October 29 - November 2

Welcome back to another week of learning and fun in Grade 5! We have a LOT going on this week!

Notes for the week...

** This Friday, November 2, we will hold our Internal Language Arts Competitions including Speech and Spelling in both English and Spanish.  Students are working on and practicing their speeches in class and will be competing to move on to the ABSH competition held in Tegucigalpa in February.  A list for the Spelling Bee has been shared with students via Google Classroom, if they choose to prepare.

** This year the Environmental Student Council will be holding elections again for Environmental Ambassadors on Tuesday, October 30th. We welcome any students who would like to be Environmental Ambassadors to prepare a short speech which will be presented at lunch Monday, October 29th. Students should be responsible, friendly individuals with a passion for helping the environment. If you are interested please contact Mr. Andrew.

** In keeping with Discovery School tradition, children in the Early Childhood and Elementary are invited to dress up as their favorite book character on Wednesday, October 31. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will set up a live interactive museum that day, which will last from 8:50-9:40 a.m. This will allow the younger students to come and learn about new book characters. Parents are welcome to come and meet all the exciting characters and learn about some new books.

** FUNDACION ABRIGO is a shelter that provides lodging for families from outside Tegucigalpa who bring patients to Hospital Escuela. Discovery School has been a partner in solidarity with Fundacion Abrigo for the past years. In keeping with our support to this noble cause, we are asking for a donation of 1 gallon of disinfectant per family. Please send us your donation per family by Wednesday, October 31.  For a quick look at what Fundación Abrigo does, see the video below:

This week in class...

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we will continue to analyze different types of text structures in fiction and nonfiction text, including the "Cause/Effect" and "Problem/Solution" structures. Then we will begin our next Guided Reading novel, The Egypt Game.

We are putting the final touches on our speeches inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. We will be watching several examples of good oratory skills in selected TED Talks, which will help us identify and practice these skills in delivering our speeches.

We will also continue to practice irregular verb forms in the past and past perfect tenses.  There will be a Language Quiz on Friday.

Here are our TedTalks from Monday. Feel free to watch them again to get more ideas for how to improve your speech.

Math

This week in class we will be learning about Barn Swallows which migrate from North America to South America during this months and those to follow. We will be reading and watching a few short videos together to learn more. We will solve several word problems related to Barn Swallows and will be creating birdhouses using our measurement skills, hoping to entice them to stay at our school!

Barn Swallows Materials

Homework:

Monday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL Z.1

Wednesday:One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL Z.2
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson

Social Studies

This week in Social Studies class the students will complete their drawings of scenes and objects from the everyday life of ancient Egyptians. We will read several articles, view several videos, and  have several class discussions about how and why ancient Egyptians prepared for the afterlife.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

October 22 - 26

Welcome back to another week of learning and fun in Grade 5! We enjoyed meeting with families last Friday and look forward to seeing everyone else this week!

Notes for the week...

** This Friday, October 26, is our annual U.N. Day with games and activities from around the world.  Students will be dismissed early at 11:45.

** Next Friday, November 2, we will hold our Internal Language Arts Competitions including Speech and Spelling in both English and Spanish.  Students are working on and practicing their speeches in class and will be competing to move on to the ABSH competition held in Tegucigalpa in February.  There is no official list for the Spelling Bee competition, but we will be sharing some resources with students this week to help them prepare if they choose.

This week in class...

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we will continue to analyze different types of text structures in fiction and nonfiction text. In addition, we will continue to draft, revise, and edit our speeches inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

We will also be practicing irregular verb forms in the past and past perfect tenses.  There will be a Language Quiz on Thursday, due to the UN Day activities on Friday.

Math

This week in Math class we will be learning about equations and applying our understanding of the basic operations; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Students, please be sure to watch the second video as your homework for class and watch the first video up to the 5:00 min mark if you need to review what an equation is.

Homework:

Monday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, watch the MathAntics video above

Wednesday:One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.13
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson

Social Studies

This week in Social Studies class we will be starting a new unit on Ancient Egypt! This week we will watch some videos and read several texts to learn about how ancient Egyptians harnessed the power of the Nile River and also what life was like for both wealthy and normal Egyptians. The students will create their own maps and draw scenes and objects from the everyday life of ancient Egyptians. We will have several class discussions as well.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

Week of October 15-19

Welcome back to another week of learning and fun in Grade 5! 

