Hello Families! Welcome to the Topaz open house! Please go into your child’s homeroom, pick up the documents in his or her mailbox, sign your name on the parent list and find a seat in this area. Thank you!

Topaz Curriculum Overview Ms. Lara Fensin Mrs. Linda Lane Mrs. Rebecca Tkachuk Mrs. Lauren Cusson

Welcome! Tonight we will provide an overview of our curriculum in the major content areas and our expectations of your children. We will also give you ideas of how you can help your child with work at home.

Curriculum (Reading) workshop format During the focus lesson… During the independent practice… During the closing… Students set goals for themselves as readers. Students confer with teachers and each other. novels Research shows that reading “Just Right Books” and reading frequently is an indicator of future success.  homework  reading response letters

Curriculum (Writing) Writing also follows a workshop model mentor texts units of study: memoir, essay, expository, creative, & poetry guiding students to focus on what they are doing as a writer as opposed to the topic about which they are writing.

Curriculum (Social Studies) The primary units in social studies this year are as follows:  Geography and Map Skills  Native Americans  Explorers  Original 13 Colonies  American Revolution

Curriculum (Social Studies)  Constitution  Bill of Rights We will use a variety of “texts” including videos, primary source documents, magazines, and A History of Us textbooks as we learn about historical events. Students will be assessed primarily on participation, notebook checks, and projects.

Humanities  Native American Legends.  Reading nonfiction texts.  Written responses to reading and videos.  Biography project.

Science Overview  Science is primarily group work with hands on activities.  We practice reading and writing as scientists to gain and share knowledge.  Our curriculum is aligned with the Massachusetts version of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Language Arts standards for non-fiction.

 There will be nightly homework for science that should take 5-10 minutes. They will be asked to answer the “Think” question from class. Responses will be collected on Friday. There is a built in reward system for bringing it in everyday, and for completing bonus work. They will not lose points on their grade, however, if they don’t have it every day. The official due date is Friday  Students will be engaged in “Whole Brain Learning” which involves teaching and responding with words and gestures Science Overview

Science Curriculum  SCIENTISTS  SUN, MOON, AND EARTH  MATTER  WATER  ENERGY CYCLE  Engineering and Design Standards are woven throughout all units.

Math What Does it Look Like? Fifth grade students are using Eureka Math (EngageNY) Students will do a mixture of whole class work, partner/group work and independent work Students will be taking part in guided math Students are encouraged to use manipulatives and resources to assist them in problem-solving and conceptual understanding Students will have a math binder that includes problem sets that resemble the homework as well as a notebook that will contain model problems and/or important notes.

Math Content Students will be covering several topics that fall under larger headings including numbers and operations in base ten, geometry, measurement and data, operations and algebraic thinking and fractions Numbers and Operation in base ten: Multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals Addition and subtraction of decimals Place Value Geometry Triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, prisms and composites Volume

Math Cont. Measurement and Data Weight, capacity, length Ruler and Metric work Fractions Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing Like and unlike denominators Operations and Algebraic Thinking Expressions Graphing Patterns Order of operations

Resources Eureka Math online resources Reference binder Google Classroom After-school IXL At home: Practice, practice, practice math facts. Review previously taught material-math is very cumulative. Talk to your child about relationships among numbers. Ex. 6 and 60 This will help to strengthen problem solving strategies and build number sense