Definitions for this weeks vocabulary :)

Custom- the usual way followed by people

Determination -a firm intention or resolution (to carry out one’s plan)

Extended-made to include more

Inherit-to receive something from an ancestor

Raid-an attack for the purpose of taking property

Reputation-what others think about the character and behavior of someone

Respect-feelings of admiration and approval

Travois -a sledge used by the Plains Indians made up of a platform on two poles that were fastened to a dog or horse

Coup stick- a long stick used for striking an enemy in battle

Triumph- a great victory

Retreat- to withdraw or go back

Deliberate- intentional, on purpose

Lance- a long spear

Off to the Symphony!

Just a reminder that we are off to the symphony on Monday, Feb. 28th.
Please show your respect for the performers by dressing nicely. We do
have PE on Monday afternoon, so you may want to bring a change of clothes.

Sadly our Lifelab trip was canceled last Friday. We will be making up the trip in May.

Thank you so much for all of the generous contributions to our class basket for the auction, you are all amazing!!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

:)Ms. Sara

Hi everyone!

A reminder that tomorrow is our Field Trip to Life Lab!

Dress warmly in clothes that can get dirty and in shoes that you can walk a bit in. Please bring a lunch from home!

Also Biography Reports are due tomorrow, Friday 2/25!

Students may have the weekend to put finishing touches on their Artistic/Creative Presentation portion of the project. To be completed and turned in by Monday 2/28.

I will accept late papers through 3/1 (with a half a grade off for each day late!!!)

Thank you,

Sara

Famous Person Report Check-Off

Famous Person Report Check-Off

Check off	Components	Points	Make sure to include the following in each section…
_	Title page	10	Name of famous person, time period they were alive, your name, due date
_	Contents Page	5	Labeled Contents, lists sections and the page numbers they begin Ex. I am poem........................p. 3 Essay …..….....................p. 4 Photograph of__..............p. 6 Drawing of Invention…..p. 7 Extra credit …....…….....p. 8 Bibliography …………...p. 9
_	I am Poem	15	Thoughtful, creative, informative, accurate, correct spelling, neatness
_ _ _	Essay __Introduction (This grabs the readers attention and tells them who you are writing about) __Body Paragraphs (Paragraph 1 about the person’s childhood, interests and experiences growing up, family, when/where they group up. Paragraph 2 about the person’s talents and accomplishments. What was important about their life? What goals has this person achieved? What problems did they overcome? Why, how, when and where did they become famous? Other Paragraphs may give more details about the life/work of your person. Interesting information? How this person is remembered and/or they are important. How did this person impact the lives of others? What can we learn from them? What should we know about their death, tributes, legacies?) __Concluding Paragraph (This should retouch upon the life’s accomplishments of your famous person and why they are important to learn about. How can learning about their life/work inspire or encourage others and make a positive difference.)	35	Informative, accurate, strong vocabulary, variety of sentences used, the reading flows, it’s organized, neat, and uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar.
_	Visuals	10	All visuals are labeled, They are relevant and meaningful, They enhance understanding of the person, their life and/or their accomplishments.
_	Bibliography	10	Labeled Bibliography, Listed in alphabetical order by authors’ last names (when possible) or by article title (if no author stated).
_	Presentation/ Artistic Demonstration	15	Shows effort, reflects knowledge about the person, their life and accomplishments, well prepared
_	Extra Credit		Extra visuals that are labeled and enhance the understanding of your person/their life/their accomplishments
_ _ _ _	I checked my writing for misspelled words. I checked my writing for errors in punctuation. My paper is neat. I checked that my writing makes sense.

Dear Parents and Students,

As of the end of today, students will have had 5 hours of class time to research and begin their 2 page essay on the life of their famous person. Students’ rough draft of their essay is due on Tuesday, February 22^nd. We will be editing rough drafts and working on the cover page, contents page, and bibliography in class. Students may have to work on their rough draft over the weekend if they have not used their class time wisely. Thank you for supporting your child on their biography work. A rubric for your child will be graded is at the bottom of this post.

Our field trip to the Life Lab at UCSC is fast approaching(Friday, February 25, 2011). I am still missing permission slips from students and am need of more drivers (we are still about 11 seats short)!!!

On the day of the trip, please plan on providing your child with a lunch from home. Life Lab challenges us to bring low-waste lunches (packed in reusable containers). We are also asked that we pack out our own garbage.

Also, please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately. We will be out doors and this is a hands-on experience, so please wear clothing and closed-toed shoes that can get dirty. A warm jacket or sweatshirt is also a must.

