Cereal Book Report due Jan 28th :)

Name _____________________________

A New Cereal on the Shelf

If you could invent a cereal based on a fictional book you read, what would it be? After you think of a name and shape for your cereal, you’ll design a cereal box for it.

materials:

empty cereal box, white or light-colored paper, scissors, markers or crayons, construction paper, glue, tape,

optional materials:

clay, fabric, needle, thread…other craft supplies

Directions:

1. Chose an AR book that interests you (it can be one you are in the middle of reading) and have it approved by your teacher.

Book Title: _________________________________________

Author: ____________________________________________

2. Think about what you will name your cereal. Choose a name that sounds enticing and that relates to the story in some way. Then, choose a shape for the cereal, as well as colors and ingredients that also relate to the book. For example, for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, you might invent a cereal called Wizard Wands, a toasted oat cereal in the shape of miniature lightening bolts.

3. Cover an empty cereal box with white or light-colored paper. Or you might want to write and draw on appropriate-sized sheets of paper and then glue them onto the box. Here are the guidelines for each side of the box:

Front

Write the name of your cereal and draw a picture to go with it. You might draw characters or other pictures to help you sell your product. Make your cereal box look appealing and fun. Look at actual cereal boxes for ideas.

Back

Design a game that is based on the story. It can be a puzzle, a word game, or any other fun activity that might be found ton the back of a cereal box. Make sure it includes information from the book. Describe your idea below.

Right side

Under the heading “Ingredients,” list the main characters and write a sentence about each one. Then describe the setting (place and time). Write your rough draft below.

Left side

Write a summary of the book. Describe the main conflict and the resolution.

Top

Write the title and author of the book and your name

Inside

create a prize that is related to your book (it could be a something you sew or make out of clay)

4. Plan a two-minute commercial for your cereal that includes important information about your book, and present it to the class.

Cereal Box due (and prepared to present) January 28^th

Last week before break!

Thank you to all of you who supported Colonial Day! I was really impressed with all of the great projects our kids created! Other students and teacher enjoyed this day and gave our talented kids lots of complements and kudos! Excellent work Room 13! A special thank you to Misuk for making calls and to Karen and Javier for helping to serve!

We will be finishing up our colonial studies this week with group presentations on each of the colonial regions. Be sure to check in with your child about their presentation. We have spend hours in class working on this! I am excited to see the final result!

I hope that you will have a wonderful winter break with your families and that the new year will be bring you great happiness!

:) -Ms. Sara


A little more info for the mini-writing project this week....

We will be starting this in class on Monday 12/20

Winter Wishes Essay

Please write a 5 paragraph essay about 3 wishes you have. At least one of these wishes has to be non-selfish.

Remember you need:

1. An Introduction Paragraph

Your introduction should include some background information about what you will be discussing in your essay. You could share information about wishes, why people make wishes or maybe something related to your wishes. You introduction also needs a topic statement that clearly states what your essay will be about.

2. Three Body Paragraphs (one for each wish)

Each paragraph should describe what your wish is in great detail? Why did you choose that wish? What would be the results of it coming true? Why is it important/how would it make a difference or help people?

3. A Conclusion

This is the ending for your essay. You do not need to restate your wishes. Instead, this is a chance to give some final thoughts about your specific wishes or wishes in general. This is your chance to leave a lasting impression. It should be thoughtful, reflective and interesting.

We will be working on the rough draft in class on Monday.

We will edit and begin the final copy in class on Tuesday.

Rough Draft is due Tuesday 12/21

Final Copy is due Wednesday 12/22

Colonial Project update 12/8/10

Dear Room 13 families,

For the past week and a half we have been studying they colonization of the Americas.

Your child has been placed in a group of 5 members and assigned to the New England (ch. 5), Middle (ch. 6) or Southern (ch. 7) colonies.

Every student has one of the following jobs to do:

Economist- You are responsible for describing the economy of the colonies in your region described in your chapter.

Biographer – You summarize and draw all of the important people mentioned in your chapter.

Narrator- You summarize and illustrate the story that was at the beginning of your chapter.

Sociologist- You will also be responsible for describing the daily life of the people in your colonial region.

Geographer- Draw a large map (for presentation) of the colonies or your region and be able to describe them. Explain how/why your colonies were started.

Students should be in the process of taking notes and preparing for their presentations. We will have some time for this in class next week as well. Students should be prepared for their 1-2 minute part of the group presentation. It would be great if you could check-in with your child and make sure they are on the right track. Group presentations will be on Tuesday December 21^st.

