Santan Elementary Fifth Grade Curriculum Mrs. Ems’ Class 2011 – 2012 School Year

Reading Harcourt Reading Series Literature Groups/Circles Independent and Partner Reading Guided Reading to meet individual needs On-going assessments for comprehension and fluency Vocabulary, comprehension, & fluency development

Café : Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary Engaging all students in daily literacy assessment and instruction This “Café” is a menu that supports students in becoming comfortable linking their knowledge to standards The Café book provides technical expertise necessary for individual students to receive exactly what they need to improve as readers.

Reading Standards Narrative Elements Prefixes and Suffixes Cause and Effect Drawing Conclusions Sequencing Locating Information Elements of Non-Fiction: Text Structure Word Relationships Main Idea and Details Summarizing Literature Fact and Opinion Author’s Purpose Compare/Contrast Inferencing

Spelling Santan 5 th grade No Excuse List Words Their Way sorts specific to fifth grade standards Dictation Sentences

Writing 6+1 Traits Writing Process / Write From the Beginning (focusing on thinking maps) Genres of writing Persuasive essays Narrative essays Expository Essays Descriptive Essays Poetry Literature Response

Grammar Modeling through mini-lessons Daily grammar review Application in every day writing

Mathematics The overall goal within the curricular area of mathematics is for students to have not just a basic knowledge of each concept that they learn, but for them to apply it with a certain depth of knowledge. Due to this, students will be required to solve more detailed questions and problems. Visit the Arizona Department of Education or Chandler Unified School District website to see more about standards changes. Arizona Department of Education homepage Chandler Unified School District homepage ww2.chandler.k12.az.us

Math Standards Some standards covered in math this year: Fractions Decimals Order of Operations Multiplication & Division ( expected that basic 0-12’s are memorized coming into 5 th grade) Patterns Euler Paths & Circuits Integers Algebra Geometry Mean, Median, Mode & Range Estimation Graphing

Social Studies Social Studies Concepts: American Colonization and the thirteen colonies American Revolution Westward Expansion Civil War Economics Geography Foundations of Government

Science Science Concepts: The Solar System Forces and Motion Properties of Matter Simple Machines Human Body Systems Science Fair

Miscellaneous Information Fundraisers- Grade level T-shirts and Gold Canyon Candles (on sale now!) Tax Credit Donations Possible Field Trips: Biz Town Arizona Science Center Traveling Benjamin Franklin Exhibit Arrowhead Pool (End of Year Celebration!) o Possible Class visitors Chandler Fire fighters – CPR information * If you know anyone or if you yourself does something connecting to our standards and you’d like to come and share with the class, please let me know! It’s important to bring in visitors and show the kids how their knowledge connects

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your child’s life! You have my promise that I will treat your child in the professional manner that I would expect for my own child. I believe it takes all of us to make your child as successful as he/she can possibly be! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me via or simply just come on in

Class Donations & Needs Candy (no gum please)/small prizes for ticket drawings Kleenex Lysol wipes Ream of white copy paper Ream of colored copy paper Scotch tape rolls CD of calm music, no words for writing time I’m always picking up little extra’s here and there for classroom activities, gift cards to the following stores are helpful… Walgreens Barnes and Noble Target/Walmart Fry’s/Basha’s