The following Monday, February 28^th, we will be off to the symphony. Please discuss with your child appropriate dress and behavior for this type of concert. All students are encouraged to dress up a bit (as a showing of respect to the performers) but still comfortable for school. This is also a PE day for our class, so it is a good idea to bring a change of clothes.

Thank you,

Mrs. Sara

Famous Person Report Rubric

Components	Points	Points Earned and Comments	I will be looking for the following in each section…
Cover page	10		Includes name of famous person, time period they were alive, your name, date
Contents Page	5		Labeled Contents, lists sections and the page numbers they begin Ex. I am poem……………….....…p. 3 Essay …………………...…....p. 4 Photograph of ___ ……….…p. 6 Drawing of Invention………..p. 7 Extra credit ……………...…..p. 8 Bibliography …...……………p. 9
I am Poem	15		Thoughtful, creative, informative, accurate, correct spelling, neatness
Essay	35		Informative, accurate, strong vocabulary, variety of sentences used, the reading flows, it’s organized, neat, and uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar,
Visuals	10		All visuals are labeled, They are relevant and meaningful, They enhance understanding of the person, their life and/or their accomplishments.
Bibliography	10		Labeled Bibliography, Listed in alphabetical order by authors’ last names (when possible) or by article title (if no author stated).
Presentation/ Artistic Demonstration	15		Shows effort, reflects knowledge about the person, their life and accomplishments, well prepared
Extra Credit			Extra visuals that are labeled and enhance the understanding of your person/their life/their accomplishments.
Total	100

I am Poem Format

Be sure to include important information about their life and achievements.

A final copy of this poem will be included just before your two page essay in the report.

You will be graded on thoughtfulness, creativity and information given about your person.

I am	(name of your person)
I wonder	(something the person is likely to be curious about)
I hear	(what would have been sounds that your person heard)
I see	(what might your person have seen)
I am	(two or three special qualities the person has)
(SPACE)
I pretend	(something the person might have actually pretended)
I feel	(an emotion, be sure to include why they felt that way)
I worry	(what was something that your person might have worried about?)
I cry	(what was something sad or difficult that happened to your person. If there was nothing sad… perhaps describe an extremely happy moment that could have brought them to tears.)
I understand	(something the person knows to be true)
I say	(something the person believes in)
I dream	(what was a dream of your person)
I try	(something the person made an effort to do)
I hope	(something the person hoped for)
I am	(you may repeat the person's name or qualities or think of new ones to add)

Feb 11, 2011

Dear Parents,

I have really been enjoying the creativity and hard work of our class. I was very pleased with the cereal box book reports and science experiments. These were two very important assignments. I still have students who have yet to turn in these “big” projects. Another upcoming assignment is the Famous (Mostly) American Biography. Students should now have their famous person. This project will be turned in on 2/25 and will be, for the most part, in class. Your child will need to make sure that they have at least one book (might have to make a trip to the public library) and they may need your assistance with doing some research at home. (Details about this project are on the last post). The presentation/artistic demonstration may also require some work at home.

2/15/11 - Secret Valentine and Valentine’s Day

*Students have been assigned a secret valentine. Students are required to give this person a card with a compliment in it (this may be signed or remain anonymous. Students will be turning these into me and I will be looking for their thoughtfulness and kindness. They may also bring a small treat for their secret valentine. If students wish to bring valentines or treats they need to bring one for the entire class (class list on the back).

2/25/11 - Life Lab Field trip

*We need drivers to make this trip happen (so far I only have 2 drivers thank you Liam and Sofia’s family)

Also, I am missing permissions slips and $5 from the following students: Aaron, Tenaya, Robbie, Ace, Alexis, Becca, Caleb, Natalie, Quinn, Maria, Catie, Jade, Joey, Jon, Marea, Paul,

Missing $5 only- Christian, Sofia

Missing Permission slip only- Payton

2/28/11 - Symphony Fieldtrip

Missing Permission slips and $5 from Aaron, Gigi, Joey

Missing $5 only from Alexis, Robbie, Payton

3/13/11 Mar Vista Online Auction

*Please help support our school by sending in items for our class “Garden Basket”. Each class has a theme, so please help our basket (or wheelbarrow in our case) look its best by donating! Some ideas: hose, sprayer, gloves, garden décor, garden tools, bird bath/feeders, OSH/Home Depot/other gift cards).

