CURRICULUM
There are a lot of very exciting and interesting plans in store for your child this year. Please review the following information about the units we will be covering over the course of the year, as well as other information about our team.
Social Studies… (taught by Mrs. Gootjes): Our Social Studies curriculum involves many interactive activities that utilize different learning styles. We will study Native Peoples of the Americas, explorers, colonization, the American Revolution, the Constitution, and basic economic concepts. All units are taught using the collaborative PBL (Project-Based Learning) model. Please ask your fifth grader to explain how this works. He/she should be able to explain this process after we have completed our first PBL topic together.
Science - (taught by Mrs. Klomparens): Fifth grade science challenges students to actively think like scientists as they learn through observation, investigation, data collection, experimentation, reading, and sharing. Our units will include: scientific method, objects in space, the human body, and measuring changes in motion (including waves and energy).
Reading… (taught collaboratively by Mrs. Gootjes and Mrs. Klomparens): At Central Woodlands, all teachers are teachers of reading. Our district has newly adopted the Units of Study for Teaching Reading (by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues, Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University) for Grades K-5. The four Units of Study, built upon the Common Core Curriculum Standards for reading, are comprised of two fiction units and two non-fiction/informational text units designed to grow young readers. CW Teachers have been receiving ongoing training in support of a Reading Workshop approach to literacy instruction. High-interest trade books are made available through our classroom and school libraries, ensuring the “free choice” books your child selects are high quality, level appropriate, and engaging. Teachers encourage 20 minutes or more of reading each night in addition to the reading that takes place at school, and reading books of different genres is promoted throughout the school year. Reading comprehension is monitored using the Accelerated Reading (AR) program at CW. Students take quizzes based on their choice reading books at their designated reading level (which they will be given once assessments have been completed). Our CW PTO has generously purchased the AR program for our building.
Language Arts - (taught by Mrs. Klomparens): The following areas are covered in the Fifth Grade language arts curriculum: writing, speaking, listening, word study/vocabulary, grammar usage, and mechanics. Weekly writing is emphasized across the curriculum. Writing is taught and encouraged in many different formats. Students are tasked to write a narrative, an opinion essay, and informational writings based on multiple text structures. All students are encouraged to become editors and revisors of their own writing and the writing of their peers. We are preparing students to become life-long writers; therefore, all teachers encourage students to use the fundamentals of writing in all classes.
** Our PTO has generously purchased a program called MobyMax which is FANTASTIC at assisting students (in a fun and educational manner) with language skills. Your fifth grader will have his/her own account for this program to supplement language (grammar) skills at school AND at home (optional).
Everyday Mathematics... This year in fifth grade, we will once again use the Everyday Math program, called EM4. In class, we will be using the workshop method of instruction with an online component. Each lesson will begin with a mini-lesson, and then gradual release of work on the skill on which we are focusing that day. Students will have a chance to work on skills through guided practice, partner activities, and independent practice. Most of a student's practice will happen online, and at his/her own pace. The only math homework a student may have in math is to finish a journal page that was not completed during "Guided or Independent Practice", and/or if he/she gets too far behind the pace of the online lessons. Please be on the lookout for Unit Checklists coming home in the units to come (Our first unit of instruction is being conducted together.)
** Our PTO has generously purchased two online programs that are FANTASTIC at assisting students (in a fun and education manner) with math skills we are working on in 5th grade. These programs are: MobyMax and IXL. Your fifth grader will have his/her own accounts for both programs, and may work on both at school AND at home!!
Encore Classes...Our time slot for P.E./Music is everyday from 8:45-9:30. Mrs. Gootjes’ class will be attending Music on even numbered days, and will attend P.E. on odd days. Mrs. Klomparens’ class will be attending Music on odd numbered days, and will attend P.E. on even days. Our team also will enjoy Spanish each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a half hour between 11:30 and 12:30. We have an “open” Media Center at Central Woodlands, meaning students are able to check out and return books when it is convenient and doesn’t interfere with class time. We are very fortunate to have some Chromebooks on our team to integrate all technology in all subject areas within our classrooms. Our entire school will be able to enjoy Art (S.T.E.A.M.) during the second semester of the school year, as the art (S.T.E.A.M.) teacher splits time between us and Northern Trails.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES AND COMMUNICATION
*Subject Folders in Binders...Our students have labeled (4) two-pocket folders (1 for each core subject area) to house the work specific to that subject. We will empty these folders periodically, together in class. We request that you leave any and all papers in these folders until we are finished with them. We often reference these papers throughout a particular unit of study. Our folders (and typically our papers too) use a color-coded system for each subject area, as such: RED(pink) = Language Arts;
BLUE = Social Studies; GREEN = Science; PURPLE = Math.
