Fifth Grade,
Mrs. Jordan Walsh
“To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love, For it is in giving that we receive. . .”
~ from The Prayer of Saint Francis
Mrs. Jordan Walsh, Fifth Grade
My name is Jordan Walsh (formally Bonnell), and I am so excited for my fourth year at Holy Cross. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Portland to attend the University of Portland. In May of 2018, I graduated with a degree in history, along with a minor in secondary education. After completing my undergraduate degree, I chose to stay in Portland where I obtained my Master of Arts in Teaching. Throughout my time at the University of Portland, I had the amazing opportunity to student teach in a variety of classes, including a semester at Holy Cross in the fall of 2017. I am incredibly grateful to be part of this community and I can’t wait to spend the next year learning and growing with my fifth graders!
Sites for Independently Practicing Skills
Khan Academy: This site has videos and practice for the entire 5th-grade math curriculum. You will need to create a login for your student.
XtraMath: This is a great one to keep those basic math facts fresh. It is customized to the student's current level. Students already have logins.
i-Ready Math: This is a part of our math curriculum and is customized to your student’s current level. There are tutorials followed by skill practice and quizzes. Students already have logins.
MobyMax: personalized learning for every K-8 subject with lots of built-in student motivation so kids enjoy practicing. Students take a placement test and then receive practice in the skills they need help with.
ReadTheory: reading comprehension practice for grades 1-12 reading level. Available on desktop and mobile.
Prodigy: math practice in all major topics for grades 1-8. Student progress is reported back to you in real-time, and the activities are highly engaging and game-like. Kids love Prodigy!
IXL: mostly rote skill practice and timed drills in math, ELA, science, and social studies for PreK-12. It’s easy to find the specific standard you want your child to work on.
NCTM Illuminations: K-12 activities and games for nearly every math topic.
Fun Educational Games
BrainPOP’s GameUp: highly vetted free educational games for K-12 on a variety of topics. BrainPOP’s collection focuses on higher-level thinking skills and critical thinking rather than rote practice and includes topics such as coding, STEM skills, and art and music.
Utah Education Network: a curated collection of free useful and developmentally appropriate games from all over the web. Look in the sidebar on the right-hand side and click K-2, 3-6, or 7-12 interactives.
ABCya: K-5 ELA and math games, as well as various other topics (both educational and just for fun.) There’s also a large collection of games available as apps.
Sheppard Software: has top-quality games for every subject spanning PreK-8. Fun and easy to use. There are ads on the site, so be sure to remind your child not to click on anything to the left or right of the game.
PBS Kids: great for younger students. There are educational and just-for-fun games, which you can sort by subject area and skill. Be warned that some games are premium and require a subscription. I also recommend the PBS CyberChase collection of math games.
FunBrain: makes the list because kids return to the site again and again even when they have the choice to play non-educational games. The online books and comics addition is wonderful. It’s not the easiest site for kids to navigate independently if they’re looking for a specific game, but that’s mostly because there’s so much there.
BBC UK: features a kid-friendly landing page that makes learning look like all fun and games, or use the schools-games page which organizes activities by subject area.