A reminder that the individual colonial project and paragraph write up (what did you make, how and why) are due Friday December 17^th and will be showcased that day during “colonial days” (beginning around 1:10 pm).

Thank you so much for you hard work and support!!!

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you all had a great mini vacation. We had a lovely before-break get together in Room 13. Thank you to all of you who brought something to share. A special thank you to Ms. Misuk for organizing and to Ms. Yvette for coming in a little early and doing a great still life drawing lesson with the class.

We are Beginning our Language Arts Theme of : Voices of the Revolution, which will tie in nicely to our Colonial unit in social studies. We will also be having "Colonial Days" on December 17th (with Ms. Nunes' Class) where we will be showcasing to different classes of the school, and parennts what we have learned. We will dress up in colonial constumes, show off our colonial crafts and models and serve corn bread trail mix and apple cider.



That's all for now,

:)Sara

Greetings Room 13 families,

I hope you are all looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving break. I know that I am looking forward to getting to spend some extra time with my loved ones and I hope that you will be able to do the same.

We will be having a friendship party on Tuesday. Our wonderful Room Parent, Misuk, should have left a message with you. Our class will be making the pumpkin pie. Most students will be bringing some piece of fruit to contribute to the friendship salad (please send to school whole-uncut) as we will will also be using the fruit earlier in the day to practice our still life drawing. If you would like to join us, please come by room 13 at 11:40.

Thank you,

Ms. Sara

Homework for the week of November 1st

Vocabulary: Cell Structure

1. cell- the basic unit of all living things

2. tissue- a group of cells that work together to perform a specific function

3. organ- a group of tissues that work together to perform a specific function

4. organ system- organs that work together to ado a job for the body

5. amoeba- a single celled organism

6. organelles- different structures in a cell that have a certain function to help keep the cell alive

7. nucleus- an organelle that directs the cell’s activity (the “control center”)

8. cell membrane- holds the cell together and separates if from its surroundings (the “protector”)

9. cytoplasm- jellylike substance that help the cell stay together (the “goo”)

10. mitochondria- releases energy from nutrients (the “powerhouse”)

11. endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-folds and transports proteins (“protein highway”)

12. chromosomes- an organized structure of DNA and protein in cells

13. ribosomes- make proteins from amino acids

14. golgi apparatus- sorts, processes and packages proteins and lipids

For plant cells:

15. choroplast- makes food for the plant cell

16. cell wall- supports and protects the plant cell

17. vacuole- stores food, water, waste

For animal cells:

18. vesicle- stores food, water, waste

Monday and Tuesday= Use the Diagrams on the reverse side to draw and label your own plant and animal cells. Write definitions next to the labels or on the back of the page (use words: nucleus, cell membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, golgi apparatus, cholorplast, vacuole, vesicle, cell wall)

Wednesday= Crossword puzzle

Thursday= Study for vocabulary test

Due Friday: A plant and animal cell diagram labeled with vocabulary words and their definitions and the crossword puzzle

Explorer Poster/Advertisement

Today in Class we began this fun assignment about the age of exploration.

It's purpose is to familiarize students with some of the famous European Explorers. We have been discussing why different countries explored. This assignment is meant to allow students to think of what was needed to make their expeditions successful and to practice mapping skills. All work on this assignment is to be done by hand (no computers for final product). Computer research is fine. Posters may be anywhere from 8 x11" to 11x17". We will be working on it in class through this Friday. It will be due the following friday

Here is a link to a helpful site: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/namerica.shtml

you can also use the online encyclopedia: http://www.britannica.com/

Explorer Poster/Advertisement: Due 11/5

You will be assigned an explorer of the 14^th or 15^th century. You are trying to recruit other sailors to join you on your expedition.

Create a poster to advertise the open position aboard your ship.

Please include:

-your name and a drawing of yourself

-a map of the route you will be taking (please use the actual route that your explorer took – you are intended to learn and teach your route to the class)

-why you are going on your expedition?

-why should this sailor go with you?

Please use the following pages of your Social Studies Text book to help you get started. Choose 1 explorer from the group based on your first name.

p. 124 : Columbus, Caboto, Vespucci, Balboa, Magellan (if your first name starts a-j)

p. 131: Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Cabrillo, Coronado, De Soto (if your first name starts k-r)

p. 139: Hudson, Verrazano, Cartier (if your first name starts s-z)

October 24 update and student spotlight

Greetings wonderful families,

I really enjoyed meeting with all of you during conference week. Our kids are so lucky to have such supportive parents at home. We are working on building organizational skills, independence and responsibility, but many students still need your support at home with this. We had a lot of work sent home this past week in the Thursday folder. Please remember that students can corrects tests to bring up their grade.

