Category Archives: Language Arts

Literary Bites: A Book Tasting Experience

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Today we sampled some incredible books at our Book Tasting (thanks to Joanne Miller for the great resource!)

Students got to taste 5 different books of various genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Mystery. As any good critic would do, they wrote down their first impressions and initial thoughts after their first bites. They then gave each book a rating on a scale from 1-10. Finally, any books worth revisiting were written down on a bookmark so they could remember their top picks.

Students realized that some books that they may not have been attracted to at first were in fact appealing. Others discovered genres they never knew they were interested in.

We did this as a launch to our next reading task, The At-Home Reading Response. Step 1 is for students to choose their book. They can choose one of the books from our tasting, they can choose one from this book list, or they can read a book from their own “want to read” lists. Whichever book they choose, they must let me know by April 9th. From there, we will make a reading plan and they will each receive their prompt for their response. More info coming soon!

 

 

Grade 5 Book Club 2025

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Yesterday marked the launch of Book Clubs (or literature circles) in Grade 5.

After hearing about 4 different books and voting for their top picks, we will have 1 group of students reading Linked by Gordon Korman (no audio recordings found), and three groups reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (audiobook links if needed).

Here’s how it will work:

Students will have 4 weeks to read their book. With their groups, they’ve decided on weekly reading goals. Each week, in addition to reading, they will also have a “job” to prepare for their group discussion. These will be based on the section they read that week. This is all to be done AT HOME as homework. Other than meeting discussions, students will not have class time to work on this.

As an example, their schedule may look something like the one below. As you can see from this picture, the top schedule outlines what everyone in the group is doing and when. The bottom chart is each student’s INDIVIDUAL schedule that says what they need to read, and what job they need to complete. They only need to complete the sheet in their folder that matches the job they are doing that week. So in week 1, as the Figurative Language Finder, I would only need to fill out the sheet titled – Week 1 – Figurative Language Finder. If they are unsure how to complete their job, students can refer back to the first pages of the package where the requirements are explained in detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a digital copy of the package they already received when you picked up their science kits.

Book Club will take place every WEDNESDAY, so it is important that students bring their books and duotangs, with all their work completed, for Wednesday’s class for the next 4 weeks.

Happy Reading 🙂

First Weeks in Grade 5 General Studies

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What a start to the school year it has been! We have been reading, writing, creating, researching, and learning so much about each other. Let’s fill you in!

 

Language Arts Recap

We have started our Wonder novel study. This incredible story about resilience and friendship is bound to be crowd favourite. We will be practicing empathy, reflection and gratitude throughout this entire unit.

For anyone who would like to listen along as we read, the recordings have been added to Google Classroom.

 

Math Recap

The students have blown me away with how well they are doing with our first unit on Number Sense. We have reviewed place value to hundred thousands, representing numbers in various forms, ordering and comparing numbers to 100 000, and rounding whole numbers. Next up we will look at decimal place value, before we have our first math test of the year. All review materials, instructional videos and practice worksheets will be posted to Google Classroom.

 

Science Recap

Have you ever wondered what it would be like for a piece of sushi to travel through the digestive system? Or maybe a piece of cake would be more fun? Stay tuned, as the students will be posting their creative stories on their blogfolios, depicting the adventures of a piece of food as it makes its way through each organ of the digestive system. We promise there’s SOME science involved 😉

 

Social Studies Recap

Life before first contact was very different than it is today. We have spent the last two weeks looking at language maps, reading about various Canadian Indigenous communities, and have practiced making educated assumptions about ways of life based on our analysis of the maps and documents we’ve read. At the start of the year the students shared how much they enjoy building models as part of the Social Studies program. I am sure they will get really excited about our project coming up…stay tuned for more details. It won’t be “long”…

Congratulations!

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We were thrilled to have special guest judge, Mrs. Laderoute, join us for the public speaking contest. This added an extra layer of excitement and expertise to the event. We couldn’t be more proud of all the participants who showcased their courage and delivered outstanding speeches, proving their strong skills in both writing and oral presentations.

