Mean, Median, Mode

Check out this link for a fun math game to review.
http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/numbers/meanmedianmode.html

Tomorrow's Tests

Tomorrow we will have 3 tests: vocabulary, spelling, and math. The science worksheet pages 5&6 is due tomorrow. The social studies worksheet pages 1&2 is due tomorrow. Please complete work on time. We will celebrate students in our August homework club tomorrow at 3:00 with an extra recess!

Today's Soc. St. Notes

8/30: Legislative Branch

·       Makes the laws

·       Article I (part 1) of Constitution

·       Congress

·       2 parts or houses

o  Senate-2 senators from each state

o  House of Representatives- # of reps. Is based on state population

·       Write bills (ideas for laws) and send them to the president for approval

o  President can approve or veto

o  If president vetoes, congress can overrule with 2/3 majority in in both houses

o  Approve or reject the president’s appointments to the cabinet

o  Can declare war with 2/3 approval of both houses

o  Senate must approve treaties with other countries with a 2/3 majority

o  House of Rep. can call for the impeachment of govt. officials

o  Power to collect taxes

o  Create national currency ($)

Executive Branch

o  Article II

o  Carry out/enforce/execute the law

o  President can approve or veto (reject) bills

o  President is the commander in chief of all armed forces

o  Sign treaties with other nations

o  Can call Congress together for special sessions

o  Nominates Cabinet members, ambassadors, federal judges

o  Grant pardons (release punishment)

Judicial Branch

o  Article III

o  Settles disagreements between states

o  Protects Constitution

o  Interprets laws

o  Supreme Court

o  9 judges

o  Leader is called the Chief Justice

o  Justices serve for life

o  Throw out laws that are unconstitutional

o  Veto treaties

o  Chief justice presides during impeachment trials

Checks and Balances

o  System to make sure that one branch does not become too powerful

Fitness Festival

Reminder:  Our school will participate in the Fitness Festival as a Buffalo Trail Community.  If you would like to join us, we are meeting at the southwest corner of DTC Blvd and Bellview just east of the water fountain at 7:45am.  Families can register online at http://www.fasbfitnessfestival.com.  If you have any questions see the office or Mr. Gaede.  We hope to see you there.

Today's Soc. St. Notes

·       Government-protects our freedoms and maintains order

·       Articles of Confederation- first document that set up the national government

o  Limited powers

o  Too weak

·       Constitution-written instead of revising the A.ofC. to create a strong national govt.

o  3 branches or parts

o  Checks and balances-each branch has limited powers so they all have balance

§  Judicial

§  Executive

§  Legislative

·       Articles of Confederation:

o  Congress could make laws & declare war

o  No president

o  No court

o  Did not collect taxes

o  People began to protest and rebel (Shay’s Rebellion)

·       Constitutional Convention: Philadelphia 1787

o  55 delegates

o  12 out of 13 states

o  All members were wealthy, smart, white, men

Science Gummy Bear Experiment

Here's the notes we took in class during our experiment. Enjoy!

Question: How does the size of a Gummy Bear change when soaked in water?

Research:  Youtube videos, Google search, books about science experiments, ask an expert

Hypothesis: We think the Gummy Bear’s size will expand and become larger because it will absorb the water.

Experiment Procedure:

·       Place 1 G.B. in 25 mL of water

·       Observe the G.B.

·       Put 1 wet G.B. on one side of the pan balance and 1 dry G.B. on the other side

·       Take the wet G.B. and use gram pieces to measure how much it weighs

·       Measure the weight of a dry G.B. and compare mass

 Materials:

·       Water

·       Beaker

·       2 Gummy Bears

·       Paper towel

·       Pan balance

·       Gram pieces

·       2 plastic cups

Data:

Total Time (min.)	Mass (g)	Length (mm)
Start	3 g	20 mm
2	3g	17mm
4	3g	14mm
6	2g	13mm
8	2g	8mm
78	4g	20 mm
overnight	7g	37mm

Graph: glue line graph in your notebook

 Conclusion: Was our hypothesis correct? Look at the graph and describe what you learned about Gummy Bears and water.

Yes, our hypothesis was correct. We predicted the G.B. size would expand because it would absorb the water. The original size was 20 mm and it grew to 37 mm for a total growth in length of 17 mm. However, after 8 minutes the G.B. shrank to 8 mm. It decreased in size 12 mm, but then continued to increase 29 mm to 37 mm. We also know that it expanded because the mass increased 3g to 7g for a growth in mass of 4g. However, at 6 and 8 minutes the mass decreased to 2 g so the overall mass increase was 5g. Our hypothesis was correct because the length and mass of the G.B. increased.

What was the independent variable? Time in minutes

Dependent variable? Length in mm and the mass in g

Controlled variables? Water temperature, amount of water, same type of G.B., location, cups, pan balance

Today's Reading Notes on "Miss Alaineus"

Extend Vocabulary: pages 21-24

·        luminous-bright, lit up, shiny

·        pride-boastful, high opinion of yourself

·        “goeth”-to go

·        consisting-made up of

Check Understanding: pages 21-24

            Sage is sick and has to miss school on Monday. This is the day that they get their vocabulary words and definitions. Since Sage missed the words, she calls her friend Starr to get the words. However, Starr is in a hurry to go to practice so she rushes quickly through the words. Many of the words have to do science, but the last word is a little confusing. She writes #20 as “Miss Alaineus”, but I think something is incorrect about that word. It doesn’t make sense! Sage’s mom tells her that “pride goeth before a fall” which gives me a clue that she will not do very well on the vocabulary test. Sage thinks she is really good at vocabulary, but because she is so prideful I predict she will make a lot of mistakes!  