*Homework… We realize the importance of kids spending time with their families and playing outside after a long day at school. The only homework a student on our team will be responsible for completing EVERY night, is to read 20 min. (or more, if possible) and learn/prepare for the week’s word study test, which will be given on Fridays of the weeks where word study is assigned. Beyond reading and word work each night, if a student does not finish his/her work in class, he/she will be responsible for completing that work at home. However, we give our students PLENTY of time in class and study support each day, to complete their work, while being able to ask questions and for help in understanding what they are to do. Therefore, IF a student is having to finish his/her work at home frequently, we may need to investigate WHY that work is not getting completed in class. Homework will be written daily by students in their planners. Families will also have the opportunity to see daily reminders and assignments through our team Remind app. We encourage you to check in with your student on their homework status each evening.
*Friday Folder...
*Planners... The student planner is a great way for students, families, and teachers to communicate about assignments and responsibilities. ALL work that should have been completed in class that day will be listed in the planner. IF a student was able to finish an assignment in class, he/she may put a ✔ by it in the faint column next to it. IF it does NOT have a ✔ by it, he/she is responsible for completing this assignment at home. It is the student’s responsibility to fill this out in class and share with adult family member each evening. Please hold your student accountable for showing you he/she has completed his/her work EACH day. This is a great way to set your child up for a successful educational experience this year, and beyond!
*Team Remind App... Our biggest focus in 5th grade, aside from academics and behavior, is teaching the kids to become lifelong learners in the area of responsibility. As an accountability piece, you may receive a text if you choose to sign up for our team Remind app. Each day, we will send a Remind text to alert you to events and assignments students are responsible for.
*Expectations… Fifth grade is a year that you will see your child make big gains in the areas of responsibility and organization. Our management plan encourages good decision-making and helps to create an enthusiastic and positive learning environment where students feel safe, respected, and treated fairly. In order to achieve this, our classes are holding students accountable for our Central Woodlands S.T.A.N.D. Up principles of learning and behavior:
Safe
Trustworthy
Attentive
Neighborly
Disciplined
Up!
Look for more information on our school wide initiative of supporting our students’ positive behavior in school…”Central Woodlands Rangers STAND up for positive behavior!”
*Ticket System… We use a ticket system with a fun raffle at the end of each month. Blue tickets = behavior (tickets can be earned and/or taken away) according to their STAND Up behavior and Yellow tickets = bathroom passes. ANY tickets remaining with a student on Friday afternoon are entered into the raffle for fun prizes. The raffle is typically held on the last day of each month.
*Absences... Students and families can find out about missed assignments from our Remind messages or from a “homework buddy”. We don’t find it necessary to send work home for a day or two missed; if the absence is more than 2 days, the adult family member can call the office, or e-mail the teacher, to request missed classwork. While we realize family vacations are important for making lifelong memories, and don’t always conveniently align with our district vacation schedule, please know it’s too hard to replicate the authentic, collaborative learning that happens during the school day. Instead of gathering work for your child to take with him/her on vacation, we prefer he/she keep up on reading each day, and maybe keep a journal of the events of his/her vacation. We will do our best to “catch” him/her up when he/she returns.
*Electronic Devices...Some electronics serve as an awesome resource and educational tool. For these purposes, we will allow electronics in our classrooms. The kids are familiar with our “one and done” rule in regards to the misuse of electronic equipment. eReaders are allowed for reading only in class. It is a personal family decision, however, to allow these electronic devices to come to school with your fifth grader. We would like all of these decisions to be discussed at home, as we will not take responsibility for lost or stolen items. Please discuss your rules and guidelines with your child if you allow them to bring these items to school. Any other electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, iPods, etc.) must remain turned off and in our "Device Parking Lot" during the day. ***If it is necessary for you to contact your child during the day, please do so through the office, so as not to distract your fifth grader with personal calls or texts during the school day.
*Student ID Cards… ID cards should be kept on a lanyard (one may be provided through school), in a student’s locker. These ID’s are required to check out books from our Media Center and to purchase a hot lunch, milk, or extra food items at lunchtime. A fee of $5 is charged to replace a lost ID card.