Notes for the week...

** This week on Wednesday, we will be taking a field trip to the Central Bank of Honduras in the morning. If you have not signed the permission slip and sent the 50 lps, please do so as soon as possible!

** On Friday we will hold our Student-Led Conferences. Monday we will be sending out forms with the scheduled time for your conference. We will not have classes, however, both students and parents need to attend this conference. The students will be presenting some of the work they have done this quarter and the teachers will be explaining the report cards and MAP scores. We have tried to be as accommodating as possible with everyone's schedule, but we know that your assigned time may not work for you. If you cannot make your conference, please email or Whatsapp your child's homeroom teacher as soon as possible to schedule a new conference time.

This week in class...

Language Arts

In Language Arts this week, we will analyze different types of text structures in fiction and nonfiction text. We will be identifying the characteristics of fiction structure using a plot diagram, along with characteristics of such nonfiction structures as "Sequence/Chronological" and "Cause/Effect."

We will be moving on to the drafting stage of our speeches inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.  Students will be using the research they have gathered and the ideas they have organized in order to complete the first draft of their presentation.

Math

This week in Math class we will finish reviewing multi-digit multiplication strategies. We will study the Lattice Method of multiplication and then review each of the strategies we have learned. Thursday we will have a short quiz over each of these strategies.

Homework:

Monday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.11

Wednesday:One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL W.1
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson

Science
We will be finishing up our matter unit by using physical properties of matter to separate mixtures of substances. Then on Thursday, we will review the concepts we have learned and will take a test over the unit.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

October 8-12

Welcome back to another week of learning and fun in Grade 5! We hope you were able to stay dry and have a great Semana Morazanica vacation!

Notes for the week...

** MAP testing is finishing up this week.  This means that we will have very little access to the computer lab, and students will be depending on their devices for several activities.  Please allow your child to bring a device (preferably tablet or laptop, but a smart phone can work in a pinch).  Students will be using the apps Google Drive, Google Slides, and Google Docs, as well as their internet browser, so please make sure that these apps are downloaded on the device. It is preferable that each student have their own device, but if your child is unable to bring one, we will make arrangements here at school for them to complete the work.  Thank you so much for your collaboration!

** 5th grade has finished their MAP testing for the first semester.  Students who were absent on MAP testing days without making prior arrangements will be making up the test this week.

This week in class...

Language Arts

This week we will continue to investigate the features of nonfiction text as well as how
they can help us understand the text more thoroughly. In addition, we'll be practicing how to evaluate headlines we see on the internet as well as learning about how information we post online can create a "digital footprint."

In Language, we will continue to study words with the y --> i spelling change in plural nouns and certain verb conjugations, since we were unable to have the quiz before the October break.  The quiz will be this Friday.

We will also continue to work on gathering research to support our speech topics inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and we will begin drafting our speeches.

Math

We will continue studying multiplication this week in Math class. We will be solving multi-digit problems using the Mr. Andrew Crazy Way (actually the Distributive Method! Don't tell anyone!) and the Standard Algorithm. We will put our multiplication skills to use for solving several word problems as well this week.

Homework:

Monday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.2

Wednesday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.13

Science

We will continue to investigate properties of matter, and will use what we know about properties to identify substances using multiple tests.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

September 24-28

Welcome back to another week of learning and fun in Grade 5! Thanks for checking back in with us!

Notes for the week...

** MAP testing is underway school-wide now through the October holiday.  This means that we will have very little access to the computer lab, and students will be depending on their devices for several activities.  Please allow your child to bring a device (preferably tablet or laptop, but a smart phone can work in a pinch).  Students will be using the apps Google Drive, Google Slides, and Google Docs, as well as their internet browser, so please make sure that these apps are downloaded on the device. It is preferable that each student have their own device, but if your child is unable to bring one, we will make arrangements here at school for them to complete the work.  Thank you so much for your collaboration!

** Just a reminder that students will be taking the MAP test for Reading on Wednesday at 8:30am.  On Friday, the 28th, we will take the MAP test for Language at 8:30am. 

