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 = September 22, 2008 = Welcome to Fifth Grade! This letter outlines what will be happening in our class during the 2008-2009 school year. If at any time you have a question or a concern, please let me know. My phone number at school is **610-346-7582 ext. 6205. **This is only a voice mail system while school is in session. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can either after school that day or before school the following day. You may also reach me by e-mail: cwagner@palisadessd.org Again, I will try to respond in a timely fashion. **__ Responsive Classroom __** – This part of our class curriculum is to help create a climate and tone of warmth and safety, teach schedule and routines with expectations for behavior, care of classroom materials, and establish expectations about how we will learn together. We will be focus on Morning Meeting, Guided Discovery, and Academic Choice. **__ Science __** – The units of study for the fifth grade are Life Sciences (Microworlds), Earth Science (Landforms), and General Science (Solar Energy). These units of study will be for half a report period and will be mostly hands-on activities. If you have any expertise or knowledge in any of these areas, I invite you to share this with the class in some form. **__ Social Studies __** – Our fifth grade curriculum uses the Nystrom series, __Our Country’s History__. We will be covering the following units of study: //Three Worlds Meet (1400-1682); Colonial America (1600-1776); A New Nation (1763-1810. // These units of study will be for half a report period using maps, globes, atlases, and trade books.   **__ Math __** – The fifth grade curriculum is built upon the fourth grade using the Everyday Mathematics program. The following units of study are covered for the year: //Number Theory; Estimation and Computation; Geometry Explorations; Division; Fractions, Decimals, and Percents; Using Data, Addition and Subtraction of Fractions; Exponents and Negative Numbers; Fractions and Ratios; Coordinates Area, Volume, and Capacity; Algebra Concepts; Volume; Probability, Ratios, and Rates//.    **//__ Spelling __//** – The Palisades School District requires a list of 500 spelling words to be mastered by all fifth graders before they enter the middle school program. These words have been part of the spelling program since the first grade and ending in fourth. Additionally, students will be given a new list of words at the beginning of each six-day cycle focusing on a particular sound(s). **__ Writing __** – We will be writing in some form every single day. Students will be required to write responses in science, social studies, math, and reading. Creative writing will be taught focusing on the personal narrative. Other genres of writing will be touched upon as the year progresses. We will use an English text that will support the conventions in our writing. **__ Reading __** – We will be focusing on the following areas in reading of fiction and non-fiction texts: //vocabulary; word recognition skills; making inferences and drawing conclusions based on information from the text; main ideas and relevant details; summarizing; identifying genre; understanding components of fictional (character, setting, plot, and theme) and non-fictional text (headings, graphics, charts, sequence of steps, compare/contrast, question/answer, cause/effect); making connections between texts; figurative language; fact from opinion in non-fiction; and point of view// We will be learning these areas through the use of Literature Circles, read alouds, S.R.A. (independent reading kit), classroom basal reader, and independent reading time in the classroom. Students are required to read 25 (twenty-five) books by the end of fifth grade. This averages out to roughly 6-7 books per report period. To help achieve this goal students are required to read independently for 30 (thirty) minutes each evening. **__ Grades __** – The following can be used as a general guide for how grades are earned by the students: **//Reading//** – vocabulary tests, exercise B paper, response journals, Literature Circle packets and S.R.A., book projects **//Writing//** – published pieces, English book assignments, quizzes **//Spelling//** – sentences, tests **//Math//** – quizzes, tests **//Science//** – completion of daily work, projects **//Social Studies//** – completion of daily work, projects **__ Homework __** – Assignment books were given to the students on the first day of school. They are expected to fill this out daily. Homework is to be completed and returned the next day. There is no grade given for homework, but some assignments are graded for some subjects. Incomplete assignments are done at recess time.