October Newsletter

I hope that everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather that we have been having. I hope October can be just as beautiful!!

The month of October is full of lots of exciting new things for us in Grade 5. Here is what we will be doing this month…

Language Arts
The students have had a blast with Centers during our Language Arts time. We will continue with Centers, changing our stations every 4 days. Students have done a wonderful job being responsible and getting their work done and handed in on time.

We are just starting Lesson 5 in Spelling. Students are continuing to pick their 7 spelling words from stories we are reading during Guided Reading. We will also have weeks where students choose their spelling words from their own work (T.W.A.S, past spelling sentences, creative writing). Students are reminded to write their words in their agendas to study.

The students have done a wonderful job with the Ideas trait of 6+1 Writing. We are beginning to work on adding details to our writing. We have some of our most recent writing displayed in the hallway so stop by during Family Fun Night and enjoy!! We will continue with the Ideas trait throughout the month of October.

Students will continue T.W.A.S. as well. This allows for the students to share with you what they are doing every week. This also allows for us to practice proper paragraph structure and letter writing. Please remember to look for these letters every Friday!

Independent Reading – Mrs. Lippai
We are off to a great start in Independent Reading! During the past month students have practiced how to pick the right book using the 5 finger rule and an awareness of their interests. As well, students have learned to recognize and use a variety of strategies to help them pause and clarify while they read so that they can make better sense of their text. We have recently identified and discussed fiction and non-fiction texts, along with narrative and expository pieces of writing. Within these we have learned to identify a variety of text features (title, table of contents, index, glossary, diagrams, maps, timelines, etc…) to help us easily find our way around a book and gain information quickly and easily. Students alternate our lessons together with a chance to read their book on their own every other day. Ask your child what he/she has learned in Independent Reading!

Math
Congratulations to all of the students for doing such a wonderful job on the last unit, Patterns and Equations!!

We will be working on our Whole Numbers unit for the month of October. In this unit, students will work on recognizing and reading numbers to 1 000 000. We will be writing numbers in standard and expanded forms. Working with place value and manipulatives will also be a major focus for this unit. Students will be working with estimation strategies for sums and differences as well.

I will be constantly adding math links to my blog. Please encourage the students to practice their math skills using these links.

We will also be continuing with our Problem Solving skills. Students will be working with the Making an Organized List strategy. We will work as a whole group, then partners, and finally individually.

Science
We will continue with our Weather unit during the month of October. The students will continue to work on their weather stations with their partners. We will also look at types of clouds, the water cycle, adapting to weather, and climate.

Social
We are currently wrapping up our Location unit. The final project for this unit will have students design their own island using the different landforms that we have looked at.

Our next unit, Canadian Symbols, will focus on the many different symbols of Canada, as well its provinces and territories.

Phys. Ed./ Health – Mr. Leidl
The Grade 5’s will shift from sending/ receiving skills to work on striking and movement patterns. Fitness planning, strength training, and flexibility skills are ongoing. Students will continue to work on strategies to improve their fitness and wellness. Students will begin to examine how nutrition plays an important part in the maintenance, growth, and development of the human body.

Art – Mrs. Schentag
During the month of September, students have been working in the Music Strand, learning about musical instrument families, creating their own musical instruments and listening to different types of music genres. Mrs Hearn, the band teacher from the High School, will visit our class to share her expertise and allow the students to try a few intruments out. Should be fun!

In October, we plan to conclude our Music unit by playing musical games and participating in rhythm activities.

As well, we will begin a new unit of work concentrating on the Drama Strand. It is entitled The World of Drama and the topic will be Clowns Around the World.

Students will have the opportunity to learn a few drama techniques such as mirroring and improvisation while getting into clown characters. They will even have the opportunity to present a clown performance for an audience of sick children (another class assuming this role). This is always a fun unit of work and I look forward to working with the students in order to enhance their dramatic skills and interests.

French – Mrs. Orosz
Students are learning basic communication in French, in a new and enjoyable way. Vocabulary is introduced with gestures, which assists students with comprehension and expression. Students have reviewed and extended known vocabulary and gestures, and are learning some more. We are beginning a new play called: L’ Arbre Ungali.

It is very important for students to observe and listen carefully and to participate in all pronunciation, action and other activities.