Welcome to the 5th Grade homeroom back to school night! (Along with 6th, 7th and 8th Social Studies). I know that this is not the usual format in which this information would be delivered. Please know that if you have any questions I can always be reached at [email protected].
So let’s jump right in.
For 5th grade I teach the following subjects: Religion, Reading, History and Spelling.
For History the students will be learning about United States history. So far they have studied the basics of our nation and our ideals. Starting next week we will be delving into the ancient history of our continent and how the first people came to be here. They will then move through the early encounters Natives had with Europeans and the beginnings of the colonies. My goal is to get as far in history as time will allow. The students will mostly use the textbook as the source for their information but they will also use a workbook to continue their study as well as primary sources throughout the units of study. This will be an introductory year to the usage of those sources which will ramp up in the following years. This is the beginning of four years of history in which the students will be well prepared for high school history courses.
The next subject that I would like to cover is Reading. For this subject there will be three textbooks. Two of these are your traditional texts whereas the third is the most important. The third aligns itself with Common Core standards to ensure that students are on track throughout the years for their eventual high school education. Currently we are covering finding the main idea of a selection and supporting that with key details from the text. After we have completed the work on this section we will move on and cover making inferences.
The students will also cover several novels as the year progresses. The first of these novels will be The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Here students will try to bring in the skills learned from study of the other books into their reading of the novel. Other examples of novels that will be read are Number the Stars and Hatchet.
For Religion, the students will be covering many facets of the Catholic faith with an emphasis on several of the sacraments. Students will strengthen their faith and grow closer to God through new knowledge, reflection and the weekly Mass that will be held as a Saint Constance family.
Spelling is the simplest of the subjects to cover. They will be required to complete one spelling unit per week culminating in a test on the last day of the week. Students will also be required to complete 5x each and sentences for each word of the unit. There may be times due to schedule changes or events during the week that this requirement may be waived.
Now I would like to turn my attention to the grades above 5th. For 6th, they will be studying geography this year. Currently, we are studying the themes of geography and its importance. As the course progresses we will move to other factors such as population and its movement and some countries efforts to control their numbers (One Child Policy), as well as different forms of energy in the world. Towards the middle of the year, students will begin studying civilizations in depth starting with ancient Greece. During this unit students will compare Athens to Sparta, examine ancient philosophers as well as analyze the allegory of the cave by Plato.
7th grade has a busy year ahead of them. We have quite a bit to cover in order to get to where the current 8th left off at the end of their 7th year. The biggest item on the agenda this year will be the Constitution tests for both the federal and state level. Students will be using a Constitution blue book to complete work and learn from once we reach that point in United States history. Another important point to note is that the students will be relying heavily on learning from primary sources and coming to their own conclusions through analyzation and discussion.
The 8th grade will seem close to business as usual. We will continue where we left off at the end of the previous year. Currently, we have just started the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Students are already used to the use of primary source analysis in my class from the previous year. For the current unit of study they will receive the background information on Jackson’s presidency and throughout will take a close look at the Nullification Crisis, The Removal of Natives as well the outlook of the president by his contemporaries. The 8th grade did not have to take a Constitution test last year due to the quarantine interrupting our study of those documents. They will be required to take them both this year. We will pick up with our study the same time as 7th which will be after the first trimester.
Again, please reach out if you have any questions and as always have a blessed day,
Keith Ryan
So let’s jump right in.
For 5th grade I teach the following subjects: Religion, Reading, History and Spelling.
For History the students will be learning about United States history. So far they have studied the basics of our nation and our ideals. Starting next week we will be delving into the ancient history of our continent and how the first people came to be here. They will then move through the early encounters Natives had with Europeans and the beginnings of the colonies. My goal is to get as far in history as time will allow. The students will mostly use the textbook as the source for their information but they will also use a workbook to continue their study as well as primary sources throughout the units of study. This will be an introductory year to the usage of those sources which will ramp up in the following years. This is the beginning of four years of history in which the students will be well prepared for high school history courses.
The next subject that I would like to cover is Reading. For this subject there will be three textbooks. Two of these are your traditional texts whereas the third is the most important. The third aligns itself with Common Core standards to ensure that students are on track throughout the years for their eventual high school education. Currently we are covering finding the main idea of a selection and supporting that with key details from the text. After we have completed the work on this section we will move on and cover making inferences.
The students will also cover several novels as the year progresses. The first of these novels will be The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Here students will try to bring in the skills learned from study of the other books into their reading of the novel. Other examples of novels that will be read are Number the Stars and Hatchet.
For Religion, the students will be covering many facets of the Catholic faith with an emphasis on several of the sacraments. Students will strengthen their faith and grow closer to God through new knowledge, reflection and the weekly Mass that will be held as a Saint Constance family.
Spelling is the simplest of the subjects to cover. They will be required to complete one spelling unit per week culminating in a test on the last day of the week. Students will also be required to complete 5x each and sentences for each word of the unit. There may be times due to schedule changes or events during the week that this requirement may be waived.
Now I would like to turn my attention to the grades above 5th. For 6th, they will be studying geography this year. Currently, we are studying the themes of geography and its importance. As the course progresses we will move to other factors such as population and its movement and some countries efforts to control their numbers (One Child Policy), as well as different forms of energy in the world. Towards the middle of the year, students will begin studying civilizations in depth starting with ancient Greece. During this unit students will compare Athens to Sparta, examine ancient philosophers as well as analyze the allegory of the cave by Plato.
7th grade has a busy year ahead of them. We have quite a bit to cover in order to get to where the current 8th left off at the end of their 7th year. The biggest item on the agenda this year will be the Constitution tests for both the federal and state level. Students will be using a Constitution blue book to complete work and learn from once we reach that point in United States history. Another important point to note is that the students will be relying heavily on learning from primary sources and coming to their own conclusions through analyzation and discussion.
The 8th grade will seem close to business as usual. We will continue where we left off at the end of the previous year. Currently, we have just started the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Students are already used to the use of primary source analysis in my class from the previous year. For the current unit of study they will receive the background information on Jackson’s presidency and throughout will take a close look at the Nullification Crisis, The Removal of Natives as well the outlook of the president by his contemporaries. The 8th grade did not have to take a Constitution test last year due to the quarantine interrupting our study of those documents. They will be required to take them both this year. We will pick up with our study the same time as 7th which will be after the first trimester.
Again, please reach out if you have any questions and as always have a blessed day,
Keith Ryan