argument Essays

Activities: We kicked off the new year by writing figurative language about winter and transferring it to snowflakes to put on the wall. Then we moved into poetry writing and constructed Haiku poetry - also about winter. (Are you sensing a pattern here? 😉) Students wrote several examples and were careful to follow the line and syllable pattern of Haikus. They even included figurative language! We peer-edited our poems and then picked the strongest one to be displayed. One class day was spent on iReady testing and then we moved on to the preliminary work of writing argument essays. We learned that argument essays are not just opinion pieces - they need to include sound reasons and evidence. We practiced searching for evidence on both sides of an issue before making a claim about it. Then we rehearsed our claims out loud. Next we moved on to annotating an argument essay. We carefully identified the hook, claim, evidence, reasons and conclusion in the paper. To wrap up the month we began the planning process for our own argument papers.

Teacher Tip: Our next round of book projects will be due on Wednesday, February 21. Feel free to reach out if you or your students have any questions!

Teacher info: Rachel Oscarson - roscarson@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: "Common Sense" and The Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere, advantages and disadvantages, Yorktown

Activities: This month, which was the final month of for US History, saw us touch on some of the key people, events and ideas connected to the American Revolution. We read about a couple of influential documents, the pamphlet "Common Sense" and the Declaration of Independence. We did not use any of the primary source materials available but students did explore both documents. They learned that Common Sense was written to encourage more colonists, especially Loyalists, to recognize that it was common sense to break away from G.B. The Declaration of Independence, on the other hand, was written directly to King George and Parliament and it detailed all the reasons the colonies were declaring independence. Using a reading passage and a Liberty's Kids video, students read about Paul Revere and his famous midnight ride. We also discussed the many disadvantages faced by the Continental Army at the beginning of the war. Students were able to identify several; a lack of soldiers, to a lack of money, a lack of supplies. Britain had the world's largest army and largest navy! Working in favor of the Colonists was two key factors; first, citizen soldiers who were fighting to defend their homes and their way of life and, second, a home field advantage.

Of course, it was against enormous odds that George Washington and the Continental Army (with the help of France) was able to defeat the British. Again, we used an episode of Liberty's Kids to help figure out how a combined American and French force managed to surround the British in Yorktown and win the war. Throughout the semester, students built a solid understanding of the people who established the 13 Colonies, the events that led to the Revolution and how the American nation came to be. We also worked incredibly hard to build skills with reading and responding to informational texts. This focus will continue into the second semester!

Teacher Tip: Excited to continue working with this group in our civics class, We The Kids, in the second semester.

Teacher Info: Let me know if you have any questions!

Mr. Caraco, jcaraco@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Posters in Google Docs

Activities: This month we spent our class time wrapping up projects from the semester, including a final keyboarding quiz, keyboarding shortcuts quiz, and final survey. The rest of our time was spent creating posters in Google Docs. Students explored adjusting margins, creating word art, and choosing appropriate pictures to create quality posters. They were to choose either the Continental Army or the British Army and use persuasive wording based on their understanding of what they have been studying in history class. This was a fun way to end the semester.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Elements of Art: Form, Space, Line, and Color; Principles of Design: Balance, Contrast, Unity, and Movement

Activities: This month we dove into a fun group project. Students looked at installation art by Sandy Skoglund and observed her color choices, themes, and “characters.” Working in small groups, students chose complementary colors, a scene location, and a character to repeat several times. The students worked together beautifully, and the finished dioramas were fabulous!

Reflection Questions:Thank you, 5th-grade artists, for sharing your fabulous work at the Share Fair! It has been a pleasure to create art with you throughout the first semester!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu