Welcome to Room 9
Welcome to fourth and fifth grades in Room 9!
Week of October 26, 2026
- On Monday, our fifth graders went to Redondo Union High School for athletic field day where they participated in a variety of sports led by coaches and student athletes.
- Wednesday, our class will be visiting their kindergarten buddies.
- Friday is our school Halloween parade. We will do fun activities during the day. School is dismissed at 1:30 that day.
- This week, our fourth graders are working on writing their own poetry while continuing to read and analyze Love That Dog. In math, they will take their mid-module test on Wednesday that covers multiplying multi-digit factors by a one digit number. In science, we are beginning our study of geology in our new unit called "Earth's Features."
- Our fifth graders are continuing to read Thunder Rolling in the Mountains while learning about essay structure before beginning to write their next informational essay. In math, they are continuing to study long division, learning how to apply concepts of decimal division to their work. In science, they developing an understanding of properties of matter and molucules.
Week of October 19, 2026
- This week, our fourth graders are identifying the character arc of our protagonist in Love That Dog, as well as reading more poetry both for structure and theme. In math, students are continuing with multi-digit multiplication, and in science, we are wrapping up our unit on electrical systems.
- Our fifth graders are reading more of Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, while collecting evidence to write an essay comparing and contrasting the two main characters. In math, the kids are practicing long division with larger numbers, and in science they are digging deeper into properties of matter.
- Next Monday, our fifth grade students will be going to Redondo Union High School for Field Day from 8:00-10:45. Fifth graders should arrive at school by 7:45am.
Week of October 12, 2026
- No school Monday, October 12th.
- Thursday is the Great Shakeout earthquake drill.
- This week, our fourth graders are continuing with poetry, reading Love That Dog, and writing summaries. We'll also be looking again at what makes a strong informational paragraph. In math, the class is looking at a variety of ways to understand multi-digit multiplication with base 10 numbers. In science, we are applying our understanding of electrical systems to solve the problem of a blackout in the fictional town of Ergstown.
- Our fifth graders are learning about the roles of leaders as they continue to read Thunder Rolling in the Mountains. Students will also start collecting evidence for the next writing assignment. In math, students are practicing more measurement conversion before moving on to division within the base 10 system. The mid-module test will be Thursday. In science, students will get to do a hands on experiment to explore beginning concepts of matter.
Week of October 5, 2026
- Tuesday Oct. 6 is our STEAM field trip to Cal State Dominguez Hills
- Our first gardening lesson is Friday!
- This week, our fourth graders are continuing to learn about and analyze poetry while reading Love That Dog. They are also working on summarizing texts. In math, they started module 3, working on area and perimeter. In science, we learned about what can cause an electrical system to stop functioning.
- Our fifth graders read more of Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, while also writing their next focusing question task essay contrasting different sides of a conflict in the novel. In math, we worked on measurement conversion, and in science we started our next module: Modeling Matter.
Week of September 28, 2026
- Friday we have Hands On Art!
- This week, our fourth graders are writing an essay about what it means to literally have a great heart. They are also going to be starting to read and analyze poetry, as well as our core text Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. In math, they are doing a very short unit on metric measurement conversion. In science, students are learning about energy sources and converters.
- Our fifth graders are learning to write a compare and contrast essay based on characters from our core text Thunder Rolling in the Mountains. In math, they are practicing multi-digit multiplication, and in science we are wrapping up our unit about astronomical patterns.
Week of September 21, 2026
- No school Monday, September 21st.
- We are meeting our kindergarten buddies on Wednesday!
- P.E. will be Thursday this week due to the day off on Monday.
- Students have been working on their iReady trimester assessments in language arts and math.
- Our fourth graders are working on finding the main idea and key details in informational texts, and then using them to write summaries. They are also reviewing rules of capitalization as well as understanding figurative language including similes and metaphors. In math, they are finishing module 1, and taking the end of module test on Thursday. In science they are comparing the energy efficiency of LED lights to regular lightbulbs.
- Our fifth graders are reading another myth from the Nez Perce culture, and starting our core text Thunder Rolling in the Mountains. They are also working on comparing and contrasting characters based on their traits, and reviewing rules of capitalizing and punctuating titles of creative works. In math, they are starting module 2 and learning strategies for multiplying large whole numbers. In science, they are continuing to study pattern in astronomy and learn about the effects of gravity.
Week of September 14, 2026
- Running Club started this Monday!
- Wednesday is picture day. Picture order forms went home last week. Orders can be made online.
- We are starting our iReady assessments this week. These assess student knowledge in language arts and math, and will be used to guide instruction. Students will take this assessment three times during the year to measure progress.
- Our fourth graders are wrapping up The Circulatory Story and finding examples of how figurative language can help make informational texts easier to understand and more enjoyable. In math, students are practicing subtracting large numbers with borrowing. In science, we are continuing to learn about energy and how it is converted for different purposes.
- Our fifth graders are working hard on writing this week including an informational essay about how Nez Perce culture in the 1870s was influenced by their homeland. In math, we are finishing module 1 and will be taking the end of module test on Friday. In science, we are continuing to learn about patterns of our daily rotation, our annual revolution around the sun, and patterns of the moon.
Week of September 7, 2026
- No school Monday, September 7th.
- Our fourth graders are reading The Circulatory Story to learn about the literal heart as well as informational text structure. In math, they took their mid-module test Tuesday, and will then continue with applying their knowledge of place value to adding and subtracting with larger values. In science, students created another hands on electrical system and started learning about various forms of energy.
- Our fifth graders are learning about Nez Perce culture through both informational texts as well as mythology. In math this week, they are applying their knowledge of place value to add, subtract, and multiply numbers to the thousandths place. In science, students are learning about the patterns of Earth's daily rotation as well as the revolutions it makes around the sun.
Week of August 31st
- Back to School Night is this Thursday, September 3rd. School will be dismissed at 1:30. Parents are invited to attend the Principal's presentation at 5:00. Classroom presentations will be made at 5:30, and then again at 6:15. I hope you can join us for one of them!
- This week, our students will have short presentations from parent volunteers regarding the Battle of the Books program and the PTA Art Reflections program.
- The fourth graders are preparing to write a short essay about how Dr. Samuel Gross showed a great heart figuratively. In math, they are continuing with place value including rounding numbers. They will be taking the mid-module test next Tuesday. In science, our students are learning about electrical systems.
- The fifth graders are preparing to write a summary of an informational text that is helping them build background knowledge for our upcoming literature selection. In math, they are continuing with place value including decimals and will be taking their mid-module test this Thursday. In science, our class is learning about the relative size and distance of stars from our solar system.
Week of August 24th
- This week, the students will have p.e. on Monday and music Tuesday/Thursday. Reminder that 5th grade students need to select their choice of band instrument or vocal music by this Friday. 5th grade music selection form
- Our fourth graders are beginning a language art unit about the difference between literal and figurative language through a study of the heart. In math, they are reviewing/learning about place value with multiplying and dividing by 10s and 100s. In science, students will begin our unit on electricity.
- Our fifth graders are beginning a language arts unit comparing and contrasting cultural beliefs and values based on a historical conflict in the 1870s. This week, we will be building background about that conflict. In math, they are expanding their knowledge of place value by multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, and 1000 working with decimals.
Week of August 17th
- School begins Wednesday, August 19th. Normal Wednesday schedule, dismissal at 1:30 p.m.
- We're going to spend the first few days building our class community and learning our class routines.
- Parents, please fill out both of these forms:
