Week 25 and Week 26: February 11 - February 22

Language Arts

We are completing our Poetry Unit with a culminating lesson on writing and illustrating Haiku verse.  The ultimate intent with our Haiku is for all of the students to send in one Haiku entry to the Japan Airlines International 10th World Children's Haiku Contest 2008.  The theme for this year is "Winds."  The poem can be any thought or feeling related to winds.  Here are a few samples from our 5th graders:

A feather floating.
Hovering in the winds.
Drift, gentle, graceful.
By A. N.

Beautiful wings soar,
They hover over the winds,
Gracefully flying.
By C. W.

As I walk to school,
Winds blow my homework away.
How do I explain!
By S. S.

We are approximately six chapters away from completing our Historical Fiction novel Blood On The River, by Elisa Carbone.  In order to enhance comprehension and understanding of the sequence of events in the novel, the students have been working on a visual organizer or story map so they can keep track of the plot, setting, characters, and details in the novel.

The genre for the month of February is Mystery.  We will be going to the library on Thursday, February 14th, to check out mystery books.  The Mystery Book Report form will be due on Monday, March 3rd.  Our next library visit will be Thursday, March 6th.  The genre for March is Science Fiction.  The Science Fiction Book Report form will be due when we return from spring break in April.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, the students now have their own copies of their textbook, A History of US, Book 2, Making Thirteen Colonies, 1600-1740.  There will be homework assignments from this text that the students will be working on each week.

The students also received the Immigrants and Ancestors Inquiry Project Assignment form.  They were all to have taken it home and procured a parent signature.  This project will be due on Monday, March 10th.  

Immigrants and Ancestors Inquiry Project:  In American History/Social Studies, we have been studying the early colonists and the myriad of reasons that many of them immigrated from England (Europe) to the New World.  America is known as the land of immigrants.  In order to better understand the concepts of country of origin, nationality, ethnicity, cultural background, and immigration, it is always interesting and motivating to start with our own family history of how our families came to become Americans.  In order to do this, each student will be creating an Ancestor Immigrant Project.  In March, we will each be teaching the class about one of our ancestors who moved/relocated/immigrated to Hawaii or somewhere else in America.  In order to find out much of this information, students will be conducting interviews with their elder family members.  Students are to learn all they can about the first ancestor who came to America from another country.  Who were they?  When did they arrive?  Where are they from?  What were their reasons for immigrating to America?  Where in America did they relocate to?  Why?  What were the living conditions like for them once they arrived in America?  What were their jobs?  What did they do?  How did they live?  What were some of their customs and traditions that they kept from their country of origin?  As a culminating celebration of our Ancestor Project, we will be having an ancestor "luncheon" sometime during the week of March 10th - 14th.  Please be thinking and discussing with your parents about the type of food you wish to bring in to teach about and represent your ancestor and their culture.  Our room parents, Mrs. Dang and Mrs. Yoshihiro, will be helping us to coordinate our celebration luncheon; stay tuned for more announcements. (Parents: Should you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please let me know.)

On Friday, February 15th, we will be having our annual Jump Rope for Heart activity in the gym.  This event is from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.  Our 5th graders have been working very hard with Mrs. Koshi and Mrs. Jenkins on their jump rope routines and their Garage Band theme music to go along with their routines!  If you are able, please come and join the fun - and exercise too!

On Wednesday, February 20th, we will be having our third 6th grade buddy activity down in the middle school with our 6th grade friends and the 6th grade teachers.  This "field day" activity is scheduled from 8:00 to 9:45 a.m.  From 8:00 to 8:45 a.m., the 5th graders will be taking part in a brief writing and math assessment given by the 6th grade teachers.  Then, from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m., all of the 5th and 6th graders will take part in four different field day games.  At 9:30 a.m., we will have snack with our 6th grade buddies and then return to the elementary campus at 9:45 a.m.

Reminder:  Monday, February 18th, is President's Day Holiday.  No School.

Happy Birthday to:  T. T.  Thank you to T. T.'s mom for bringing in the delicious cake to celebrate!

Posted on February 12, 2008 12:12 PM | Permalink