Carmel Five

Monday, March 1

2010-03-01T15:39:00.002+08:00

MATH
We learned how to add and subtract with like denominators. It's pretty easy: Keep the denominator the same and add or subtract the numerators. Just don't forget to simpify your answer.

Finish the worksheet tonight.

HUMANITIES
In class you put together a whole set of flashcards. These are your study guide for Friday's quiz!
Get people to test you. It doesn't matter who -- your Dad, sister, friend, fish. Just study!

Weekly Blurb -- Week Ending Feb 26

2010-02-26T14:54:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
There are always so many things that seem to go on at once in our Humanities class. On the Social Studies side, we are continuing to look at America’s march towards freedom. This week, we looked at the documents that stated the nation’s intention to be free – The Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Freedom.

As we did that, we weren’t ashamed to pick a fight. The class revisited the work we did on debates before the break to stage their own debate on the topic “Should America go to War.” Student groups needed to prepare an opening statement, rebuttal and closing argument.

As if that wasn’t enough, we are also writing an essay that will go into this academic term’s yearbook. The theme for the yearbook is “Dreams,” and grade five students needed to write an essay following the topic “Dreaming of the Day I’m …” Entries to date have been quite creative, but I want to know how some of these 22 year olds are managing to pull off being a millionaire. We’ve had to temper some dreams with a dose of reality about entry level positions and salaries in your twenties, but the exercise should be something fun for students to look back on when they crack open their yearbooks somewhere down the line.

MATH
Work continues in fractions. We’ve simplified them, compared them, found their equivalents and even turned them into decimals. Our quiz on this foundation work was this Friday. Next week we’ll start to add and subtract.

SCIENCE
We just wrapped up our latest unit, Matter and Energy. Students had their quiz on the material that we have studied all this block on Thursday. On Tuesday, we started to talk about our next unit, Populations and Ecosystems. We learned what an ecosystem is, and students even made some observations of the eco-system they live in.
EXTRA
On a personal note, I want to say that it has been a pleasure teaching grade five this year. I am sad to leave students in the middle of the great learning and progress that is happening. I think I have been fortunate to have a class full of motivated students who truly want to learn. I can easily say that this has been my best year yet in the teaching profession.

Officially, I will be teaching the class until Wednesday. I feel very positive about leaving the class to Ms. Fletcher’s care. The students are lucky that they will have a teacher who will have a seamless transition into the school and already knows the students.

I plan to keep in touch with the students during the year, and I encourage them and you to reach out and say hello, too. My personal email is ginamlnyc@gmail.com.

All the best,
Gina Larson-Stoller

Friday, February 26

2010-02-26T14:52:00.000+08:00

MATH
We're still practicing mixed numbers and improper fractions. Complete the worksheet for Monday.

HUMANITIES
The first draft of your Dream essay was handed back. Write the second draft over the weekend. Remember to make your sentences interesting.

Thursday, February 25

2010-02-25T16:10:00.001+08:00

MATH
Today we learned how to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa.

I found this great site that will actually do the conversions for you, but besides just giving you the answer, it also give you an unbelievable explanation on how to do it, too. Check it out! It can help you with your homework.

Finish the worksheets handed out in class.

HUMANITIES
I am going to be a teacher.
I am going to live in New York City.
I am bored with this sentence structure.

So what can you do when your sentences fall into a rut? Flip it, and then add details!

Living in New York is going to be adventure because I can explore Central Park.

Try doing some more on your own tonight like we did in class today.

Wednesday, February 24

2010-02-24T16:00:00.000+08:00

MATH
Please go over the sheet Calculating Fractions. Use a calculator to find out if the pair of fractions are equivalent or not. Remember to divide the numerator by tghe denominator.

Also, complete the Simplifying Fractions worksheet. Fractions are only in simplest form if the only common factor between the numerator and the denominator is one (1).

HUMANITIES
Have your My Brother Sam is Dead quiz signed.

SCIENCE
Tomorrow is our quiz on the section Matter and Energy. Look over your notes that we have taken for the past few weeks and know the following concepts:

states of matter
physical properties
chemical properties
types of energy
ways to transfer energy

Tuesday, February 23

2010-02-23T15:23:00.000+08:00

Greetings,
I hope you all had a restful and fun Chinese New Year break. We're back in action after our week off, and we're dusting off the cobwebs as we move forward in some units, and start new topics in others.

MATH
We're continuing our work with fractions and comparing them to decimals. Tonight's homework asks you to VISUALIZE what decimals and fractions look like. And if you finish your homework correctly, you should have the answer to a riddle.

HUMANITIES
We've started a new essay that will soon find its way into our school yearbook. This year, the theme is "dreams." Our class essays will be titled "Dreaming of the Day I'm ..."

Yesterday, you answered the brainstorming questions to start writing your first draft of this essay. Finish up that first go at it tonight.

SCIENCE
Take a look at the eco-system around you. Sit outside for 10 minutes and write down all the living things you observe. Record your results. Let's see how much biodiversity you find!

Thursday, February 11

2010-02-11T16:06:00.001+08:00

MATH
Today we talked about changing fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions. Need to review the lesson? Look at the video below:

Finish the worksheet handed out in class for homework.

SCIENCE
Get ready for our Science Fair tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 10

2010-02-10T14:25:00.003+08:00

MATH
Today we broke into focus groups. Please make sure to complete the worksheet that was handed out in your particular group.

HUMANITIES
Get familiar with the characters and read the story again. We will have our novel quiz tomorrow.

Look here for the character list.

Tuesday, February 9

2010-02-09T20:01:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
We finished our class novel today. Read tthe Epilogue and How Much of This Book is True sections tonight.

We have a quiz on Thursday.

MATH
We're continuing to work on comparing fractions. Finish the worksheet for more practice tonight.

Monday, February 8th

2010-02-08T15:01:00.003+08:00

We spent a great day at Elsa High trying out what some of our courses might be like for next year. Tomorrow, we're back to our regular schedule.

MATH
Please complete the Comparing and Ordering Fractions worksheet.

Remember how to compare? Take two fractions:
          3/4    5/6
1. Find the LCM of the denominators.
            LCM of 4 and 6 is 24
2. Rename the fractions as equivalent fractions with the new denominators
          18/24     20/24
3. Compare.
          3/4 < 5/6

Invitation to parents - Feb, 5, 2010

2010-02-05T10:46:00.002+08:00

Dear Parents,

As you know, the fifth grade has been hard at work on their Science Fair projects since December. We will be presenting all of the projects in the School Hall on Friday, February 12th.

It would be wonderful to share their work and results with you on that day. We are inviting you to join us between 12:45 to 2:00 to view the students’ projects.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at our Science Fair.

Best Regards,
Gina M. Larson-Stoller

Weekly Blurb - Feb 5

2010-02-05T10:43:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES

Students continued to study more about the roots of the American Revolution. We finished reading about how differences started to grow in the country, leading to infamous battles like the Boston Tea Party and Battles at Lexington and Concord. At this point, the stage is set for all out war.

In class, however, we are just beginning to get underway for a major debate between the Loyalists and the Patriots. Students this week learned the basic format of the Lincoln-Douglas debate style and are starting to build their arguments for their sides of whether America should go to war. Students had some practice building an opening argument, rebuttal and closing statement by debating topics such as “Should kids get to choose their bedtime” and “Should homework be assigned every night.” We should be ready to stage our debate of the American Revolution next week.

We’ve also continued to make progress in our book, My Brother Sam is Dead. We have learned that Sam is serving under Benedict Arnold, and given his notoriety in history, we can consider this an instance of dramatic irony. With Tim’s father missing, and Sam serving in the war, we are learning more about the hardships, brutality and dividing power of wars.

MATH
I’m happy to report that many students in the class did a great job on our quiz this week that tested our foundation skills for fractions. Great job! We’ve only begun our fraction unit by building equivalent fractions this week.

In our stock portfolios, the market continues to eat away at our value. Team CASH is in the lead with only $150.00 more in their coffers than they had at the beginning of our game.

SCIENCE
This week we finished out our unit on matter and energy. But the bigger news, of course, is the upcoming science fair. Students should be putting the finishing touches on their backboards this weekend. It has been a great process for the student’s to learn, and should help them as they move on to more formal school-wide or even regional science fairs in middle and high school. Please find an invitation to our Science Fair included in your child’s communication book. You’re welcome to view our class’ work from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 12th.

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Just a reminder that the students will be going to Elsa on Monday for “Transition Day.” The high school has a whole itinerary full of activities designed to give students a taste of middle school life.

JEWISH STUDIES - ENGLISH SPEAKERS
from Morah Epstein
The students are continuing their learning about the Eser Makot and the preparation for leaving Egypt. They have learned almost fifteen pasukim by hear and have shown good comprehension of the material in an oral review. Additionally, we will begin our study of Purim. Unbelievable, but there are only two weeks of school left before this joyous holiday. Emphasis will be on the main mitzvoth of the day, the story itself and the enjoyable customs related to Purim.

The students are also doing a unit on Believe in Yourself.

We are continuing our weekly quizzes which are written on Fridays. Also, the students have a reading log and are now to have finished five Jewish books in English or Hebrew for this part of the curriculum.

Thank you to all those parents who are learning the Daf Hashvui with their children!!

Please send in tzedaka for “Matanot L’evyonim”, the special charity collection to help those in need in Israel to also enjoy Purim. Many thanks and a Happy Purim to all.

Thursday, February 4

2010-02-04T11:18:00.001+08:00

Tonight is the Carmel Annual Dinner, so homework was kept light . I'll see you there at 6:30 p.m.!

MATH
Equivalent fractions can be formed by multiplying or dividing the numerator and denominator by the same number.

1/2 = 2/4 or 6/12 or 3/6
5/15 = 1/3 or 20/60

Of course, we could create hundreds of other equivalent fractions as long as we follow the rule. Tonight, complete the worksheet on equivalent fractions for homework tonight.

SCIENCE
Check out this video on science fairs. It will show you tons of display boards to give you some ideas!

Wednesday, February 3

2010-02-03T16:04:00.000+08:00

MATH
Please complete the worksheet on prime factorization. Create factor trees and write your final answer with exponents, if necessary.

Also, get your most recent quiz signed!

HUMANITIES
What a luxury! We had two periods to meet for Humanities, and we spent our time learning about the structure of Lincoln-Douglas debates. We had some good debates in class on the following topics:
Should students have homework every night?
Should kids be allowed to choose their bedtime?

