Dear Families,
October 2015
It is hard to believe, but we are coming to the close of the fall trimester. A 5/6 fall trimester
mathematics assessment will be given between October 22th and October 29th. This assessment
is intended to provide all of us with insights into the mathematics ideas and concepts that your
child has grasped firmly and those areas that may still be in need of support; in this way, the fall
assessment can inform classroom instruction in the months ahead.
This letter provides you with a sense of the mathematics topics that students have studied during
the fall. Your child may wish to revisit these topics at home prior to the fall assessment in order
to feel confident about the knowledge and understandings he or she is bringing to the
assessment. However, please be sensitive to any pressure or anxiety that your child may feel
about the assessment. You will find that as your child continues to work in the present unit of
study in mathematics class, classroom routines and homework will offer opportunities to revisit
and reinforce concepts from earlier in the year as well.
The following topics will be included on the fall assessment:
Unit 1: The Number System- Factors and Multiples
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review the divisibility rules in order to make finding factors and multiples easier
fluently multiply and divide multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm
find the greatest common factor of two whole numbers (less than or equal to 100)
find the least common multiple of two whole numbers (less than or equal to 12)
use the distributive property to write expressions with factors in different ways
understand and show expanded and factored form
Unit 2: The Number System-Rational Numbers
● understand positive and negative numbers
● explain and use positive and negative numbers in context and understand their
relationship to 0
● understand the opposite of an opposite ( i.e. What is the opposite of the opposite of 9?)
● find and order positive and negative numbers on a number line
● find ordered pairs in all four quadrants of a coordinate plane and create polygons on the
coordinate plane
● understand absolute value as it relates to integers and their opposites
● interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of numbers on
a number line
Additional Components
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Multiplication and Division facts (through 12 x 12) will also be assessed to monitor
students’ ongoing progress towards fluency.
● Computations sets- Students will demonstrate fluency with computation by completing
problems including the four operations.
● Problem solving task- Students will solve a performance task focused on the above
content.
Mathematically yours,
The Grade 5 Math Team