12/12/11

Homework The Week of December 12^th

1. Sign of the Beaver Essay (read to your parents- have them sign it at the bottom) Due Thursday, December 15^th. (use the essay outline to help you correctly complete all 5 paragraphs)

2. Reminder: Individual Colonial Project and paragraph due Friday December 16^th and be sure to dress up for Colonial Days and bring potluck item discussed with Ms. Anna (room parent).

Your project should relate to our theme of study: Colonial America. and reflect the thought and effort you put into the assignment. Paragraph should include details about what you made, how did you make it, why you chose that project and how it related to our colonial area of study. Neatness, correct grammar, spelling and punctuation are important.

Grade	Effort	Achievement
A	I chose a project that related to Colonial America. I worked on my project until it was complete. I spend time thinking about and planning my project. I made the very best project that	My project turned out great. My paragraph was well written, clearly answered the prompt and had few or no errors.
B	I completed my project. I tried to do a good job. I created a good project that related to Colonial America.	My project turned out pretty good. My paragraph was complete, clearly answered the prompt and had some errors.
C	I put some effort into my project. I stopped when it got to be to hard or time consuming. I just wanted to have something to turn in.	My project was not as neat My paragraph did not clearly answer the prompt and/or had several errors.
D	I did not really try on this project. It was not my best work. I just wanted to have something to turn in.	My project was not finished or really rushed. My paragraph was incomplete and filled with errors.
F	I did nothing	I did nothing

3. Reminder: Group presentations will be Thursday December 15^th. (This has been worked on in class but if it is not finished, it is homework)

*You should have written notes (on note cards) about what you will present

and a visual (poster with pictures or important points) to support what you are talking about.

*Each Person has 1-2 minutes to present their information.

Remember, 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. You are going to teach us about the way your colony made money/traded. What jobs did people do to earn a living?

Biographer – You summarize and draw all of the important people mentioned in your chapter. Why were these people important? What did they do?

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

Sociologist- You will be responsible for describing the daily life of the people in your colonial region. What were their beliefs? What did they do for fun? How was a typical town set up?

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

This is how your presentation will be graded:

Grade	Effort	Notes/ information /materials	Presentation Skills
A	I was knowledgeable about my section. I put a lot of effort into research and preparing for my presentation. I tried to present it in an interesting way.	My notes were clear, informative, detailed and accurate. I had an interesting/clear visual to help the audience understand the information I was talking about.	I looked at the audience and spoke in a voice that was clear.
B	I had information on my section. I tried to make a good presentation.	My notes were clear and accurate. I had a visual to help the audience understand.	I sometimes looked at the audience and spoke in a voice that was clear.
C	I put some effort into my project. I stopped when it got to be to hard or time consuming. I just wanted to have something to turn in.	My notes were missing information. Some important facts were left out. My visual was not complete, messy or confusing.	I didn’t make eye contact with they audience very much I spoke in a very soft voice that was sometimes difficult to hear.
D	I did not really try on my presentation. I was not prepared to talk. I did not do my best.	My notes were incomplete/little information was given. Missing visual or incomplete and/or messy.	I didn’t make eye contact with the audience at all. It was difficult to hear me.
F	I did nothing	I did nothing	I did nothing

Vocab. week of Dec. 5th

The 13 Colonies Vocabulary

1. New England Colonies- New Hampshire, Massachusetts (Maine was also apart of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island

2. dissent- disagreement

3. expel- to drive out, force someone to leave

4. consent- agreement

5. sedition- speaking in ways that cause others to work against the government

6. frontier- lands beyond the areas already settled by colonists

7. industry- the businesses that make a one kind of product or provide one kind of service

8. the Middle Colonies - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware

9. refuge- safe place

10. diversity- having lots of differences and variation

11. immigrant- a person who comes into a country to make a new home there

12. The Great Awakening- a religious movement that brought people together and taught to accept religious differences

13. prosperity – economic success

14. artisan- craftworkers

15. apprentice- a person who works for another in order to learn a trade

16. Southern Colonies- Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia

17. constitution- a written plan of government

18. debtors- people who owe money

19. institutionalized- to become an accepted part of life (slavery became institutionalized in the colonies)

Monday – copy words and definitions on a separate piece of paper

Tuesday- crossword

Wednesday- use at least 10 words in a sentence

Thursday – study

12/1/11

Dear Room 13 Families,

Hopefully you received your paper copy of these 2 announcements in Today's Thursday Folder:

*Save the date Colonial Days December 16th*

We have begun our Colonial unit in Social Studies and all students have been assigned to a New England, Middle or Southern Colony group. Students will be working on their in class presentations (for the next couple of weeks in class) and will be starting their independent activities (to be done at home). Towards the end of the unit, we will be having “Colonial Days” with Ms. Nunes’s Class to showcase what we have learned. We will be dressing up in colonial costumes (as best we can) and serving colonial treats. This will take place on December 16th after lunch (watch out of a more detailed email soon). Students will also prepare an at home created colonial mini-project to share that day.