Tonight, think out some logical arguments on both sides of this topic that relates to our current lesson:
Should the Thirteen Colonies go to war with Britain?

SCIENCE
Keep working on your Science reports. They are due on Monday, February 8th.

Tuesday, February 2

2010-02-02T15:21:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
Please read chapters 8-10 tonight.

SCIENCE
Please finish any of the questions that you did not get to in class in your Science notebook.
pg. C60 - questions 1-4
pg. C61 - Reflect & Evaluate

Monday, February 1

2010-02-01T15:41:00.001+08:00

MATH
Make sure you study for our quiz tomorrrow: GCF, LCM, divisibility rules, prime and composite numbers and evaluating exponents.

HUMANITIES
If you didn't get a chance in class, please finish the questions for the reading in your English Open Response book.

SCIENCE
We just finished covering talking about potential and kinetic energy, and the way our own bodies get energy. Finish questions 7-12 of Investigation 2 in your Science notebook.

Weekly Update: January 29

2010-01-29T15:42:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
This week, we looked at the reason why the English colonists wanted to rebel against the British throne: Taxation without representation. We simulated the cumulative effect of just a puny tax adding up to a big burden by collecting pencils in class every 5 minutes. It didn’t take long for the students to rebel against me – proving that something that seems small – a pencil – can be a great drain.

This exercise helped us understand better why Patriots were emboldened to fight against the British, a key piece of the background for our current class novel, My Brother Sam is Dead.

Students this week and last also worked on their submissions for the Hong Kong Young Writer’s Contest. The theme this year was New Tales of the South China Sea. Students were asked to submit a travel piece, and it was surprising to see how many wanted to write about their home, Hong Kong. I guess they took to heart the sage advice that all writers follow: write about what you know. Submissions from Grade 5 will be from:
Sam Khorsandy, Rubin Verebes and Joshua Ellis-Einhorn

MATH
Can 723 be divided by 3? If you know the rules of divisibility, you can answer this question quickly. Students are laying the foundation for a major unit in fractions coming up. We’ve been concentrating on our rules of divisibility, which is helping us find factors and figure out whether a number is prime or composite. A quiz on all our work over the last two weeks will be coming up on Tuesday. Encourage your students to get prepared!

Work on our fantasy stock portfolios continues, as well. Students reinvested some extra cash into new stocks based on our class visit from Seth Fischer from Oasis last week.

SCIENCE
Do you know how many calories your body needs? How many calories are in what you eat per day? What is a calorie anyway? We looked further this week at potential and kinetic energy. We looked at how calories translate into potential energy, and we use them up through kinetic activities that we do.

EXTRA! EXTRA!
In other news, it is worth noting that the school raised more than $7,600 for Haiti last week at our fundraiser. Despite it being a last-minute event, the fifth grade class really came through, bringing in more than $1,800! Well done.

JEWISH STUDIES - ENGLISH SPEAKERS
from Morah Epstein
• Reading pasukim from Parashat Vaeira
• Review pasukim learned by heart
• Discuss perakim four and five of Sefer Yehoshua
• Vocabulary quiz
• Parashat Hashavua
• Tu Beshvat - songs and customs

JEWISH STUDIES - HEBREW SPEAKERS
from Morah Yoel
• למדנו על טו בשבט הקרב ובא (שבת הקרוב). מדוע ט"ו בשבט חל בתקופה זו של השנה. מה המשמעות למעה של טו בשבט, כיצד מבחינים בין עץ לשיח לפי היהדות בכדי לדעת אם הברכה על הפרי הוא "בורא פרי האדמה" או "בורא פרי העץ".
• בנביא למדנו על המצווה של ברית מילה שיהושע עושה לעם ישראל לראשונה מאז 40 שנה שיצאו ממצרים וכיצד לא קיימו מצוה זו כ"כ הרבה זמן. למדנו על עשיית קרבן פסח (שתלויה במצוות ברית מילה) על הפסקת המן וראשית האכילה מתבואת הארץ.
• בחומש למדנו על חזרתו של משה למצרים להוציא את בני ישראל משם. על האותות שה' מוסר בידו, ועל ההצטרפות של אהרן למשה לשליחות שמה לא רצה.
• התחלנו ללמוד לקראת החידון העולמי של תנועת בראשית (הארגון העומד מאחורי הדף השבועי שהתלמידים מקבלים מידי שבוע) בנושא 'תאמין בעצמך'. למדנו על כוחותיו של האדם, ועל היכולות שלנו שלפעמים מפתיעים אפילו את עצמנו.

HEBREW - HEBREW SPEAKERS
• קראנו את הסיפור 'כי האדם עץ השדה' על יולק, נער ניצול שואה ששונא עצים, אך דווקא לעצי ארץ ישראל מתחבר. למדנו על המושג 'מולדת', ומדוע ישראל היא המולדת של כל היהודים, גם אם לא נולדו בה בפועל. הסיפור נמצא במקראה 'פיתחו את השער' שבביה"ס.
• במסגרת פרויקט 'סופרים ומשוררים' למדנו על עוזי חיטמן. על התלמידים היה להגיש תחילה עבודה, ואחכ" למדנו עליו בכתה. עמדנו על הסגנונות השונים שלו: שירי ילדים (אבל אני נשאר תמיד אני) שירים למבוגרים (שיר לשלום), שירי נבחרות כדורגל (מכבי חיפה) ועל תוכניות טלויזיה שלו (חלום עליכם, פרפר נחמד).
• באשכולית אנו לומדים את החוברת 'תארים' ומעשירים את אוצר המילים שלו במילים כגון פזיז, בהילות, עוצמה ועוד.

Friday, January 29

2010-01-29T10:22:00.000+08:00

MATH
Complete the questions on the study guide -- and make sure to study your divisibility rules.
Bring in questions on Monday. I'm always available for extra help during recess or after school. Your quiz is on Tuesday. It will cover divisibility, GCF, LCM, prime and composite numbers, and evaluating exponents.

HUMANITIES
Please complete the open response question in your notebooks. We'll go over the answer in class on Monday!

SCIENCE
Keep working on your science projects and backboards!

Thursday, January 28

2010-01-28T14:55:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
We've read chapters 4-7 of My Brother Sam is Dead. Now it's time to show what you know. Please answer the 8 questions in complete sentences. Do your best work: it will be graded.
Thanks also for getting your submissions in on time. We had 100% class participation! That makes us all winners!

MATH
Today we tackled eponents in class, which can be easy if you just remember one thing: Exponents stand for REPEATED multiplication, not a number times another number
6^3 is actually 6 x 6 x 6 (NOT 6 x 3)
so 6 to the third power (6^3) = 216.

Tonight, finish the worksheet on evaluating exponents.

SCIENCE
Today we talked about the potential energy of food, which we count by calories. How many calories do you need? How many calories do you consume in a day? You can find out by looking at the websites we started to explore in class.

Calories in Food
Calories You Need

Wednesday, January 27

2010-01-27T16:13:00.000+08:00

MATH
Today we talked about the difference between prime and composite numbers.
Prime numbers only have two factors, 1 and the number itself
Ex. 5 - 1,5
Composite numbers have more than two factors
Ex. 12 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12

Finish the worksheet handed out in class for homework. You might have a few extra questions to do on divisibility, too, depending on which focus group you were in.

HUMANITIES
Submissions for the HK Young Writer's Contest are due tomorrow. Make sure your piece is PERFECT!
Also, let's keep moving forward in our reading. Please read Chapter 6 & 7 of My Brother Sam is Dead.

SCIENCE
Science Fair reports are due Friday!

Tuesday, January 26

2010-01-26T15:18:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
Please edit and type your submission for the HK Young Writer's Contest for this Thursday. Make sure you are submitting your best work. Read your work not twice, but three times. Then, have your brother read it, or your mom. Better yet, then go to your dad for feedback and then maybe a friend. The more people who read it, the better it will be.

MATH
Please finish the worksheet on Least Common Multiples.
Your quizzes on dividing and multiplying decimals was handed back today. Please have them signed tonight.

SCIENCE
We talked quite extensively today about how to structure both your report and display for our Science Fair. Please look over your directions or refer to the websites below for help.

http://www.super-science-fair-projects.com/elementary-science-fair-projects.html
http://www.cool-science-projects.com/Science-Fair-Project-Display.html
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_sample_final_report.pdf

Thursday, January 21

2010-01-21T14:46:00.001+08:00

MATH
Please look at the example on the top of tonight's worksheet, and follow it to answer the questions.

HUMANITIES
Tonight, put on your writer's hat and pen a great travel essay. Remember, you might be entered for a chance to compete in the Hong Kong Young Writer's Contest.

SCIENCE
Please and the questions from Investigation 1 handed out in class in your Science notebook.
Are you working on your science fair project? Next week, we'll start talking about handing in the first draft of your report. We're closer to the end than you think!

Tomorrow, support Haiti. Bring in your donations and be uniform free!

Wednesday, January 20

2010-01-20T15:27:00.001+08:00

HUMANITIES
Students started writing for the Hong Kong Young Writer's Contest today. This year's theme is New Adventures of the South China Sea. Fifth grade students were asked to write a travelogue about somewhere in this region.

First drafts are due on Friday.

MATH
Please finish the worksheet on GCF

SCIENCE
Please fill out the Science Fair Progress Report to let me know how your experiment is coming.

Tuesday, January 19

2010-01-19T17:00:00.002+08:00

MATH

Take a look at our divisibility rules again. Then finish the worksheet handed out in class.

HUMANITIES

Please have your test signed.

If you didn't finish the questions in class, choose any 15 questions from the Chapter 2 & 3 handout to answer in your Humanities notebook.

Monday, January 18th

2010-01-18T17:03:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
Please read chapters 2 & 3 of My Brother Sam is Dead. We will start answering questions in small groups tomorrow.

Weekly Blurb - Week of January 15

2010-01-15T14:16:00.001+08:00

HUMANITIES
How was the economy of the South built? Students learned this week that most of the plantations and cash crops were built on the backs of slaves. This week, we wrapped up a large unit on the original Thirteen Colonies, which also lays the groundwork for our next big unit focus: The American Revolution. The rumblings of discontent started in the later half of the eighteenth century, and students have begun to see that not everyone was on the side of democracy. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, we meet Sam, a college student filled with ideas of revolution. However, his father believes that the learned men of Parliament and the King know what is best for the colonies. The book should shed light on how families were divided over this debate that eventually brought the colonies to war. Students will take a test on the thirteen colonies on Monday.

