Social Studies Vocabulary

Can you identify the Mountain States vocabulary??

Suffrage	Louisiana Purchase	Continental Divide	Geyser
Slag	Timberline	Ghost town	Expedition
Gorge	Transcontinental	Treaty	Smelt

____________________ 1. The line on high mountains beyond which it is too cold for trees to grow.

_____________________2. An agreement in writing between two or more groups.

_____________________3. A hot, underground spring from which steam and hot water shoot into the air.

_____________________4. Waste that forms on the surface of liquid metal.

_____________________5. The right to vote

_____________________6. An empty town without people.

_____________________7. The territory purchased by the United States from France in 1803, reaching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of  Mexico to Canada.

_____________________8. An imaginary line that runs north to south along the peaks of the Rocky
                                                  Mountains.

_____________________9. A journey made for a special purpose.

_____________________10. The process of using high temperatures to separate pure metals from rock.

_____________________11. Across the continent

_____________________12. A narrow passage through land, such as a canyon.

Math Topic 10

We are starting a new topic in math called "Understanding Fractions."  Parents will be receiving a letter about this unit in the Thursday folders.  The following are the titles of the 9 lessons we will be doing:

• Regions and Sets
• Fractions and Division
• Estimating Fractional Amounts
• Equivalent Fractions
• Fractions in Simplest Form
• Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers
• Comparing Fractions
• Ordering Fractions
• Problem Solving: Writing to Explain

The following are the vocabulary words we will focus on.  You can ask your child to tell you the definitions as we get to them:

• fraction
• denominator
• benchmark fraction
• improper fraction
• simplest form
• numerator
• equivalent fraction
• mixed number

Please make sure your child is completing their homework when it is assigned!

New Social Studies Unit- The Mountain States

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado make up the Mountain States region, with its rugged terrain and abundant wildlife.  The region has long been home to the Shoshone people, many of whom made a living by following and hunting buffalo herds.  Many Shoshone still make their home in the region.  The Lewis and Clark expedition mapped much of the area, which experienced a boom after gold was found there.  Minerals from Earth remain an important part of the economy today.

Comprehending and Predicting

For the story, The Last Dragon, students did an additional comprehension skill called "Making Conclusions."  They were given the following three conclusions and had to find details that supported them.  You can ask your child what some of the details were that they came up with.

• Nobody wants the dragon.
• Peter is very excited about fixing the dragon.
• Thd ragon's eyes are the most difficult part to fix.

At the beginning of the story, students were shown four pictures and had to write predictions as to how they thought the picture would fit the story.  At the end, we went back over them to see if their predictions were confirmed or disconfirmed.  You can ask your child how the pictures actually fit with the story.  The pictures were of:

• Chinatown
• A pair of eyes
• A person with a suicase
• A large "dragon" with people underneath it

Plot Chart

A comprehension skill that we used with the story, The Last Dragon, was to work with a partner and fill out a plot chart.  A plot includes characters, settings, problems, events, and solutions- kind of like a summary.  Students were given six boxes with the following words in them and they had to fill in the rest.  You can ask your child to summarize the story for you by using these starter words.

• Somebody
• wanted
• so
• but
• so
• In the end,

The following is an example of what one group wrote:

• Somebody named Peter went to Chintatown.
• Peter wanted the last dragon in the store.
• So Peter got the last dragon from Mr. Ping.
• But the dragon had holes and no eyes so it was blind.
• So Peter went to different stores to fix the dragona nd make it better.
• In the end, Peter adn his great aunt fixed the dragon so Peter could celebrate New Years.

Anthology Vocabulary

These are the vocabulary words that students have learned for the story, The Last Dragon.

Key Vocabulary	Definition	Sentence
Characters (p.468)	Symbols or letters used in printing	The red characters looked strong and fierce.
Crest (p.460)	Something, such as feathers, that grows on an animal’s head	The Last Dragon had a faded face, a scraggly crest, and no eyes.
Fierce (p.468)	Wild and mean; dangerous	The red characters looked strong and fierce.
Homage (p.459)	Special public honor	She grumbled about how the dragons of her childhood were royal in appearance and received the homage of every living thing.
Scales (p.466)	Small, thin, flat parts that cover a fish or reptile	One day she began to sew on shining scales.
Snaked (p.476)	Moved in a winding and twisting way	… he snaked among the tables and around the room.
Teeming (p.476)	Full, crowded	And so the Last Dragon paraded through the teeming streets of Chinatown.

Bound Predicates- Tense and Number

Students have learned that when building sentences with bound predicates, there needs to be subject-predicate agreement just like when building sentences with action predicate words. 

