Week of August 26

MATH 

Both 4th and 5th graders will receive their GoMath Student Editions and Practice Pages/Workbook this week. We will demonstrate logging on to the online digital support feature of the product. See link in the "MATH WEBSITES" tab above.

Fourth Grade Math

Students will finish up the prerequisite Math skills assessment students began Friday.  Next we begin Chapter 1: Place Value and Operations with Whole numbers.  This week we complete lessons 1 - 3 which focus on Place Value, Reading & Writing numbers in different forms and Comparing numbers. There will be a graded homework assignment.   

Fifth Grade Math 

Students will also finish up the prerequisite Math skills assessment students began Friday.  Next we begin Chapter 1: Place Value, Multiplication and Expressions. Lessons 1 -3 will focus on Patterns & Place Value of whole numbers, and using Properties such as the Distributive property to solve problems. There will be homework with each lesson, including one graded homework assignment. 

Math Help - Office Hours 

Beginning in September

Tuesday and Friday:  7:15am - 7:45

4th Grade Mondays:  2:25 - 3:15 

5th Grade Wednesdays: 2:25 - 3:15

SCIENCE

Fourth Grade 

Students begin the week testing their hypothesis and collecting data as they float the wide and narrow boats they constructed las week.  Next, the 4th graders enter the Physical science unit.  They will begin to study matter, mass and the properties of matter.

Fifth Grade 

Students continue exploring the different layers of the earth by constructing clay models of the earth. Fifth graders compare and contrast the crust, mantle and core. They also discover the overlapping layers of the atmosphere.  A Multiple Choice Quiz will be given on Friday. 

Reading, Spelling & Vocab Highlights

Reading: Students will begin using Storytown text. Lesson 1,  is a Realistic

            Fiction selection, entitled Rope Burn. We will explore Story Structure of

            Setting, Characters, Plot & Resolution as a comprehension strategy,

            along with 6 new vocabulary words.   

            Students will also compare this selection to an article about tree    

            houses. There will be a Comprehension Test on Friday.  

Spelling:  Lesson 1 begins this week. Mrs. Hall's students will correct their

           workbooks on Thursdays.  Mrs. Stillo's students will corect workbooks on

           Fridays. The workbooks should be written in cursive. The Spelling Test

           will be on Friday. Additionally, fifth graders should write their 20 spelling

           words 5x each in cursive (due Friday). The bonus words are treated as

           extra points on the Test. Students can also earn another 3 points extra

           credit for turning in a signed pretest given by their parents.  Students 

           have a "Spelling Expectations" card taped inside their workbook. 

Vocabulary:  Unit 1 Vocabulary in Blue Workbook is due on Friday. The first 

           Vocabulary Test will be given Tuesday, September 3rd. 

 Religion

Students will continue with locating Readings in the Bible.  They will construct Liturgical Year Calendars and discover the feasts and celebrations associated with each season of the year. Students will write about a sample of the Readings that relate to each Liturgical season, feast and/or holiday. 

Other Fifth Grade News

Fifth graders were given a demonstration of instruments available to them  should they join the St. Joseph Band. Scholastic Book order forms went home on Friday. Online ordering is now available.   

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email Mrs. Hall at dhall@stjosephdg.org, or, Mrs. Stillo at dstillo@stjosephdg.org.

Welcome 5th Graders - Week of August 19

Mrs. Stillo and Mrs. Hall are looking forward to 

Getting to Know our New 5th Graders better! 

On Monday, we will stay in our own classrooms organizing our supplies, getting to know each other better, discussing changes, and preparing for the school year ahead of us.  On Tuesday, we will switch classes and dive into our respective units. Activities on Monday include: Time-capsules, Design a Tshirt (paper), Community Building, and Learning Style Questionnaires. 

MATH 

This year in 4th & 5th Grade we are fortunate to pilot GOMATH!, a new Math Text Aligned with Common Core Standards.  It features an online student edition and additional online support features. Students will receive login information this week to keep in their Math binders. A link to the online support is found in the "MATH WEBSITES" tab on the top left of this blog. 

Fourth Grade Math

On Tuesday, we will discuss expectations and review a typical week in Math class. Students will begin a review of key concepts acquired in third grade math.  They receive a packet to be worked on in class and finished at home, due Thursday ("homework completion points").  On Friday, students will work on problems assessing the prerequisite Math skills found in the Common Core Standards.  This will provide an idea of which skills we need may need to review as we progress. 

Fifth Grade Math 

On Tuesday, we will discuss expectations and review a typical week in Math class. Students will begin a review of key concepts acquired in fourth grade math.  They receive a packet to be worked on in class and finished at home, due Thursday ("homework completion points").   On Friday, students will work on problems assessing the prerequisite Math skills found in the Common Core.  

This will provide an idea of which skills we need may need to review as we progress.

Math Help - Office Hours 

Beginning in September

Tuesday and Friday:  7:15am - 7:45

4th Grade Mondays:  2:25 - 3:15 

5th Grade Wednesdays: 2:25 - 3:15

SCIENCE

Fourth Grade 

Fourth Graders begin the year recalling and utilizing the steps for science inquiry. Students will follow the steps as the create narrow-bottom and wide-bottom clay  boats. 

Fifth Grade 

Fifty Graders will recall steps for Science Inquiry and the Scientific Method while working with water, sand and thermometers.  We will also discover ways the Earth changes and explore the layers of Earth while creating clay models. 

Reading, Spelling & Vocab Highlights

Reading: Students will explore all areas of reading through: analogy packets 

            that focus on vocabulary; reading comprehension packets; writing 

            responses to prompts from reading comprehension packets; reading 

            aloud one-on-one with the teacher; and, independent reading 

            activities. The Reading Comprehension Packet including the written 

            response is due on Friday. 

Spelling: We discuss expectations for Spelling Lessons. We begin Lesson 1 the

             week of August 26th.               

Vocabulary:  We discuss expectations for Vocabulary.  Each Unit in Vocabulary 

            covers a two-week time span. Week 1 includes introducing the words

            and creating index card definitions which will be due on Friday.  Week 

            2 includes workbook completion due on Friday.  Vocabulary Tests will 

            occur on the Monday following workbook corrections.  The Schedule for

            Unit 1 is:  Vocab Cards due Friday, August 23.  Vocab Workbook is

            due Friday, August 30. 

 Religion

Students will construct Liturgical Year Calendars and discover the feasts and celebrations associated with each season of the year.  Students will also develop ability to locate Readings in the Bible. Students will discuss Readings associated with each season. 

Other Fifth Grade News

Gym Uniforms Sent Home for Labeling on Monday.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email Mrs. Hall at dhall@stjosephdg.org, or, Mrs. Stillo at dstillo@stjosephdg.org.

Looking Ahead To A New School Year

While we hope you continue to enjoy summer break, 

      we want to welcome our students to Fifth Grade! 

Although we can't top the excitement generated from the Chicago Blackhawks WINNING the Stanley Cup, we want to share some exciting changes to this new school year! 

• Two new students will join St. Joseph School in Fifth Grade

• We will learn Spanish one day a week

• 4th & 5th Graders will use new Math books following Common Core Standards

                    Math Student Editions and Activities will also be available online

• Both 5th Grade Classrooms now have Interactive Whiteboards 

Looking forward to getting to know all of you better in Fifth Grade!

               Mrs. Stillo     &    Mrs. Hall