Global Awareness Week

Is Greta Thunberg for real?

As you will know from our bonus questions today, there are people who consider Greta Thunberg a hero but there are also those who don't think that what she is doing is all that impressive. People who feel this way do so for different reasons. Some don't like what she is doing because she is being honest about how people who have the power to change the effect we are having on the environment are not doing enough to not destroy our chances of surviving on the planet.

There are others, though, who are suggesting that maybe Greta is being used by those who want the world to be aware of climate change. Some are saying that she is too young and has no right to challenge governments and businesses.

I can understand why some of these people say what they do, especially those who know how much pressure Greta must be under to keep fighting for the cause that she started at such a young age.

One thing I will say is that Greta does her homework. She understands facts and has evidence shown by research and scientific investigation to support her arguments.

What do you think about all of this, especially the cartoon at the top of this post and the video below?

Week 6 Update

5th Grade Weekly Update

Dear Parents,

Week 6 has ended and we find ourselves quite suddenly in the month of October by the time our next school week starts. As we approach the end of the first quarter of Grade 5, it is heartening to see how much the students have grown and learned in these first few weeks. This week has been spent emphasizing the agency and independence of young people, with Greta Thunberg as our focus for Global Awareness Week in her fight against the willful ignorance, pseudoscience and greed that keeps the majority of the planet either unaware or unconcerned about the future of our species.  

Please remember that next Monday, September 30th is a Professional Development (PD) day for teachers, so there will be no school for students. 

What we learned this week:

Math: Topic 3 – Multiplying Whole Numbers.

Literacy: Styles of Narrative – Journaling (Dear Mr. Henshaw)/Personal Narratives/The Sentence (Unit Wrap Up- Test next week).

Science: Ch. 1 – Properties of Matter

Social Studies: Ch. 2 The Nation Divides

What we will learn next week:

Math: Topic 3 – Multiplying Whole Numbers – Topic 3 Test/Topic 4

Literacy: Styles of Narrative – Journaling (Dear Mr. Henshaw)/Personal Narratives/The Sentence (Unit Test)

Science: Ch. 1 – Properties of Matter

Social Studies: Ch. 3 The Civil War and Reconstruction

Announcements:

Student of the Week:

Well done, Becky Yu! Check out the Student of the Week page on the blog to find out more. 

Dojo Masters:

Thanks for all the hard work this week. Please check the Dojo Masters page on the blog to see who our masters for this week are.

Reminders

1. Please note that next Thursday and Friday, October 10th and 11th National Holiday. 
2. Please ensure that your child logs in to Achieve 3000 every time an article is assigned as homework.
3. Please sign your child’s homework book every day and ensure that they have completed their homework.
4. Please sign any tests sent home and send them back the very next day.

Have a good weekend!

Mr. Robus

Happy Birthday, Matthis and Leonard.

Social Studies Chapter 2 Project Topics

Instructions:

CHOOSE AND DO ONLY ONE

OF THE FOLLOWING:

1)           Topic 1: Interview - 

Pretend that you are working for either The Freedom Journal or The Liberator.  

Your assignment is to interview any one of the people listed on Page 58 of the Social Studies text book. Write five questions that you would ask them. Provide answers to the questions as close as possible to what you think the real person would have said if they had been interviewed.

2)              Topic 2: Write a diary entry - 

Use what you know about the movement to abolish slavery in Chapter 2 of the textbook to write a diary entry. Remember that the date is important and can also be used to choose which events you might mention in your diary entry.

3)              Topic 3: Make a Poster - 

Pretend that you live in the north and want to educate people in the south about slavery. Make a poster that explains why the slaves in the south should be free.

4)              Topic 4: Write a Realistic Fiction Story – 

Write a realistic fiction story about the Underground Railroad. Use the map on page 61 as a guide.
Use details from Chapter 2 to make your story
more realistic.

5)              Topic 5: Your Choice – 

You can make a slideshow or ANYTHING you want to use to show what you learned in this chapter.

The Slave Trade In Two Minutes

This Haunting Animation Maps the Journeys of 15,790 Slave Ships in Two Minutes

For the full interactive version, use a larger device. Interactive by Andrew Kahn. Background image by Tim Jones. Usually, when we say "American slavery" or the "American slave trade," we mean the American colonies or, later, the United States.

Speeches Week 7 - October 2nd to 4th.

Tuesday, 10/1

• Bronte
• Matt
• Martin

Wednesday 10/2

• Eugene
• Nao
• Miyu
• Janelle
• Leo

Thursday 10/3

• Kanon
• Darius
• Becky
• Henry
• Rady

Friday 10/4

• Rachelle
• Kazuki
• Christine
• Liam
• Phoebe
• Runa

Be sure to refer to the printed rubric that I gave you, or take a look at the copy below:

Name: __________Assignment: MY GOALS FOR GRADE 5 Date: _______________

Criteria	A+/A/A-	B+ /B	B-/C+/C/C-	D+/D	D-/R
I have delivered a speech that is well-prepared. It is clear that I thought carefully as I wrote it.					✔
I have explained what I hope to achieve this year. My expectations are realistic and I have shown that I know what I want to work on to become the best student/person I can be.
I mentioned what I have learned so far in Grade 5 and related it to the personal goals I have set for myself.
I have set some personal goals and explained them briefly to my classmates.
I spoke clearly and confidently using all of the PVLEGS (PTO) guidelines.

5 Exceeds Expectations

4 Ranks High in the Standard

3 On Target

2 Approaches

1 Falls Well Below Expectations

Global Awareness Week - Young People Take Control Of Their Own Future

FIVE LESSONS FROM GRETA THUNBERG - Actually

(Greta Thunberg) From one lone schoolgirl sat outside the Swedish Parliament to a global movement involving more than 1600 events in more than 105 countries, there can be no doubting the impact of Greta 's school strikes for climate change campaign.