MATH
Another big unit in Math was finished this week when we took our test on multiplying and dividing decimals. We’ll continue to review these skills in daily warm-ups, but we’re ready to move into our next unit: fractions.

On Friday, when we would typically take a look at our fantasy stock portfolios, we had a real stock broker come to our class and give us tips on how to tell whether a stock is a good bargain or is overpriced. Seth Fischer, a broker at Oasis in Hong Kong, compared a company on the stock exchange to a lemonade stand. He peppered them with questions that made them think about competition. “What would you do if your brother opened up a stand next door to yours?” He asked them about the barriers of entry to market. “Could you just go out to the street and set up a lemonade stand?” (According to his experience with his son last summer, the answer is no. His son was shut down by the police who asked for his Hawker License.) He also asked them to consider what makes a product unique in the marketplace. “Does anyone have the secret recipe for your lemonade?” At the end, he left the students with a few more tools to decide how to purchase stocks. We’ll put into action what we learned next week when students will get a chance to reinvest their earnings and purchase more stock.

SCIENCE
We continued to look at matter in its various states and how it can change. Students had several items they observed. First, they looked at a block, and then at a glass of water. When students transferred the water to a different container, they saw first-hand one of the properties of liquids: they take the shape of the container that they are in. Air might not be visible, but blow up a balloon and we can see that it can fill up a space, as well. Students then had to determine whether each of the following were a chemical or physical change: adding salt to water, cooking an apple, burning a candle, melting ice. Think you know? Check your answers by asking your fifth grader.

Have a great weekend.
- Ms. Larson

Friday, January 15

2010-01-15T14:15:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
Study for your test on the Thirteen Colonies. Here's what you should focus on:

People to Know

Puritans
John Winthrop
Roger Williams
Anne Hutchinson
King Philip
Quakers
William Penn
George Calvert

Terms to know

Common
Barter system
Hornbook
Free-market society
Trial by jury
Indentured servant
Slave
Broker

Main Ideas

Which colonies fought with the Native Americans? Which ones didn’t?
What was the center of New England life?
What were some of the commercial uses of whales? What were some of the difficulties of being a whaler?
What was the triangular trade route? Which countries did they connect? What was traded?
What were the main crops grown in the Middle Colonies?
Why did England take over the colony that belonged to Netherland? How did they win the war?
What were some reasons people wanted to immigrate to America?
What was The Great Awakening? What were some of the results of it?
Did the people of the Southern colonies fight with the Native Americans? What happened?
How did most plantations operate? Who owned them? Who ran them? Who worked them? What did they resemble? Why?
How did enslaved people keep their culture alive?
Where did slaves who escaped run to? Why?
What were the major cash crops of the Southern Colonies?

Map Skills

Be able to place all thirteen colonies on a map.
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

SCIENCE

Work on your science projects!

Thursday, January 14

2010-01-14T15:40:00.001+08:00

HUMANITIES
Finish reading Chapter 1 of My Brother Sam is Dead. Answer any 15 of the 22 questions handed out in class.

Wednesday, January 13

2010-01-13T15:30:00.000+08:00

MATH
Finish the division sheet handed out in class. SHOW ALL YOUR WORK!

HUMANITIES
We've been learning how to revise conclusions over the past couple of days. Put what we've learned into practice tonight and write three good sentences to sum up the main ideas. Remember to have fun while you're writing!

Monday, January 12

2010-01-11T16:24:00.000+08:00

MATH
Complete the worksheet on dividing decimals. Need a review on how to do it? Look here.

SCIENCE
Finish the Investigation Worksheet on matter.

Friday, January 8th

2010-01-08T14:48:00.000+08:00

MATH
During the lesson part of the class, we broke into groups. If you were working with Ms. Larson, you will need to correct the worksheet "Zeros in the Product" from the other night. If you were working with Ms. Yuen, please finish the challenge sheet that you had on mulitplying decimals.

SCIENCE
Just because we didn't have a Science class on Friday doesn't mean that you slack on our major class project: your Science fair project. Collect materials, write a survey (if your using one), do something to start!

Monday, January 4, 2010

2010-01-04T13:05:00.001+08:00

Welcome back to 2010. I hope everyone got a well-deserved break. We're back up and at em, though, in class. Here's our homework for tonight.

MATH
Complete the worksheet on multiplying decimals.

SCIENCE
Get your Science test signed.
Start on your one paragraph proposal for the science fair. It is due this Thursday.

HUMANTIES
Write sentences for the words that you will be studying this week. Need a reminder of what they are?

1. Refuge
2. Trial by jury
3. Proprietor
4. Justice
5. Prosperous
6. Order
7. Expanded
8. Outnumbered
9. Diversity
10. Immigrant
11. Militia
12. Preach
13. Revival
14. Participation
15. Social
16. Prosperity
17. Artisan
18. Apprentice
19. Gristmill
20. Grain

Thursday, December 17

2009-12-17T15:28:00.000+08:00

MATH
We're learning how to multiply decimals, and it's quite easy if you follow these steps.

1. Multiply the numbers just as if they were whole numbers. Line up the numbers on the right - do not align the decimal points.

2. Starting on the right, multiply each digit in the top number by each digit in the bottom number, just as with whole numbers.

3. Add up how many decimal places IN ALL

4. Start at the right and jump to the left the number of decimal places. Not enough numbers? Add zeros.

Complete the practice sheet handed out in class.

HUMANITIES
If you didn't finish it in class, write me a letter telling me about your reading progress this year.

How many books have you read?
Do you think you put in a good effort?
What was the best book you read?
Did you read from different genres?
What would you like to read next year?
What are you currently reading?

Write all letters in friendly letter format.

Wednesday, December 16

2009-12-16T15:28:00.000+08:00

MATH
Today, we learned to multiply decimals using a model. Use the hundredths grids passed out in class today to finish up the practice sheets.

SCIENCE
Study ! Study! Study! Science quiz tomorrow on PLANETS!

Science Fair proposal sheets are also due tomorrow. Think hard about the project you want to do!

Tuesday, December 15

2009-12-15T15:19:00.000+08:00

MATH
We did a quick review of line graphs in class. Show what you know on the homework tonight.

SCIENCE
Please think about your science fair project. Ask me if you need ideas, or want to know how to proceed with it. The proposal sheet is due on Thursday.

You're quiz is on Thursday. It will be on planets -- use the comparison chart we created in class!

MUSIC
A reminder from Ms. Forster: Study the words to the songs for the Annual Dinner. Song packets were handed out in class today!

Thursday, December 10

2009-12-10T14:42:00.000+08:00

MATH
Today we learned about ordered pairs. They look like this:

(5,7)

The first number in the pair tells you to go horizontally across the x axis.
The second number in the pair tells you to go vertically across the y axis.

Tonight, finish the mystery puzzle we started in class.

SCIENCE
Start thinking about your Science Fair projects. Get your agreement forms signed!

Reminders:
Monday - Quiz on capital letters and commas
Thursday - Science quiz on planets and birth of a universe

Science Fair Timeline

2009-12-10T14:13:00.000+08:00

Science Fair Timeline

Our science fair will be held on Friday, February 12, 2010.

Each student is responsible for choosing and completing a project. Each project should be done by an individual student.

Projects will be evaluated on:
• Evidence of knowledge gained
• Use of scientific method
• Originality
• Validity of information
• Tabulation of results
• Conclusions drawn
• Visual/oral presentation
An experiment must be included in every project.

Important dates
Return Agreement Form, December 11, 2009
Choose a subject and a purpose, December 17, 2009
Write a paragraph describing your project, January 7, 2010
Give progress report, January 21, 2010
Research, write the first draft of the report, January 28, 2010
Revise report, February 2, 2010
Set up display materials in class, February 8, 2010
Give formal presentation to class, February 8-9, 2010
Science Fair, February 12, 2010

Wednesday, December 9

2009-12-09T15:45:00.000+08:00

MATH
Yesterday we looked at choosing a reasonable scale for graphs, and today we put it into practice. You will be drawing three more graphs for homework tonight in your Math notebooks. Refer to worksheet 8.2.

HUMANTIES
Oh, why does English have to have so many rules? We learned about three more ways commas are used.
1. To set off the name of a person when addressing them
Roger, can you please get me that book?

2. To set off words like yes, no and well at the beginning of a sentence.
Yes, we have no bananas.

3. To set off an appositive, the extra description of a noun.
Dr. Chen, our family doctor, is moving to a new clinic this fall.

Practice these rules for commas tonight with the worksheet handed out in class.

Tuesday, December 8

2009-12-08T15:27:00.000+08:00

MATH
12, 20, 34, 42

If you were to graph these numbers, what would be a reasonable scale? Well, you scale would need to go from 0 - 42, at least so all the numbers could fit. And then you would need to think of what interval you would use. Since most of the numbers have a difference of 10 between them, you could reasonably use intervals of 10 to count them

Finish worksheet 8.1 to practice this concept for tonight's homework.

HUMANTIES
This week, we're taking a closer look at punctuation. Today's mark was the infamous comma. How and when do we use this wonder of written mechanics?

1. Between words or groups of words in a series
Be sure your business letter is brief, courteous, and correct.

2. Before a conjunction in a compound sentence.
Neal sketched the cartoon, and Claire wrote the caption.

Remeber you would not use a comma for the following sentence because it is not compound:
We stayed in for recess because of the rain.

Friday, December 4

2009-12-04T14:17:00.003+08:00

HUMANITIES
Imagine that you are living in the 1600s, in a country that has started a colony in North America. Your job is to persuade settlers to come to the new colony. Write an advertisement describing where it is located, why it was founded, and what life is like there. Organize you ideas, and support your position with evidence.

Step One - Choose a colony to write about, such as New Netherland, Jamestown, Plymouth or a colony in New Spain or New France.

Step Two - Look at your textbook to find information

Use maps and the text to find the colony’s location List some possible advantages of that location.
Identify some cultural or political advantages of your colony, such as freedom of religion or self-government..
Analyze some economic advantages of the colony, such as natural resources, cash crops, or trade opportunities.

Step Three - Choose advantages that you think would most attract settlers to your colony. Think about the best ways to communicate that information in your advertisement, such as maps, pictures, quotations, slogans or lists.

Step Four - Create an advertisement that will make settlers want to come to your colony.

Step Five - Review your work to make sure that your advertisement includes all the information you want and that all your facts are supported. Also check to make sure that you used correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.

