Bellwood 5th Graders are Keeping Busy!
Bellwood 5th Grade News The 5th graders have had a busy start to their school year. After getting to know each other, we are settling into a regular routine. This wonderful group of students is always ready to learn and have been working very hard so far this year! This week we completed our last map assessment for a Social Studies map unit. The students are very excited to move on and learn about American History. Our first history unit begins next week with a study of Native Americans. We will be completing many interactive activities and the students will create a diorama of their tribe. We are excited to begin some new projects! In Science, the students have been very busy learning about the environment and how animals interact in the environment. Thank you to all the parents who helped their student study their folders! It definitely showed on their class work and assessment! We have now moved on to studying the classification of different animals in the environment. The students learned about the different kingdoms and groups and how scientists classify living things. We have learned about all the groups and are beginning our reports. The students will create a PowerPoint together as a group over one main animal group, then they will choose an animal from their group and give an individual presentation. Part of the Classification unit discusses complete life cycles. In order for students to best understand this process, we have our own mealworms. We observe these mealworms often, giving us practice using the process of observation. We will be following the mealworms throughout their entire life cycle! The students really enjoy it, and they are learning a lot. Ask your student to show you the mealworm hop! Our Language Arts topic right now is main idea and topics. We discuss this daily, as well as practice during Science and Social Studies time. The new students are adjusting well to the ECRI reading program. Our students who have had it before have been very helpful! The students write in their journals to me every day. This gives them lotâs of writing practice! They are also working on picture stories during their independent time. They are also busy completing their first book report. They get to choose from 25 options, so that they can present it in a way that works for them! Some students have already finished, but most are still hard at work! The 6th grade students have also been very busy in Social Studies. We began with a study of current events and the students already have two assessments under their belt. The students did a fantastic job! We finished our unit on Reconstruction on Friday, and will be spending our time next week working on researching Civil War artifacts for a Language Arts assessment. After it is complete, we get to move on to Immigration, which the students are very excited about! It has been a very busy year so far, and it will only continue to get busier! Thank you to all the parents who have helped their child review for assessments. I am excited to meet you all at parent/teacher conferences next month! Have a wonderful and safe October! Miss Muller 5th Grade