There are a lot of great craft ideas on the internet, and I linked a few to my blog as well. This mini project will be due on December 16th and there will be a written paragraph about the project that was made see rubric on the reverse).

Clothing ideas: kaki pants (or any pants) rolled to the knee (baseball pants also work great), knee high socks, white collared shirt, long skirts, scarves, apron, bonnets, plain shoes


Some project ideas to get you started…
*sew a small quilt (or the beginnings of one) * make a model of a colonial town
* homemade candles *weaving * make a horn book *silhouette art *handmade pillow
*corn husk doll *clothes pin doll *rag dolll *cross stitch/ embroidery
*handmade baskets *tin work (making something out of tin can eg. lantern)

We will also need your help in providing a Potluck for the visiting students!

As all of the other classrooms will be coming to visit (and that is a lot of students!), we need all of our 5^th grade families to help provide food for the Potluck.

Potluck Items needed:

v Cornbread and Cornbread Muffins

v Jerky

v Cider & Cups

v Trail mix / Nuts

v Berries / Fresh Fruit

v Pumpkin desserts (pie, cake, cookies, etc.)

v Apple desserts (pie, cake, cookies, etc.)

v Plates & napkins

Please contact Anna (Ms. Sara’s Room Parent) to advise what you will be able to bring, so that we can organize the amount of food.

Items can be dropped off that morning, or by 1pm, to the classrooms. If you wish to help, that would be fantastic as well; we could use a few helpers.

Thank you!!!

Ms. Sara and Anna

Anna –vewinston@yahoo.com

Sign of the Beaver Vocabulary week 2 Definitions

1. shrewd- intelligent, astute

2. pity- to feel compassion for; to be sorry for

3. envious- jealous, discontent, wanting what someone else has

4. chagrin- a feeling of disappointment or humiliation.

5. gravely- seriously, solemnly

6. halt - to stop, cease moving

7. placid- pleasantly calm or peaceful

8. frenzied- wildly excited or enthusiastic, frantic

9. grim- harsh, horrible, dreadful

10. awkward- lacking skill or dexterity; clumsy.

11. forfeit- to lose, to surrender,

12. wary- watchful, being on guard against danger.

13. defiance- a bold resistance to authority, going against something

14. *nonchalantly- casually, calmly

15. *boisterous- noisy, rowdy

Monday: Definitions

Tuesday: Sentences (all words)

Wednesday: Crossword

Thursday: Study

Friday: Test (definitions only)

11/21/11

Greetings Parents,

I hope that you will enjoy the Thanksgiving break with your families!
I am very thankful for our sweet class and for all of the hard work done by our wonderful Mara Vista Families!

Save the Date:
Colonial Day is almost here: Friday, December 16th 1:10-2:10
More info to come about this 5th grade event.

Book Orders:
There should have been 2 book orders sent out in the last couple of weeks. You can also order books online using our class code=J3QRG. I will be submitting all orders on Nov. 31st so that all of our books can arrive before winter break.

Wish List:
Binder paper :)
Dry erase markers :)


With Gratitude,

Mrs. Sara :)

Sign of the Beaver week 1

rueful- feeling sadness

venture-to take a risk, to dare

vague- not clear

sensible- having good sense or sound judgment

reckon- to think or suppose

wit-a form of intellectual humor, intelligence

pewter- a metal alloy (usually tin and lead)
despise- to feel annoyance or ill will, dislike

salvage- to rescue or save
loon- an aquatic bird
scarce-rare, not abundant
gradual- little by little
resent- to look down on with contempt
precious- having a high price or great value
delicious- very pleasing, delightful
conscious- aware, perceptive
*bonus* incomprehensible- impossible to understand

S.S. Chapter 4 vocabulary (intro to colonies)

colony- a land ruled by another country

plantations- large farms

slavery- the practice of holding people against their will and making them carry out orders

rawmaterial- a resource that can be used to make a product

stock- a share of ownership in a company

Jamestown- the first English settlement in the “new world” (in Virginia)

cashcrop- a crop that people grow to sell

indentured servant- a person who agreed to work for another person without pay for a certain length of time in exchange for passage to North America

represent- to speak for

established church- a church established and supported by the government

royal colony- a colony owned by a monarch

pilgrim -a person who makes a journey for religious reasons

frontier -lands beyond areas that were settled by colonists

industry- the businesses that make one kind of product or provide one kind of service

Middle Passage- the long journey slaves took across the Atlantic ocean from Africa to the English colonies.

exports- products sent to other countries

imports -products brought into the country (from other countries)