Last week we began "Student Spotlight" a fun and educational way for us to learn about each other and where we come from. This is meant as a learning opportunity for your child to find out a little bit more about their families heritage and experiences. It is also a time when they get to share about themselves. 2 students get to share every week.

Here the general outline (students were already given this about 3 weeks ago, I will be giving out extra copies to those students who turn is near).

Monday You may bring 1 something special from your younger years and 1 current thing to share with the class, that helps us learn more about you.

Tuesday Please share something special or interesting that your enjoy doing with your family (this could be a photo, a story etc)

Wednesday Research your family’s history. How did they end up living in California? What parts of the country or world did your family come from? How did they get here? What jobs did they do? Is there something interesting you learned about them or their journey? You may either fill in the chart to answer these questions or write a paragraph. Please be prepared to locate on map (with help) the places your family comes from.

Friday During your week you may bring a cultural dish to share or a favorite treat.

(Feel free to switch activities/days as needed)

The schedule is posted on the left side of the blog.

Many thank yous,

Mrs. Sara

P.S.

Some classroom needs:

* I need a room parent! :) I promise I will be easy to work with and we can work together co-plan things. We can also have co-room parents please let me know if you are interested.

* Binder paper

* Red correcting pens

oct. 18th

Homework: week of Oct. 18th

Tall Tales- Vocabulary and Spelling words

1. pioneer

2. requirement

3. reputation

4. protrude

5. maul

6. varmint

7. extraordinary

8. forage

9. dismal

10. instinct

11. cascade

12. gigantic

13. navigate

14. quicksilver

15. obliged

Monday: definitions

Tuesday: write a story using at least 10 of your words. Make sure that you use your words in ways that make sense and hint at the meaning of the word

Wednesday: crossword puzzle

Thursday: study for test on Friday

A reminder about two other very important assignments…

Due Friday 10/22 Sign of the Beaver Journal (worth 50 pts)- We have been working on this in class for the past 2-3 weeks. I gave students and check off list, so they can be sure they have each of the journal assignments. I would encourage your child to bring this home to show you and go over it together.

Due Wednesday 10/20 Sign of the Beaver Essay Outline and Paragraph.

Last week we were working on a 5 paragraph essay outline for Sign of the Beaver. The outline needs to be completed. Then, students are to choose one part from the outline(intro, detail paragraph or conclusion) to write on a piece of binder paper, in paragraph form. Please check your child's work and sign your name (at the bottom of each piece of writing).

October 9, 2010

Hello wonderful parents,

I am really looking forward to meeting with all of you one on one this week at parent/teacher conferences to ensure that we help your child have a great year.

If you need to make any changes to your conference time, please let me know.

Many thanks,
Mrs. Sara

It was great seeing and meeting all of you (who were able to make it) last night! I just wanted to share with you a "found" poem that I created using lines from the poems your children wrote in the first weeks of school. So... here is our class "I come from..." poem:

I come from the cold sunny days of santa cruz
I come from a house by the sea
A little yellow house on a cliff by the sea
I come from my bed
The smell of bacon the yummy sausage and eggs
Pancakes and french toast for breakfast
The good food my parents make

I come from the love and music of my dad’s guitar
the ringing of music in my ears
I come from the bright light that shines in the day
the joy of watching flowers grow
I come from laughter and happiness
I come from the nature that gives me power

I remember the ocean
the sound of the waves on the beach that I’m running past,
making footprints in the sand
I like being at the ocean
watching the water shimmer in the moonlight
Everything is silent except for the soft whisper
I come from a world of dreams where life is made

I come from the clouds
from the dark sky... from the howl... from the moon

I come from the peace
I come from fun


I come from my loving family who has made so many sacrifices for me
I am from my family’s heart
the love of my family strengthens me
it powers me

I love our community, our animals and our people
I am the leaf of a flower
the beat of a drum
I am proud of myself
I am the mountains
I am the sun
I am the world
you and i are a lot alike
it doesn’t matter where you are
your memories are where you come from
Happy so happy the life of mine

Greetings Families,

I am looking forward to seeing you all at Back to School Night. It is this Thursday, September 16th at 6:10 in my class, Room 13!

September 7, 2010

Greetings Room 13 Families!

