Mrs. Atwood
5th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies Teacher
Room Number: 313
Phone Number: 508-696-6536
Email Address: catwood at mvyps.org

Welcome to 5th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies! I look forward to an exciting year that allows me to share my passion for reading, writing, and history with all of my students. Please read below for more information regarding the 5th grade ELA/S.S. curriculum.

Curriculum:


English Language Art
Students will have regular instruction in writing, reading, speaking, and listening. We will focus on many different writing types throughout the year such as narrative, informational, opinion, and many others. Students will be guided and supported throughout the writing process as they learn to develop and strengthen their writing skills. A variety of instructional techniques will be used to teach reading. Students will receive whole group and small group reading instruction, partake in literature circles, read class novels, learn comprehension strategies, study the genres, and read from their independent reading books nightly.

Independent reading is an important component of the 5th grade curriculum. Students will be required to read for 30 minutes, five nights per week. Throughout the week, students will also respond to their reading in their composition notebook as part of their homework.

SocialStudies

The fifth grade social studies curriculum covers a large span of time from early United States history, up through the Civil Rights Movement. The history curriculum begins with early colonization and the growth of the colonies. From there, we move into the reasons for the revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the formation of the government. Students will then study the growth of the Republic, slavery, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement. Much of the curriculum will be taught through the lens of literacy and with many project-based learning activities to strengthen student understanding.
For more information on the ELA and S.S. curriculum frameworks, please visit the following website:Êhttp://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/

Homework:
Students will be expected to read for 30 minutes, five nights a week. In addition to reading from an independent reading book, homework will be assigned on most weeknights. These assignments will differ daily, but may include reader's responses, small writing assignments, vocabulary, IXL, or additional practice with a skill or strategy taught in class.

Extra Help:
Students who need extra help on homework or class assignments are welcome to come in for teacher support before and after school. If students struggle with a homework assignment, I ask that a parent or guardian write a short note on the top of the homework explaining what their child had trouble with. Students who had difficulty on an assignment and have gotten a parent note may come to my classroom at 8:00 AM the following morning for extra help. I am available to help students from 8:00-8:10 AM and on many days after school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. While I am available by both phone and email, it is often easiest to send me an email during the school day as I am often unavailable to talk when I am teaching. I will email you back as soon as possible or follow up with a phone call.

List of Supplies for 5th Grade:

  • Metric ruler
  • Colored pencils
  • Regular pencils
  • Hand pencil sharpener
  • Pencil case
  • Eraser
  • Highlighters
  • Binder paper (3 hole punched)
  • Trapper keeper
  • Two (2) composition notebook
  • Binder dividers
  • Plastic two-pocket folder
  • Glue