Grade 5

The Fifth Grade Family was reunited this week, as we moved up to the Peterson Penthouse and moved into our cubbies! We spent most of the week getting organized with our Grade 5 cubby system, personalized calendars on lanyards, our planners (my favorite thing), labels and post-its (my second and third favorite things) and exploring our materials and some of the projects and curriculum. The enthusiasm was palpable and the smiles were infectious. What a fantastic start to the year!

While we put our academics on hold for a bit, we jumped right into our first Advisory Unit—Common Ground. In a class this large, with so many personalities and interests, in our initial days back at school, we can fall easily into a pattern of feeling like we know everything about everyone. Naturally, it’s exciting to welcome two new students to our group (shoutout to Olivia and Tucker!), but after all those years together at BCD, what’s really so special about each of us?  I mean, I’ve taught some of these students for the past five years already in library and math…what’s to know? On the first day, students explored the notion of connections and commonalities though a human bingo game, as well as by working in their four color squads (as seen in the pictures) to generate a list of  non-physical traits that each group had in common. Some groups noticed they all had had strep throat before; some recognized a love of animals; others figured out that they had been outside the United States. We continued to explore our unique traits and common experiences by sharing personal timelines in History. Later, students were asked to write down one thing they learned about someone in the class that they didn’t know. I was excited to hear about a dog named “Jazzy doo”, a student who breakdances, one who has shown horses, and another who attended a basketball camp at Duke this past summer. We even have one student who wanted to discuss the stock market (sorry—cut off due to 2-minute time limit) and several who share the same birthday. In just four short days, we’ve begun to see each other in new ways. The journey has just begun!

Finally, here are some helpful Fifth Grade Hints for the week:

• Planners must be signed every night, even when there is no homework.
• PTR books and the signed PTR forms are due on Wed. Please mark the project due date of October 21 on your calendar. Please be sure the purple PTR packet has been removed from the planner and is in a safe place at home. Your student will need this in order to complete the projects throughout the year.
• Back-to-School Night is Wed. Please be sure to attend as I will be giving handouts on curriculum, information about the Nature’s Classroom trip, and going over policies and expectations for students, parents and teachers. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I can’t speak to you about your individual child that night but…
• Early in the week, I will be checking in with you by email about your child.
• Pizza Friday is next Friday. Be sure to still send in snack.

Have a great weekend!

Grade Five students have been exploring the trait of Conventions in Writer’s Workshop. We learned that conventions are the techniques employed by good writers to ensure that their writing is understood properly by the reader. The trait of conventions covers grammar, spelling and punctuation. This week, we put our conventions to use in exploring how to write a proper letter to an author. As we had just finished Lois Lowry’s novel, Number the Stars, we decided to write to her. The students submitted questions which which we then edited and drafted into letter.

We were thrilled to receive her response just now. Here’s our letter and her response to our class!

Dear Ms. Lowry,

We are the Fifth Grade at Berkshire Country Day School in Massachusetts. We just finished reading your phenomenal book, Number the Stars. We learned about the Holocaust from your story and we were touched by Annemarie’s journey through this difficult time.

Our class was deeply inspired, and we wanted to ask you a few questions. We understand that the some of the characters were inspired by real people–for example, Ellen? and Kirsti? We were wondering why you chose to write the book from Annemarie’s perspective rather than from the point of view of a Jewish person? In addition, where do you think the Rosens end up? Did they ever return to Copenhagen?

We also have a few personal questions for you regarding your opinions on the book.  What would you have done if you had been in Annemarie’s position faced with the soliders in the final chapter? We also would like to know which chapter was your favorite? And finally, which character was your favorite and why?

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Lederman’s Fifth Grade Class

(Keely, Esme, Rory, Sammy, Abbey, Halle, Irini, Symaira, Chase, Ryan, Anje, Alex, Henry, Sean, Jamie)

Greetings, Class.

I am happy to know you enjoyed NUMBER THE STARS.  I wrote the book from Annemarie’s perspective because I based the story on my friend’s recollections and she was not Jewish.  She was an observer and as a writer I am often in the position of being an observer.

I am an optimist so I like to think the Rosens ended up in a  safe place, most likely Israel or the United States.

I, like most people, would like to believe that had I been in Annemarie’s position I would have been as brave and resourceful as she was.  The problem is we never really know how we will react until we are faced with adversity. I do believe though that we all have a greater capacity for bravery than we can imagine.  We just need to find it when we need it.

I can’t choose a favorite character or chapter.  My writings are all my creations and choosing favorites is a bit like choosing a favorite child!

Keep reading!

Lois Lowry

Fifth Grade is now in the final weeks of the trimester. Here is an update on all of our activities.

English: We have finished reading Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars. This week, we had an insightful discussion around the conclusion of the book and aspects of the writer’s craft, including point of view and setting. We wondered how the book might have been different if told from Ellen’s (the Jewish character) point of view, or if the book had not been set in Denmark. Students also speculated about the fate of Ellen’s family following their successful escape to Sweden. On Monday, students will take a short test on the novel. Students have been practicing writing chapter summaries the past two weeks; learning to discern what’s an important detail is an essential notetaking and reading skill.

History: Currently entrenched in ancient Rome, we’ve been learning about the charismatic leader, Julius Caesar, his rise to power, and his alienation of the Senate which led to his assassination. This week, we also read about the Punic Wars, and daily life in Rome. Students selected topics for their research papers on Rome, and we discussed the process and goals of the project.

Writer’s Workshop: We wrapped up the Sentence Fluency trait, and launched into our final trait, Conventions…a fancy term for GSP (grammar, spelling and punctuation).  Students practiced some proofreading, and we explored the organization of a formal letter. Together, we brainstormed a list of questions for Lois Lowry, and composed a class letter to her. Next week, the students will learn how to compose a proper email (as in to a teacher).  In our optional Writer’s Club, our group began to compose a new ending to Number the Stars from Ellen’s point of view.

And now some dates:

• June 1: PTR is due.
• Join us on Thursday, June 4th for the Grade Five Writer’s Tea. Students will be sharing pieces from their writing portfolio created in Writer’s Workshop–poems, narratives and short creative pieces. Parents are welcome as we enjoy some celebratory treats and also watch a slide show of Grade Five’s adventures and milestones throughout the year. Please join us at 1:45 in the Grade Five classroom!