Week 23

It’s been awhile since I’ve communicated with parents. Students have been working hard with fractions. It’s still very important for your child to know his/her math basic facts, especially when it comes to multiplication. I cannot stress this enough. Roughly 50% of the 5^th grade is “fluent” in their facts, which means the other 50% still could use help in recalling facts. Use flash cards, quiz him/her orally, or use Moby Max “Fact Master” on a daily basis. Students often stumble on the 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 12’s, so focus on those. Even those students who are fluent can practice by taking it a step farther. Quiz them with identifying equivalent fractions. For example 4/5 = 16/20, so ask, how many twentieths is equivalent to four-fifths?

We will be taking an end-of-module assessment late next week, but that doesn’t mean our work with fractions is over! We’ll be moving into the next module, exploring the relationship between decimals and fractions, and going deeper with multiplying and dividing fractions.

In science, our FOSS kit was returned this week, but we are still learning, reading, and doing experiments related to food and nutrition. We will have an end of unit test in a couple of weeks.

As a former middle school teacher, I understand what the future looks like for your 5^th grader. Mrs. Curry and I are working hard at helping your student become more and more independent. This includes being responsible for personal items, organizing homework folders, desks, and lockers.  We will continue to help prepare him/her for what lies ahead at West Middle School. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Remember, there is no school next Monday. Enjoy the 3-day weekend!