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Our Week in 5th Grade! 11-1-19

Ah, a full week! It feels so great to get so much learning accomplished! Read on to find out what your fifth grader was up to this week…

Advisory: 

Over the past two weeks in advisory, the students have completed a series of activities that involve following directions closely and attentively. One activity asked the students to follow a series of verbal directions and another gave written directions. We asked the students which one they found easier to follow and discussed the different types of learning styles; visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The class was then given a “directions test.” Ask your fifth grade if they passed or failed!

 

This Thursday, the advisory classes did a fun activity called “See, Run, Build!” that relies on excellent team work and communication.

 

Judaics:

Hannah Senesh believed that everyone should have something to believe in. What do you believe in? Your children have been thinking about this question all week as we learn about the life of Hannah Senesh and how her beliefs helped motivate her to persevere through challenging times. We watched the movie and wrote short essays about our own beliefs and how Hannah Senesh’s life impacts us. We also have been starting our Chumash unit. We began working on translation skills as well as how to work kindly with our chevruta. On Thursdays we started on Thursday journaling tradition where we journal on a topic connected to the text. This week we looked at what it feels like to “settle Vayeshev” somewhere. We also had a wonderful Rosh Chodesh celebration in the classroom where we all read the first aliyah together.
Math: 
Last week, the 5th grade learned and practiced multiplying and dividing by 2-digit numbers. We made sure to keep our work neat and organized to avoid careless errors. This week, the 5th grade has been learning about the order of operations! Like baking a cake, they learned how important it is to follow the correct steps when solving math problems. This is the last lesson of Chapter 2, and they will be tested on Chapter 2 at the end of next week. 
Humanities: 
In Social Studies, we are moving along with our study of ancient civilizations. We looked at how the geographical challenges in Mesopotamia led to the creation of city-states. If you are looking for some great dinnertime conversation, ask your fifth grader about the four major challenges the people of Sumer faced and how they solved them. After studying the formation of city-states, we spent this week answering the question “Do artifacts from Sumer show evidence that Sumer should be classified as a civilization?” The classes studied the seven elements necessary to be considered a civilization and then looked at several artifacts to determine if Sumer met those qualifications.
During reading, we continued our novel study of Wonder. Over the course of our reading, we have tracked traits of the major characters and just when we thought we knew what to expect from a certain character, their actions changed on us! Ask your fifth grader if their perception of Jack Will changed after this week’s reading.
In writing, we are moving forward with our personal narratives. The students have solidified a topic, written an introductory paragraph and are now working on their body paragraphs. This week, the students used a story map to plan the trajectory of their writing.
Hebrew:
During the past two weeks as part of Jewish traditions unit we have been learning Ushpizin. The students spoke and wrote about seven virtual guests in Sukkah, about their life and we spoke about why they are considered heroes. The student learns new words and expressions. Additionally, the past tense was introduced in a systematic way as student get used to writing about events that have already happened.