What’s Happening in 5th- 2/12/21
Humanities:
First of all, we have been really enjoying getting to know the students. A mid-year transition to two new teachers (and one of which is located in Barcelona!) could have been difficult, but the kids have taken it in stride and welcomed us with open hearts and minds. We are really enjoying the connections we have been making, even if some are from afar and through a computer, and appreciate their warmth and flexibility.
In class, we have been reading the novel “Wonder” and discussing elements of the story such as character development, themes, and point of view. Students have been learning how to support their thinking about the book with evidence from the text. In Social Studies we spent a couple weeks looking at current events and practicing writing flash draft journalism articles based on our observations, taking note of the five W’s and using quotes to enhance our writing.
We are also just embarking upon our Argumentative Writing unit by first researching both sides of the hotly contested and emotionally charged issue of snow days! Students are using their evidence to form arguments that go beyond just their personal feelings and preferences, to one based in research and facts, incorporating statistics and quotes to enhance their arguments. We will progress from this topic into argumentative essays on a range of topics that they will choose from, researching for evidence, and crafting an argument that is supported with examples and facts. After we return from break, we look forward to delving into Ancient Egypt, learning about many different aspects of this amazing culture.
Shena and Milo
Hebrew:
Last month, the Fifth graders got to know the famous Israeli poet Rachel. They read the story of her life, learned new vocabulary and built their presentation about her by adding pictures and writing sentences to describe the slides. Each student presented to classmates during zoom class. Some students researched the first Israeli kibbutz, Dgania, where Rachel lived and worked, and shared their knowledge in class. As we learn life stories we also study the past tense of different groups of verbs in Hebrew. In the past weeks, students practiced verbs of ל”ה group of Hebrew verbs.
In addition, Snow and winter are a part of the current season and of the Hebrew curriculum. We learned the song “Sheleg” (snow), children took pictures outside with the snow and described them in Hebrew. Students loved to share their pictures and asked each other questions.
Yuliya
Hebrew Heritage:
להורים שלום,
בחודש האחרון עבדנו על היחידה ״ספורט אולימפי״, בחנו את הנושא מזוויות שונות ומתקופות שונות בהיסטוריה. הילדים נהנו לפתח את נושאי הדיון בכיתה ולהעלות שאלות רלוונטיות. במקביל לקריאת טקסטים קצרים, צפייה בסרטים ודיונים שנערכו בכיתה, עבדנו על העשרת אוצר המילים, כתיבת תשובות מלאות תוך שימוש בהקלדה בעברית על מחשב. השבוע התחלנו בפרויקט מסכם שבו נדרש מכל תלמיד לבחור 3 ספורטאים ישראלים ולכתוב על הישגייהם, האתגרים שניצבו בפניהם,
מאחלת לכולכם חופשה מהנה עם ילדיכם,
אילנה
Judaics:
We have continued the Joseph stories in our Chumash studies. Students have been talking a lot about “why do people do bad things” and “how to be an up stander, not a bystander”. Students have shared so many personal stories and ideas related to these topics in connection to our text. They just finished translating the dramatic scene of Joseph and the pit where his brother Reuven stands up for him. I have been very impressed with the student’s ability to translate more independently. We have worked hard on key grammar concepts and finding the roots of the words. I love when I join a breakout room and I hear them excitedly congratulating each other over understanding the full pasuk (sentence).
We also just finished our partnership with our friends at the Brooklyn Autism Center. Though we weren’t able to go in person this year, we had many virtual meetings as well as a continued Flipgrid penpal system. Students were very open and mature when processing this experience. We spoke about the idea of everyone being created “Bztelem Elohim” “in God’s image”, and how this can help us being caring and open to everyone around us. We also studied other rabbinic texts about helping and learning from others.
Tefillah: We just finished working on the Ashrei. Everyone submitted recordings of their progress in learning the prayer, took turns leading it in class, and created art to express what the prayer looks like and feels like to them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Laura
Math:
It has been so wonderful to be back in the classroom and online with the 5th and 6th graders! Getting to reconnect with the 6th grade and getting to know the 5th grade has been better than I could have imagined. The 5th and 6th grade have been working on a Budgeting project this week. Putting their decimal skills to real life use, the 5th graders were introduced to multiplying decimals and finding percentages while the 6th graders reviewed these skills.
Every student picked a career, chose a house, a car, and budgeted in their monthly savings. I really enjoyed hearing their feedback about wanting to buy the sports car but only being able to afford the scooter! 🙂 Over dinner, please engage with your children about their budget. You can ask them if anything surprised them about budgeting, or things they learned about budgeting. I love relating math to outside the classroom. I am looking forward to more real life projects after the February break.
Katie
Science
Over the last month, the 5th graders have finished their “Physics of Flight” unit and have moved into “Physics Part 2: Mass, Weight, and Density”. Most recently, they have used Explore Learning to virtually find the mass and weight of different objects on different planets to learn how gravity affects (and doesn’t affect) objects’ measurements. Then, they were able to learn how to use a real spring scale to measure weight and a real digital scale for mass. As they complete this lab after the break, they will learn the calculations used to find weight (mass x force of gravity = weight) and apply it to their lab. Mass and weight are confusing! Feel free to help your students by randomly quizzing them on this information below.
Measurement: Mass
Definition: The amount of matter in an object
Tool: Balance scale or digital scale
Unit of Measure: grams (g)
Measurement: Weight
Definition: The force of gravity on an object
Tool: Spring Scale
Unit of Measure: Newtons (N)
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