fifth-graders hold ‘crew’ meeting each day

School year 2023-24 has gotten off to a great start for our fifth-grade students. We have spent the first couple of weeks getting to know each other and learning our routines. Something new we have started this year is a morning meeting which we call “Crew.” This is a time where we set a positive focus for the day with activities, readings and special classroom greetings. We are working to build a classroom community that promotes collaboration and belonging. As the “crew” of our classroom, we are all working together to “row our boat” as a team in order to accomplish success in our learning this year. We even ordered shirts with the fifth-grade Crew message to emphasize the importance of being part of a team.

English/language arts finds us in year two of our new reading curriculum, reading “Esperanza Rising.” We are building our Spanish and English vocabulary, while building our reading stamina and fluency. We are also practicing summarizing and quoting text evidence to support our ideas in writing.

In math class, we are learning about surface area and volume, while refreshing our math facts and problem-solving skills. Thinking like a mathematician is our goal. We are lucky enough to have a subscription to Breakout.edu, where students are having fun working independently or with a partner to solve the lock of the day. This requires perseverance and logic skills to solve problems.

On Fridays, we have enjoyed fun choice time as a class reward. Band is beginning soon in fifth grade, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to explore different instruments in the coming weeks. It’s a great year to be a Spencer fifth-grade Rocket. Go Rockets!

~Mrs. Jennings and Ms. Michaelis