Week 22 - February 22 - 26

Science - Science Fair is coming this week. Projects are due in school Thursday morning. Students can bring them in to the classroom earlier in the week if they are finished. This will give them an opportunity to present them to one another before setting them up for the school. I have been helping students who have asked for help and can continue to do that this week. Your child needs to come to me if he or she needs help finishing up the project.

Math - We will be continuing Unit 5 this week and next. We should be taking the end of unit assessment by the end of next week. In the next few weeks the fifth grade teachers will be doing intense work with the students on fraction word problems. The students have all taken a pre-assessment for their placement. It will be once a week for approximately 5 weeks. This is in addition to the regular math. We find that focusing on this with the students for a period of time helps them be more successful in this area which will help them in middle school.

Reading - We will be doing reading assessments in the next few weeks. Your child's reading teacher may have them complete a reading assessment to see the growth that has been made so far this year. We look forward to seeing the progress that the students have made and plan for the rest of the year. Please be sure that your child is reading every night. Even if you have not read the book, you can talk to your child about the book they are reading and ask questions. The following are some questions you can ask your child. *Look for Read-A-Thon information to come home this week.

Before your child reads a book, ask:

• Why did you select this book?
• What makes you think this book is going to be interesting?
• What do you think the book is going to be about?
• Does this book remind you of anything you've already read or seen?
• What kind of characters do you think will be in the book?
• What do you think is going to happen?

While your child is reading a book, try asking:

• Will you catch me up on the story? What's happened so far?
• What do you think will happen next?
• If you were that character, what would you have done differently in that situation?
• If the book was a TV show, which actors would you cast in it?
• Where is the book set?
• If the main character in that story lived next door, would you guys be friends?
• What does the place look like in your head as you read? Would you want to visit there?
• Did you learn any new words or facts so far?

After your child has finished a book, ask questions like:

• What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
• Who was your favorite character? Why?
• What was the most interesting thing you learned from the book?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
• Would you have ended the book differently? Did it end the way you thought it would?
• Did the problem of the book's plot get solved?
• If you could change one thing in the book, what would you change?