Vocabulary Words for Aug. 27-31

1. government-(n.) the people who are in charge of a county or area that makes rules and laws. It has the power to enforce the laws.
2. Constitution-(n.) the document that describes the government of the U.S.
3. Articles of Confederation-(n.) the document that describes the government of the American colonies
4. Bill of Rights-(n.) the first 10 CHANGES to the Constitution that list basic American rights and freedoms
5. mean-(n.) the average. Add up all the numbers and divide by that number of digits. Example: 3,3,4,5: 3+3+4+5=15; 15/4=3.75
6. median-(n.) the number in the middle of a set of data. Ex: 3,4,5,5,6,7,8-5 is the median
7. mode-(n.) the value or values that occur the most often
8. range-(n.) You take the maximum, you take the minimum and you SUBTRACT! Ex: 37-20=17
9. average-(n.) synonym for mean
10. estimate(v.)-round to the closest answer; make an educated guess

5th Grade Homework Newsletter for August 27-31

Thank you to all families that attended Back to School Night last Thursday. We hope you found it helpful and encourage you to contact us via email or the planner if we can answer any other questions or concerns about the beginning of the year. Student council members will be announced this week. We are very proud of all of the 5^th graders who completed the nomination process. We look forward to working with student council this year! Remember, there will be no school on Monday, September 3, for the Labor Day holiday. Enjoy your long weekend!  

Below you will find your homework for the week. You should expect to spend 50 minutes each school night on homework. Everything is due on Friday so be sure to budget your time accordingly. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week! J

Vocabulary: On the back of this page are words that come from the other subjects we are currently studying. You need to know the definition, the part of speech, and how to use it correctly in a sentence. You will have a vocabulary test on all 10 words on Friday. The format of the test will vary each week.

Word Work/Spelling: Each night you will need to study your spelling words for homework. Spelling tests will be on Fridays. This week we will focus frequently misspelled words. Be sure you know how to spell these words correctly in your writing too. Here are your 20 words:

1.      beautiful          6. they’re                    11. are                         16. our

2.      their                7. first                         12. everyone               17. won’t

3.      before             8. went                       13. can’t                      18. right

4.      there               9. school                     14. everything             19. everybody

5.      enough            10. when                    15. don’t                      20. write

Reading: In order to become a better reader, you must read! You should read a book of your choice for at least 20 minutes each night.

 

Science: Complete worksheet pages 7-8 to review important concepts regarding food chains and food webs. This is due Friday and will be for a grade.

Social Studies: We are beginning our unit on government. Complete the worksheet pages 1 & 2. It is due on Friday for a grade.

Vocabulary Words for Aug. 20-24

1. hypothesis-an educated guess or prediction based on research to a scientific question. A step in the scientific method. 
2. independent variable-the variable changed by the scientist. This is the only variable that will change in the experiment
3. controlled variable-quantities that  remain constant (the same)
4. dependent variable-the factor that responds to the changes in the independent variable
5. biome-large land area with a particular climate and vegetation. Examples include desert, grassland, forest, tundra, and rain forest
6. herbivore- animal that eat plants only
7. omnivore-animal that eats plants and animals
8. carnivore-animal that eats meat only (other animals)
9. decomposer-an organism that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals
10. sum/difference- sum answers...ADD; difference answers...SUBTRACT

5th Grade Homework Newsletter for August 20-24

Our first week of school was a great success and we know this year is going to be amazing! Thank you for signing your child’s planner each night and signing/returning the Thursday folder the next day. We also appreciate students bringing all of his/her supplies last week. Please let your child’s teacher know if you are having difficulty finding the requested supplies so we can help. We look forward to seeing all parents for Back to School Night this Thursday evening from 6:00-7:30.

Below you will find your homework for the week. You should expect to spend 50 minutes each school night on homework. Everything is due on Friday so be sure to budget your time accordingly. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week! J

Vocabulary: On the back of this page are words that come from the other subjects we are currently studying. You need to know the definition, the part of speech, and how to use it correctly in a sentence. You will have a vocabulary test on all 10 words on Friday. The format of the test will vary each week.

Word Work/Spelling: Each night you will need to study your spelling words for homework. Spelling tests will be on Fridays. This week we will focus frequently misspelled words. Be sure you know how to spell these words correctly in your writing too. Here are your 20 words:

1.       because                 6. they                    11. again                16. was

2.       people                   7. laugh                  12. really               17. into

3.       friends                   8. until                    13. could               18. to

4.       said                         9. off                       14. excited            19. too  

5.       have                     10. want                   15. favorite           20. two

Reading: In order to become a better reader, you must read! You should read a book of your choice for at least 20 minutes each night.

Writing: Collect favorite pictures, magazine clippings, and other meaningful drawings/words to decorate your writer’s notebook. Glue and tape them all over your notebook to make it a one of a kind original that represents your uniqueness and something you’ll be excited and proud to write in this year. We will have contact paper at school on Friday to preserve your notebooks. If you can volunteer to help with this project on Friday, please contact your child’s teacher.

 

Science: Complete worksheet pages 5-6 to review important concepts regarding biomes and food chains. This is due Friday and will be for a grade.

Social Studies: There is no social studies homework this week.

Who I Am Project-due Friday

Our first homework assigment is a project called "Who I Am." Please work on this a little bit each night since it is due Friday morning. You will need to turn in the purple brainstrorming sheet as well as the decorated gingerbread girl/boy. Use your imagination and creativity! I look forward to learning about you when you share your projects on Friday.

Remember to turn in your Parent/Student policy handbook signature page tomorrow. This is for homework club!

Also, nightly homework includes getting your planner signed. Let's start the year off right with with good habits!

Meet and Greet Tonight

I hope to see all of my students tonight in Room 103 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Stop by and check out your new room and drop off your supplies if you'd like. I look forward to meeting you and your families!