November 23 - December 4, 2009

***Math Olympians will not meet on Tuesday, 11/24 due to Thanksgiving Break.  We will meet again on Tuesday, 12/1 in Mrs. Keller's room.***

Reminder:  Students should bring in their assigned holiday gift bag items by Tuesday, November 24.

The following is planned for the coming week:

Math:  We will take a break from the book and have fun with Turkey math.  When we return from Thanksgiving recess, students will continue in Ch 5 and learn the order of operations (Please Excuse Dear Aunt Sally).  Writing equations for word problems will be practiced.  Finally, students will decide how to interpret remainders in order to answer the question.  Ch 5 Test on Friday, 12/4.

Science:  Students are to have the rough draft of their respiratory story finished for Monday, 11/23, so that they can do peer editing.  Final copy of story due after Thanksgiving, Tuesday, 12/1.  This Tuesday, 11/24 will be a quiz on the skeletal system and respiratory system. Upon returning from Thanksgiving, we will continue on with learning about the heart and then the Circulatory System.  Students will explore finding and listening to their heartbeat, we will compare our heart rate to the heart rate of birds and finally identify how the blood loops through the heart when it is oxygen-rich and then oxygen-poor.

Reading:  We return to Unit 3 in the textbook after Thanksgiving.  Students will use the short stories to learn the different roles they will be assigned as part of literature circles.  In literature circles, students will prepare their roles for small group discussions.  I will circulate from group to group facilitating and observing their participation.  Reading strategies will be taught in-between discussion days.

Religion:  Test on Ch 3 & 4 on Tuesday, 11/24.  In Ch 5, we will discuss God, Our Father.  Students will describe the qualities of God, identify the different names for our Father, and understand and reflect on how we are all children of God.  On Friday, December 4, Father Laurin will visit with the 5th grade.

Art:  We will continue to work on the holiday gift bags.

I want to wish everyone a blessed and rested Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Sobczak