There are a lot of very exciting and interesting plans in store for your child this year. Please review the following information about the units we will be covering over the course of the year, as well as other information about our team.
Social Studies… (taught by Mrs. Gootjes): Our Social Studies curriculum involves many interactive activities that utilize different learning styles. We will study Native Peoples of the Americas, explorers, colonization, the American Revolution, the Constitution, and basic economic concepts. All units are taught using the collaborative PBL (Project-Based Learning) model. Please ask your fifth grader to explain how this works. He/she should be able to explain this process after we have completed our first PBL topic together.
Science - (taught by Mrs. Klomparens): Fifth grade science challenges students to actively think like scientists as they learn through observation, investigation, data collection, experimentation, reading, and sharing. Our units will include: scientific method, objects in space, the human body, and measuring changes in motion (including waves and energy).
Reading… (taught collaboratively by Mrs. Gootjes and Mrs. Klomparens): At Central Woodlands, all teachers are teachers of reading. Our district has newly adopted the Units of Study for Teaching Reading (by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues, Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University) for Grades K-5. The four Units of Study, built upon the Common Core Curriculum Standards for reading, are comprised of two fiction units and two non-fiction/informational text units designed to grow young readers. CW Teachers have been receiving ongoing training in support of a Reading Workshop approach to literacy instruction. High-interest trade books are made available through our classroom and school libraries, ensuring the “free choice” books your child selects are high quality, level appropriate, and engaging. Teachers encourage 20 minutes or more of reading each night in addition to the reading that takes place at school, and reading books of different genres is promoted throughout the school year. Reading comprehension is monitored using the Accelerated Reading (AR) program at CW. Students take quizzes based on their choice reading books at their designated reading level (which they will be given once assessments have been completed). Our CW PTO has generously purchased the AR program for our building.
Language Arts - (taught by Mrs. Klomparens): The following areas are covered in the Fifth Grade language arts curriculum: writing, speaking, listening, word study/vocabulary, grammar usage, and mechanics. Weekly writing is emphasized across the curriculum. Writing is taught and encouraged in many different formats. Students are tasked to write a narrative, an opinion essay, and informational writings based on multiple text structures. All students are encouraged to become editors and revisors of their own writing and the writing of their peers. We are preparing students to become life-long writers; therefore, all teachers encourage students to use the fundamentals of writing in all classes.
** Our PTO has generously purchased a program called MobyMax which is FANTASTIC at assisting students (in a fun and educational manner) with language skills. Your fifth grader will have his/her own account for this program to supplement language (grammar) skills at school AND at home (optional).
Everyday Mathematics... This year in fifth grade, we will once again use the Everyday Math program, called EM4. In class, we will be using the workshop method of instruction with an online component. Each lesson will begin with a mini-lesson, and then gradual release of work on the skill on which we are focusing that day. Students will have a chance to work on skills through guided practice, partner activities, and independent practice. Most of a student's practice will happen online, and at his/her own pace. The only math homework a student may have in math is to finish a journal page that was not completed during "Guided or Independent Practice", and/or if he/she gets too far behind the pace of the online lessons. Please be on the lookout for Unit Checklists coming home in the units to come (Our first unit of instruction is being conducted together.)
** Our PTO has generously purchased two online programs that are FANTASTIC at assisting students (in a fun and education manner) with math skills we are working on in 5th grade. These programs are: MobyMax and IXL. Your fifth grader will have his/her own accounts for both programs, and may work on both at school AND at home!!
Encore Classes...Our time slot for P.E./Music is everyday from 8:45-9:30. Mrs. Gootjes’ class will be attending Music on even numbered days, and will attend P.E. on odd days. Mrs. Klomparens’ class will be attending Music on odd numbered days, and will attend P.E. on even days. Our team also will enjoy Spanish each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a half hour between 11:30 and 12:30. We have an “open” Media Center at Central Woodlands, meaning students are able to check out and return books when it is convenient and doesn’t interfere with class time. We are very fortunate to have some Chromebooks on our team to integrate all technology in all subject areas within our classrooms. Our entire school will be able to enjoy Art (S.T.E.A.M.) during the second semester of the school year, as the art (S.T.E.A.M.) teacher splits time between us and Northern Trails.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES AND COMMUNICATION
*Subject Folders in Binders...Our students have labeled (4) two-pocket folders (1 for each core subject area) to house the work specific to that subject. We will empty these folders periodically, together in class. We request that you leave any and all papers in these folders until we are finished with them. We often reference these papers throughout a particular unit of study. Our folders (and typically our papers too) use a color-coded system for each subject area, as such: RED(pink) = Language Arts;
BLUE = Social Studies; GREEN = Science; PURPLE = Math.
