The force is strong in you… indeed. Happy Star Wars Day! More importantly… The Flames are in the playoffs and the vibe is GOOOOOOD. We’re a full wagon of a team and I can’t wait for a long playoff run. GO FLAMES GO. That said, we’re flying here in grade five with all kinds of things happening. We survived Outdoor School and I think we’ve all recovered from the lack of sleep. Here’s what we have coming up this month in the wild world of grade five.

Important Dates

Wednesday, May 4^th – Hats Off for Mental Health (students are welcome to wear hats to school)

Friday, May 20 – PD Day (no school for all students)

Monday, May 23 – Victoria Day (no school for all students)

All Calgary Flames game days – Flames Jersey Day

Language Arts

We have started a new novel study called, “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt. We’ve had some really interesting conversations so far about the idea of living forever. Here is the full text of Tuck Everlasting if you would like to follow along.

We have also begun working through our Creative Writing unit and students have been practicing different ways to practice “showing, not telling” within their sentences. Shortly, they will begin writing their own short story through the lens of a stuck story. A stuck story you say? Yes, a stuck story is when they must un-stuck themselves in their story - think of ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ - through the creation of a simple problem, solution and the development of a narrative arc that is believable and engaging. I also teach the kids how to Photoshop themselves into a photo from their story to really sell just how ‘stuck’ they are. I’m realling excited for these stories - they never disappoint. This week we are finishing our look at the parts of a story by looking at different Pixar short films to point out the story arc, key details and events. Since we love Pixar so much, we’ll regularly refer to these Pixar Story Rules to make some really great stories that you’ll all love to read.

Math

We have begun our unit on Fractions and Decimals. We began by reviewing the parts of a fraction (numerator/denominator) and the 3 types of fractions. With this we and worked on a review of how to name fractions in a given situation followed by a look at equivalent fractions which we just finished up today. Before moving into the relationship between fractions and decimals we’ll explore representing and converting amounts greater than 1 as fractions (mixed numbers and improper fractions). 

On the Math Resources page, if you scroll down to the Fractions & Decimals section I have shared many resources for each of the different concepts, skills and ideas related to fractions. There are tutorial videos, explanations and interactive resources to support each and every concept. With our initial focus on Proper vs Improper Fractions and the ideas of equivalency, the Interactive Fraction Wall is an example of how these interactive and visual resources can make a sometimes challenging concept much easier to understand.

Science

We are into our our unit on Electricity & Magnetism and it’s "shocking”  (haha). Unfortunately there’s been a shipping issue with the supplies needed for their electricity kits. As a result we’ve had to put somewhat of a pause on our work until they arrive. We could teach the concepts, yes, but when they are able to DO or MAKE the circuits themselves, or see the concepts demosntrated first-hand, it’s always better. So if you’re wondering why your child hasn’t done much with electricity lately, that’s why. Once they arrive, and they’re supposed to be here this week or next, we’ll continue exploring/identifying materials that are conductors and insulators. We’ll look at  open or closed circuits as well as series and parallel circuits. From there we will move on to learning about switches, resistors and how we can use them to solve everyday problems. Finally, that brings us to the study of magnetism, how magnetism works, how we can harness this powerful force and even create magnets with electricity. For any and all information or resources on the unit, please explore the links in the Electricity & Magnetism section of the website as well as those shared on the Electricity & Magnetism Web Links page.

Social Studies

We did it, we finished the Regions of Canada! We’ve begun our focus on the Histories (yes, multiple histories) of Canada; the ones that  have helped to shape our story and identity. We’ll be looking at the stories of Newcomers to Canada and how immigration has shaped our past, the story of Confederation, the Famous 5, and the North West Mounted Police, among others. On Tuesday, students were each given a Family Background Survey in which they were asked to take some time and learn about their own family history, with a focus on where in the world they originated from. We’ve asked for this to be completed by Monday.

In our immediate focus on Newcomers to Canada and Alberta, there are lots of great resources and videos available. The video series ‘A Scattering of Seeds: The Creation of Canada’  is a great collection of of stories about different groups and individuals as they worked to start a new life here in Canada. Statistics Canada has also shared a great video, “Welcome to Canada: 150 Years of Immigration”, which is a kid friendly look at the numbers of people that came from all over the world. Lastly, students are welcome to explore the Newcomers Web Links that have been collected.

Digital Literacy and Citizenship

In recent weeks I’ve had several parents reach out about resources that could help their child with online/digital literacy, understanding information they’re viewing and learning to distinguish between misinformation and facts when online. Last year we had a visit from our School Resource Officer, Constable Slater. In that presentation she shared plenty of good information about digital citizenship and the importance of safety when using apps and the internet. I’m sure many of you have done so already, but this would be a great opportunity to have a check-in with your child about their internet awareness. Some great resources for online safety and digital citizenship are; Media Smarts, StaySafeOnline.org, NetSmartz.org, and others listed here.

Have a great week and as always, please let me know if you have any questions.

GO FLAMES GO

Sincerely,

Daniel Polsky
Grade 5 Teacher | Learning Leader
Fish Creek School | cbe.ab.ca
t| 403-777-6400 f| 403-777-6409
twitter @mr_polsky
instagram @mr.polsky

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