Step Six - Make all the necessary changes or additions to complete your advertisement.

Due on Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Grading Criteria

• Colony is named
• Advertisement outlines at least four benefits of the colony
• Images that would persuade are included
• Copy that would persuade people to come to colony

Copy includes correct use of

• Grammar and mechanics
• Spelling
• Capitalization

Weekly Update

2009-12-04T14:14:00.001+08:00

HUMANITIES
Jamestown, Plymouth and Louisiana were all early colonies in America that we’ve been studying over the past couple of weeks. Students learned about why settlers were motivated to move from their homelands, as well as the hardships they faced once they arrived in their new settlements. We read literature that brought one of these early villages alive, and met the people who were vital in providing the goods and services needed for these early neighborhoods to thrive. Instead of a test, students are now working on putting together an advertisement for one of these colonies. They will tout the location, the cultural, political and the economic advantages of the colony. This is a great way for students to show what they know by using analysis, images and creative writing.

The bigger news this week, though, is the scrapbooks. Students turned in beautiful products that I am sure they will want to save for years to come. During Friday’s class, Mrs. Goldman Brown and Mr. Epstein joined us as each student presented one page from their scrapbook, before showing off their whole project. Great job, everyone! You should be proud!
SCIENCE
Did you know that Jupiter nearly has as many moons as Saturn? Or that Venus has clouds made of sulfuric acid? Students have been looking at each of the planets in depth this week. We made a chart to compare the number of moons, the atmosphere and temperature of each planet, as well as the number of years it takes for the planet to make one revolution around the sun. Unfortunately, none of us would make it “one year” on Neptune. It takes 164.79 years for it to revolve once around the sun!

MATH
We’ve continued to work with graphs this week, strengthening our skills with mean, median and mode. Students were put into challenge groups with a limited number of “question cards,” forcing them to rely on each other, rather than the teacher, to find the answers. The experiment worked well, and most groups even surprised themselves when they teamed together to check one another’s work.
Work also continued on our stock competition. The teams were disappointed to find that most stock prices went down this week, probably on news of a weak start to the holiday shopping season last week in the states. Students created charts in Excel to track their progress, even using formulas to take away the “hard math” and minimize mistakes. Team CASH – Rubin, Ariella and Nini – took the smallest hit this week, only losing $43.99. However, Barack, Joanna and Linnea had the largest loss, down $401.85. Better luck next week, teams!

JEWISH STUDIES FOR ES
From Mora Epstein

• Phonetic reading practice
• Learned about the mission of Moshe and his conversation with Ha-shem
• Worked on our pesukim by heart.
• Vocabulary quiz
• Parashat Hashavua

Thank you to all the parents who are taking the time to learn the Daf with their child.
Next week we will begin preparing for Chanuka. Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, December 3

2009-12-03T15:47:00.000+08:00

MATH
You all are off to a great start at reviewing mean, median and mode. Figure out the few questions remaining on your challenge sheets!

HUMANITIES
I'm so excited to see your projects tomorrow. Hope they are in tip-top shape! Please also make sure you study the vocab words and people that will be important in your test tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 2

2009-12-02T11:15:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
Make sure you are studying for your test on Friday. Look at the organizers and also know ther terms, people, main ideas and concepts from the study guide.

Scrapbooks are due on Friday. Do you have all of the news for It Happened on This Date? You need information for:
Wed, Nov 18
Thurs, Nov 19
Fri, Nov 20
Sun, Nov 22

Didn't get an article from the newspaper on the bus? Look at Google News.

MATH
In class, we worked on some challenge sheets to review range, mode, mean and median. We'll pick up in our groups tomorrow. No homework tonight!

Remember:
Your Science Lab is due tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 1

2009-12-01T11:12:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
Continue working on your scrapbook project. Poems were handed back today. Make sure they are up to snuff.

MATH
Complete the Analyzing Graphs Worksheet.

SCIENCE
In class, we completed a lab activity that had us figure out the best times to look for planets in our sky. Finish up the sections of this lab for Thursday's class.

Upcoming

Friday - Humanities Quiz
Monday - Math Test

Friday, November 27th

2009-11-27T11:16:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
Make sure that you are working on your scrapbook project over the long weekend. I would strongly suggest that you create your final draft of your Shanghai Ghetto paper. Also check to make sure that both letters are complete. Here are the instructions once again:

LETTERS FROM SHANGHAI

Write two letters for this section. These letters need to follow the friendly letter format.

Letter 1: Write this letter to a friend or relative telling them about your reactions and feelings in the Shanghai ghetto. Include the interesting facts that you learned about the ghetto on the trip.

Letter 2: Write this letter to a friend of relative telling them how Shanghai is different from Hong Kong. Think about what is the same and what is different. This letter should have two paragraphs.

SCIENCE
Tests were handed back. Get them signed!

Wednesday, November 25

2009-11-25T16:07:00.002+08:00

HUMANITIES
Before you add them to your scrapbook, hand in your poems to be checked. You should have three poems:

Acrostic
5 Couplets
Limerick

Click on the links to find more information about how to write each poem.

MATH
We've moved from median and mode to mean as a way to assess data sets. The mean gives us the average number of a data set - useful for teachers who are trying to figure out grades. Oh, they can be mean!

Steps to find the mean:
1. Count how many numbers are in the data set.
6,4, 12,8,10 - five numbers

2. Tally the data set
30

3. Divide the total by how many numbers in the set.
30/5 = 6

Voila! You have your mean!

Shanghai, Day 5

2009-11-21T23:16:00.003+08:00

Shabbat is a day of rest, and after running at such a frenetic pace, whether it be from work, school or just a long trip, it is truly a blessing. For this author, it reminded me of simpler Sundays back in the States when stores stayed closed, or at least didn’t open until noon. My parents and extended family would gather at my grandmother’s house. Men would take to the living room to watch the football game. The aunts would retreat to the kitchen to gab over coffee, and the kids were sent outside. No matter who was where, though, people were connecting, whether by playing, talking, eating, gossiping or reminiscing.

Today was much of the same. We had a late start to the day, enough for everyone to catch up on the rest they may have missed throughout the week. We got ourselves dressed and walked together to synagogue. The Toldot was about Jacob and Esau, and during the last hour of the service, the students prepared a dramatization of the biblical story. Adam and Carol starred as Isaac and Rachel, while Ian and Guy acted out the rivalry between the siblings.

After a hardy round of applause by the congregation, it was lunchtime. One thing that no one has been in fear of this week is starving. Chabad has given us beautiful multi-course meals, and this one was no different. It was a leisurely affair, with traditional foods and lots of singing between courses. Daniel and Etai, former students of Carmel who moved to Shanghai last June, joined our group for the day. Around the other tables were people from all over the globe: a Hasidic group from Brooklyn was in town, as was a businessman from San Francisco and another one from Transylvania. Everyone was there for the same reason, however: to have a respite from the stresses of life with the traditions they hold dear and want to share with one another – no matter how far they travel.

I’m happy to report that our students behaved absolutely fabulously on both Friday night and today. They did our school proud singing prayers and leading songs. In fact, several people stopped both Mrs. Epstein and myself to complement us on their manners, their knowledge of the prayers and their overall positive spirit. “It actually brought tears to my eyes when they were singing the songs,” a woman from Chile told us after dinner.

At the end of lunch today, the games begun. Dini, the Rabbi’s wife at Chabad led a game that challenged students to solve moral dilemmas, while Rachel and Simcha, the pre-school teachers at Chabad, taught us a game that was a scream … literally (ask the students about it). Black Magic, Stinky Chairs, Thumper and Mafia were other favorites that made the last hours of Shabbat fly by without anyone missing the electronic entertainment devices of our 21st century.

It was actually with some groans of disappointment that we had to stop our last activity to call an official end to Shabbat so we could get ready for dinner and our last event of the day – shopping! We went to the Hong Qiao Pearl Market, not far from the hotel, to spend our last Yuan. Students took tips they learned at the night market to pick up some last minute souvenirs and reminders of our trip.

It seems impossible that tomorrow is the last day. The next report will be a live one, coming from your children tomorrow. It was a pleasure to be in their company and enjoy this special trip with them. See you at the arrival gate!

Shanghai, Day 4

2009-11-20T14:15:00.003+08:00

It was another dreary day in Shanghai, but not even the damp weather could affect our moods. Today was a high-impact day, even from our early start this morning. This being the day of Shabbat, we had limited time to pack in our full itinerary. Today, we had a mission: visit the Shanghai World Financial Center, gain knowledge at the History Museum and master a kung fu routine in a martial arts studio. All this needed to be done before we checked into our hotel room before the eve of Shabbat. Hey, this is starting to sound like an Amazing Race segment …

Our team first made its way across Shanghai to find the skyscraper that looked liked a bottle opener. Once there, we had to ride the 435 meters to the top to reach the sky deck. On the way up, teams experienced common altitude problems like blocked and popping ears. Each member then needed to collect souvenirs and token photographs. A mandatory pit stop was made at the Japanese-designed washrooms. Teams had to decipher the dozen or so odd buttons on the toilet and flush the toilet appropriately.

From there, they headed down the street to the famous Shanghai Television Tower where they had their next task: Experience centuries of Shanghai history, all in the matter of one hour. We raced through the museum, learning about Shanghai’s agricultural roots, and how it became a trading port because of its advantageous location near the mouth of Yangtze River. Opium Wars, British Concessions, French Concessions, Shanghai movies and Shanghai law. Perhaps we did race at warp speed through the museum, but it kept the teams focused.

And focus was needed to perform our last and final task, mastering kung fu moves. Teams started off doing basic warm-up exercises: running, cart wheels, kicks and somersaults. Once they were ready, the Master showed them the routine they needed to execute. “Yi! Er! San! Si!,” he yelled, showing the teams each step. Nini had a definite advantage from her time spent kick-boxing, although Ian earned points with his high kicks. Revved with the fighting spirit, teams got back to the bus and made it to the check in point where they had one more task to complete before they could rest: ready themselves for Shabbat. They cleaned their rooms, taped the lights and picked up their rooms. By 4:00, we were all looking camera ready and prepared for our day of rest.

Shanghai, Day 3

2009-11-19T14:14:00.002+08:00

“It’s snowing,” yelled Linnea, as we greeted the morning in our hotel lobby. It was cold enough to get a few flurries, but nothing that stuck. Still it was something that would stick with some students as this was the first time they saw snow. We headed out to breakfast and fueled up for the two-hour drive ahead of us: we were going to Xi Tang, the Venice of Shanghai.

