Dear 5S Community -

Greetings from Room 402! Please read on for classroom information and curriculum updates.

Classroom Information

Passion Projects: Students have been spending our afternoon WIN block working on Passion Projects, whereby they selected a topic, started to research and/or made a creative plan, gathered evidence/started creating and are now working on the final products/presentations. It’s been exciting to see and hear the enthusiasm throughout the process as well as witness individual perseverance toward a self-selected goal!

Assessment: Students are in the process of completing mid-year updates for I-Ready Math Diagnostics, Star Math and Star Reading assessments.

Travel and Extended Absences

If your child will be missing school for an extended period, please prepare in advance by completing Family Educational Tour or Trip form here. Please read here for more information and the rationale. Thank you in advance.

Upcoming Events:

January 27 - 5th Grade Human Development Lesson (please be sure to sign the form, either granting permission for your child or choosing to opt out of the experience.

February 13 - No School, Staff Development Day

February 20 - No School, President’s Day

Curriculum Update

ELA: We have started a new novel study using the text: Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. During this unit, students will be looking at the growth of the main character Omakayas, the themes throughout the text, and the interactions/outcomes between the Ojibwe people and the Europeans. The bulk of the reading will be done during the ELA block; however, students may be required to read a portion of most chapter independently. A recorded version of each chapter is available on Google Classroom. The writing components include responding to text-based questions accurately and citing text evidence; analyzing figurative language; defining and using key vocabulary words; and constructing responses to open-ended, inferential questions.

**Please make sure that your student is reading every day for 30 minutes.  Students should be finishing about one chapter book per week.**

Math: Students are working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by finding the least common denominator and converting to equivalent fractions in order to produce an equal sum or difference of fractions with like denominators. Later, students will apply this process when solving word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions.

For specific information on each Lesson, please find the Family Letters on the 5S website here. As you will see, Unit 2 has nine lessons with 3-4 sessions in each lesson so we will be spending a considerable amount of time exploring, developing and refining decimals and fractions concepts.

Social Studies: Students have been learning about the Ojibwa People, specifically in relation to the Birchbark House novel as well as the connection to the current Montana Anishinabe (Chippewa). Among the 12 tribal Nations of Montana, two include Chippewa or Anishinabe people and they are located on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and among the Little Shell communities. Furthermore, we will be exploring how European colonization in North America had an impact on the Ojibwa, specifically through the fur trade and the spread of smallpox. 

Science: We have started our space unit where we will be working to study and examine patterns that happen in space in reference to seasons, planets, stars, moons etc.  Students will be able to support an argument with evidence that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.  Students will be able to represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in the length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

SEL: This month's focus is on Perseverance. Students have been demonstrating their perseverance while completing their Passion Projects!

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out as necessary.

In partnership,

Sarah Silver