4th Gr ELA at Ames & Hollywood

Students are continuing to work hard on their Wildlife Biologist task! Their infographic about bats has been completed, and students can share this with you by logging in to Google Classroom. This week students shifted their focus to writing a magazine article with the goal of persuading Chicagoland residents that the Chicago Park District should approve the installation of bat homes within local parks. The students organized their research notes into a graphic organizer that will provide structure to their articles, and they wrote their introductions. Next week we will revise, edit, and work towards polishing up the formatting of the articles. 

Be sure to ask your child

• what part of their research they plan to use to dispel a common myth about bats.
• what the best way to organize your arguments is within a persuasive writing piece.

5th Grade ELA at Ames & Central Schools

We are in the midst of our Defined Stem unit titled Zoologist, which has the students taking on the role of a zoologist and working with the World Wildlife Fund to develop an ad campaign designed to protect an endangered species. Students have completed a flier for distribution at local zoos and aquariums, and are now focused on creating an infomercial that will inspire people to take action to help their chosen animal. 

The finishing touches for both components of their marketing campaign will hopefully be wrapped up next week. At that point we will begin the text A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This will connect to the 5th grade Ready Gen module that analyzes how individuals respond to their environment. 

Be sure to ask your child what creative solution was developed in order to tackle the problem of how much of our food supply ultimately ends up in the trash, as well as what the goal of the Ad Council is. (*Hint, students can refer to resources posted in Google Classroom if they need additional info for you.) 

5th Grade ELA at Hollywood

Last week we wrapped up our Wildlife Biologist unit on Bats! Be sure to ask your child whether or not they would be in favor of building bat houses in local parks and why. You can also ask them what they learned about formatting a magazine article. Students can show you finished copies of their work by logging in to Google Classroom. 

This week we read a few different informational texts in order to identify main ideas, key topics, and supporting details. Students practiced turning their notes into an outline or idea web. Ask your child how cold it gets in Tanana, Alaska and at what point the schools decide to cancel outdoor recess. 

In the next few weeks we will read the text A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This will connect to the 5th grade Ready Gen module that analyzes how individuals respond to their environment.