January Update

What a month!  I'm sure that with five snow days since the beginning of January, we have set some records!  Even with all the crazy weather, we still have been busy since coming back from Christmas break.

We took two field trips this month.  First, we visited Sheldon Concert Hall and saw an amazing jazz performance.  Most of the kids were tapping their feet along with the music!  Last week, we went to Busch Stadium to participate in the CAP program.  This program provides students with opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to real life situations.  I think we all had fun, especially since we got to explore different parts of Busch Stadium.  They were going to take us out to the dugout, but unfortunately there was too much ice and snow.

Another exciting part of 5th grade is DARE!  Officer Ed is scheduled to start his DARE lessons this week.

In writing, we are finishing up our second set of informational writing.  Students worked hard adding text features and thought provoking introductions and conclusions to their writing.  Most are publishing their writing now, while a few students are finishing up their drafts.  Our next writing unit will involve writing memoirs.

In reading, we have been studying cause and effect relationships in fiction and non-fiction.  Next we will be reviewing different key story elements, such as: character, setting, problem, and solution.

In math, we have been learning geometry.  There is a lot of vocabulary in geometry, but the students seem to like that there isn't much calculating so far.  We are covering topics such as: lines, angles, symmetry, polygons, congruency, triangles, quadrilaterals, and more.

PRISM projects seem to be coming along well!  Please make sure to check your child's PRISM book to see that they are meeting each due date.  The next due date is Friday, January 31st.  The students need to have completed multiple trials of their experiment.  In their book, they should make a chart and a graph to show their results.  Hopefully PRISM boxes will start coming home this week.  If you have any questions about the project, please let me know.

In science class, we have been studying the classification of living things.  We focused on vertebrates and invertebrates last week, and we even made a model backbone with pasta, gummy candy, and pipe cleaners!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that February will bring us warmer weather!  I know the kids are ready for some outdoor recess!