5th
Week Of October 26, 2015
My STAR for the week:
My WISH for the future:
Notes to the Teacher:
Name:_____________________________________________
Parent Signature:____________________________________
5th
Buzz Aldrin
Elementary School
Schaumburg, IL
October 26, 2015
Reading: Our skill of the week
The students are working on how to explain how an author
uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a
text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which
point. Students will identify two claims from one text,
support which claim is most relevant & identify author’s
attitude about topic.

Claim: A statement made by the author or a reader that is
stated as a fact, but can be argued.
o Evidence can be found in the text to support a
claim.
o Relevant: text evidence that is closely
related/connected to the claim
- Hands clasped together: 1 hand is the claim, 1
hand is the text evidence
o Sufficient: the claim that has the most amount of
relevant text evidence to support it
- Hands “measuring” height/size
At home, ask your child what the claims are and what he/she
thinks about the claims

A claim the author makes is…

A claim that I can make is…

_____ is a claim because…

The text evidence that supports this claim is…
A claim that the author makes is _____. This shows the author’s
bias/point of view is ____.
Enjoy a good book-read daily at least 20 minutes.
Writing:
Students edited an essay about a hero using the Trait
checklists. (Focus on pages 30-36 in Traits book)
Students can write a narrative using vivid, strong verbs.
(Focus on pages 61-67 in Traits book)
Students can write a narrative using well-built, fluent
sentences. (Focus on pages 72-75 in Traits book
Students can write a Halloween or autumn narrative
focusing on one topic. (Focus on pages 80-83 in Traits
book)
Science:
Kuczynski:
This week we started new science groups. I will be
meeting with Mrs. Leja’s class. We set norms and did
a Venn diagram with our table partners on what traits
we had in common and what makes a great science
team. We also explored the history of pumpkins and
how pumpkins grow. We did an experiment “Will a
large or small pumpkin float” using the scientific
method. We are off to a great start.
Leja:
Students began studying the different types and
forms of energy. We discussed potential, kinetic,
mechanical, chemical, nuclear, light, thermal and
electrical energy. Ask your child which type of energy
he/she presented in class.
Levin:
We started the week with a teambuilding activity with
our new science teams! We then built our
background knowledge on Earth's Atmosphere and
got a glimpse as to the different topics we will be
studying, which include water, the water cycle,
weather and climate.
Pike:
We began our unit titled "The Properties of
Matter." We explored our webpage where we can
find support, home work, and an online text. Ask
about elements, weight, mass, and volume. We
covered a lot of information this week.
Social Studies: All of the classes are working on the following:
Students are finishing up chapter 2. They can read and write a summary about the American Indians and
their environments. They read and experienced how American Indians adapt to their environment. They
wrote a concluding statement to support their inference about a Native American family. Lastly, they will
write an American Indian newspaper article instead of a written test.
5th
Math:
In chapter 3 we have been adding and subtracting decimals. We have been rounding and using a benchmark
to estimate. We are still working on place value with decimals and saying the number the correct way.
Advanced Math:
We continued to work with fractions this week. Besides division, we explored a few different ways to simplify
multiplication problems involving fractions. We discovered that estimation is a good strategy to use to double check the
accuracy of our answers.
Announcements:
Reminder: If you are missing your login information for
the Parent Portal to check grades or having problems
with logging in the math website, please contact our
Help Desk at 847-357-2100.
Happy Halloween and happy Autumn!
Upcoming Dates:
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10/27 Picture retake
10/28 – PTA Fun Food – Preordered
10/28 – 3rd and 4th Grade STEM night – 6:00 – 7:30
10/30 – Aldrin Halloween Party – Parade starts at 1:30
11/3 – Frost Junior High presentation to the 6th graders
11/4 – Hot Lunch Day – Preordered – Please note the
Vendor has changed. Specifics are in the Announcer.