We would like to thank Mr. Quinn, Daniel Quinn's father, who came to our class on Thursday afternoon. He shared with the class his knowledge of rocks and minerals and brought in many examples for the children to actually touch and see.
Reading Last week we began our mystery unit by solving a Sherlock Holmes mystery together. Then the students set up their own detective agencies. This week the students will work together in their detective agencies to solve more mysteries. As they solve the mysteries, they will learn about the elements in a mystery such as characters, setting, plot, clues, distractions, and structure. They will also become familiar with they mystery words: alibi, breakthrough, clue, crime, deduction, detective, evidence, hunch, motive, red herring, sleuth, suspect, and witness. You might want to ask them their detective name and the name of their agency. What was the speckled band? How was the mystery solved?
English This week the students are writing their final drafts of their candy persuasives. They will then share them with the class. We will learn the elements of expository writing this week. The students will compare persausive to expository writing and notice the similarites/differences between them.
Social Studies Last week in social studies the students were grouped and responsible for reading and gathering information about the Grand Canyon. They then had to make a poster about the different things that they learned. After that they had to teach the class about what they learned about the Grand Canyon. All the students were responsible for learning from each other as the presentations were given. They all did a very nice job. This week the students will continue to learn about the climate in the Southwest and how the Saguaro is important to the animals who live in the desert. They will also learn how the technology of the Southwest has impacted the United States.
A test over chapter 10 will be on Friday of this week. Things that the students should study for the test:
Know all the highlighted vocabulary and famous people(Coronado,, Cardenas, Powell, Theodore Roosevelt)
Be able to explain how the Grand Canyon was formed and why it is still changing today.
Who were the Native Americans that lived in the Grand Canyon hundreds of years ago?
Why was the Grand Canyon made a national park, and why do people want to visit it today?
Explain what the climate of the Southwest is like.
How has the saguaro adapted to living in the desert, and how does it help the desert life there?
What is a technology industry? Explain the technology that is important that exists in the Southwest?
How do oil and technology play an important role in the economy of the Southwest? Oil is important to the Southwest because oil can be made into many products like gas, medicines, clothing, detregents, asphalt. So many people are needed to get the oil out of the ground and then turn it into these products. People will travel to places in the Southwest for these jobs, and to start new businesses. Technology is also important for the economy. The businesses that make electronic equipment, computers, missles etc. need educated people to help them create their products. Then they need people to work in the factories and sell them. They also attract people to work at the laboratories and train in the space center. More people and jobs help the economy in the Southwest to grow.
Do you remember the states in the Southwest and the important rivers that flow through them?
Science Last week in science the students tested minerals to find the properties of hardness, luster, color, texture, streak, acidity, and magnetism. This week we will learn how to use specific gravity(weight of an object compared with an equal amount of water) and cleavage, how a rock breaks apart, to help us with our identification of the different minerals.
Math This week in math we will continue to practice addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators. They will also work on the Guess and Check problem solving skill.
We will have a test over chapter 9 on Thursday of this week. This chapter has many new skills. Your child may need to practice these skills at home to feel confident with them. Thank you for any extra practice that you can give them.
