Literature Circles and Class Pet

Field trip tomorrow! We will be leaving about 9:40/9:45am!

Math - exit slips are due tomorrow! 

Social research, if not completed today, needs to be ready to go for Monday so that we can start on our project. Please discuss this with your group members.

Tree Study is due next THURSDAY, December 7th.
Our next Literature Circle meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 6th.

TODAY WE VOTED ON OUR CLASS PET, AND WE HAVE UNANIMOUSLY CHOSEN 2 GERBILS!! Stay tuned for more details. 

The last few weeks in class, we have been working on a novel study. We are reading the book "Fatty Legs" by Margaret Pokiak. Each week we read a chapter from the book. Students then complete their job for the week (it is different each time). Jobs include items like discussion director, investigator, illustrator, and so on. Before we read the next chapter, the literature circle groups meet and present their jobs. They then self-evaluate themselves using a rubric based on how well they did their job, and how they participated in the literature circle. We read a new chapter, and start again!

Here is a look at our literature circle meetings this week:

Forests Threats & Class Pet

Reminders
Friday is our field trip.
Social Study research is due tomorrow (you will have a couple of work period choices to complete this).
Literature Circles is due tomorrow, first thing in the morning!
Tree Study is due next Thursday.

Today, we discussed forests threats. We made a list of potential threats and then categorized them by human, environmental or both. We then narrowed down our list to those that are threats in Alberta.
Here is the list we came up with: 

Forests Threats – Alberta

Human Threats	Environmental Threats	Both
City development	Ice storms (freezing rain)	Mud slides
Pollution	Freezing temperatures	Rock slides
Deforestation (cutting trees)	Animals – birds like the sapsucker	Avalanches
Illegal logging	Snowstorms	Fire
Plantations/ Farming	Rainstorms	Floods
Mining	Hail	Insects
	Lightening	Erosion
	Tornadoes	Climate Change
	Droughts

 At home with your parents, discuss your choices for the following questions, and why: 

1.) The most impactful human threat to ALBERTA forests
2.) The most impactful environmental threat to Alberta forests.

Today we finished filling up our marble jar! We have discussed potential new class pets, and have narrowed it down to 1 hamster or 2 gerbils. 
At home with your parents, discuss the pros and cons of each. Tomorrow we will vote and decide on our new class pet! 

Learning in Health

Our next Literature Circle jobs are due on Thursday!
Math Assignment is due on Wednesday!
Social Studies Group Research is due on Thursday!

Tree Study is due next week, on Thursday.
Field trip on Friday!


In health, we have been learning about bullying and friendship. We split into 5 groups and each group was given a word in a box in the middle of the page. Students divided the rest of the space up so that they each had their own workspace. The words they were given were: Bully/bullying, friends/friendship, tattling, mean, bystander.

Working silently, each student took some time to write or draw what that word meant. Next, as a group, students shared their thoughts and then decided on the 3 most important characteristics of that word, writing them in the box in the middle.

Once this was completed, students were provided with sticky notes. Rotating, they read each group's thoughts and final 3 characteristics, using the sticky notes to add additional thoughts to the charts. They returned to their original group and shared their top 3 characteristics with the class. As a class, we discussed the differences between bullying, tattling, and mean. We also discussed the role of a bystander.

Newspaper article due tomorrow!

Newspaper Articles DUE TOMORROW!!!!

Tree Study is due Thursday, December 7th.

Social Studies Research is due for Thursday, November 30th.

Tomorrow is our last day of swimming, please bring your swim suits and towels!

Field trip next Friday.

Important dates to note

Here is a glance ahead of how next month or so will look:

Tomorrow is inside/out and backwards day! Also, make sure you bring swimsuits and towels for swimming.

Newspaper article is due on Friday, November 24th (unless otherwise discussed) .

Literature circles - this week's jobs to be completed for next Monday, November 27th.

Math Assignment - Whole Numbers - due Wednesday, November 29th.

Group research for social assignment - completed by Thursday, November 30th.

Field trip on December 1st.

Tree Study project due on Thursday December 7th.

Social presentation (poster/google slides/visual journal) due Tuesday, December 11th. (It is very important this is completed no later, as you will not be able to "teach' the peers in your group if this is late).

Newspaper article due Friday

Newspaper article (final copy) is due on Friday.

Swimming tomorrow, please bring your towels and swim suits. Wearing your swim suit before makes it a lot quicker to get ready!

Next Friday is our field trip!

Math Unit Test - Whole Numbers, TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is our unit test for Math - Whole Numbers unit. Please look over the study guide (tab at the top of the page) to help you with your studying.
During the test tomorrow, you will be able to use the estimate handout provided to you earlier in the unit, as well as the posters on our math wall.

Remember to bring your swim suits and towels!

Friday - newspaper article is due! (Good copy)

Field trip forms for December 1st are past due, please hand them in ASAP! 

Reminders

Tomorrow is a PD Day, there is no school!

