Fifth Grade - Team White 

February 2018 

Mathematics (Mrs. Parker) 

● We will complete Unit 3: Place Value and Decimals this week. Our next unit will 
be Unit 4: Multiplying and Dividing Whole Numbers and Decimals.  

● Please refer to ​http://www.homeoftheshamrocks.org/page.cfm?p=667​ to print 

off your Bridges Parent Guide to help your child at home with specific strategies.  

● There is math homework DAILY on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 

nights. 

Science (Mrs. Parker) 

● We have completed Unit 4: Space Systems. We focused on why the stars appear 
brighter or dimmer related to their distances from Earth. The second focus was 
using graphs to display patterns in the length and direction of shadows and 
changes in length of day and night. We researched and graphed three different 
locations in the United States or in the world to compare their length of daylight 
throughout a year. 

● We are currently in our third PLTW Launch unit: Robotics and Automation. We will 
be using the VEX IQ kits to learn about how input/output functions work, how to 
build a toy with specific criteria and constraints, building a robot, and solving an 
environmental design problem using the Engineering Design Process. 

 
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Word Study (Mrs. Hoskins) 

● Students will bring their words, for the week, home on Mondays. ​ Students will 
have nightly assignments each week to learn their words.​ These assignments 
will be listed on the Word Work activities list. The list should be signed by each 
activity completed and ​returned Friday t​ o Mrs. Hoskins. A test will usually be 
given on Friday. Students are expected to know the patterns of each word and 
spell the words correctly. 

Reading (Mrs. Hoskins) 

● In reading students are now working in book clubs. They will read and discuss 
the ideas of the books with other students. Students need to read every night - 
trying to read a total of 140 minutes or more per week. ​Students will have some 
kind of reading response sheet to fill out each night along with their homework. 
This sheet is due on Fridays. 

Writing (Mrs. Hoskins) 

● Students are now working on ​INFORMATIONAL WRITING. T ​ hey have picked a 
topic they feel they know a lot about and writing a book telling all they know 
about that topic. Ask them to tell you what they are writing about. 

Social Studies (Mrs. Hoskins) 

● We continue studying COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT.  

Important Dates: 
 
Feb. 14th ​Classroom Valentine’s Day Parties (2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.)  
 
Feb. 19th​ Half Day for Students 
 
Feb. 27th​ Sarett Nature Center Field Trip (8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) 
Dress in outdoor gear and bring a sack lunch. 

 
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PLANNERS:​ Planners will help you and your children know what work they need 
to complete that night. You and your children each have a job to complete with 
the planner: 

  CHILDREN​:​ Getting the planner filled out at school and getting it home to a 
parent to review and a sign. 

  PARENTS​:​ Reviewing the planner, checking to see if homework is 

completed and signing the planner nightly.  

Please make sure your child’s planner is being seen and signed; many planners 
are coming to school without parent signatures. 

Contact Us: 

Mrs. Parker 

sparker@homeoftheshamrocks.org 

(269) 471-7198 ext. 0708 

http://mrsparkersfifthgradeclass.weebly.com/ 

Mrs. Hoskins 

whoskins@homeoftheshamrocks.org 

(269) 471-7198 ext. 0671 

http://teamhoskins.wikispac​es.com/