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

Class List

Aaron	Ace	Alex	Alexis	Becca	Caleb
Catie	Christian	Claire	Gigi	Jade	Joey
Jon	Jordan	Kasie	Liam	Logan	Malia
Maria	Marea	Matt	Natalie	Paul	Payton
Quinn	Robbie	Savannah	Sofia	Tenaya	William

Famous (Mostly) American Biography DUE FEB 25th

5^th Grade Famous (Mostly) American Biography

We will be working on this in class for the most part. You will most likely need to do section V (the artistic presentation at home).

You will need to use at least 1 Library Book (class, school, public) and at least 2 of the following resources to obtain your information:

*Internet (reputable websites-see links on my blog)

*Social Studies Textbook

*Encyclopedia

*Magazines

*Documentary

Report Contents

(Please label each section of your report)

Section I: Title Page:

*Name of Famous Person

*The time period they were alive (date of birth-date of death)

*Your name

*Date

Section II: Two Page Report: (handwritten or typed)

*Family history (when and where they were born, what their childhood was like, interests they had growing up, any important information about their family or any hardships they had to overcome)

*Why, how, when and where they became famous. What should we remember this person for? What was the result of their actions/work? Why are the important? How did they make a difference?

*Is there any interesting information we should know about your person?

*How/when did they die? Are there any memorials, celebrations honoring them?

Section III: Visuals

*Please include a photograph, drawing or painting of your famous person and an image related to why they are famous.

*You may include additional maps, guides, inserts, drawings or pictures that relate to your famous person and his/her life for Extra Credit. Please Label this section Extra Credit.

Section IV: Bibliography

List (alphabetically by author) all resources used for your research. See sample below.

Section V: Presentation/Artistic Demonstration

Choose from the following or create your own method of expressing the theme, essence or main accomplishment of your person and prepare to present to the class in a 3-5 minute presentation. Be creative and try to have some fun with this area.

model diorama skit

poem rap or song food to share trivia/board game TV/radio broadcast interview

Sample Bibliography

"Abraham Lincoln." New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1997 ed.

“Article Title.” http://www.websiteused.com

Cross, Charles R. Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix. New York: Hyperion, 2005.

Harcourt School Publishers. Reflections: The United States: Making a New Nation. Orlando, FL.: Harcourt, Inc. 2007

Thomas, Cathy and Tim Padgett. "Our First President." Time 19 Sept. 2005: 28-33.

February 7, 2011

Dear Parents,

I am looking forward to our field trip to the Life Lab. We have a lot of permission slips that still need to be turned in and I am in dire need of drivers for this trip. Again it is Friday, Feb. 25^th (9am-2pm). Please let me know if you can drive. If you have already stated you can drive on your child’s permission slips, I have you down to drive. I will be sending out chaperone information next week.

Science fair project boards are due on Wednesday (Feb. 9^th). Students will also begin presentations of their projects in class. These presentations will merely consist of having students present their board and tell us what they were trying to figure out and what were the results of their experiment.

In class this week we will also begin our Famous (mostly) American Reports. This will be a mostly in class assignment over the next couple of weeks (due Feb. 25^th), however some research and notes will need to be taken at home, as well as some of the “finishing touches” for their reports. Your child will be required to have at least 1 source that is a book, which may require a trip to the public library. Students will be given a handout Wednesday, outlining the report requirements. I will also post a copy here.

Thank you so much for your support!

-Ms. Sara

P.S. We have been having a rather large problem with students coming to class ill prepared (no penicls/paper). Please help your child be ready with the supplies they need at school every day!

Wish list:

pencils, binder paper, expo markers (especially darker colors), tissue

Week of Feb. 7th vocabulary

Social Studies Chapter 9: The Revolutionary War

1. neutral- not taking a side

2. inflation- an increase in the price of goods (generally due to lack of supply of falling value of money)

3. profiteering – charging extra-high prices for crops or goods

4. regiment- a large group of soldiers

5. enlist- to sign up (usually for duty in the army)

6. mercenaries- hired soldiers

7. campaign- a series of military operations carried out for a certain goal

8. turning point-an event that causes an important change

9. negotiate- to try to come up with an agreement that is acceptable to everyone involved

10. traitor- someone who acts against his or her country

11. abolish- to end, to stop

12. territory - land that belongs to a nation but is not a state (and is not represented in the National Government)

13. ordinance- a set of laws

Review Vocabulary

abolitionist-

Loyalists-

Patriots-

Monday- definitions

Tuesday- crossword

Wednesday- sentences or cartoon using at least 10 words

Thursday- study for test