Welcome to Fifth Grade!

1. Welcome to Fifth Grade!

2. Our Theme: Independence! Now that I’m in fifth grade, I’m preparing for Middle School! Fifth graders want to be INDEPENDENT! This year we will spend time talking about what independencereally means and what it looks like. As students prepare for middle school, we will work toward replacing elementary school routines and building strong middle school habits. Independence in... Relationships Speaking and listening to others in our class, school, and greater community with patience and respect Taking responsibility for one’s actions as a way to earn trust and gain independence Organization Completing work on time Coming to lessons prepared Keeping notebooks and folders neat and organized Prioritizing our schoolwork responsibilities alongside our extra-curricular commitments (time management) Academics (taking responsibility for your own learning) Actively participating in lessons Thinking about what was taught and applying that to the task with available support tools, before asking for help Starting work quickly and remaining on task

3. Rising Expectations in Fifth Grade! • Students will be held accountable for their learning from the previous grades beginning right in September! • Fifth graders bring many years of experience with them on the first day. We know incoming fifth graders will need reminders about routines for school, classroom and workshop expectations, but we also know they will bring everything they already know about being a strong student and will be ready to begin instruction right away. • Increased Expectations for Stamina! • Students will be expected to be able to read 40-50 pages and write about their reading during the school day and at home to maintain their reading skills • Students should be able to write organized entries that span over a page within a sitting across various genres • Students should be able to demonstrate their mathematical thinking in a variety of ways, and make multiple attempts to solve word problems

4. Rising Expectations in Fifth Grade! • Students will learn time management skills and will be responsible for more independent planning. • Students will practice strategies to transition quickly and independently between subjects • Students will take responsibility for being prepared for each subject as well as completing independent or group projects within a specific time frame • Students will be deepening their understanding of previous year’s work and be able to apply these concepts to the 5th grade curriculum.

5. Homework In fifth grade, homework has several purposes. • Practicing a skill or strategy learned at school • Math assignments, independent reading, reading response and writing work are examples of this type of assignment • Previewing or preparing information and assignments for instruction the next day • Reading informational articles and stories, note taking, and homework from the writing workshop are of examples of this type of assignment • Communicating with parents about what work is being done at school, and how your child understands this work • Looking at your child’s assignments, and noticing how prepared he or she is to complete assignments, is a great way to informally assess how well your child is doing in school. • Developing strong work and organization habits • This is especially relevant in fifth grade as students prepare for an increased workload in middle school and learn to balance assignments, projects, and afterschool activities. In fifth grade, we will learn to plan and complete project work in social studies.