5K Update
5K has been full of change. Jany Finkielsztein was in the class this past month teaching the Light
Unit and Cynthia Anderson was here getting to know the children and our classroom routines. This
change has brought some anxiety, however I feel that we are settled in and adjusting nicely. The
resiliency of your children is impressive.
Cynthia is a great match for 5K and the children are becoming more comfortable and acclimated to
the idea of her taking over. Of course the biggest change has been the size of my belly and the
fact that I am leaving soon. I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that my last day
here at Hunnewell is going to be today Friday the 13th. Although I am feeling great and the baby is
fine, my doctor feels that it is best for both of us to not come back to work. February vacation is
a natural break and Cynthia’s expertise and familiarity with your children give me great confidence
and peace of mind. Please talk with your children to make this transition as smooth as possible.
Thank you all for such a wonderful second year here at Hunnewell. You have amazing children and
should be proud of all their hard work. I will send pictures and be back for graduation.
Math Unit: Measuring
Polygons
Acute, obtuse, quadrilateral, polygons, scalene, isosceles, and equilateral are only a few of the
math vocabulary in this unit. Students are working on incorporating this vocabulary into their daily
math conversations and discussions. During this unit we have learned to measure angles without a
protractor. Ask your child how that is done. Also in this unit is the concept of area and perimeter.
It has been challenging to think about area and perimeter in connection to the real world as well as
to look at the relationship between area and perimeter when dimensions are doubled.

Important Information & Dates
• February Vacation: February 14-22
•Fifth Grade Coffee: February 27, 2009
•Fifth Grade Math Morning: March 11, 2009 8:30-9:15
•Hunnewell Auction: March 14, 2009
•anderson_cynthia@wellesley.k12.ma.us

Readers’ Workshop
Book groups are wrapping and Eve Bunting will be our next RW unit. Each book group worked mainly on
inferencing and analyzing evidence from the text. This was done through responses and discussions
around meaningful questions from the text. These questions required a lot of thought because the
author never really comes out and says the actual answer. Each student had to use clues from the
text and from their own knowledge to answer the questions. This is the most difficult aspect of
thinking while reading. Eve Bunting is an incredible author who through social messages, theme, and
symbolisms portrays picture books in sophisticated manner.
Writers’ Workshop
Expert Research will be finishing up the week after vacation. Each student has a working draft and
an almost completed bibliography. Students in 5K are learning to incorporate an appropriate amount
of voice, ask questions of their writing to fill in gaps between facts, and to pull their audience
in with strong leads. Once Expert Research is completed, students of 5K will be revisiting and
wrapping up their essays.

Social Studies/Science
With the Light Unit complete, out next step will be to circle back and complete our ancient Egyptian
Tomb paintings. This is a fun and artistic project that culminates the ancient Egypt Unit. Students
put themselves in ancient Egypt, creating a life with a job, family, favorite god or goddess and
after life possessions and then portray this life on what would be their tomb for their own burial.
The main lingering question asked was if their tomb were dug up, what would they want archaeologists
to know about their lives in ancient Egypt.