We boarded a boat to get to the center of this ancient city in a freezing wind. Immediately, the scenery that began to unfold was worthy of Chinese paintings; old stone bridges flanked by willow trees, square homes with intricate roofs decorated with red lanterns and women washing their laundry in the river – even on this cold day. The students were moved to start singing Chinese songs like “Jasmine Flower,” and then, when that was over, to keep up the spirit with other songs not as well known in these parts, like “Fifty Nifty,” and “One Nil to the Arsenal.”

I’d like to say that we spent hours touring the 120 quaint alleyways of this 1,700 year old city or that we stopped to gaze at our reflection in the river ways. Yet, as the rain started to pick up again, we quickly took shelter in a nearby restaurant. We broke out some paints and pencils and used what we saw on our way into the city – as well as our imagination – to draw what was around us. Afterwards, we did tour the residence of a wealthy businessman and visit a clay museum. But the tour was admittedly abbreviated. Most students retreated to the bus, while just a brave few wandered around for another 20 minutes to do some shopping from the locals.

A two-hour bus ride may not sound fun to most … that is unless you have 16 of your best mates on the bus with you. It was a party tram back to Shanghai, followed by some more socializing back at the hotel – with the added bonus of being able to run room-to-room and ring doorbells. By this time, dinner was duly needed, and with some newfound energy to spare, we took to a local bowling alley. Adam and Sam were definite high scorers, while Ian and Michael have to be commended for their enthusiasm.

The day may have not been what we expected at the start, but it did give us some great quality time together to have fun and lots and laughs.

Shanghai, Day 2

2009-11-18T22:31:00.003+08:00

According to most legends, t’ai chi was developed by a Chinese monk observing a fight between a snake and a crane. Master Pan may have made this ancient technique look graceful and simple, but as we found out this morning, it is anything but. We met in Fu Xiing Park, bundled against the cold and joining hundreds of other Chinese who were out for their morning exercise. Some chose to waltz to Strauss or Chinese ballads. Others were tossing Chinese yo-yos or kite dancing. But many were also practicing this 2,000 year-old martial art under the canopy of large sycamore trees in the heart of the French Concession. Many of us were grateful for the exercise, which warmed cold muscles, even though we weaved and bobbed through the movements, rather than mimed the long, clean stretches executed by Master Pan. At the end of the session, Master Pan showed the group some of the moves that make him, well, a master. With his sword, or jian, in hand, he showed us how something that looks so passive, can really be an aggressive and offensive move. The philosophy is summed up by the words of Lao Tze: “The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and the strong.”

After thanking our Master, we boarded the bus and picked up our next expert, Dvir Bar-Gal, a journalist who came to Shanghai eight years ago. At that time, he took a tour of the Hong Kou ghetto, much like the one he took us on today. Upon learning he was a journalist, his tour guide gave him a news tip that would turn into the pursuit of his life. At the end of World War II, four Jewish cemeteries existed in Shanghai. Yet, after China opened to the West again at the end of the 20th century, not one remained. Where did they go? And what happened to the tombstones? Dvir begun to dig, and he tracked two headstones down in an antique shop outside of Shanghai. More investigation turned up others that were part of makeshift walls and sidewalks. Some were even laying at the bottom of rivers and streams. Dvir rescued them all … and then some. All told, he has more than 80 tombstones in his possession, which he would like to see become part of a memorial to the Shanghai refugees. Unfortunately, it seems that there is a lot more red tape to untangle before Dvir’s dream becomes a reality. In the meantime, he makes time to take Jewish visitors around the area that most of the Russian and European Jews called their home in the first part of the 1900s. Although all the Jews had moved out of the Shanghai by the end of the 1940s, he can point out the nails that once held mezuzahs, or the gates that bear a Star of David design. He tells of those who helped the Jews – and those that didn’t. When Dvir tells these stories, you know that he is a man on a mission, and not just because of his work with the tombstones. Progress is rapidly impeding on this chapter of Shanghai’s history. A pharmacy that belonged to a Russian-Jewish family and bore the original signage was being pulled down when we visited, and more demolition in the area is slated on top of all that has already been destroyed. One, two years from now, most of Dvir’s tour may be relegated to his iphone, which showed pictures of buildings that have already been torn down around the old ghetto area. “Look here,” he said, as we all closed in around him, lucky that we could get a small glimpse of this history that is so quickly fading.

After leaving off with Dvir, the group then went to tour the Yu Gardens. It was a tranquil setting that gave us a moment to reflect on what we had just heard and seen with our previous guide. However, the solitude abruptly ended when we stepped onto the streets outside the gardens lined with loads of Chinese bric-a-brac shops. Students were happy to part with their money in exchange for some toys and souvenirs. We then quickly refueled ourselves with another huge feast at Chabad, and then traveled back to The Bund to board a river cruise to take in the night finery of the city. Despite the near freezing temperatures, most students enjoyed the views from the open-air top deck of the boat. We admired the regal architecture of the old 19th century on one side, while marveling at the scale and technology that is defining the Pudong side of the 21st century.

Shaghai is bent on moving forward. Yet there are still some practicing ancient ways and teaching the unique history of Shanghai. Watching these two sides, one sees a classic Taoist battle: the soft and steady voices of reason trying to throw off the hard and aggressive jackhammers of development.

Shanghai, Day 1

2009-11-17T22:30:00.001+08:00

At a speed of 431 km per hour, we were whisked from Pudong Airport to Shanghai on the Maglev train. We marveled at the how fast the scenery whizzed by us … at least, while we could. The train raced the 30 km from the airport to the city limits in 8 minutes flat.

We then boarded our bus and got our first look at this modern city. Our guides brought us right to the Urban Planning Center, located in People’s Square, which gave us a great orientation of the layout and size of the city. We walked around a huge model of the city, and then took got a virtual view of the city from the air, sea and land in a 360 degree theater.

Afterwards, we traveled to our hotel in the West end of the city. Instead of taking the hour-long hiatus for an opportunity to nap, most students filled the hour bouncing room to room, much to the chagrin of hotel neighbors and teachers, or filling themselves with the confectionary treats stashed in their baggage. Nevertheless, most found their appetites in time for dinner at Chabad. It was a four-course feast of assorted salads, vegetable soup, followed by grains and chicken, as well as an assorted dessert platter.

With our stomachs filled, we headed out to see a new acrobatic troupe in Shanghai, trained by the famed Cirque de Soleil people. They twisted, twirled, turned and trapeezed in ways that just seemed impossible. One acrobat spun a porcelain pot around in the air like a Harlem Globetrotter juggles a basketball. Another duo danced in the air suspended only by silk ropes, making it seem as effortless as gliding across the floor. The highlight, however, was when eight motorcycles took to a cage shaped like a sphere and wound around each other in a cacophony of rumbling engines and horns. Really, eight motorcycles!

It was a full day, and will be followed by another tomorrow.

Friday, November 13

2009-11-13T14:20:00.000+08:00

MATH
Figure out the value of the portfolio on the back of the sheet we worked on in class.

HUMANITIES
Don't forget the second draft of your essay is due on Monday.

Do you want to review any parts of Pocahontas? You can view the movie here.

Weekly Blurb, November 13, 2009

2009-11-13T08:13:00.000+08:00

Humanities
Of course, the real excitement in Humanities class has been getting ready for our trip to Shanghai. We put hours into preparation last week studying the arrival of Jews in Shanghai. We learned that Baghdadi businessmen were the first to arrive, followed by the Russians fleeing communism, followed by the European Jews, the largest group, escaping Nazi persecution.

Students had many good questions generated by the documentary we watched and articles we read, and we had some great class discussions. The sources became the basis of our first big research paper. In class, students captured data on a research organizer, and we took class time to learn about how to write good introductory paragraphs.

Besides Shanghai, however, there was other work to accomplish. In our Social Studies book, we’ve been studying the first colonies in America. We even watched the movie, Pocahontas, which tells the story about some of the conflicts between the colonists of Jamestown and the Native Americans. This movie also allowed us to make some great connections back to our previous class novel, Sign of the Beaver.

When we get back from Shanghai, it will be a great week to start studying the Pilgrims since it is the week leading up to the American holiday, Thanksgiving.

Math
Do you dabble in stocks? Maybe you should ask your fifth grader for advice or perhaps you can share the business section with them. Over the next twelve weeks, students will participate in a fantasy stock competition. I’ve run stock portfolio competitions with classes before, but never for this long. This weekly game challenges students to analyze companies and their earnings, calculate stock increases and decreases, and manage the ebb and flow of money. At the same time, the students will get a good lesson on how to use spreadsheets, chart data and create graphs with Excel. There will be some groundwork that will have to be laid down, but this should be an exciting project that the students will work on each Friday. It also happens to kick off our unit on statistics and data.

Science
What is the difference between the Morning Star and the Evening Star? You’d be correct if you said they were one and the same. Students learned about the differences between celestial bodies like planets and stars, and comets and meteors. We also found facts about the instrument that helps us gaze at these far away objects – the telescope.

Students were also close to performing a rain dance this week. We wanted to collect some falling rainwater and analyze it in class, but the weather didn’t cooperate with us. What are we looking for? Meteorite dust. It sits suspended in the air until a heavy rain falls. If it rains this weekend, don’t be surprised if you see your child standing out in it with a bucket trying to collect some dust from outer space.

Jewish Studies
from Mora Epstein
• Discussed the lives of the Shanghai Jews
• Learned parts of the prayers for our trip
• Used the IT Lab to research a d’var Torah
• Parashat Hashavua
• Shabbat Z’mirot

Hebrew for E.S.
from Arie Epstein
• Reading practice
• Work on the story, “Carmel’s Glasses”
• Correcting sentences
• Verbs in the past tense
• Oral discussion based on a poster

Thursday, November 12

2009-11-12T15:35:00.000+08:00

HUMANTIES
Every one should have a verb worksheet to work on tonight. Please try your best at it, and we'll see how you did tomorrow.

MATH
We're starting to analyze and collect data. Finish the worksheet tonight that has you practice looking at cumulative frequency and range. Remember, that the range is the difference from the highest and lowest numbers in the tally table -- not from the cumulative frequency.

Also, study your vocabulary words for a short quiz tomorrow.

What to pack!

