A Poem for Today

Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!

The origin of the lyrics to Rain Rain Go Away are said to date back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  During this period of English history there was constant rivalry between Spain and England culminating in the launch of the Spanish Armada. The Spanish Armada consisted of many Spanish galleons and was sent to invade England.  The Armada was led by Duke of Medina Sedonia and the the fleet numbered over 130 ships. The English fleet, under Admiral Lord Howard, totaled 34 small Navy vessels and 163 armed merchant ships. But the great Spanish Armada was defeated. Only 65 Spanish galleons and just 10,000 men returned to Spain. The attempt failed, not only because of the swift nature of the smaller English ships but also by the stormy weather which scattered the Armada fleet. Hence the origin of the Rain Rain Go Away Nursery rhyme!

Snow Day By: Ryan & Andrew

The past few weeks have been littered with Snow Days.  Many of our classmates hope there are no more excused days from school.

One students was quoted as saying, "The Snow must GO!"

The snow days we had gave us the opportunity to get some extra rest, and work on long term projects.  Some people in the class visited with friends, and others took trips up north to go skiing.    When the snow started falling our classmates had no idea that it would reach this amount.  Schools all over the state have been closed, and Morning Meetings have been filled with stories of roadside disasters we have all seen.  In school the extra snow has allowed us to go out for some sledding during recess. We used the field hockey hill to do the sledding.  We went down the hill solo, two in a sled, and even three in a sled.  

Tuesday Homework

Good Afternoon snow troopers!

Tonight for homework we have three very important items to take care of.

My Brother Sam is Dead  read chapter 7 

Thinking Questions, please write your answers in your journals
Who does Tim try to avoid by the end of summer?
What sort of trouble do Tim and Life run into on their trip to Verplancks?
How are the cow-boys described in this book different from our image of cowboys from the west?

Writing Prompt

In your writing journal please write a one-page response to one of the following prompts:
1. A terrible storm
2. Me and the outdoors
3. I don’t understand why . . .

In 25 years I will . . . 

Lastly I would like you to hand-write your 25 year prediction.
http://www.ziddu.com/download/13637806/In25yearsIwillbe.pdf.html 
Click the link above.  This will take you to Zinndu.com and ask you to download the PDF file.  Click on download, and type in the code in the verification space.  Once the file is downloaded print the document and hand-write your prediction.

Geometry By: Daniel & Owen

Geometry is the study of the size, shape and position of two dimensional shapes and three dimensional figures.  Our class has been working on a new unit in math, geometry.  We have found area, perimeter, and volume of shapes.  We have experimented with different tools like the protractor and some Geo-pegboards.  We also saw the correct way to use a compass.

Last week the focus was on triangles and the three different types of triangles.  An isosceles triangle has two equal sides.  We also learned that every equilateral triangle is an isosceles triangle.  An equilateral triangle has three sides that are equal in length.  And a scalene triangle has three different length sides.(triangle ABC is an equilateral/triangle RST is a scalene/ triangle XYZ is isosceles) We also discovered that the three angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees

This week we used Protractors to find the correct measurements of angles.  We labeled angles based on their measurements.  An angle that is greater than 90 degrees is an obtuse angle.  A angle that is less than 90 degrees is an acute angle.  A 90 degree angle is called a right angle.(angle A is acute/angle B is right/ angle C is obtuse)

Books in the 5th By: Clara & Audrey

Last week we had a book discussion.  We shared the different books people are reading independently.  We heard about the Key-holders series, Suzanne Collins novel the Hunger Games, and a few different Harry Potter titles.  We found out that people are reading Cynthia Lord's newest novel Touch Blue.  Some books were picked on the recommendations of other students, while others were personal decisions. Jake is reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling.  He told me that he is reading this book on the recommendation of some friends.  He told Mr. Church it is one of the best books he has ever read!  

We have been writing to Mr. Church in our reader's notebooks about our independent reading books, but it was nice to see what our classmates are reading as well.  This week we turned in notebook entries about making inferences, and next week our focus is conflict in our reading.  We all had the reader's notebooks last year, and it has been nice to continue working in them this year in fifth grade.

Authors of Fiction By: Sophia

Fictional writing often takes the form of a story meant to simply to entertain. In writers' workshop we have been working on fictional stories since our return from Winter Break.  This week we began the revising process with Mr. Church.  We even had Mrs. Ross-Corey join us for some conferencing.

We started this whole process of fictional writing with a Story Map and a rubric that outlined the expectations Mr. Church had for a good piece of written work.  These stories are different then previous written work we have done in class.  Our imaginations ran wild with these pieces of fiction.

“Writing is a good way to express your self,” Mae was quoted as saying during one of our revision sessions.

Once we finish our published copy we will look at the changes we have made through the publishing process to reflect on how we did as writers.  Mr. Church thinks it will help us see how we have grown as writers, but many of us think it would just be fun to see how our stories changed through the process.  We look forward to sharing our stories with friends and family.

Keep up the good writing 5th grade!

Taxes For no Good Reason! By: Lydia

The King of 5B passed taxes on the 5B colonists. He handed out skittles in plastic bags. Each person was given about the same amount of skittles.  At the beginning of each week, students had to pay three skittles to begin the school week.  The students of 5B had to pay taxes if they wore fleece. They would also have to pay taxes if they weren’t wearing red, or wore shoes without laces.

The 5B colonists had mixed feelings about the taxes. William was one of the lucky colonists gaining the Kings trust enough to become tax collect for the colony. Anitra, a Patriot, thought that the taxes were not justified.  The main issue with the taxes was the justification of them.  It was a great thing for Mr. Church to give us the skittles, but then the taxes were given too us before we even had the chance to enjoy the candy.  What made things worse was that we could bargain with Mr. Church about the taxes that he was going to charge us.  Following in the footsteps of some early rebels signs began to show up on the desks of a few students. They signs read...

Give me liberty or give me death!

Down with the crown!

Join or die!

Don’t tread on me!