Math Test is next Tuesday, please look at the study guide posted on the blog to help you with your studying.

Article due date is changed to the next day, Friday November 24th.

Parent Quizzes due tomorrow!

Parent Quizzes due tomorrow! 

Final copy of the article is due on Thursday, November 23rd.

Math Unit Test on Whole Numbers, Tuesday November 21st.

Please return the field trip forms for the Olympic Oval, as well as swimming forms.

Ask your child for details on our new Tree Study project!!!

TONIGHT IS MATH NIGHT, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

PARENT QUIZ ON NEW FRANCE!

Field trip forms for the Olympic Oval due on Thursday.

Friday is a PD Day! No school!

Final draft of our article is due next Thursday, November 23rd.

Parent Quiz 
Today in Social Studies we started to learn about New France. We also learned how to decipher which information is important, and to take jot notes on our new info.

Students are being asked to create 5 or more questions based on their personal notes. They will teach their parents about what they have learned, using their notes. They will then give their parents a quiz based on what they have learned, and will mark their parents (parents can not look at notes for the quiz). 

This is due for this Thursday!

Grade 6 Whole Numbers Study Guide

Grade 6 Unit Test (Understanding Number) Study Guide

Students should be familiar with the following language:

·      Expanded Form – To write a number in expanded form, such as 8426, you break the number apart by place value (8000 + 400 + 20 + 6).

·      Standard Form – The standard form of a number is its numeral form, which we usually see the number in – 8426 is in standard form. Students should know how to write a number that is in expanded form or in the form of words (such as eight thousand, four hundred, twenty six) in standard form, and vice verse.

·      Estimate – A guess. The EXACT answer is not needed. If you the word estimate is used in an addition problem, round the two numbers being added and then find the sum. 

·      About – When you see the word “about” used in a math problem, such as “about how many cats were there in the house…” it is asking for you to estimate! 

·      Factors - Numbers that you can multiply together to get another number. In the multiplication sentences 2 x 3 = 6, 2 and 3 are factors.

·      Multiple – The result of multiplying a number by a whole number (integer). Example: 12 is a multiple of 3 because 3 x 4 = 12.

·      Integers – Whole numbers. Integers can be negative {-1, -2,-3, -4, -5, … }, positive {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, … }, or zero {0}.

·      Prime Numbers – A number greater than 1 that has exactly 2 factors (possible divisors), 1 and itself. Another way to define it is: A number greater than 1 that can be divided evenly only by 1 or itself.

·      Composite Numbers – A number with more than 2 factors. Or, a number that can be divided up evenly.

Students should know how to use estimation strategies to round numbers.  They should be able to round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand, and to round using the front-end estimation strategy (refer to handout for definitions/examples).

Students should be able to order integers from least to greatest. A good strategy to do this is by using a number line.

Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of factors and multiples by determining multiples and factors of numbers less than 100, identifying prime and composite numbers, and solving problems using multiples and factors. Students should be familiar with how to use a factor tree.

Students should be able to know what order to do the operations in when given an expression with more than one operation. Remember: BEDMAS (Brackets first, Exponents, Division and Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction).

Search any of these concepts on mathisfun.com for great explanations and examples if you need further clarification.

Grade 5 Whole Numbers Study Guide

Grade 5 Unit Test (Whole Numbers) Study Guide

Students should be familiar with the following language:

·      Expanded Form – To write a number in expanded form, such as 8426, you break the number apart by place value (8000 + 400 + 20 + 6).

·      Standard Form – The standard form of a number is its numeral form, which we usually see the number in – 8426 is in standard form. Students should know how to write a number that is in expanded form or in the form of words (such as eight thousand, four hundred, twenty six) in standard form, and vice verse.

·      Total – The answer to an addition problem. Also known as Sum.

·      Difference – The answer to a subtraction problem.

·      Estimate – A guess. The EXACT answer is not needed. If you the word estimate is used in an addition problem, round the two numbers being added and then find the sum. 

·      About – When you see the word “about” used in a math problem, such as “about how many cats were there in the house…” it is asking for you to estimate!  

Students should know how to use estimation strategies to round numbers.  They should be able to round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand, and to round using the front-end estimation strategy.

·      Remember: To round a whole number, look at the digit to the right of the place value being rounded. If the digit is 4 or less, the digit being rounded remains the same. If the digit is 5 or greater, add 1 to the underlined digit.

·      Front-End Estimation – Can be used when adding or subtracted numbers to find an estimate. The leftmost digit in the number remains the same and the rest become 0. 734 would become 700, 799 would become 700.

Students should be able to represent and describe whole numbers to 1 000 000 with pictures, symbols, and words. They should know how to order a series of numbers to 10, 000 from least to greatest. A good strategy to do this is by using a number line.

Students should know how to add or subtract numbers with up to 7 digits.   

Students should be able to identify the place value of a single number within a large number. For example, what is the place value of the 3 in 78, 342? A: Hundreds