Grade 5

Before heading off to spring break, students in Fifth Grade wrapped up their study of the eastern ancient world, including China, the Silk Road, Hinduism and Taoism. We spent a day at Kripalu practicing yoga and learning about the relationship between Kripalu and the BCD campus. Students divided into caravans for a week-long Silk Road adventure where they competed in events ranging from a geography scavenger hunt and a chopstick relay race, to identifying spices from the market of Samarkand and learning about Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Berkshire Tai Chi paid us a visit to introduce us to some of the elements of this ancient martial art.

In English, we concluded our discussion and reading of Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard. Using the writing process, students selected meaningful quotes from the text and composed a paper explaining the quote and relating it to their own experiences.

In Writer’s Workshop, we focused on the word choice trait. Students were challenged to focus more on using strong verbs and adjectives, and to reduce the use of linking verbs and the verb, “to have”.  We had our very own scary story reading in the BCD boiler room, where students shared their creative pieces, and finally, each student learned to write a process essay. I learned not only how to tie a tie and a slip knot, but also how to shuffle cards, clean my room, bake brownies and toast, hit the heck out of a baseball and most importantly, how to launch a rocket made out of a film canister. Needless to say, it was perfect timing for the Lederman Family spring break and all that free time….

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Friday April 29 is Grade Five’s big event: Our civilization creation presentation. Students will be presenting their year long creative writing project to the BCD community from 2:10-3:00. PLEASE make every effort to attend. More details will follow, but mark your calendars.
• There will be no PTR projects due in April; they will be due the first week in May. Check your student’s planner for the book form and date.
• Finally, we are beginning to transition to a more independent use of the planner in this final trimester. I will no longer be signing the planner at pack-up and you are no longer required to sign it at home. Students will be copying down all of their assignments at the end of the day and then packing up independently. I will be there to assist them, but they will need to take responsibility for forgotten items. Yes, there will be bumps in the road, but I encourage you to be in close contact with subject teachers about missing work, and to continue to check in frequently with your student as he/she unpacks and packs up the backpack to make sure all work is completed. You may want to continue to sign the planner as a final step that all work has been completed and packed up to head to school. Let me know if you have any questions. Please remember to check the blog where all of the teachers post assignments.