• Most bound predicate words can be singular or plural.
  Ex. Tom had a good time.  Tom and Jack had a good time.
• There are four bound predicate words that can only be singular: am, was, is, has
  Ex. I am Tom's friend. 
• Three bound predicate words are only plural: are, were, have (Exception- "have" can be singular with personal pronouns I and you
  Ex. Tom and Jack are athletes.
• Usually matching subject-predicate agreement with bound predicates happens very naturally.  However, it can be tricky whe a set-apart or interrupter comes between the subject and predicate.
  Ex. The field of oats was harvested at dawn.

Anthology Comprehension Questions

These are some questions that students should be able to answer after reading the Anthology story, Marven of the Great North Woods.

• What does Marven think of Jean Louis at first?  How and why does his opinion change?
• Why is Marven so good at adjusting to life in the logging camp?  Give examples of how he solves some problems there.
• How do you think Marven's experience in the great north woods might have changed him?
• What do you think Marven will miss about the logging camp when he returns home?
• If you had to spend the winter at a logging camp, what would you be worried about?  What would you look forward to?
• Both Maria Isabel and Marven have problems getting used to a new place.  Compare and contrast their experiences.

Anthology Vocabulary

Key Vocabulary	Definition	Sentence
Bunkhouse (p.424)	A building in a camp where a group of people sleep	Starting tomorrow, you go into the bunkhouse and wake…
Cords (of wood) (p.430)	Measures for stacks of cut wood	“The jacks are paid according to the number of cords they cut in a pay period…”
Immense (p.424)	Huge, very large	Immense men with long beards and wild hair were jumping around to the fiddler’s tunes…
Landscape (p.421)	A stretch of land	Beyond the depot a road ran straight and flat to where the white landscape met the forest.
Lumberjacks (p.422)	People who chop down trees and haul the wood to a sawmill	… he realized with a start that he shadows were the lumberjacks walking in the moonlight.
Snowshoes (p.422)	Frames attached to shoes and use for walking across snow	Mr. Murray turned his snowshoes toward the camp at the edge of the forest.
Timber (p.422)	Trees that can be used as building wood	Soon he could smell the sharp green fragrance of freshly cut timber…
Woodsman (p.438)	A person who works or lives in a forest	“You are a woodsman now,” he said…

Math Topic 14

This Thursday, students in my classroom will be taking a math test over the "Area and Perimeter" unit.  Students will be bringing home a free-response test to complete as homework to help them study.  We will also be reviewing in class. The following are what the 9 lessons were over:

• Understanding Area
• Area of Squares and Rectangles
• Area of Irregular Shapes
• Area of Parallelograms
• Area of Triangles
• Perimeter
• Same Perimeter, Different Area
• Same Area, Different Perimeter
• Problem Solving: Solve a Simpler Problem and Make a Table
  
                 AREA

              
                   PERIMETER

Cursive

Students have now finished reviewing all the letters of the alphabet in cursive, uppercase and lowercase.  We have been using the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum.  At home, parents can ask their children to write in cursive.  We will continue to review at school.

Pictures!!!!

Many of you have been asking for more pictures of the recent addition to my family, my daughter, Annika.  Per your requests, please enjoy the following pictures of my children!! :)

Conferences

I am holding conferences this week with parents.  We are discussing math and reading scores, spelling and homework concerns, student behavior/ character, and more.  Conferences are short (20 minutes) and it can sometimes be hard to fit everything in that needs discussed.  Parents, please feel free to contact me at anytime with any questions or concerns you might have.  My email address is: afreiberg@marshalltown.k12.ia.us or I can be reached by phone at 641-754-1030 ext.5753.

Canned Questions

After reading the story, My Name is Maria Isabel, students were asked the following comprehension questions.  As we discussed them, we also discussed where the answer was: in the book (right there OR think and search) or in my head (author and me OR on my own).  These would be good questions for parents to ask their child again to see if they can remember the story! :)

Why is the book Charlotte’s Web so important to Maria Isabel?

Why do you think Maria Isabel feels that she is “caught in a sticky, troublesome spider’s web of her own”?

Maria Isabel doesn’t tell her parents that she is upset.  Why do you think she keeps her feelings to herself?

How does writing the essay help Maria Isabel solve her problem?

If you had a difficult problem to solve, would you solve it he way Maria Isabel did, or would you choose a different way?  Explain.

What does My Name is Maria Isabel teach you about solving problems?

Why doesn’t Maria’s teacher call her by her real name?

Who are the only three kids who don’t have parts in the play?

How does Maria feel about not having a part in the play?

How does Maria comfort herself when she’s feeling upset about not being in the play?

Who does Maria compare her problems to?  Whose problem does she think is worse?

What did Maria do on the bus to make herself feel better?

Why doesn’t Maria tell her Mama and Papa that she is not in the pageant?

What did Maria do that helped her get a part in the pageant?