5 things schoolgirl Greta Thunberg can teach us about climate change

Climate change activists all over the world are preparing to protest against global warming in a movement inspired by a 16-year-old schoolgirl. Swedish pupil Greta Thunberg is a young environmental activist who has gained attention for dressing-down world leaders about their policies on climate change.

Spelling Week 6

Spelling Words:

1 dreadful
2 enjoyment
3 safely
4 watchful
5 speechless
6 paleness
7 breathless
8 government
9 cheerful
10 actively
11 closeness
12 lately
13 goodness
14 retirement
15 forgetful
16 basement
17 softness
18 delightful
19 settlement
20 countless

Challenge Words

1 suspenseful
2 suspiciously
3 defenseless
4 seriousness
5 contentment
6 grateful 
7 accomplishment
8 sincerely

Academic Words:

introduction
conclusion
slavery
territory
compromise
population
agriculture
rural

Week 5 Update

5th Grade Weekly Update

Dear Parents,

As Week 5 draws to a close, I would like to point out that we are now one quarter of the way through the first semester. The students are starting to realize that as we become increasingly busy learning new skills, the weeks ahead will fly by. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to keep checking in with your child about their progress and how they feel along with what they think about what is being learned and dealt with in class. I look forward to seeing yet another group work their way through the range of lessons, assignments, and projects that lie ahead. 

What we learned this week

Math: Topic 3 – Multiplying Whole Numbers

Literacy: Global Awareness Week – A focus on world hunger.

Science: Part One – The Nature of Science Test

Social Studies: Ch. 1 The Land

What we will learn next week

Math: Topic 3 – Multiplying Whole Numbers – Topic 3 Test the following Tuesday.

Literacy: Styles of Narrative – Journaling(Dear Mr. Henshaw)/Personal Narratives/The Sentence (Unit Test the week after next)

Science: Ch. 1 – Properties of Matter

Social Studies: Ch. 2 The Nation Divides

Announcements:

Student of the Week: Well done to Henry Wei. Be sure to check out the Student of the Week page on the blog to find out more about what he did to clinch the title.  

Dojo Masters:  Please see the Class Dojo page on our blog to see who made it to 50 points this week.

Reminders

1. Global Awareness Week runs from Monday 9/23 to Friday, 9/ 27
2. Thursday, October 10th and Friday October 11th – 10/10 National Holiday – No School.
3. Please ensure that your child logs in to Achieve 3000 every time an article is assigned as homework.

Have a good weekend!

Mr. Robus

Week 5 Spelling

Spelling Words

1 thrown
2 stole
3 clue
4 dew
5 choose
6 rule
7 boast
8 cruise
9 stroll
10 route
11 mood
12 loaf
13 growth
14 youth
15 slope
16 bruise
17 loose
18 rude
19 flow
20 flute

Challenge Words 1 subdue
2 pursuit
3 molten
4 reproach
5 presume
6 there
7 their
8 a lot

Academic Words:

associative commutative compatible compensation hypothesis observation landform region

Maths Topic 2 Practice Test Answers

Topic 2

1. A
2. B
3. D
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. D
8. B
9. A
10. C
11. D
12. C
13. C
14. A

Because of Winn-Dixie...

Now that we have completed the book, assessed your understanding and interpretation of it, and watched (the quite different) movie based on the book, we have one big question left: Why is this the first book that we read this year? Obvious answers would be that reading helps us to learn and brilliant authors like Kate DiCamillo keep us entertained while teaching us and making us think. But there is more to it than that. Why do YOU think we read this book and why is it the first of our six novels for the year? Feel free to comment below with suggestions.

While you're thinking about that, watch the video below. You will be quite surprised to find that the actor who plays the part of the very shy Otis in the movie is actually a very famous, confident, and brilliant musician named Dave Matthews. I first saw his band perform this rendition of a famous song written by Bob Dylan and originally recorded by Jimi Hendrix (we will speak more about him in April) in 1999. Shortly after that, I was quite excited to learn that Mr. Matthews had spent a part of his childhood living very close (less than an hour by car) to where I grew up.

Otis is very shy but becomes more confident around people if he is allowed to play his guitar. What do you think about the video below though, where Dave Matthews performs at New York's Central Park  in from of close to, if not more than, 100 000 people? Some articles on the internet estimate or claim that there were about 85 000 people at the show, others claim there were about 120 000. Regardless of what the real number was, that's A LOT of people, all there to dance and sing along like the characters did at Gloria Dump's house at the end of the book. Imagine how many pickles Otis would have had to bring to share with a crowd like that.

If you aren't too fond of bass noodling (playing around with a melody before actually starting the song) skip ahead to about 4 minutes, 45 seconds when the song actually starts. Pay attention to the crowd. Not once do you see anyone who is bored or talking to the person next to them. They are all transfixed (enjoying the experience) in such a way that it reminds me of the scene from the pet shop in the book and the movie when Otis lets the animals out of the cage and later calms them down by playing his guitar again.

Don't forget to comment if you have a good suggestion for why we read the book right as the year began. Hint: There is more than one answer, and maybe I haven't even thought of some of the ones that you might suggest below. 

Clubs Start Next Monday

Spelling Week 5

Spelling Words

1. thrown
2. stole
3. clue
4. dew
5. choose
6. rule
7. boast
8. cruise
9. stroll
10. route
11. mood
12. loaf
13. growth
14. youth
15. slope
16. bruise
17. loose
18. rude
19. flow
20. flute

Challenge Words

1. subdue
2. pursuit
3. molten
4. reproach
5. presume
6. there
7. their
8. a lot

Academic Words:

associative

commutative

compatible

compensation

hypothesis

observation

landform

region