2009-11-12T10:43:00.001+08:00

It is going to be COLD in Shanghai. How cold? According to Accuweather, it won't get past 14 degrees in the daytime, and at night it can be as cold as 2 degrees. It might even feel colder than this! So, make sure that you are packing warm clothing.

Look at our previous post for a list of what we recommend you pack.

Day-by-Day Itinerary in Shanghai

2009-11-12T09:43:00.002+08:00

Here is our hour-by-hour itinerary in Shanghai. It might help students to pack better, and give you an idea of where we will be each day.

We are staying at the New Garden Hotel in Shanghai throughout our trip.

Day 1 Tuesday, November 17
11:45 – Arrive in Shanghai Pudong International Airport via flight KA864 (0930/1145)
12:20 – 13:20 Check-out and meet with WildChina tour leader and Shanghai guide
13:20 – 13:45 Transfer to the Maglev Train Station
13:45 – 14:30 Arrive at train terminus; Board bus
14:30 – 13:15 Transfer to Urban Planning Center
13:15 – 14:30 Tour Urban Planning Center
14:30 – 17:20 Transfer to hotel
17:20 – 18:40 Check-in to hotel and have dinner
18:40 – 19:20 Transfer to the Acrobatic Theater
19:20 – 21:10 Watch the Acrobatic Show
21:10 – 20:50 Return to hotel

Day 2 Wednesday, November 18
07:30 Morning call
08:00 – 08:40 Breakfast at the hotel
08:40 – 09:00 Transfer to the Bund
09:00 – 09:50 Taichi lesson on the Bund
09:50 – 10:20 Transfer to the old Jewish district
10:20 – 12:20 Tour Hongkou Jewish Ghetto and Ohel Moishe Synagogue
12:20 – 13:10 Lunch
13:10 – 13:40 Transfer to Yu Garden
13:40 – 14:40 Tour Yu Garden
14:40 – 16:30 Free time at Chenghuang Miao Market
16:30 – 17:00 Transfer to hotel
17:00 – 18:30 Dinner
18:30 – 19:00 Transfer to Huangpu River
19:00 – 20:00 Enjoy Huangpu River Cruise
20:00 – 20:30 Return to hotel

Day 3 Thursday, November 19
07:30 Morning call
08:00 – 08:40 Breakfast at the hotel
08:40 – 11:00 Transfer to Xitang water town
11:00 – 12:30 Activity in Xitang (TBD)
12:30 – 13:10 Lunch in Xitang
13:10 – 13:40 Walk to nearby farm
13:40 – 15:40 Farm work with local family
15:40 – 18:00 Transfer to hotel
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 19:20 Transfer to local bowling alley
19:20 – 20:30 Play bowling
20:30 Return to hotel

Day 4 Friday, November 20
07:30 Morning call
08:00 – 08:40 Breakfast at the hotel
08:40 – 09:10 Transfer to Shanghai World Financial Center
09:10 – 10:00 Tour Shanghai World Financial Center
10:00 – 10:30 Transfer to Shanghai History Museum
10:30 – 11:30 Tour Shanghai History Museum
11:30 – 12:15 Lunch in the park
12:15 – 13:15 Transfer to Martial Arts School
13:15 – 14:15 Martial Arts School visit
14:15 – 15:00 Return to hotel

Day 5 Saturday, November 21 Shanghai
19:00 – 20:00 Dinner at Chabad
20:00 – 21:30 Visit local night market
21:30 Return to hotel

Day 6 Sunday, November 22 Shanghai
07:00 Morning call
07:30 – 09:00 Breakfast and check-out
09:00 – 09:45 Transfer to Jinjiang Amusement Park
09:45 – 12:00 Free time at Jinjiang Amusement Park
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:00 Transfer to Pudong International Airport
14:00 – 16:20 Check in and boarding
16:20 Flight KA875 (1620/1910) to Hong Kong
19:10 Arrive in Hong Kong

Wednesday, November 11

2009-11-11T15:30:00.002+08:00

MATH
Finish your Vocabulary Booklet with the help of the Chapter 7 handout.

Here's the directions again:

Vocabulary Book, Chapter 7

1. Line plot, Outlier, Range
2. Stem-and-leaf plot
3. Pictograph
4. Bar graph
5. Line graph
6. Circle graph
7. Cumulative frequency
8. Mean
9. Median
10. Mode

Draw examples of numbers 1 - 7. Numbers 2-3 should be on the same page. Numbers 8 – 10 should be on the same page. Look at your Math chapter for examples and definitions.

HUMANITIES
Revise questions 1-8 on your answer sheet for Pocahontas. Make sure you have put Grade 5 thinking into your answers, and, of course, all answers should be in complete sentences!

Want to review the song "Just Around the River Bend?" Watch it here.

Tuesday, November 10

2009-11-10T12:57:00.001+08:00

MATH
See what you know and prepare for our next chapter. Finish Standardized Test Prep and Check What You Know for homework tonight.

HUMANITIES
More practice with action words - verbs! Today we learned about verb phrases. They are made up of a main verb and one or more helping verbs.

Can't remember which one are helping verbs. Look at the list below:

am, are, is, was, were, be, being, been
have, has, had
shall, will
do, does, did
may, must, might
can, could, would, should

Finish the worksheet tonight. Some verbs are helping verbs, some are not.

SCIENCE
We learned about telescopes over the last couple of days, but there is always so much more to learn. When did Galileo refine his telescope? When did Sir Isaac Newton create the reflecting telescope? Find out these dates and then find out three more factual dates to add to your Telescope Timeline. Check out Answers.com to help you.

Packing List for Shanghai

2009-11-10T12:55:00.000+08:00

Recommended Packing List
A flexible system of layered clothing is recommended: cotton shirts, cotton pants/shorts, and some light rain gear. A light jacket or sweater is recommended for evenings.

CLOTHING
• 5 changes of suitable clothing
• A nice outfit for Shabbat
• 5 changes of underwear and socks
• Windproof jacket or coat with hood
• One lightweight fleece jacket or sweater
• Pajamas
• Walking shoes or sports shoes
• Warm hat or cap
• Scarf
• Mittens
• Boys, remember your kippah!

TOILETRIES
• Personal toiletries - soap, toothpaste, tooth brush, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, brush/comb, etc.
• Sunscreen, lip balm, hand sanitizer, throat lozenges
• Personal prescription drugs – bring plenty as it may be difficult to replace a particular brand or medication. These must be given to a teacher for safe-keeping

BAGS
• Small light back-pack for carrying personal items while walking
• Plastic bags for dirty clothes

EXTRAS
• Pencil case with pencils, crayons, ruler, eraser
• Small game, i.e., cards
• A good book … or two!
• Siddur from school
• Camera
• TRIP BOOK

VALUABLES
• Cameras and watches are the responsibility of THE CHILD. If a cell phone is brought on the trip, it will be collected by the teacher for safekeeping.
• iPods can be brought on the trip, but can only be used for the flight, not when we are traveling on the bus.
• Children will have the opportunity to do some shopping. They should not need more than HKD $500.

Try to stay close to this list. You don’t want to overdo your packing. Remember, you are carrying your bag, so keep it light!

Don’t forget the Trip Book!!
Every day you will be given time to write in your Trip Book to enter in information, answer questions and reflect on our time in Shanghai. Many of these pages will be necessary for you to do your final project.

Monday, November 9

2009-11-09T16:06:00.001+08:00

MATH
Study for tomorrow's quiz. It will include information on functions, pattern links, pattern equations and order of operations.

HUMANITIES
Complete the worksheet on verbs. You can access the worksheet online.

Don't forget the first draft of your Shanghai Ghetto research paper is also due tomorrow.

Friday, November 6

2009-11-06T14:19:00.001+08:00

MATH
More on the order of operations. Finish the Reteach sheet this weekend.

HUMANITIES
The first draft of your research paper on the Shanghai Ghetto is due on Tuesday. Don't wait! Start writing it this weekend. Remember there are five paragraphs:

1. Intro
2. Main Idea: Jews come to Shanghai
3. Main Idea: The Ghetto
4. Main Idea: Life after the Ghettos
5. Conclusion

Want to access the article we read in class? Read it here

Also, re-write the letter in your reading journal. It should reflect some good thinking about your reading.

Enjoy the weekend!

Thursday, November 5th

2009-11-05T09:20:00.002+08:00

MATH
Not sure of the Order of Operation rules? Play the video below for a quick lesson to help.

Tonight, finish the worksheet for order of operations.

Start looking over your homework, too, for a quiz next Tuesday. It will include functions, pattern links and pattern equations, as well as order of operations.

SCIENCE
Please read pages B16-17. Answer questions 1-4 in your notebook or on a separate piece of paper.

November 3rd

2009-11-03T15:38:00.003+08:00

MATH
Please answer the open response question.

Can't find your sheet? The question is here.

HUMANITIES
A few things are due on Thursday:

1. Have your Sign of the Beaver quiz signed
2. Write me a letter in your reading journal
3. Finish your Novel Museum. Directions are below.

Novel Museum
Choose a person, place or object related to the novel Sign of the Beaver. Draw the object, find a magazine picture or insert a computer graphic. You can even check out the encyclopedia on your computer and print out a picture. Write a paragraph of at least 5 sentences explaining the significance of the object, place or person to the novel.

AVOID

I think
Slang
In this paragraph I will tell you

USE

A topic sentence
Details
Sensory language

Due: Thursday, November 5

Shanghai Memories Project

2009-11-02T11:56:00.001+08:00

SHANGHAI MEMORIES SCRAPBOOK

Before, during and after, you will be collecting and writing items to go into a Shanghai Memories Scrapbook. This project will stretch over multiple weeks and will go along with our learning about Shanghai, the Jewish Ghetto and Chinese culture in general. There will be multiple steps in this project, and it will take hard work, but most of all it is designed to be fun!

You will be given a binder for your work that you will need to take with you to Shanghai.

IT IS CRITICAL YOU DO NOT FORGET YOUR BINDER ON THE TRIP.

Your completed scrapbook is due December 1st and should be assembled in the order listed below.

ALL WRITTEN WORK MUST BE NEAT. Pencil or jagged edges will not be accepted. Pens of various colors can be used – make this a colorful project that you will enjoy picking up again and again.

SCRAPBOOK COVER
A multimedia collage that includes both computer generated AND hand-drawn artwork.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Written or printed neatly. If you are printing, you should use a ruler to make sure lines are straight.

