5th Grade Back to School Night An Average Day in Fifth Grade Morning • Homeroom for attendance and lunch count. • Math – New Saxon Curriculum • Then, rotating between Science, Reading/Language Block, and History. History and Science are 60 minute periods; the Reading/Language Block is a two hour period. • Lunch Afternoon • Specials • The afternoon rotation begins after Lunch and is the same as the morning rotation. • Homeroom for study hall for twenty minutes. • On Thursdays there is an earned extra recess in the afternoons for twenty minutes. Fifth Grade Daily Schedule 8:13-9:13: Period 1 Math 9:16-10:16: Period 2 10:19 -11:19: Period 3 11:21 – 11:31 – Study Hall 11:32-12:17: Period 4 Specials 12:20-1:05 : Period 5 Lunch 1:08-2:08: Period 6 2:11 – 3:11 – Period 7 3:12 - 3:31 - Study Hall 3:35 - Dismissal Specials in 5th Grade • Monday – Friday students will have one of the following specials − − − − Music Art P.E. Technology High Expectations in Fifth Grade Expectations We follow the AA Discipline Policy, in 5th Grade. An effort is made to involve parents very early in the process and, when necessary, the administration. Your student should be prepared with all materials to every class each day, including a charged computer. Your student should respect the hallways, their peers, teachers and all AA staff. Expectations in Fifth Grade Consequences If a child does not have their classroom materials, or does not have their computer charged, their name will be written on the board. If a student is disruptive in class their teacher will first give them a verbal warning. If it happens a second time their name is written on the board, unless it is already up there, in which case they get a check by their name. Each teacher tracks student behavior throughout the day. If a child has accrued their name on the board three times (this would include any checkmarks) by the end of their last class, they will stay in for lunch recess the following day. • During that time they will write you an e-mail that describes the reason for the consequence and a plan for improvement. • This email will act as a form of communication between you, the teacher, and the student, regarding your child. If a child misses recess two times in any given trimester, a parent teacher conference will be arranged with the 5th Grade team. If issues continue to escalate beyond that point, a formal write-up will be sent to Ms. Bostick. Homework • Homework is recorded daily by the student in each class using their planner. • Homework can be viewed on Infinite Campus the day it is assigned, along with any notes left by the teacher. – One day late is 10% off. – Second day late is 50% off. – On the third day, no credit is given. (This does not apply to absences.) How you can help your students complete work • Please encourage your student to e-mail us from their AA e-mail • Check Infinite Campus every day (We make time for students to do this each day) • Check their planner • Have a month long calendar available to fill in and post when the student can see it each day Asking for Homework in Advance • We do understand why homework is asked for in advance and we can appreciate that you are trying to ensure that your child does not fall behind. • However, 5th Grade will not be giving homework in advance for the following reasons: − Lesson plans frequently change due to any number of reasons and we end up not doing the lesson we gave your child for homework. Some examples of this include the need for lessons to either move faster or slower and technical issues with laptops which cause incomplete lessons for that day. − We have 107 students in 5th grade. On any given week there could be as many as 15 students asking for homework. Encourage Your Child to Self -Advocate In order to help your child have a successful transition between Elementary and Middle School, it is important that they learn to self-advocate. There are many reasons for this: • Developing a relationship with the teacher • Taking ownership for their questions, problems, or concerns • Developing a sense of empowerment knowing that they can work through their own issues at school with the help of the teacher Lunch With Your Child It is wonderful that you take the time to come in and have lunch with your child. We welcome this. Please limit the number of other students being invited to sit with you and your child to two other students. We ask that if you take them away from their class to sit with you and their friends, that you stay with them during their lunch time. Saxon Math • 80% of a student’s grades comes from tests and 20% comes from homework. • Timed daily tests are used to maintain math facts--one fact test is recorded each week. • Vocabulary quizzes are also given periodically. • The PDF versions of the student books are available online. Students can click on SITES in the blue bar of Office 365. Click on the box that says “Student Textbooks”. History with Mrs. Hernandez • Topics covered include: o The Renaissance o The Reformation o The Golden Age of England o Explorers o Mayan/Inca/Aztec civilizations o Feudal Japan • U.S. topics: − Pre Civil War Westward Expansion − the Civil War − Westward Expansion. • D.C. Trip— May 3rd-6th, 2015 History Grading • Assessments/Projects – 60% • Homework – 40% • How to study for tests: Quia One Note The Text Book Types of Technology Used in History • Quia will be used for many assessments, for unit reviews to prepare for tests, and for homework that checks comprehension of the History book. • One Note – used every day for various types of note taking and preparation for tests. • Technology in History might include use of the following applications: − − − − − Animated Power Point Go Animate Movie Maker Paint Timeline Science with Ms. Johnson • Our three units o Weather on Earth o Mixtures and Solutions o Living systems • NextGen Standards o Sun, Moon and Planets o The Human Body • STEM o Aero Space Engineering (September 7th- September 25th) o Magnetic Levitation Vehicles (January 4th- January 22nd) Science Grading • Assessments – 60% • Homework – 40% • Science Notebooks – Embedded Assessments – Focus Questions – Survey/Posttest Types of Technology Used in Science • Quia- is used for all of our assessments and will be used for homework later in the year • One Note – used every day for various types of note taking and preparation for quizzes and experiments − 90% of assignments will be turned in digitally • Email or graded in One Note Language Arts with Mrs. McFarlane and Ms. Swinney Core Knowledge Novels: – – – – – Tom Sawyer, Frederick Douglass, The Secret Garden, Don Quixote, Little Women Other Core Knowledge Literature: – A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Various poems including O Captain, My Captain and The Road Less Traveled – Myths, Legends, and Folktales Vocabulary – Students will receive various vocabulary words throughout each of their novels – Vocabulary quizzes will be given periodically to test their knowledge of needed vocabulary Language Arts with Mrs. McFarlane and Ms. Swinney Cont. Spelling − Spalding Spelling utilizes spelling rules within the English Language to help students identify how to spell unfamiliar words and improve oral fluency in reading. Hake Grammar: • Used for daily grammar and writing instruction • Textbooks found online at grammarclass.com Writing • Follows the Spalding scope and sequence paired with Step-Up Teaching methods. • Uses the Step-Up writing process of brainstorming, prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing • Graded using the 6 Traits of Writing Rubric − The full rubric may not always be used for every assignment Language Arts Grading Reading - 40% Writing/Grammar – 40% Spelling/Vocabulary – 20% Language Arts Technology • Quia − Vocabulary assessments − Comprehension quizzes • Students will be using their one–to–one computers for various in class assignments, homework, and projects including but not limited to: − Book Reports − Publishing Writing pieces − Research-based projects • One Note − Various activities including • Note Taking • Wax Museum Reading and Spelling with Ms. Adams • Core Knowledge Novels – – – – – – Tom Sawyer Frederick Douglass The Secret Garden Sherlock Holmes Little Women, Don Quixote We will use additional texts and incorporate other informative and informative-narrative selections into our reading. • We will be working on answering questions and written constructed responses. Strategies QAR (Question/Answer/Relationship) ACES Answer/Cite/Examine/Sum-Up We will use Spalding for spelling, and tests will be given several times throughout the school year. Writing with Ms. Adams Writing Programs Step Up to Writing 6Traits Spalding We will compose several genres of writing: narrative, expository, persuasive, informative and creative. We will use mentor texts and the writing process as we construct our writing pieces. Final drafts will be typed. Grammar Programs Spalding Hake DLI Grammar will be taught each day, but the focus will be on being able to transfer the skills to our writing.