Weekly News
1/12-1/16/26
In Writing last week, fifth graders reviewed the expectations for conferencing and revising after finishing their first drafts, such as the levels of revising. We also circled back to reinforce some foundational editing skills, such as paragraphing and capitalization. The sixth graders wrapped up their full-length fiction pieces in preparation for beginning a writing mini-unit next week. We focused this week on reviewing punctuation rules for commas and apostrophes. We also analyzed different kinds of sentence structures and talked about varying our sentences in our writing.
In Reading, we continued our individual conferences with Galaxy readers. We also prepared for our next Literature Circle cycle which will begin next week and focus on the fantasy genre. The students have received their book and have their first Literature Circle section and role sheet due Monday or Tuesday.
Last week fifth grade mathematicians continued their work with multiplying fractions as they moved from multiplying a fraction by a whole number to multiplying a fraction by a fraction. We began by modeling with one of the fractions being a unit fraction and then moved to using brownie pan models to multiply two nonunit fractions. From there, students began to use the standard method for multiplying fractions. We finished off the week with a game of fraction bingo to review these skills. Next week we will begin dividing with unit fractions and whole numbers. To learn more about this topic, check out the family math letter. Sixth grade mathematicians continued their work with integers and rational numbers. They compared and ordered rational numbers and began learning about magnitude and absolute value.
In Integrated Studies last week, Galaxians learned about chemical reactions with several different hands-on experiments. We began the week with a rotation of centers about the signs of chemical reactions, like exothermic and endothermic reactions and the formation of precipitate. We then began a fun chemistry mystery powder experiment which required the students to apply their knowledge of chemistry to determine the components in a mystery powder.
We also went over the directions for the second sub-deadline for the at home project. The students will be writing a scientific report about the experiment they conducted at home. The scientific report is due Thursday, January 29th.
Upcoming Events
Study Session: weekly on Wednesdays, 3:10-4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25
End of Unit Mexico test
Friday, March 27
GrandFriends Day, RSVP here
Tuesday, March 31
STEM themed Unit celebration, 2:15pm
