2015
December
Grade 5 News
Curriculum Overview
Language Arts
During the month of December,
students will continue to
deepen their skills of selecting
and reading historical fiction.
When reading historical fiction,
students are asked to reflect
upon how the setting and
characters influence the story.
Please encourage the students
however, to continue to select
high interest non-fiction titles
to read as well. We suggest
talking with them about their
historical fiction selections and
challenge them to pair that
interest with a nonfiction title
that supplements their interest
in a specific time period or
historical event. For example,
in class we read Star of Fear,
Star of Hope about pre WW II
France where Jews were being
forced to wear yellow stars and
were taken from their homes.
We then suggested the
nonfiction Anne Frank and the
Diary of Anne Frank.
Our reading workshops
continue to focus on getting
students to read faster,
smoother, and with absorption.
Students have been
conferencing individually and in
groups about specific reading
skills taught and then practiced
during independent daily
reading in class and at home.
Students are also building skills
in what is called “close reading”
by re-reading complex passages,
annotating main ideas and key
details, and practicing
summarizing in “chunks.”
We are the class of 2023
inspiration in books and real-life
experiences.
Math
You can best support your child
by asking them about what they
are reading, why they chose
their books, and what are they
thinking when they read.
Be sure to check in with your
child to see the progress on
their daily/weekly reading logs.
Suggest they compare what
genres they are reading and
how their times and page
counts may differ depending
upon genre and interest level.
This will help support their
independence as readers by
encouraging them to make
good choices that will promote
reading growth.
Students will be taking the
Winter MAPS reading
assessment in early December.
This month we will be exploring
division as we find wholenumber quotients of whole
numbers with up to four-digit
dividends and two-digit divisors.
We will be using strategies
based on place value, the
properties of operations, and/or
the relationship between
multiplication and division.
Students will illustrate and
explain the calculation by using
equations, rectangular arrays,
and/or area models.
Science
In the month of December we
will be exploring the
interactions of matter and
energy and the changes that
occur.
We will:
1. Review the states of matter.
Vocabulary, grammar, and word
work continue to be part of our
daily literacy instruction.
Writing instruction this month
continues to include answering
questions about both fiction
and non-fiction reading
passages and articles and
defending answers with text
references. Students will also
explore how writers find
2. Compare the weight of an
object to the sum of the weight
of its parts before and after an
interaction.
3. Summarize properties of
original materials, and the new
material(s) formed, to
demonstrate that a change has
occurred.
2015
December
Grade 5 News
Health
We are the class of 2023
meeting will be held
Thursday, January 7th
at 6:00 pm, in the
cafeteria.
This month we will explore
Interpersonal communication
and relationships, as well as
mental and emotional health.
We continue to discuss healthy
eating, sleeping, and activity
habits as well.
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Social Studies
During December students will
learn about the events leading
to the Revolutionary War and
the formation of our
government.
Support and Special
Area News
EC
Washington, D.C. Field
Trip Update!!!!
We can’t believe the time for
our trip is almost here!
Just a few reminders:
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Winter break will be here
before we know it! It is
important to do things with
your kids during this time to
continue to learn, build
vocabulary, and keep the brain
working. You don't want to fall
into a winter break slump. Stay
active and engaged during the
winter break with these tips:

The balances will be
due by December 15th
by 8:30 a.m.
No cash or personal
checks are able to be
accepted. Money
orders, certified
checks, or online
payments are
acceptable forms of
payment.
A mandatory
parent/student
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Visit local
museums, zoos,
or aquariums The Mint
Museum has free
nights to check
out!
Give back Volunteer at a
local charity or
church group as a
family.
Create a
schedule or catch
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up on
schoolwork that
has not been
completed in
order to get back
to school
organized and
ready to learn.
Cook - Measuring
ingredients in
recipes can help
with math skills,
following
directions. It
is fun that
comes with a
reward at the
end! You could
even learn about
other cultures
through food.
Create a craft or
artwork - This
can inspire
creativity,
following
directions, and
problem solving.
If you create a
card to give
to soldiers, you
are also
practicing
handwriting skills
while making
someone's
holiday season
special.
Take a class There are lots of
classes for
painting,
cooking,
pottery, and
other things in
the area that can
2015
December
Grade 5 News
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be fun to do as a
family. Some big
box stores even
offer free classes
to build
something with
your kids over a
weekend.
Read books Read with your
children, and ask
them various
questions as you
read to build
language skills,
vocabulary, and
reading
comprehension.
Take a short trip
to a new place Experience new
sights and
sounds by visiting
somewhere new.
This will open up
lots of learning
potential.
Reading maps,
asking questions,
meeting people,
exploring,
measuring
distances, and so
on.
Keep a journal Write a journal
with your
children during
your break. This
will help them
remember all the
fun things you
did as a family
over the break. It
will keep
their written
expression skills
sharp, too.
Upcoming Events
11/30-12/11 Interim Testing
12/3
Terrific Kids Ceremony
8:15
Mid-quarter progress
reports distributed
12/7
5th Grade Math Night.
6 – 7 p.m.
12/16
8th Grade Mint Hill
Middle School Band
Performance 10:30
12/15- DC Balances due
12/17
Winter Celebration
1:45-2:30
12/21-1/4/16
Winter Break
No School!
01/07
Mandatory DC Meeting
6pm in the cafeteria
We are the class of 2023