Week of September 18th

This week in 5^th grade:

On Monday, 9/18 students will take the NWEA Reading assessment.  

Reading Workshop-We have been noticing the ways in which authors tell a story what they do to tell a story well.  This works supports beginning of year routines in Writing Workshop as well.

Math-We will continue to learn more about area and volume this.  Last week, your child engaged in a mathematical discussion around problem solving.  The students ideas, willingness to share them,  and ability to express themselves clearly was quite impressive!

Sharing the Planet- We have been finding out more about natural resources and how they are related to the geography and geology of a place.  This week will begin to look more closely at water resources and how water use affects our Earth and its people.

Writing Workshop- We are establishing routines for our writing workshop time.  Each Writing Workshop begins with a mini-lesson on a topic relevant to our current writing unit.  Students then have time to work on their own piece of writing while conferring with myself and possibly another student.  We then gather to share our work at the end of the workshop time.

Friday, September 22- 5th Grade Leadership Day 

Please return Camp Storer pledge forms and health forms ASAP!

Week of September 11th

Greetings students and families,
I'm looking forward to our work together this week and wanted to share our learning plan.

During Reading Workshop we will focus on "Thinking and Talking About Your Reading"  We will inquire into:
- setting
- characters
- interpreting the author's message
- the ways in which authors share their message with readers

In Mathematics we follow the Everyday Math curriculum. Our work this week will focus on:
- Understanding the Student Reference Book
- Area of Rectangles
- Using Quilts to Problem Solve Area

Sharing the Planet
- What is a natural resource?
- reading and using resource maps
- noticing features of non-fiction text that teach about natural resources

Dates to Remember!
Tuesday, September 12: Curriculum Night and Camp Meeting
      Please join the 5th grade team in the Library at 5:30 to learn more about our upcoming trip to Camp Storer.  You will receive information about what you and your child can expect from the camp experience as well as ways you can support our 5th grade students as we work to raise money, plan for parent volunteers, and get ready for a great camp experience!
     Our camp meeting will be followed by Curriculum Night, 6pm-8pm.

Knowledegable Thinkers!

I

     In just 4 short days, we have engaged in a significant amount of community building and thinking!  I am so impressed with this group of students and can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!  We made plans for our classroom community, shared lots of good books and thinking about reading, inquired into the IB Learner Profile as well as the central idea for our first unit of inquiry, Sharing the Planet, and ended the week developing our hopes and dreams for our year together!

International Baccalaureate and the Primary Years Program

Greetings Fifth Grade Families,
     As many of you know Mitchell teachers, students, and staff have been on a journey over the last 3 years developing units of teaching and learning based on the IB curriculum and our state standards.  The work has been both exciting and challenging and I am proud to be able to say that Mitchell is a fully authorized IB World School!  We'll talk more about what IB looks like in the classroom, but I'd like to share a brief overview to help you better understand the work your child will be doing in 5th grade this year.

"The IB aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect." This idea is represented by the above image. 

Starting in the outer circle, the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) aims to develop international-mindedness in young people.  Our curriculum is based on six transdisciplinary themes:
- Sharing the Planet
- Who We Are
- Where We Are in Place and Time
- How We Express Ourselves
- How We Organize Ourselves
- How the World Works

These units are written based on the Michigan Common Core, Science, and Social Studies Standards.  They are transdisciplinary, meaning our classroom inquiry weaves together the work across all subject areas, reading, writing, science, social studies, arts, physical education, and some math.

Over the first few weeks of school we will be working together in the classroom to inquire into the Essential Elements of IB and how that will shape our work this year.  In particular we will work to better understand the IB Learner Profile. 

Inquiry based teaching and learning creates deeper understandings for children as they learn to view the world in a variety of ways.  It's authentic and based on better understanding the real world.   It's exciting and fluid, based on meeting children at their current level of understanding while help them learn to question the world around them.  I can't wait to share this inquiry-based teaching and learning with the students and families in 5th grade this year!