RESEARCH REPORTS
Each scrapbook will have two research papers included. Your research paper should have a minimum of five paragraphs. Everyone will write one paper on The Jewish Shanghai Ghetto. The other paper can be on the topic of your choice.
Yangtze River
Pearl Tower
Chinese Money
Maglev Train
Opium War
Feng-Shan Ho

• The first draft of your paper on the Jewish Shanghai Ghetto paper will be due on Tuesday, November 10th
• The final draft of your first paper will be submitted on Friday, November 13th
• The draft of your SECOND research paper is due on November 25th.
• The final draft of the SECOND research paper is due on December 1st.

Library/ Computer Research Day___________________________________

Organizers and class time will be given to help you structure and organize your paper.

PICTURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Six pictures or photographs need to be included in your scrapbook.

THREE pictures should show the landscape of Shanghai and our trip.
What do the pictures tell you about the places that we visited?

THREE pictures should show the lifestyle of people in Shanghai.
What do the pictures tell you about the daily life of the people who live in the places that we visited?

Each picture must include a caption written in a complete sentence that describes each photo or picture.

LETTERS FROM SHANGHAI
Write two letters for this section. These letters need to follow the friendly letter format.

Letter 1: Write this letter to a friend or relative telling them about your reactions and feelings in the Shanghai ghetto. Include the interesting facts that you learned about the ghetto on the trip.

Letter 2: Write this letter to a friend of relative telling them how Shanghai is different from Hong Kong. Think about what is the same and what is different. This letter should have two paragraphs.
We will write the first draft of this letter in class on November 24th

SOUVENIRS AND MEMENTOS
Draw, create, collect or find six souvenirs from your trip to Shanghai. These objects should reflect the places and the culture in and around Shanghai. All souvenirs and mementos must fit in and be securely fastened into your scrapbook.
• Include an explanation next to each object describing its meaning. This explanation must be written in complete sentences.

POEMS
In this section, you need to include three poems.
1. An acrostic poem about Shanghai
2. A limerick poem about something funny that happened on the trip
3. A couplet poem – with a minimum of 5 couplets – about the water town

DAY-BY-DAY DIARY
At the end of each day, you will be given some time to reflect on the day we spent in Shanghai. On each day, you should write at least a half-page entry that captures some of the best memories of the day. Share some of the lessons you learned, something new you discovered or a story that will stick with you.

MAP
Before we leave, you will receive a map of Shanghai. At the end of each day, you will need to pinpoint the various places that we traveled.

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY
On each day of the trip, we will look through the newspaper for important events taking place in the world while we are traveling. You will give a three-sentence summary of three events happening each day.

The pages of your scrapbook must be organized following the given sequence in this packet.

YOUR COMPLETED SCRAPBOOK WILL BE DUE ON DECEMBER 1st.

Weekly Update: October 16-23

2009-10-23T16:23:00.002+08:00

Grade 5 had an amazing couple of weeks! We ended our supply drive for the Philippines with amazing results. In two days, Carmel students brought in bags of items.

What was nearly as outstanding was watching the fifth grade work hard to count, organize, box and label all the supplies. It was a team effort and the students pulled together beautifully to get it all done so it could be shipped out on Thursday afternoon. Their effort will make a real difference to those effected by the recent floods in the Philippines.

In Math class, we used the project as an opportunity to chart and graph the results of our efforts over the two days. Students found that in total we collected 1,732 items of clothing, 398 shoes, 613 books, 70 school supplies, 139 different toiletries and 498 toys.

Humanities

In Humanities, we’ve come to the end of our class book, Sign of the Beaver. We are now starting to analyze the book more closely, looking at character traits and some of the major themes of the book. Last week, we also started to do a dictation exercise on Friday. This exercise will help to reinforce sentence rules and increase memorization and listening.

Science
A fruit comes from a flower, but how are the two alike? Students found the leftover flower parts when we took to the Science lab last week and dissected an apple. It was interesting to see a real example of how a simple flower can change into a healthy snack. This week, we finished up life cycles and will begin a unit study of the solar system. Ask your student why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. They’ll need to come up with the answer for Thursday.

Have a great long weekend!

Jewish Studies
from Mora Epstein
- perek aleph of Sefer Yehoshua
- workbook on this chapter
- vowel review
- review of Simcat Torah
- Parashat Hashavua
- Made a video for the Ramon family

Hebrew for English Speakers
from Arie Epstein
- learned about and doing activities and games about telling the time in Hebrew
- working in our workbook on grammar
- review for the spelling test

Please note:
- Monday: spelling test and test on telling the time
- Tuesday : bring back the story
- Next week the spelling test will be on all the four tests until now

JS for Hebrew Speakers
from Morah Yoel

השבוע פתחנו את אחד האתרוגים של ביה"ס ולמדנו על ההבדל בית אתרוג ללימון.

עשינו גם "טבעות" מעלים של לולב.

התלמידים חזרו על החומר של חגי תשרי לקראת מבחן מסכם.

למדנו את השיר "יום זה לישראל אורה ושמחה".

מה אתם חושבים על מתן כופר כדי להפטר מגזר דין מות? תשאלו את הילדים שלכם, זה מופיע בדף השבועי.

תלמדו איתם את הדף השבועי, והם יקבלו מדבקות ופרסים עבור אישור שלכם בחתימה שלמדתם יחד.

שבת שלום

Hebrew for Hebrew Speakers
from Morah Yoel

בלשון סיימנו ובדקנו את חוברת אשכולית "פעיל וסביל".

בהבנת הנקרא למדנו את פרק 11 בחוברת הבנתי. הפרק עוסק בהערכה, הבעת דעה ונימוק.

קראנו את הסיפור "קערת העץ", וביצענו מטלת כתיבה.

פגשנו סבא של תלמידה מכתה ב' ממוצא תימני ולמדנו על קריאה והגיה אתנית שורשית עם דגש על אותיות גרוניות.

פתחנו בפרויקט "סופרים". אנו מתחילים מיורם טהרלב. התלמידים יכינו בבית חומר על כל סופר, ובכתה נקרא ונלמד מיצירותיהם.

Weekly Update: October 9th

2009-10-09T16:23:00.000+08:00

Humanities
This week, the class finished looking at the various Native American groups across America. We learned how farming and hunting effect whether a tribe is nomadic or whether it settles into villages – and how you can often tell a tribe’s lifestyle by its shelter.

Students have also been working through the various stages of the writing process. Last week, they wrote a first draft of an essay, and this week they received edits and met in a writing conference to help them prepare their second draft.

Science
Our Science studies continued with the study of life cycles. We looked at the stages of humans and insects. Students also took research and prepared a bar graph which showed the correlation between geography, access to healthcare and clean water to a person’s life expectancy.

Math
At the heart of any good math lesson is having the students recognize its practical application. We took some time to look at how decimals help us estimate the price of snacks at a movie concession stand or glean knowledge about weather trends. This week also marked the beginning of Mrs. Forster joining our class to help us work better in small groups so we can challenge students and reinforce lessons as needed.

Music
from Wendy Forster
Grade 5 has been enthusiastically working on an aboriginal dance based on music from Australia. They have also been learning about Baroque music and how music is influenced by what is going on in all aspects of society during that time. There is a great website called Hyper History Online. The line is below: http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html .

Hebrew for English Speakers
from Arie Epstein
The subjects we learned this week:
- vocabulary for Sukkot
- activities for Sukkot
- writing a short story on Sukkot based on a picture
- using questions to create the story

Jewish Studies for English Speakers
from Mora Epstein
- learning about lulav and etrog and the sukkah
- discussed the holiday of Simchat Torah
- pesukim by heart, worked on our workbooks
- made a flag and read our J.S. library books
Chag sameach!

Weekly Update: September 25, 2009

2009-09-25T16:21:00.000+08:00

Humanities
We’ve had a good week. We’ve continued to read Sign of the Beaver and check for understanding. In addition, we’ve also been working how to make a good framework for essays. Students have been looking at prompts for givens and variables and seeing if main ideas are distinct enough. They will be working over the long weekend to put together an essay based on one of the main idea frameworks they wrote this week.

Science
Students finished looking at all the systems of the body and were tested on it on Thursday. They should be asking you to sign their test this weekend.

Math
We’ve started working in earnest with decimals. Students have been adding and subtracting with them, comparing them and rounding them. We’ve done some group work to target weak areas, and they have been making good progress.

We also spent some time this week putting together large stained glass windows that will hang in the Sukkot at the JCC. They are nearly complete, and they are coming along fabulously.

Jewish Studies for English Speakers
from Mora Epstein
- worked on vowel sounds
- practiced vocabulary for Tishrei and had a review test
- used our Nilmad Dinim about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
- gave book reports
- Parashat Hashavua, Daf Hashavui.
- learned about Aseret Y'mai Teshuva prayers

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year, Mora Epstein

Hebrew for English Speakers
from Arie Epstein
Subjects that we have learned this week:
- phonetic reading
- oral story telling and answering questions
- different greetings and salutations (related to the story sent home)
- review for the dictation
- grammar: changing verbs from present to past tense

Physical Education
During September the students have been working on spatial and group organization as well as team building activities; they participate in a variety of games increasing group cooperation to accomplish goals. During October the focus will be on fitness.

Week ending September 11, 2009

2009-09-11T16:16:00.001+08:00

HUMANITIES:

This week, the students handed in their state brochures. I’m pleased to report that they looked great. Students worked really hard on the presentation and the content. This was their first taste of working independently on a fifth grade project, and they passed with flying colors. Brochures will be available for parents to see on Back to School Night.

Students also finished up looking at the geography of the United States this week. On Friday, we started to do the groundwork to introduce the first class book we’ll be reading, Sign of the Beaver. This is a great first book for us to read, and it will go hand-in-hand with our studies of Native Americans.

MATH
Estimating is an important skill. When applied to problems, it gives students a good idea of what their calculations should be and can help them self-correct. We began to reinforce this skill by first reviewing how to round numbers, then we moved on to estimating answers for addition and subtraction.

After a few days of multiplication warm-ups in class, it also became evident that students needed some good strategies to tackle multi-digit multiplication. While a few only needed a brush-up on their skills, others are learning alternative strategies, like the box method. Not sure what that looks like? Ask your fifth grader to show you.

SCIENCE
We’ve been looking at the fascinating (and somewhat yucky) process of digestion. Students looked at the different teeth in their mouth – the start of our digestion process – and then studied the various organ functions involved. The big idea was to learn how food gets broken down into nutrients the body can use, while the remainder gets passed out as waste. Next up, the respiratory system.

