Monthly Happenings
December 2011

Check Out What We Are Doing This Month!


  
               Subject
 What We Will Be Learning This Month
Math     

Math 5.1  Extended Multiplication Facts.  The students will develop a rule for multiplying ones by tens.

Math 5.3 Estimating Sums.  We will discuss what estimate means and how it is used in everyday life.

Math 5.4 Estimating Products.  The students will use food survey data to make magnitude estimates.

Math 5.5 and 5.6 Partial Products.  First, students will find products of numbers mentally and then practice using the partial products method.

Math 5.8 Big Numbers.  The students will practice writing big numbers using their place value charts.

Math 5.9 Powers of Ten.  The students will learn about how exponents represent larger numbers.

Math 5.10 Rounding and Reporting Large Numbers.  We will practice rounding larger numbers and reporting them when solving problems.

Math 5.11 Comparing Data.  Students will discuss, as well as compare countries in Europe. We will discuss how this can be used in everyday life.

Snowman Activity
  • Students will given a price and weight list to design the perfect holiday snowman.
  • After students have calculated the weight and price of their snowman, they will draw their snowman.
  • The snowmen will be presented to the class.
Reading
Towards the start of the month, we will be reading the story Amelia and Eleanor.

Focus Skill: Locate Information

Focus Strategy: Read Ahead

The next story that we will be reading is Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

Focus Skill: Determine the difference between fact and opinion.

Focus Strategy: Create mental images so that you can picture what is happening in a story.
Writing Owl Papers
  • The students have typed up their rough drafts and will be conferencing with the teacher.
  • Once the conferences are done, the students will make changes to their original drafts and then type up their final copy.
  • Our focuses for this paper are to use "show not tell" and to write a conclusion that we will leave the reader thinking.

Naper Settlement Field Trip Newsletter
  • Following their field trip to Naper Settlement, students will travel back in time to report what life was like back then for the pioneers.
Social  Studies We will not be doing social studies this month because of our rocks and minerals unit.  At the end of the month we will be studying the northeast.
Science
We will begin our rocks and minerals unit at the end of November.  During this unit, students will learn about:
  • Minerals and how different kinds make up rocks.
  • The color test and how it is used to identify rocks/minerals.
  • The luster and streak tests and how they are used to identify rocks/minerals.
  • The hardness and acidic test and how they are used to identify rocks/minerals.
  • How to identify minerals/rocks based on results from each of the main tests.
  • The rock cycle and how it forms new rocks.
  • How sedimentary rocks are formed and examples of them.
  • How igneous rocks are formed and examples of them.
  • How metamorphic rocks are formed and examples of them.


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