Reading:  Reading, English and Writing Skills will be taught through the “Open Court” series by SRA and other literature selections.  This is an intense program, so at times you may find your child bringing home extra work.  Reading to your child is appropriate at any age. Reading newspapers, magazines, works of fiction and nonfiction to them or with them is excellent practice for everyone. The students are expected to read for at least an hour and fifteen minutes and do one Reading Log Activity.

Open Court Reading Strategies

To help your child build better comprehension skills we will be using
7 different reading strategies. You can help your child at home by becoming familiar with the strategies below and using them nightly when your child is reading.

1. Making Connections – Good readers make connections between what they are reading and what they already know from past experience or previous reading.
2. Visualize – Good readers visualize what is happening in the text.  They form mental images as they read.  They picture the setting, the characters and the action in the story.
3. Asking Questions – Good readers ask questions that may prepare them for what they will learn.
4. Predict – Good readers predict what will happen next.  When reading fiction, they make predictions about what they are reading and then confirm or revise those predictions.
5. Monitoring and Clarifying – Good readers monitor themselves as they read in order to make sure they understand what they are reading. They note the characteristics of the text, such as whether it is difficult to read or whether some sections are more challenging or more important than others are. They also become aware that they do not understand, and they take appropriate action, such as rereading in order to understand the text better.
6. Monitoring and Adjusting Reading Speed – Good readers understand that not all text is equal.  Because of this, good readers continuously monitor what they are reading and adjust their speed accordingly.
7. Summarizing – Good readers sum up to check their understanding as they read.  Sometimes they reread to fill in the gaps in their understanding.  Good readers use this strategy to keep track of what they are reading and to focus their mind on important information.

Writing:  All the students have Writer’s Notebooks that they will be working in this year on a daily basis in the classroom. They are also required to write at least three nights a week in their notebooks.   Their notebooks are to be turned in on the day that they have been assigned. You should have read and signed the paper attached to the inside cover of your child’s Writer’s Notebook. Each week the Writer’s Notebook is worth 40 points. They should only be using the front side of each page going from the front to the back.  We will be working backwards in the notebook covering grammar, spelling, and punctuation ideas.  Their Writer’s Notebooks will be springboards for the students to create published pieces of writing.

In addition to the Writer’s Notebooks, we will be covering how to create multiple-paragraph narrative compositions which establish and develop a situation or plot, describe the setting, and present an ending. We will also cover creating multiple-paragraph expository compositions which establish a topic, important ideas, or events in sequence or chronological order, provide details and transitional expressions that link one paragraph to another in a clear line of thought, and offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes important ideas and details

Spelling:  Spelling is part of the “Open Court” Language Arts program. Each Monday, the students will receive twenty-five words from which to study for a test on Friday.  Five of the words will be “bonus words” which will also be their vocabulary words for the week.  The weekly spelling test will also consist of 5 dictated sentences worth 5 points each.  These sentences will include spelling words from the weekly spelling list, previous spelling words, and grammar and punctuation concepts that have been taught in class.

Mathematics

Fremont Unified has adopted the math curriculum entitled Harcourt Math.  It was developed to meet the goals and Standards of the California Mathematics Framework.  The instructional materials and resources are aligned with the Standards for each grade level.   This year, the students will be working from a book that is not consumable.  Students will usually bring home a worksheet or assignment for homework from the math textbook that reinforces the math lesson or concepts taught that day. It is important that your child brings his/her textbook and completed homework to school with them each day. The Harcourt Curriculum is organized so that the family members are encouraged to assist in the learning. You can find more information about the curriculum and more activities to help your child at www.harcourtschool.com. The password is “Andrews”. 

The Harcourt program will be utilized this year in a different way than it probably has been for your child in the past.  Math scores on standardized tests in California drop for many students after the fourth grade.   This is because many of the students do not have a true conceptual understanding of the math concepts taught to them in the lower grades.  They have relied on ‘route memorization’ to get them through mathematic courses.  Many students do not possess true ‘number sense’.  In that, they are not able to decompose and compose numbers in a way that demonstrates true understanding of our base-ten number system.  This year, we will be doing a lot of math exploration, and discussion of different strategies that can be used to solve a given problem.  We will continue to work towards tearing down some ‘old ways’ and building new strategies and perspectives.

We will also be using “Everyday Counts Calendar Math”, a comprehensive review of all types of math learned in fifth grade with a heavy emphasis on fractions, decimals and percentages. 

Science

Through the Houghton Mifflin series we will cover various units including: Systems in Living Things, Water on Earth, Weather, The Solar System, and Elements and Their Combinations. Science will be taught primarily in the Science Lab as 5th grade has 90 minutes of science prep each week. Some of the reading and study guide will be covered in the regular classroom. 
 

Social Studies

We will be studying U.S. history through the Scott Foresman textbook.  Topics covered will include The First Americans, Age of Exploration, Fight for a Continent, Life in the Colonies, Causes of the Revolution, The Revolutionary War, Forming a New Nation, A Nation Moves West, and States and Capitals. The students will be responsible for at least two major Social Studies projects.

Physical Education

We have PE with Coach Clark twice a week.  Please remind your child to dress appropriately on PE days. Wear or bring tennis shoes please!  PE days are Tuesday and Wednesday for Ms. Wilson’s class.
 

Computer

Students will go to the computer lab once a week. If you have not done so already, please return the Technology Use Agreement to school.  This year there is a new computer teacher, Mrs. Bethany Wong.  Over the summer, the computer lab was completely updated. There are now enough workstations for each student.

Projects and Reports

Each trimester, the students will be asked to complete some type of report or project. Developing research questions and skills is a large component in “Open Court”. Students will be given plenty of notice on when assignments are due.  Fifth grade students need to organize, plan, and follow though with projects in order to be successful.  Your support in this area will be greatly appreciated, as most of the work will be completed outside of class.  Many choices are available to the students, but NO POSTERS are allowed.

Library

Each week we will visit the school library to check out books.  Students may currently check out one book. Our Library day this year is Friday. That means library books a due on Thursday.

Projects and Reports

Each trimester, the students will be asked to complete some type of report or project. Developing research questions and skills is a large component in “Open Court”. Students will be given plenty of notice on when assignments are due.  Fifth grade students need to organize, plan, and follow though with projects in order to be successful.  Your support in this area will be greatly appreciated, as most of the work will be completed outside of class.  Many choices are available to the students, but NO POSTERS are allowed.