*Homework… We realize the importance of kids spending time with their families and playing outside after a long day at school. The only homework a student on our team will be responsible for completing EVERY night, is to read 20 min. (or more, if possible) and learn/prepare for the week’s word study test, which will be given on Fridays of the weeks where word study is assigned. Beyond reading and word work each night, if a student does not finish his/her work in class, he/she will be responsible for completing that work at home. However, we give our students PLENTY of time in class and study support each day, to complete their work, while being able to ask questions and for help in understanding what they are to do. Therefore, IF a student is having to finish his/her work at home frequently, we may need to investigate WHY that work is not getting completed in class. Homework will be written daily by students in their planners. Families will also have the opportunity to see daily reminders and assignments through our team Remind app. We encourage you to check in with your student on their homework status each evening.
*Friday Folder...
*Planners... The student planner is a great way for students, families, and teachers to communicate about assignments and responsibilities. ALL work that should have been completed in class that day will be listed in the planner. IF a student was able to finish an assignment in class, he/she may put a ✔ by it in the faint column next to it. IF it does NOT have a ✔ by it, he/she is responsible for completing this assignment at home. It is the student’s responsibility to fill this out in class and share with adult family member each evening. Please hold your student accountable for showing you he/she has completed his/her work EACH day. This is a great way to set your child up for a successful educational experience this year, and beyond!
*Team Remind App... Our biggest focus in 5th grade, aside from academics and behavior, is teaching the kids to become lifelong learners in the area of responsibility. As an accountability piece, you may receive a text if you choose to sign up for our team Remind app. Each day, we will send a Remind text to alert you to events and assignments students are responsible for.
*Expectations… Fifth grade is a year that you will see your child make big gains in the areas of responsibility and organization. Our management plan encourages good decision-making and helps to create an enthusiastic and positive learning environment where students feel safe, respected, and treated fairly. In order to achieve this, our classes are holding students accountable for our Central Woodlands S.T.A.N.D. Up principles of learning and behavior:
Safe
Trustworthy
Attentive
Neighborly
Disciplined
Up!
Look for more information on our school wide initiative of supporting our students’ positive behavior in school…”Central Woodlands Rangers STAND up for positive behavior!”
*Ticket System… We use a ticket system with a fun raffle at the end of each month. Blue tickets = behavior (tickets can be earned and/or taken away) according to their STAND Up behavior and Yellow tickets = bathroom passes. ANY tickets remaining with a student on Friday afternoon are entered into the raffle for fun prizes. The raffle is typically held on the last day of each month.
*Absences... Students and families can find out about missed assignments from our Remind messages or from a “homework buddy”. We don’t find it necessary to send work home for a day or two missed; if the absence is more than 2 days, the adult family member can call the office, or e-mail the teacher, to request missed classwork. While we realize family vacations are important for making lifelong memories, and don’t always conveniently align with our district vacation schedule, please know it’s too hard to replicate the authentic, collaborative learning that happens during the school day. Instead of gathering work for your child to take with him/her on vacation, we prefer he/she keep up on reading each day, and maybe keep a journal of the events of his/her vacation. We will do our best to “catch” him/her up when he/she returns.
*Electronic Devices...Some electronics serve as an awesome resource and educational tool. For these purposes, we will allow electronics in our classrooms. The kids are familiar with our “one and done” rule in regards to the misuse of electronic equipment. eReaders are allowed for reading only in class. It is a personal family decision, however, to allow these electronic devices to come to school with your fifth grader. We would like all of these decisions to be discussed at home, as we will not take responsibility for lost or stolen items. Please discuss your rules and guidelines with your child if you allow them to bring these items to school. Any other electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, iPods, etc.) must remain turned off and in our "Device Parking Lot" during the day. ***If it is necessary for you to contact your child during the day, please do so through the office, so as not to distract your fifth grader with personal calls or texts during the school day.
*Student ID Cards… ID cards should be kept on a lanyard (one may be provided through school), in a student’s locker. These ID’s are required to check out books from our Media Center and to purchase a hot lunch, milk, or extra food items at lunchtime. A fee of $5 is charged to replace a lost ID card.