February 22nd, 2013

STUDENTS SHOULD BE COMPLETING SCIENCE FAIR EXPERIMENTS AND MAKING DISPLAY BOARDS AT HOME THIS WEEKEND.  THEY SHOULD BE DONE BY THURSDAY, AT THE LATEST.  SCIENCE FAIR PROJECTS ARE NOT SOMETHING WE DO IN CLASS.  IT IS AN AT HOME WORK OF ART!!!

This morning we learned the final three cities of our top 20 populated cities.  THERE WILL BE A TEST ON THESE CITIES NEXT THURSDAY/FRIDAY.  Students will be required to identify these cities on a blank state map of the U.S.  They will also need to know the populations of the top five cities, why cities are built where they are, and factors that contribute to the location of state capitals.
The top twenty list follows:

1. New York, New York (8,213,839)
2. Los Angeles, California (3,794,640)
3. Chicago, Illinois ((2,076,584)
4. Houston, Texas (2,076,189)
5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1,476,331)
6. Phoenix, Arizona
7. San Diego, California
8. San Antonio, Texas
9. Dallas, Texas
10. Detroit, Michigan
11. San Jose, California
12. Indianapolis, Indiana
13. Jacksonville, Florida
14. San Francisco, California
15. Columbus, Ohio
16. Austin, Texas
17. Memphis, Tennessee
18. Baltimore, Maryland
19. Charlotte, North Carolina
20. Fort Worth, Texas

We did our Language Arts Test today.  Students worked very hard on 3-point essays.  Most students are finishing the essays.  On Monday we will complete the essays, edit each others' work and begin typing the finished copies.  Some students have begun compiling questions to interview Meridian Faculty and Staff.  The next 3-point essay will combine their interview answers and give practice of how to use quotations.  We will begin these Tuesday.

Spelling tests for the week are completed.

MATH HOMEWORK IS THE WHOLE UNIT #8 REVIEW.  We learned about rotational symmetry today.  Please point out places, objects, etc., at home that use rotational and line symmetry.  Also, if you have any tessalations at home, point those out.  If your child wants computer time this weekend, have them create tessalating shapes on WordPaint or LibreOffice. Here are some fun websites for tessalation practice.  Also, google Escher!

http://www.mathcats.com/explore/tessellationtown.html
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Tessellate/

At lunch, students celebrated our Jazz Read-a-thon win with a Read-a-thon Party!

Cultural Roundtable focused on Austria and Germany.  Students justified their opinions on which famous cities they would like to visit.

5th Grade went to Art.  4th Grade brainstormed fieldtrips, reviewed Science Fair progress, and had study hall.  They also were tested on reading fluency.

After recess, we began our Middle Ages unit.  As a class we read Chapter One:  Things Fall Apart.  We learned that while the Roman Empire was fighting within, less money was used to defend the empire's borders and keep up the Roman roads.  The various tribes on the fringes of the empire began attacking, eventually destroying the Roman empire to the core.  We learned about the Huns, who moved from the Russian steppes onto their conquered land, and about their horsemanship skills.  We especially focused on the brutality of the brilliant leader, Attila, the Hun.  Students were surprised that he didn't destroy Pope Leo I in 452 A.D.  476 A.D. is the official end of the Western Roman Empire.  STUDENTS HAVE A MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES PROJECT AND WRITING SHEET TO COMPLETE FOR HOMEWORK. IT IS DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH.  It should take no longer than one hour to complete.  A complete copy of it is found below (Students did not receive the Review Questions yesterday, but will get them on Monday.  However, they are found below, if students want to get ahead):

Name____________________

Middle Ages – Chapter 1 & 2

Due Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Instructions:

1. Read Chapter One (Things Fall Apart) and Chapter Two (The Not-So-Dark Ages)
2. Choose and complete one of the following activities.
3. In addition, on a separate lined sheet of paper and in your best cursive, answer the review questions below in complete sentences or paragraphs:

Multiple Intelligence Activies to choose from:

Verbal-linguistic	Create a wordsearch or crossword puzzle using at least 30 new words from the chapters.
Visual-spatial	Make a Rome Visitor's Guide. Include pictures of sites, such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Palatine, the Appian Way, the Forum, Hadrian's Villa, Mausoleum to Augustus, Arches of Constantine, Severus, Titus, Roman Aquaducts
Kinesthetic-body	Research Hadrian's Wall (122 A.D.) Construct a small model of the wall. Label it and write facts about it. Bring it in to share.
Natural-science	Find out how aquaducts worked. Create a small flow-chart or model explaining how they worked.
Musical-rhythmic	Write a song about the Middle Ages.
Mathematical-logical	Create a poster showing how cities during the Middle Ages and cities during our time are the same and different.
Intrapersonal	Write three journal descriptive journal entries, as if you were a Hun. Each entry should be at least 50 words, and include details of your traditions and history.
Interpersonal	Create a leadership plan to keep the Roman Empire alive. Who will lead? What qualities will he/she need? What are the first tasks to be done? Why?

Review Questions to answer:

Chapter One:

1. Why is the date A.D. 476 important in the history of Rome? Briefly describe what happened in that year.
2. What events helped lead to the fall of Rome?
3. Name at least two barbarian tribes that attacked the Western Roman Empire.

Chapter Two:

1. How did the lives of people in Europe change in the first few years after the fall of the Roman Empire?
2. How did the lives of people in Europe change in the long run after the fall of the Roman Empire?
3. Why was the period from about A.D. 500 to about A.D. 800 referred to as the Dark Ages?
4. Why is the term Dark Ages rarely used today?

After History, students went to Music and practiced songs for the Hope of America concert.  PLEASE BE SURE STUDENTS ARE LISTENING TO THE C.D. AT HOME EVERY DAY.