TOPS 5th Grade Weekly Newsletter

I hope you had a fabulous week! We are moving right along through December. Before we all take off for the weekend I wanted to send out an overview of what to expect next week, some resources to help you, and a fun riddle!

Preparing for next week:

Through the next few weeks, you may see "Catch-up" on the calendar for subjects. Please make sure you go through the gradebook and make up any Ms. If you have any grades that are lower than you would like, please work through the lesson again to improve your grade. Remember you can take your TGAs multiple times. All TGAs will close on 12/21 and your grade will be final in the grade book.

Literature assignments on the Daily Plan

On your Daily Plan once you complete the open Literature unit, it will list your Literature assignment as the 19. You Need To Make A Choice unit. please DO NOT do this unit. We will do our Novel Units later in the year. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Literature Unit 5 Curious Creatures Lessons 1-10 October 30-December 7-Completed

*After you complete Unit 5 in Literature please do not move on.

Last Week's Riddle:

1. What do you call it when a snowman has a temper tantrum? Meltdown

2. What do you get when you mix a snowman and a wolf? Frostbite

3. What does a snowman eat for breakfast? Frosted Flakes

Weekly Riddle:

Each Friday I will send out a Riddle. Please come to class the following week with your answer.

This week’s riddle is brought to us by Isaiah Behan!

What do elves learn in school?

I will share the answer next week in class! If you have a riddle you would like to share in the newsletter, please email it to me.

Have an amazing weekend!

There are no new OLS lessons this week. Be sure you have checked the grade book and have completed any missing assignments for both OLS lessons and TGAs. Work in Stride Math Academy. You should be practicing at least 20 minutes a day when it is on the daily plan.

I'll see you in class!

Looking Back –

Only one week left in semester one, and we are finishing with a look at natural resources that are critical for our future. We spent this week talking about fossil fuels and other resources and why it is important for us to conserve and use them wisely. Next week, we will dig deeper into the topics of resources and what the future may hold as technology continues to grow.

Looking Ahead -

We are finishing Lessons 4 and 5 from Unit 7, and you have probably noticed that we are taking them a bit out of order with the rest of the unit. I wanted to wait for the topics of the Earth, Sun, and Moon until we return in January. Our study of resources and fossil fuels just seemed to fit better as an addition to the Earth Science topics that we completed with previous units. We will have some fascinating lessons when we return next semester. Thanks for all of your hard work in semester one!

Special Note: There is an opportunity for extra credit in USA Test Prep. (See TGA's below)

News of Astronomy for the Week: The brightest comet of the year is now visible in the night sky. You can even spot this with a good set of binoculars! Check out information about how to see Comet 46P/Wirtanen in this article from Earthsky.org.

Hello 5th graders, this week we will complete unit 6 – The American Revolution. During class on Wednesday, December 12th, we will be reviewing everything we have learned in unit 6. Please complete these lessons this week:

· Lesson 5 – Turning Points

· Lesson 6 – Sweet Surrender

· Lesson 8 – Unit Review

· Lesson – Unit Assessment

I’ll see you in class on Wednesday!

Every week you will check the grade level newsletter to see which Music Studio lessons to complete. Just open Unit 1, Lesson 1 in the OLS and click the link to take you to Music Studio! (This is why everything in the OLS for Music EXCEPT for Unit 1, Lesson 1 has been marked skipped.)

I will be closing all Music Studio assessments on Friday, 12/21. Be sure that you have completed all missing work by this Thursday afternoon!

Quarter 2 Extra Credit - Be sure that you have done the extra credit assessment in Music Studio -- it often makes the difference of a whole letter grade!!

Have a wonderful Winter Break!!

TGIF!!! Winter Break Countdown!!! I know you are all excited. It's going to be a great week.

Recording directions for TGAs in gradebook:

https://tinyurl.com/Gradebook-TGA-directions

TGAs are available in the Gradebook. If you are missing any please get them completed.

The Hive:

We will continue to have Kahoot in the main room. Thank you LCs that have helped monitor chat and the rooms this week. I know it is wild in there but, it's recess. I hope everyone has had a blast!!!

Email: bwatt@texasonlineprep.org
Phone: 682.593.1514
Twitter: @TOPSMrsWatt