If you haven’t been to www.vimeo.com/science5 yet, you should definitely check the site out next time you are on the internet. Many fifth graders have been busy turning their knowledge of the Periodic Table of Elements and matter into narrated photo stories to share with others. The students worked very hard and put together amazing photo stories and we are very proud of their hard work. The Photo story software is free and can easily be downloaded should students want to make photo stories at home.

As the number sense unit comes to a close this week, students will continue to use their number sense as we head in to our multiplication unit. If your student does not know his/her facts (0-12), he/she should be practicing them at home.  It is imperative that students know their facts going into our next unit. “Knowing” your facts means that you can respond quickly and accurately. Students who do not know their multiplication facts may experience increased frustration levels as assignments in the upcoming unit may take them longer as they spend time looking up products.

In Language Arts, the students are well underway in the Writing Process, having learned to prewrite (brainstorm and organize), draft, revise, proofread, and publish paragraphs. They have also spent time learning various skills which help when reading non-fiction books.

We have completed the Explorer Unit in social studies.   Our next unit will focus on the aspects of colonial America.  In the first part of the new unit, we will look into the life and struggles of the colonists from the early English settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth.  Further into the unit, we will concentrate on the factors that shaped colonial America by taking an in depth look into the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern Colonies.