On the top of the podium we have…

5A

  1. Raisa
  2. Lily
  3. Sadie

5B

  1. Coby
  2. Kayla
  3. Noa

Congratulations to our winners!!

 

Public Speaking 2023

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Hello, Grade 5 families!

Students have now started their digital copy of their speech writing work packs for public speaking. In this package you can find the due dates for each part of the writing process. In Grade 5, most of the written work is completed in class with submissions dates for teacher feedback on each section. In class, we will also have writing workshops to remind students of writing hooks, interesting openers, persuasive writing tools and impactful conclusions.

Students will also have opportunities to check in with myself, ensuring everyone is on track with writing deadlines and to discuss feedback.

Writing the speech is only half of the task…presenting their speech to a kind (yet critical!) audience is also really helpful. Please encourage your child to read their speech out loud and offer feedback. If you’re unavailable, ask your child to record themselves! You can listen later plus your child gets to see themselves and begin to make adjustments independently.

Check out this awesome speech by a 10-year girl, looking at not only the words but the non-verbal cues and these amazing Tedtalks showcasing the use of anecdotes.

There will be more information to follow about the structure of the public speaking finals.

Please reach out to Ms. Whitteker, if you have any questions or queries regarding this writing project.

Book Club!

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Today marks the launch of Book Clubs (or literature circles) in Grade 5. We book-talked 4 different books:

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Holes by Louis Sachar

I am David by Anne Holm

After hearing a short description of each book, students filled out a form and ranked the books they wanted to read. Based on their choices, they have been divided into groups, all of them getting either their first or second choice of book to read.

Here’s how it will work:

Students will have 4 weeks to read their book. With their groups, they’ll decided on weekly reading goals. Each week, in addition to reading, they will also have a “job” to prepare for their group discussion. These will be based on the section they read that week. This is all to be done AT HOME as homework. Other than meeting discussions, students will not have class time to work on this.

As an example, their schedule may look something like the one below. As you can see from this picture, the top schedule outlines what everyone in the group is doing and when. The bottom chart is each student’s INDIVIDUAL schedule that says what they need to read, and what job they need to complete. They only need to complete the sheet in their folder that matches the job they are doing that week. So in week 1, as the Figurative Language Finder, I would only need to fill out the sheet titled – Week 1 – Figurative Language Finder. If they are unsure how to complete their job, students can refer back to the first pages of the package where the requirements are explained in detail. The other Week 1 sheets will be completed in class when we meet in groups for discussion.

Here is the student work package that is found in their duotangs.

Book Club will take place every FRIDAY, so it is important that students bring their books and duotangs, with all their work completed, for FRIDAY’s class for the next 4 weeks. If there is no school on the Friday, it is expected to be completedthe last day of school before the weekend.

Happy Reading 🙂

What’s Next?

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Here is a glimpse into what the grade 5’s will be working on in Term 2 in General Studies!

Language Arts 

-Finish Wonder 

-Book Club (student choice in books, in class and homework) 

-Story Elements (theme, setting, figurative language, dialogue) 

-Short Stories (paragraphs, punctuating dialogue, plot, point of view) 

-Reflecting on Writing 

 

Math 

Multiplication

– Facts 12 x 12 and 144/12

– 2-digit x 2-digit

– Divide 3-digit by 2-digit

– Variables as a term

– Multiply and divide decimals by powers of 10 (and decimals)

 

Financial Literacy 

– (Identify) and describe money transfer between individuals, organizations and businesses

– Total cost with tax

– Design sample budgets to manage finances for various earning and spending scenarios

– Explain credit and debt and describe how financial decisions may be impacted by each

– Calculate unit rates for various goods and services to determine best value

– Describe different types of taxes collected by different levels of government, and explain how tox revenue is used to provide services in the community

 

Science 

Matter and Energy 

-Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World 

-Properties of and Changes in Matter 

Relating Science and Technology in our Changing World 

-Forces Acting on Structures