Hopefully you all enjoyed the long weekend. Again, many thank yous for all of your generous donations to our class!!!

Please check in with your students nightly about their homework; it should be recorded daily on their log. This seems to be a problem for many students, as I am getting blank logs or no longs at all on Fridays. Vocab/Spelling work will always be described on the back of the log (please help make sure your child is reading the directions). Vocab/Spelling work is always due on Friday with the log. There will almost always be nightly math homework (this should be kept in student's math folders. There are also assignment logs for math that should be getting filled in during class time. If your child is able to finish their math homework in class, math facts in a flash or other fact practice should be done (multiplication and division).

We began talking about the National Park Assignment today in class. Your child has been assigned their National Park. There are some great links on my blog (National Geographic's site is especially picturesque). This assignment will be due on Sept. 17th. We will be getting research started at school and your child will bring home the detailed project description with grading rubric on Thursday.

A quick run down of some areas of study in the first month of school:
Math: factor trees, prime factorization, exponents, equivalent fractions (coming soon)
Language Arts/Science: Our First theme for Language Arts is "Natures Fury" in which we will be reading realistic fiction and non-fiction text, we will also be exploring figurative language and connecting this to our study of weather in science.
Social Studies: Native Americans and geography skills. Around the world (artistic expressions of famous places around the world).

:) Ms. Sara

August 29, 2010

August 30, 2010

Dear Room 13 Families,

It has been great getting to know your children this past week. I really feel that we have a special group and I am looking forward to having an exciting year of learning and growth. Thank you for all of the supplies that have been coming in!!! I am always amazed at the generosity and support of our families here at Mar Vista. The only things we are really in need of are art supplies (sculpy clay, shrinky-dink paper and water color paper).

Please check in with your child about their spot for homework. I gave students a homework folder (if they needed/wanted one). Other students had a folder in their binders for homework. Please check in with your child, to ensure that they are keeping their things organized and that you know where there homework spot is. If your child needs a homework folder, let me know and I can give them one. Each week I will be giving students a homework chart (that they will fill in daily). On the reverse side will have the vocabulary words for the week. There is daily vocab/spelling homework, nightly reading (30 min) and daily math. There will occasionally be other homework, reports or projects. Please sign the homework chart on Thursdays!

This week we will begin math (we will be splitting our classes for math beginning on Tuesday). Please look for a letter this week for more details about math class.

Many Thanks,

Ms. Sara
sara_thorinton@pvusd.net

P.S. Last Friday, your child should have brought home a half sheet of paper regarding the PE program. Let me know if you need another copy. Our PE Days are Monday, Thursday and Friday

Welcome Back Letter

Dear 5th Grade Parents,

I am thrilled to be back at Mar Vista and teaching 5th grade. Many of you know me from my years in 1st grade and that I was absent from Mar Vista this past year. I am beyond excited to be able to delve in deeper to the curriculum with 5th grade standards (and 5th grade thinkers). We will get to cover some really interesting topics: American history, the solar system, body systems, read and write various forms of literature an non-fiction text and work with negative numbers, decimals and percentages (to name a few).

We will be going over the academic program and classroom procedures in greater detail at Back to School Night (Thursday, Sept. 16th 6:10-6:50). Until then, here are some things you should know.

All students will be given a green homework folder (students are welcome to use their own folder from home if they wish). Each week there will be a homework log for students to record their assignments. This needs to be brought to daily and kept in their folder. The Homework log is due to me on Fridays with your signature. Homework in fifth grade should not take more than 50-60 minutes (including 30 minutes of reading). Please contact me if your child is making a good effort, but is still unable to complete their homework in that time frame, so that we can make any needed changes. Students will be taking home their Math Homework workbook daily. (This book needs to go back and forth between home and school because it will be used every day during Math).

I know that you have ton of paper work to go through. Please make sure to return the following by this Friday, August 27th (*= extra important to return ASAP):
1. *Emergency Card
2. *Internet Use Agreement (your child will not be able to touch a computer at school without this)
3. *Permission to Take Books home agreement
4. *Voluntary Participation Student Accident/Heath Insurance Notification Form (Green)
5. *Superintendent’s Annual Notice to Parents (pages 22 and 23)
6. MVP’s Directory Form
7. MVP’s Volunteer Sign Up Form
8. Preferred Parking Space Raffle Advertisement and Return Slip

I am very much looking forward to working with you to ensure that your child has a great year in 5th Grade!

Many thanks,

Sara
I check my email often and it is a great way to communicate with me! sara_thorington@pvusd.net