MUSIC
from Mrs. Forster
Grade 5 have been having fun in music lessons. We have now the space to move and dance and create music. We have been listening to music from around Asia and trying to define what makes a country’s style of music their own. They put together an aboriginal dance using music that was very primal, using just drums, didgeridoo and voices. I was very impressed with their creativity.

JEWISH STUDIES – ENGLISH SPEAKERS
from Mora Epstein

- began our study of Rosh Hashana

- Parashat Hashavua

- Vocabulary quiz

- Learned a song from the Machzor and performed it for the assembly

HEBREW FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS
from Arie Epstein

- phonetic reading

- writing an essay to introduce themselves

- work on the reading booklet from last week

- spelling test

Next week: Tuesday – spelling test and returning their new booklet

JS FOR HS
from Morah Yoel

השבוע עסקנו בעיקר בהכנה לחגי תשרי.

סליחות. למדנו ושרנו את הפיוט אדון הסליחות. למדנו על מנהגים שונים.

י"ג מידות, המקור והמשמעות הכללית. למדנו לשיר את י"ג מידות.

נביא – תחילת פרק ראשון מספר יהושע. קריאה ועבודה בתוך חוברת העבודה (מי היה יהושע ומה ידוע עליו מהתורה).

כתבנו כרטיסי ברכה לחברים בשיתוף עם דוברי האנגלית.

Hebrew FOR HS
from Moreh Yoel

אשכולית –סיימנו את החוברת זה הזמן. למדנו להשתמש במילים כבר, עדיין, התחיל, סיים, הפסיק וסיים. התחלנו את החוברת פעיל וסביל.

הבנתי – המשכנו לעסוק בעיקר וטפל בפסקה וההבחנה בניהם. ראשי תיבות וסלנג כדרכי קיצור.

אוריינות – קריאה דמומה מספרי ספריה.

Thursday, September 10

2009-09-10T11:49:00.002+08:00

MATH
Do the first twenty multi-digit multiplication questions.
Try the first five using the traditional method
Try the next five using the split method
Try the next five using the box method
Use any method you prefer on the last five.

SCIENCE
Finish up the respiration lab we did in class today.

HUMANITIES
Have you been studying your state capitals? Quiz on the Mideast region is tomorrow!

Wednesday, September 9

2009-09-09T11:49:00.000+08:00

MATH
Estimating is an important skill. When applied to problems, it gives you a good idea of what your calculations should be and can help you self-correct.

Be aware of the last place values, and round to there for the answers. Finish the worksheet handed out in class.

HUMANITIES
Our quiz was delayed. Study for tomorrow. Remember: a completed study guide will add 3 points to your score.

Monday, September 7

2009-09-07T16:26:00.000+08:00

MATH
Front and back of the worksheet on Drawing Conclusions

HUMANITIES
We started to work in our spelling books. Finish the lesson pages for Wednesday.

Also, your vocab and state capital test was handed back. Please have it signed.

SCIENCE
Finish the story on digestion by putting the correct words into the blanks.

Have a great day!

Grade 5 Update Week of September 4th

2009-09-04T16:14:00.000+08:00

Tests, quizzes, projects – we’re really starting to get used to working hard – and the students have been coping well with the workload. Motivation is up and enthusiasm is high. Here’s a run down of what we’ve been doing over the past week.
Humanities

Students are continuing their study of US Geography. We’ve covered the various landforms, the lakes, rivers, climate and even the resources of the United States. This week, students were tasked with looking closer at one individual state. Each student is working on a brochure which will have various facts about their chosen state. They have researched both in the library and the IT lab. Over the weekend, students will be putting the information together to make a tri-fold brochure.

In addition, we’ve continued to look at good organization in writing. By next week, we should be starting to practice writing good sentences and paragraphs individually.

Students have really done well in their reading, too. Quite a few students have reported that they have finished one book independently. On Friday, students began writing about the reading, too. Throughout the year, they will share letters back and forth with me about their reading. This will help me guide students individually through their reading. I’m looking forward to starting this one-on-one process with them.

Math

In Math, we’re still working with decimals. We’re comparing them, ordering them and learning how to say them properly. We played a few reinforcement games in the class like Decimal War and pinning decimals in order on a clothes line. Students also had additional practice writing long numbers by writing cheques out for high-ticket items after a $10,000,000 windfall. After they spent most of the money on themselves, they wrote their last check out to charity.

Science

We finished our first chapter in Science on Tuesday and took our first Science test on Thursday. Students had fun preparing for the test by playing Science Jeopardy. The different teams worked hard beating out the competition. In the end, there was a tie, but everyone won by getting extra practice.
Charity Committee and Student Action Committee

This week the Charity Committee and Student Action Committee had their first meetings. Both of these groups will foster leadership among our fifth grade class. The Student Action group is already planning a bulletin board with a monthly message for the school corridor, and figuring out how to get the school involved in a paper recycling program. There should be some good deeds to report out of these committees. We’re looking forward to their work.
Have a great weekend.
Ms. Larson

Thursday, September 3

2009-09-03T16:09:00.000+08:00

MATH
Comparing decimals is easy when you pay attention to place value. First, make sure that there are the same amount of digits BEFORE the decimal. Compare those digits first. Then start to compare from the tenths place. Are they the same? If they are, move on to the hundredths.

Practice tonight on worksheet 2.4

HUMANITIES
We have quite a few things in Humanities tonight.

1. Study your vocabulary.
2. Study the state capitals for the Southeast
3. Work on your State brochure

Cheers!

Same, Same ... but Different.

2009-09-01T19:10:00.000+08:00

MATH
In Math we talked about equivalent decimals. 0.5 is the same as 0.50

Can you write a decmial equal to 7.025?

Do tonight's homework -- Worksheet 2.3 -- and practice tonight.

HUMANITIES
There is quite a bit of work that you are doing independently in Humanities.

1. Studying vocab words and readying your definitions and sentences for today.

2. Studying the states and their capitals in the Southeast

3. Getting signatures from your parents for the State Brochure mini-project.

Are you looking to get a head start on research? Look at Answers.com. It's an easy site to use and has tons of information about each of the states.

SCIENCE
Start looking over your notes. Quiz on chapter one on Thursday

Monday, Monday

2009-08-31T16:09:00.001+08:00

We're back for another full week.

MATH
Today we had our first math quiz. We used up our entire class block, so no new homework.

HUMANITIES:
Don't be fooled. There may be no work due tomorrow, but this is a good chance to get a jump on learning the state capitals in the Southeast. Or maybe you want to get going on your vocabulary definitions and sentences. That work is due on Wednesday.

SCIENCE:
Another opportunity to study presents itself. There is no formal review work tonight, but you should read over your notes to date and start to get ready for our quiz on Thursday. Make flashcards, ask for help from a sibling or a parent. Don't wait. Get studying now!

First Full Week!

2009-08-28T11:09:00.000+08:00

What a great week. We've been doing some great work and I'm proud of all the effort.

MATH

Don't forget to look over all the homework notes from Math this week to help you study for a quiz on Monday. It will cover place value, ordering and comparing numbers.

Finish up the worksheet on Thousandths and Ten-thousandths for Monday.

HUMANITIES
We looked at the landforms across America and it's amazingly varied! Review your notes and answer the few questions on the handout over the weekend. And as always, DON'T FORGET TO READ!

Labs and Decimals

2009-08-27T15:51:00.000+08:00

MATH
We've already looked at place values of whole numbers, and now we're looking at place value of decimals.

Tonight practice writing numbers with decimals in the tenths and hundredths place. Write them as a fraction as well.

SCIENCE
It was great to use the lab today! And while some of us didn't get to see the cells on high power, it was a good lesson on how to use a microscope! No worries. Sometimes experiments don't turn out quite how you planned. Just write up your lab tonight to be handed in tomorrow.

Ordering Numbers and Energy Sources

2009-08-25T17:01:00.000+08:00

MATH
When comparing and ordering numbers follow these steps:

1. Check to see if you are being asked if you need to order numbers greatest to least or least to greatest.

2. Count how many WHOLE digit numbers. The more there are, the more place they take up. The more places they take up the greater the place value.

3. Compare numbers that have the same number of whole digits. Work from left to right.

Try it tonight on the worksheet handed out in class

SCIENCE
We took notes today on roots, stems and leaves. Can you take notes on your own? Try it tonight after reading about Energy Sources in plants. All completed work should be in your Science notebook.

Spelling stories and cells

2009-08-24T16:15:00.000+08:00

HUMANITIES
Today, you helped to create our spelling list for the week. Here's a run down of the words:

adventures
television
schedule
weather
ocean
outdoors
water slide
vacation
jacuzzi
theme park
junk food
game room
massage
shopping
occasion
leisure
relaxation
surfing

Make a story using all these words. I look forward to reading them.

SCIENCE
In Science, we're still looking at the difference between plants and animals, and we're taking a closer look at the cells of each organism. Tonight, answer the questions on the worksheet -- be careful of the vocabulary.

Day One .... What a great day!

2009-08-20T15:27:00.000+08:00

So great to really start working with everyone. I think we had a great day and have already started to do some good work together.

Here's a run down of the work we did and what is due:

MATH:
In math we talked about place value and the ways we can write our numbers.

Standard Form: 123
Expanded Form: 100 + 20 + 3
Written Form: One hundred twenty-three.

Please finish Q 1-8 on the worksheet handed out in class. Challenge yourself and finish the rest of the sheet.

HUMANITIES:
How do you choose a book? Our class came up with great examples. Tonight, make sure to do your independent reading.

SCIENCE:
We looked at how we prove animals and plants are living. We charted the various criteria, and now it's your job to compare them. Use the Venn diagram handed out in class, along with today's notes, to fill in as much as you can. (Due Monday.)

See you all tomorrow!

Welcome back grade 5!

2009-08-19T08:34:00.000+08:00

Greetings Grade 5! I'm very excited to start the year with you. This is where you can find some additional information about class lessons to help you study and do your homework. In addition, we'll use this area to communicate about upcoming events and lessons in our classroom.

Please feel free to use this area to ask me questions, too. Just click on the comment button below and remember to write your FIRST NAME at the beginning so I know who you are.

You will be responsible for independent reading every night. Please make sure you have a book for tomorrow's class.

I'm looking forward to a fantastic year with all of you. See you tomorrow for our first full day!

Cheers! ~Ms. Larson