Here's what we're up to in Alder East.
5th Grade Math -
5th graders are studying Unit 3 - Place Value and Decimals. Students are working on comparing and modelling decimals to hundredths and thousandths place value, and we've been practicing strategies for subtracting decimals using number lines to explain differences, in addition to using the standard method of lining up decimals, subtracting and burrowing when needed. Some of these concepts are new and unfamiliar, but they help build the student's number sense, and can used to check work or prove answers even when using the standard methods are more comfortable.
Alder East Writing -
In our Word Work and journaling, we been examining the rules of commas: using comma in a series, using commas for beggining phrases and clauses, commas offsetting appositives (ex. Mrs. Shelley, our principal, will be visiting our class.)
Our big writing project is a research report about one of the European Explorers who contributed to the exploration and eventual colonization of the North and South America.
Requirements:
• Students will write or type their reports using MLA format – heading, double spaced, 12pt font – Times New Roman - if typed.
• An illustration of the flag of the country their explorer represented, using crayons or colored pencils (no markers).
• A route map (colored in crayon or pencil) with the continents and oceans labeled with a black, thin Sharpie.
• Use at least two sources of information, including books or websites (no Wikipedia).
• And, a bibliography with all sources listed in alphabetical order by the first letter in the source. Do not list books first, then Internet articles, etc.
So far we have been working on effective note taking strategies; finding important fact fragments, avoiding plagiarism, and organizing notes by source on note cards that can used to help structure and order their final report.
Due Dates:
Notes Packet: Thursday, March 2
• Flag & Map Completed: Tuesday, March 7
• Report Rough Draft: Monday, March 13
• Final Report (title page, illustration of flag, route map, final draft, and bibliography): Friday, March 17
Alder East Reading -
Alders are using reading time to read about and research the life of one of the European explorers of the Age of Discovery. There are two students researching each of the explorers on our list. I have gotten books on each of the explorers from the Multnomah Library, and Mrs. Hood found a great website landofthebrave.info with a very useful page about each of the explorers.
Make sure you ask your student about which Explorers they are researching:
- Christopher Columbus - John Cabot - Hernando Cortez - Jacques Cartier - Sir Francis Drake - Henry Hudson - Samuel de Champlain - Juan Ponce de Leon - Ferdinand Magellan - Francisco Pizarro - Hernando de Soto - Amerigo Vespucci - Vasco Nunez de Balboa
First, we have been working on MLA format for referencing your sources. After some initial background reading about their explorer, Alders learned how to create a proper bibliography entry for their first source, either a book or web article. As I stated above, we're working on note taking skills, and with multiple students researching each of the explorers, students can collaborate can collaborate and support one another during the research, though each is responsible for their own notes, and their own report.
Reading Log - due Friday, March 3rd.
At Home:
Students should always be doing independent reading at home - a chapter book, graphic novel, biography, or non-fiction that isn't focused on pictures and graphic information. This year, students are tracking all the books they read and using that info to evaluate their reading, and set reading goals.
PS. We have been doing Friday response journals based on what students are reading at home. Students compose brief paragraphs about what they are reading, what reactions they have had, what predictions they are making, and what connections they make. I was really impressed by the last batch of responses as most were thoughtful and detailed. Great Job, Alders!
Alder East Humanities -
We are learning about Ancient Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere - Mayas, Incas & Aztecs this week. Most of the last two weeks we've been studying the Incan Empire of South American. Alders learned about how the Incas built very sophisticated cities, and had a very organized society, but no written language. In addition to reading about aspects of Incan culture, students have made their own Quipus, strings with knots that the Incas used to keep records of population, livestock, and crops, they examined the ruins of the lost city of Machu Piccu, which was never found by European conquistadors, and even created Incan mummy bundles filled with the trinkets that represented they live style and occupation of the deceased. This was really fun! Students were given the occupation of someone from the 21st century: doctor, lawyer, mechanic, computer technician, farmer, waitress, etc... and they worked with a partner to create items that represented that persons role in society. Another group of students then got to be archaeologists opening the mummy bundle and trying to determine the roles this person occupied in life.
Next week, we should begin examining the Aztecs, and soon we'll be comparing the similarities and differences of these three empires before examining the impact of European "Discovery" and exploration of the New World.