** This Friday, September 28, will be an Early Dismissal at 11:45.  There will be no classes next week for Semana Morazánica.  Classes will resume as normal on Monday, October 8.  Enjoy your vacation! 

This week in class...

Language Arts

Last week we finished our novel Bridge to Terabithia and had our final class discussion over the themes, characters, and events in the book.  This week we will be moving on to investigate the features of nonfiction text as well as how they can help us understand the text more thoroughly.

In Language, we will be studying words with the y --> i spelling change in plural nouns and certain verb conjugations. The quiz will be on Thursday, due to MAP testing on Friday.

We will also be choosing topics for our upcoming speeches with the theme "How to Make the World a Better Place," inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.  Once topics are chosen, we'll be doing background research to support our topics, and then organizing our thoughts and evidence.

If you are a fifth grader reading the blog right now, send Ms. Amy an email explaining what you think the quote at the top of the blog means. Be specific, and use an example in your explanation. The first three students to send the email with a thoughtful response will receive a treat next week! (Shhhh... don't tell your friends... let's see who reads the blog!)

Math

This week in Math class we will begin studying multiplication! This week we will review the Commutative, Associative, and Distributive Properties. Students should be graduating from practicing multiplication in their XtraMath shortly. A little bit everyday makes a big difference! :)

Homework:

Monday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.4
Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL (either I.3 or C.1, differentiated)

Wednesday: One Xtramath.org lesson
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson

Science

We will continue to investigate properties of matter, as well as identifying the difference between physical and chemical changes. We will be observing some chemical reactions and recording data to help us draw conclusions.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

September 18-21

We hope you had a great holiday weekend!  Thanks for checking back in with us!

Notes for the week...

** MAP testing will begin school-wide this week and will extend into the next couple of weeks.  This means that we will have very little access to the computer lab, and students will be depending on their devices for several activities.  Please allow your child to bring a device (preferably tablet or laptop, but a smart phone can work in a pinch).  Students will be using the apps Google Drive, Google Slides, and Google Docs, as well as their internet browser, so please make sure that these apps are downloaded on the device. It is preferable that each student have their own device, but if your child is unable to bring one, we will make arrangements here at school for them to complete the work.  Thank you so much for your collaboration!

** Just a reminder that students will be taking the MAP test for math on Friday at 8:30am.

** Please consider joining us this Saturday at 9:00am for the first General Assembly of the year to hear from our new director and board about the direction the school is heading this year!  

This week in class...

Language Arts

We will be finishing up the novel Bridge to Terabithia and winding up our informal discussions of the characters, themes, figurative language, and important events in the story.  On Friday we will have a final class discussion over the novel which will serve as their assessment for the unit.  Students will receive the discussion questions on Thursday so that they can prepare.  

In Language, there will be no spelling words this week due to MAP testing on Friday and the holiday last Monday. However, students have created their personal word walls in which they will be recording any words that they have misspelled in their written activities. They can refer back to this resource when writing in the future so as not to continue misspelling words they have struggled with.

In addition, we will begin a series of digital citizenship lessons about using online resources safely and wisely.

Math

This week in Math class we will have our final test on Place Value. We will also begin our next unit on multiplication! We will begin with a diagnostic quiz to check students understanding from last week and then begin reviewing the Commutative and Associative Properties.

Homework:

Tuesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL C.3

Wednesday: One Xtramath.org lesson, Math IXL A.3
Thursday: One Xtramath.org lesson

Science

This week we will begin our Science unit about matter. We will be investigating the different states of matter and the particles that make them up, along with the physical properties of different kinds of matter.

Thank you for all of your support, parents! Please feel free to email us if you have any

questions.

Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew

MAP Testing Schedule

**UPDATED SCHEDULE**
Please note: The MAP schedule originally posted on Monday has been changed in order to minimize interference in our classroom instruction.  Both 5A and 5B will now be testing at the same time.  We apologize for any confusion this has caused!


5A&5B - Ms. Amy and Mr. Andrew
Math- Friday, 9/21, 8:30am
Reading- Wednesday, 9/26, 8:30am
Language- Friday, 9/28, 8:30am