Country Speech Project Guide

Speech about my country:___________________________________ Name_____________

(due ______________________)

Paragraph 1.

-Introduction (Your foreign name)

-Name of country and location

-Interesting fact(s)

-3 items to focus on (4th Graders)

-4 items to focus on (5th Graders)

Paragraph 2.

-1st item (general sentence)

-6 supporting sentences about the 1st item

-Details

Paragraph 3.

-2nd item (general sentence)

-6 supporting sentences about the 2nd item

-Details

Paragraph 4.

-3rd item (general sentence)

-6 supporting sentences about the 3rd item

-Details

Paragraph 5 (5th Graders)

-4th item (general sentence)

-6 supporting sentences about the 4th item

-Details

Last Paragraph.

-Repeat the items focused on

-Include another interesting fact about your country

-Offer a hook to try to get your audience to visit

Essay Written	Neat, typed, indented, heading Voice, transition phrases	40 pts
Turned In	Punctual, in plastic cover	10 pts
Cover Page	Map, pictures, name of country, your American name	10 pts
Costume	Appropriate, according to country, makeup/hair/clothing	20 pts
Food	Recipe included, samples for 20 people	10 pts
Performance	Clear, mostly memorized, organized	10 pts

25 February 2014

This morning we flip-flopped Writer's Workshop with Writing Mechanics (grammar, paragraphs, root words, etc.) and still got to finish a chapter in Seven Alone.  John and his brood have made it to Fort Boise.

Mrs. Kirsch checked off books for reading and students had time to read, take notes, and make progress on Book Report #2.  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD READ THE EXPECTED NUMBER OF PAGES TO COMPLETE THE BOOK BY THE 9TH OF MARCH.  Students calculated the number of pages they had to read each night.  Please hold them to it and encourage them.

MATH HOMEWORK IS TWO-FOLD: TESSELLATION CUT OUT AND WORK ON REVIEW #8.  The review is not due until Friday, as is the whole chapter.  We will have a test on Friday.

Foreign Language and Art for the 4th Graders, research for the 5th Graders followed lunch.  5th Graders are wrapping up "I wonder..." projects.  Some are doing power points, others writing skits and making posters.

We were rewarded for the Jazz Readathon effort by having a visit from:

0

Enes Kanter

C

6-11

247

05/20/1992

Fenerbahce Ulker/Kentucky/Turkey

Pretty lucky!  He shot baskets with the kids and read them a couple of stories.  He was very friendly!

After recess, we received the Country Speech Project Guide.  We plotted deadlines for each paragraph, discussed costume, food, etc.  STUDENTS SHOULD BE RESEARCHING THEIR COUNTRIES EVERY NIGHT FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION.  They should choose 3-4 areas to specialize in.  Examples are: animals/plants/landscape/language/culture/dance/masks/religion/music/transportation/industry/agriculture/

history/famous people/tourism/sports/mountains/olympics/etc.  We would like these to be written by the 15th, so students may plan and perform their speeches before I leave to New Zealand.

I will be gone from the 21st March - 12 April.

24 February 2014

This morning we wrote in our journals, reviewed root words, started a new persuasive paragraph, and began to read the last chapters of Seven Alone.  Mrs. Kirsch reviewed Book Report expectations with the class.  Please regularly check the deadlines, so your child is on target with completing the report on time.  READ FOR 30 MINUTES, OR UNTIL THE TARGET GOAL IN YOUR READING BOOK HAS BEEN REACHED.

MATH HOMEWORK IS EXERCISE 7.  Tomorrow we begin the Review and an art project related to tessellations.  We will be working hard reviewing concepts from 4A and 4B courses before we attempt the next test.

After lunch students went to Drama, Music, and then Student Development, where we organized our desks, folders, and reviewed homework policies.  We set a new goal to be proactive with assignments and review daily what expectations are.

PE followed with Science at the end of the day.  We learned about muscles (smooth, skeletal, and cardiac muscles) and tied body building in with our learning.  Students were stunned that small regular movements in muscles create such definition.  We learned about voluntary and involuntary muscles.  Next class we will be learning what happens at the cellular level.

Friday, 7 February 2014

This morning students studied Root Words with each other.  We then took the Root Word Test, completed envelopes, finished grammar sheets and handed them in, and completed the spelling code activity.  John Sager and his siblings snuck out of camp and are waiting for the other travelers to get ahead of them by a day before they head north on the Oregon Trail.  John is becoming like a father to his siblings.

READ, READ, READ, READ, READ!!!!  OUR GOAL IS 70-80 MINUTES EACH DAY.  SEE IF YOU CAN DO MORE!

MATH HOMEWORK IS EXERCISES 14, 15, AND 16.  We learned how to divide decimals today.  The steps are:
1. Bye, bye Decimal
2. Divide
3. Hello Decimal

For Cultural Roundtable students listened to well-prepared presentations about a variety of French speaking countries.  The posters were visually appealing and full of information.  I hope they get hung up in the school.

We learned about specific parts of pioneer life today as we started on our mobiles.  These will take a few days to create.  We also learned about the telegraph and how the Pony Express shut down when the telegraph went up.  Students got to make their own telegraphs!  Students can look up videos about the telegraph on youtube.

REMEMBER TO WORK ON YOUR SCIENCE FAIR!  REGISTRATION FORMS ARE DUE!!!

STUDENTS WENT HOME WITH A GROUP SCIENCE TEST.  IT IS OPEN BOOK FOR THE INTERNET AND OTHER NOTES STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN DURING THIS UNIT.  HOWEVER, NO PARENTS OR TEACHERS SHOULD HELP THE STUDENTS COMPLETE THE TEST.

Monday, 3 February 2014

This morning we visited with each other after a very busy weekend.  The energy level was very high!

We wrote in our journals, worked on the last grammar lesson in this unit (will begin punctuation soon!) and cut out spelling words.  In Seven Alone John Sager and his siblings have just reached Fort Hall, where some members of the trapping companies are trying to persuade the travelers to go to California instead of Oregon.

STUDENTS SHOULD READ AS MUCH AS THEY CAN EACH NIGHT.  TURN OFF THE T.V. AND ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR AN HOUR AND JUST READ, READ, READ!

MATH HOMEWORK WAS TO WORK THROUGH EXERCISE 5.  We learned that when you do such operations as addition and subtraction, the most important thing to do is to line the decimals up.  Students picked up on the fact that 2.3 - 1.879 requires us to stick two extra zeroes on the 2.3.  I was impressed with how fast students worked!  OTHER HOMEWORK IS TO DO MATH TEST CORRECTIONS AND GET A PARENT SIGNATURE.

After Drama and Music, we learned about communication throughout history and decorated envelopes for notes to go in for the Valentine's season.  Students even cleaned out their desks!!!

P.E and Science ended the day.  Hemo, the Magnificent, helped us understand the cardiovascular system better.  SCIENCE HOMEWORK IS TO FILL IN THE WORKSHEET MS. HOWELL HANDED OUT ABOUT THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.  IT IS DUE WEDNESDAY.

ALSO, PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD COMPLETE THE SCIENCE FAIR REQUIREMENTS.