Autumn is in the Air!
For many of us, October marks the beginning of autumn. Fall break, crisp mornings, Halloween, and changing leaves give my midwest heart loads and loads of joy. During a conversation with a few fifth graders, we were discussing our favorite parts of fall – all of which had the underlying theme of fall colors. The fall color-scape is one of the most diverse of the year, and we love being surrounded by it.
This is exactly how I’ve felt about the students here in the first few months of the year – so overjoyed and lucky to be surrounded by such uniqueness and diversity. October is bound to be full of new life, diversity, and uniqueness in the TCS middle school! Like the changing seasons, I am stoked to continue to watch these students grow into the amazing humans they are destined to be.
-AG
Here’s a look at what is happening in each of the classes:
What’s going on in Science?
Fifth graders worked on their National Parks this week! They have their rough drafts completed, materials decided, and landforms planned. They considered the importance of National Parks and why we should have them in our country. Next week, they will start to work on their slide presentations and hopefully begin to work on their models. The building process will take a few weeks, in which they will construct their own National Park with a partner from their own collective imagination.
What’s happening in Math?
This week, students took their Unit 2 test, which segued them into exploring multiplying more unit fractions and non-unit fractions, and representing that multiplication in an expression and a diagram. Next week, they will apply their understanding to real-world problems and solve more fraction multiplication!
What’s happening in ELA?
5th graders spent much of their week rewriting personal narrative stories–focusing on the art of replotting a story and adding elaboration to improve future drafts. They took time to draft multiple endings and some students even played with time shifts in their stories such as flashbacks and flash forwards.
Next week, 5th graders will return from Fall Break to make final edits to their stories. They will publish their writing pieces in our online classroom, share them with their peers, and display them in class!
What’s happening in Social Studies?
The fifth graders began their careers in advertising through the creation of a flipgrid video. These videos challenged them to use the content we have discussed in class about the early Central American civilizations in a persuasive manner and create a television advertisement with the goal of persuading people to join their civilization! Students then progressed into the Spanish colonization while proving what they know on a 3-2-1.
Next week, the students will dive into the history of the Caribbean and create an interview asking Toussiant L’Overture about his experiences. Students will finish the unit by discussing life in Central America today.
Important Dates:
October 9-10 – Fall Break (No School)
October 11 – Cooper Clusters
October 13 – Middle School Information Session (8:15-9:00)
October 18- Parent Lemonade (2:00-2:45)
October 31 – Halloween Carnival (½ Day)
November 1 – Teacher Work Day (No School)
