CAC PV 5th Grade

Weekly Memo (October 7-11)

Monitoring IXL Progress

As I’ve shared a few times this year (here and here), we’ve been using IXL (an online learning program) in class. We’ve been using IXL as an early morning starter for students who arrive before 8:00, and we also log in throughout the week to target specific skills after a lesson. When averaged, each student has spent approximately 434 minutes working on IXL since August 12 which amounts to around 11 minutes a day. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but the results are pretty remarkable.

This week I received two congratulatory certificates from IXL.



The first Achievement Summary I downloaded is below and it’s one I shared in a previous weekly memo.



Our most recent Achievement Summary is below, and you can see the progress we’re making as we work towards skill proficiency and mastery.



I’ve been really impressed with the progress our class has made this year, and I can’t wait to continue to watch them grow and learn about the world them.

I want to encourage you to log in and check your child’s progress and even have them walk you through the program. They can tell you all about the questions, scoring, and skills we’ve been working on in class. To help you navigate the site, I created the tutorial video below that will walk you through checking your child’s progress report.



By the way, students are certainly permitted to work on IXL outside of the classroom, but I’ll never assign it as homework nor do I want students to feel like it’s a burden. Instead, it’s simply a supplement to instruction and it’s something students enjoy doing. Let’s keep it that way!
What We’re Learning This Week (if all goes as planned)
  • Bible
    • Joseph’s Life (Genesis 37-50)
      • How does Joseph saves the people of Egypt and his family?
      • How does Joseph forgive his brothers?
      • Even though people wrong us, when should we forgive them?
    • Memory Verse— Genesis 50:20
    • Books of the Old Testament
  • Reading/Vocab
    • Read-Aloud
    • DRA Testing
    • Journeys
      • Read "Double Dutch" by Veronica Chambers
      • Skills: Sequence of Events; Pacing; Writing with rhythm
      • Vocab & Comprehension Quiz on Friday
    • Next AR Test Deadline— Friday, October 7
      • Must be a grade-level book
      • Must be a book that the student has not yet tested on
      • Must be a book read this nine weeks
  • Social Studies
    • Wrap up Studies Weekly #3— American Indians
      • Review Monday; Test Tuesday
    • Studies Weekly #4— The New World and the Age of Discovery
    • Time for Kids
  • Math
    • Lesson 25— Listing the Factors of Whole Numbers (in class Monday; graded in class)
    • Pre-Test (in class Monday; grade in class)
    • Test (Lessons 1-25) Tuesday
    • Lesson 26— Division Algorithm
    • Lesson 27— Reading Scales
    • Lesson 28— Measuring Time and Elapsed Time
  • Spelling
    • Lesson Nine Words (see below)
    • Pre-Test Thursday (perfect scores will not need to take Thursday’s test)
    • Test Friday (if necessary)
  • English
    • Personal Pronouns (Voyages 2.4-2.7)
    • Review Subjects & Verbs
    • Pronoun Chart Quiz on Thursday (Download PDF)
    • Test over subjects, verbs, nouns, and pronouns on Friday
  • Writing
    • Handwriting Practice (pp. 15-16)
    • Narrative Writing (Revision Process)

This Week’s Memory Verse
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

Genesis 50:20
This Week’s Spelling List
Printable version— Download PDF
Spelling List— Lesson Nine
  1. past
  2. and
  3. perhaps
  4. before
  5. possible
  6. solve
  7. problem
  8. swung
  9. because
  10. blood
  11. accident
  12. adventure
  13. decided
  14. pretend
  15. belong
  16. lobster
  17. python
  18. jungle
  19. shuttle
  20. flood

This Week’s Tests & Quizzes
  • Monday
    • Math Pre-Test (completed and graded in class)
  • Tuesday
    • Social Studies Test (Native Americans; Review Monday)
    • Math Test (Lessons 1-25)
  • Thursday
    • Personal Pronoun Chart Quiz
    • Spelling Pre-Test
  • Friday
    • AR Test #3 Due
    • Spelling Test (if necessary)
    • Memory Verse Test
    • Journeys Comprehension & Vocab Test
    • Test over subjects, verbs, nouns, and pronouns
Upcoming Projects
  • *EXTENDED TO MONDAY* We are collecting supplies for our Mustang Missions Haiti Christian Development Project. Our class will be collecting the following two items:
    • Spiral Notebooks (70-page count)
    • Chapstick
    • We are also asking each family that is able to contribute at least $10.00 (cash or check made out to H.C.D.P.) to help cover the shipping charges.
Chapel This Week
Friday, October 11
  • Song— Leo
  • Song— Connor
  • Scripture— Robert
  • Prayer— Jonah
Important Dates & Upcoming Events
  • Monday, October 7
    • Mustang Missions Spirit Day— Students may wear a sports jersey or t-shirt if they donate $1 to Mustang Missions
  • Friday, October 11
    • AR Book #3 Test Due
  • Monday, October 14
    • Homecoming Dress-Up Day: Sleeping Beauty Day (pajamas)
  • Tuesday, October 15
    • Homecoming Dress-Up Day: You’ve got a friend in me Day (students may dress as Buzz (space) or Woody (cowboy)
  • Wednesday, October 16
    • Homecoming Dress-Up Day: Surf vs. Turf (Hawaiian or Greaser)
    • End of 1st Grading Period
    • Early Dismissal (1:30 PM)
  • Thursday, October 17
    • Homecoming Dress-Up Day: Favorite Disney Character
  • Friday, October 18
    • Homecoming Dress-Up Day: Purple & Gold (no wigs or face paint)
  • Monday, October 21
  • Monday, October 28
    • Family Fall Fest (5:00-6:30 PM)



Resource of the Week


I grew up without a dad at home for the first ten years of my life. Since I didn't have an example to follow (actually, I had more of an "example not-to-follow"), reading Boys Should Be Boys has helped me get a handle on raising my three sons (and I know I have a long way to go!). This book offers some great insight-- for both a father's role and a mother's role-- in raising boys. If you’d like, you can read my notes and the key passages I highlighted (Download PDF). I hope they are as empowering and encouraging to you as they were for me.
Helpful Links

Classroom Resource Page (for class schedule, safety patrol rotation, textbooks, etc.)


Google Classroom (students may access this from their Google drive account)


Class ShowMe Page (video tutorials)