News in 5th and 6th!

May

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Welcome back from Spring Break. I hope you all are well rested. We are in our last and final trimester for the year. We're going to have a busy month. Our Annual Poetry Night ia this Friday, 4/06/2012. Our class has been working on their poetry writing. They have learned how to write many different styles of poetry. MashaAllah they are all great poets! We look forward to sharing them with you and your family on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Please come and join us in this fun annual event. There will be refreshments and light snacks for sale. Students reciting poetry need to promptly be here at 5:30.

There's also the poetry contest. The deadline is on April 12, 2012. If your child wins, their poems will be published in the Poetry Anthology Book from Creative Communications. Their talent will shine across the nation! InshaAllah, we'll have many winners from our school.

Here's Our Agenda for the Month of April:

Language Arts: Chapter Book Publish and Share 4/06,

Reads: Fiction: Hoot, The Singing Man, The School Play

Non Fiction: Catching up with Lewis and Clark, and Exploring the Titanic

Practice: Cause and Effect, vocabulary, comprehension, steps in a process, summarize, important and unimportant information, sequence of events, and writing.  

Science: The Restless Earth: Moving Plates, Earthquakes, Volcanoes,

Rock Cycle,

Heredity and Change: Learning abut heredity, Predicting Traits, Evidence of Change, How Species Change Over Time.

5th Grade Math: OAKS testing, Add and Subtract Fractions and Mixed Numbers, Problem Solving Strategies, Estimate with mixed numbers, multiply and Divide Fractions and Mixed Numbers.

Social Studies: Ancient Greece- Ancient Rome, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Beginnings of Christianity, Decline of the Roman Empire.

2nd Trimester Exams

Asalaam Alaikum Parents and Students!

Our class had such a wonderful field-trip up at Bennet Pass Trailhead in the mountains. The views were spectacular and the scenary was breath taking. It was one the best places we had ever made our salah at, Allah (SWT) has blessed Oregon with such great beauty!  The pictures are posted up on our Facebook. Please check them out to see what you have missed! 

 Second trimester exams will be starting on Thursday, March 1st. Students please prepare yourself by studying for your exams. The final exams are a big part of your grades. Here are the dates and what you need to study for 5th and 6th grade subjects:

Thursday, March 1st- Social Studies

Friday, March 2nd- Arabic

Monday, March 5th- Language Arts and Speech

Tuesday, March 6th- Math

Wednesday, March 7th- Islamic Studies

Thursday, March 8th- Science

Social Studies: Chapter 6, Ancient India and a part of Ancient China pg. 160-167

Language Arts: Vocabulary from Hoot and Questions from Chapter 1-6

5th Grade Math:  Chapters 8 and part of Chapter 9. 

geometry pages 320- 323, Fraction pages 334-342

Science: 50% is from your planet report and project, the other 50% is from your test over the Solar System from lessons 1-2.

Happy Studying!

February

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year. As for February, it will be a busy month. There's the Annual Spelling Bee, potluck dinner, Dawud Wharnsby concert, essay contest, annual bake sale, and the speech tournament. It's quite filled with many events, so mark your calendars and be prepared. Hope to see all of you at these great events, also do not forget to purchase your concert tickets and buy some calendars from MET.

As for our 5th and 6th grade class. We have been working on our Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies skills. We have been reading a great novel called Kira Kira. It's a great story on family, friends, and culture. The students have been enjoying the readings very much and look forward to what will happen next. They have also learned new vocabulary from the book. Essays have also been published more so than previous months. The Character unit has been motivating the students to write more and build their imagination for inventing their characters. I look forward to the finish product. We'll be having a show day for that when it's finished.

Science has been very interesting and engaging. The students have been learning about the cells growth and reproduction. Learning about the basics of life has given a different outlook on their own life too. We discuss about healthy habits and protecting our bodies from bad and unhealthy lifestyles. They kept a food journal for a week to gage their intake on food. Some were more health conscious on their diet. Keeping ourselves healthy and exercising is a fantastic way to start the year. We will be learning about Cells and the kingdoms of Life next.

Social Studies has been very diverse. We have learned a lot about other cultures and the world they lived or live in. We are currently on Ancient India. The students will be doing research projects on their chosen topics and present to our class about what they have learned. This will be taken place on the 15th this month. We will be on our journey to Ancient China next.

Math in 5th grade has been productive and engaging.  Learning about shapes, measuring angles,  symmetry, and finding the missing number has been fun for our math class. They will be tested over chapter 3 this week on Thursday, 2/9/12. We will be working on learning Fraction Concepts and Number Theory next.

January

Happy New Year 2012!

Welcome Back to a new year, may this year bring you great health, iman, and happiness. I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Winter Break. Some of you flew south and some like me had a staycation. It was very nice being home and spending time with family and friends.

We are back on schedule for January. New novels to read, Character Unit will begin, Geometry for Math, Cells And the Kingdom in life for Science, and Ancient Mesopotamia and India for Social Studies.  Our curriculum for this month will be filled with fun activities and great projects.

Don't forget about the Spelling Bee that's coming up around the corner. It is held on February 2, 2012. Teacher Jawad had posted the spelling list on our website, so please print it out and happy spelling!

