Sunday, February 23, 2014

Week of February 24

5th graders will participate in the Adopt-a-Pilot program.  Pilot Sparke from Southwest Airlines will visit on Mondays at 10am over the next 4 weeks to discuss how Science and Math are involved in his career!

MATH 

Fourth Grade Math
We begin Chapter 7, Adding & Subtracting Fractions with Like Denominators. We will use models to understand the concept, then progress to fraction addition and subtraction and problem solving. Simplifying fractions, learned in Chapter 6, will be very important in this chapter. Friday's Quiz will cover Lessons 1-5.  
Reminders:  
      The GoMath online activities offer good ways to practice the Math skills we have learned or will learn. Students have the login information. You can access the website from the Math Websites Tab above. For fraction skills covered in Chapter 7, logon to GoMath activities  "Carmen San Diego Animated Math Models" Grade 4 icon (skills 27 - 32) and Mega Math Fraction Action. 
      Students should practice Multiplication and Division basic facts frequently with worksheets, flashcards or websites.  You can print your own worksheets from Math-drills.com, play online games (see Math Websites Tab above), or borrow some "Holey Cards" from Mrs. Hall.

Fifth Grade Math 
On Monday, 5th graders will review Chapter 6, Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Denominators, and take the test on Tuesday, February 25. Chapter 9, Algebra & Graphing, will be the next chapter we cover and we will continue to practice and strengthen our fraction skills.  We will go back to  Chapters 7 & 8, Multiplying and Dividing fractions, after we complete Chapter 9.   
Reminders:  
       The GoMath online activities offer good ways to practice the Math skills we have learned or will learn. Students have the login information. To prepare for Chapter 6 Test, students should login to the GoMath Carmen San Diego Animated Math Models for Skills 24-26, and Mega Math "Fraction Action". Chapter 9 concepts are shown in Skills 30-32.  
       Multiplication facts are very important for Fraction skills. Students should practice these skills frequently with worksheets, flashcards or websites.  You can print your own worksheets from Math-drills.com (website listed in Tab above).

Math Help - Office Hours 
Tuesday and Thursday (4th & 5th):  7:15am - 7:45
4th Grade Monday:  2:25 - 3:15 
5th Grade Wednesday: 2:25 - 3:15

SCIENCE 

Fourth Grade 

4th graders are reviewing Chapter 4, "Light and Sound" for a Chapter test on Thursday.  We will be learning about clouds and the water cycle for a Diocesan Assessment.  

Fifth Grade 

5th graders are working on Lesson 1 in Life Science. They will be comparing and contrasting the parts of an animal and plant cell.  We should be ready for a quiz on Lesson 1 on Wednesday, February 26th.

Reading, Spelling & Vocab Highlights
              
Reading: Storytown Lesson 16: "School Story" 
             Genre: Realistic Fiction
             Comprehension Skills: Making Inferences
             Comprehension & Vocabulary Test: Friday     
          
Spelling: Lesson 25 (skipping Review Lesson 24 at this time) 
             Mrs. Hall's class: Workbooks due on Thursday. 
             Mrs. Stillo's class: Workbooks due on Friday.
             Test and 5x each assignment on Friday.
                  
Vocabulary:  Unit 12 Test Monday, February 24th.
             Unit 13 Cards due Friday, February 28th.
              

Religion

We all enjoyed the Field Trip to St. Raymond's Cathedral. Students are writing paragraphs on what they found interesting and what they learned from the trip. This week we will also wrap up Chapter 6, Doing Good, as we discuss living a moral life through the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice. We anticipate an open book assessment on Friday. 

Social Studies & Language Arts
                     Click to see ---> Social Studies & Language Arts Blog 

Other Fifth Grade News 
Cathedral Days Field Trip - Wednesday, February 19th
Students need to wear their full school uniform. We will look at the possibility of extending the gym shoe privilege into next week for those with wrist bands. 

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.