Today I passed back the students' quote response books. There was some good writing exhibited, yet no one fully related their experience to one of the quotes. This next one that is due October 11th is about technology. I am hoping that students will have a nice discussion with parents about technology and how it can be a double edged sword. Much technology is very positive and has altered human existence in many wonderful ways. I, for example, would not wish to live without electricity and all of the conveniences that it brings to our lives.  At the same time, the generating of electricity often produces greenhouse gasses which are detrimental to our planet.  Television and computers provide us instantaneous information about important events across the world, yet too much "watching" is harmful to our health. I am asking students to write in a new way, by first thinking and talking about a complex topic, and finally putting their thoughts into writing.

Geography: Many students have tested out of several of the geography tests, yet 41% of the class has not taken even one of them. Please ask your child where they are in regards to the geography assessments.

History: We have begun to learn about Ancient Egypt. We have had some introductory discussions which involved some new vocabulary including civilization, monotheism, and polytheism. Students brainstormed in partners to fill out a Venn Diagram that compared Ancient Egypt to Modern Egypt.

Fifth Grade Math: Students did a very nice job on the, "Apple Anyone?" word problem. I saw much improvement in organization, labeling, and execution of the problem. We are now working on perimeter and area of rectangles. I gave students a challenging problem that requires them to design a pen for two hyper Jack Russell Terriers. After tomorrow's lesson, students will probably  give it another try to increase their design's area.