December

It's not quite Winter yet, but it sure feels like it! Bundle up everyone,  because there's many more cold freezing days to come. As the frost covers  our cars, streets, windows, grass, and rooftops make sure you're staying safe by driving and walking carefully.

December is a short month, there's only 13 days of school left until the year is over. 2011 will be a memory, as we transition into 2012. As for the rest of the school year calendar, the Science Fair is on Dec. 8, monthly potluck on the 10th, Geography Bee on the 16th, and Winter Break starts on the 21st.

Our class has been working diligently on the science fair project. Public speaking has been quite popular this month. The students have been practicing their presentations, and getting positive constructive feedback and advice from each other. Inshaallah, they will all do well on their presentations in front of the well respected judges.

For the rest of the year, there is going to be a Social Studies test over chp. 4, two spelling tests, a descriptive paper, and a math test for the 5th graders over chp. 7.

I wish you all a wonderful Winter Break!

November

November is very busy for us in 5th and 6th grade. Our class has many events to attend and learn from. The Energy Fair was excellent and our students had a great time. The fuel efficient and energy saving cars was quite popular, but the Solar Energy Station was where our class got the most knowledge and hands on experience. The 5th graders were the only class that experienced racing  the "solar cars" and using the "solar fans". The Solar energy representatives taught us a lot about solar panels and inspired us to be more efficient with our energy usage. Insha-Allah we'll be using solar panels to power our electricity in the future.

Mini Hajj was a great success! We all had a memorable time and a lot of fun during the Islamic Game competition. The goody bags were a nice treat and the live sheep at the mini Hajj too!

This month is when the First Trimester Exams takes place. It starts on 11/14 to 11/21. We'll be busy reviewing and studying for the final exams. Here are the dates for each exam in our class:

Monday, 11/14- Language Arts

Tuesday, 11/15- Math

Wednesday, 11/16- Islamic Studies

Thursday, 11/17- Science

Friday, 11/18- Arabic

Monday, 11/21- Social Studies and Speech

Here's the Study Guide for each subject.

Language Arts: Reading Comprehension, Writing (Could be Narrative, Persuasive, Descriptive, or Expository.), Vocabulary, Spelling.

Math: Chapter 4-Multiply with Decimals, pg. 140

Chapter 5-Division, pg. 166, pg. 188

Chapter 7-Measurement, pg. 247, 249, 261, Customary Units of Capacity, Weight, and Length.

Science: Chapter 2, Temperature, Heat, and energy, Temperature, Heat and Matter, Sources of Energy, Vocabulary pg. 50, 78

Social Studies: Geography: Hemisphere, Different kinds of maps, world regions, Vocabulary from pg. 14, 32, 52, Read Timeline,  Chapter 3

Happy Studying! Insha'Allah you will all do well on your Exams!

October

Fall has definitely set in, which means October is here!  The beautiful colors fill the streets, neighborhood, and farms with its warmth.  Fall veggies and fruits are in abundance ready for harvesters. The orchards, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and hay rides awaiting for guests to arrive. So go on out there, visit support a local farm.  There are so many great activities to enjoy with our families. No wonder October is my favorite month!

As for October, our class has a full schedule ahead of us. Many tests will be taken place to the student's previous studies in September.

Teacher Jawad has officially given our class the Spelling Bee List. This exciting academic event will be taking place on February 02, 2012.  This is a great opportunity for our student to brush up on their spelling skills and learn new words. Encourage your child to participate, it'll be a great experience! To download and print the Spelling Bee Packet,  go to the resource page. Happy Spelling!

Agenda for this month: 

L.A.: 5th and 6th grade

6th grade: Finish up reading The Westing Game, and activities, Comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, journal keeping of characters,  and writing Narratives and Persuasive stories.

5th grade: Reading stories from textbook. The Wreck of Zypher, Tornadoes, The Gold Coin, and John Henry, comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, writing Narratives, and Persuasive stories.

Math 5th: Multiplication, Division, and Geometry.

Social Studies: Revolutionary War, History, and Iceman of the Alps.

Science: Physical Properties, Elements and Atoms, Chemical Changes

Stay-Tuned:  Ask your child what he or she is studying, and look in the homework folder every night.  The homework folder is where you will find the newsletters and notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed.  I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if I feel that your child is not progressing as expected.

Ask Questions:  If you have any concerns or are wondering why something is happening, please feel free to call or email me at any time.  I welcome all concerns, ideas, and feedback that affect your child or our classroom.   If something is not working, I am more than willing to talk.  I welcome all feedback!

Homework:  You should expect that your child will have some type of homework most everyday.  You will always find the homework assignments in the agenda.  It will go home everyday.  I encourage you to set up with your child a scheduled time for homework each day.   Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but do help if it is completely necessary.  If you notice that your child is not able to do an assignment on his or her own, please send a note or jot a note to me on the assignment.  I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work. 

Snack:  All students should bring a nutritious snack and a bottle of water to school everyday.    

Sincerely,

Vi Pham

Teacher Websites © 2012 Edline