Schedule for Thanksgiving Week

Monday is normal.

Tuesday we'll start some Thanksgiving crafts that Mrs. Andrade prepared for the class.

Wednesday is a big day:

• Bring Native American/Pioneer Living Museum projects in the morning.
• We will set up for the museum, watch a Thanksgiving video, and finish our crafts.
• Thanksgiving lunch is under the tented area (organized by Mrs. Andrade and Mrs. Escobar).
• Living Museum is in the afternoon: 1:00 - 2:15. This is a drop-in presentation. Drop in and circulate and learn from the 5th grade students.

What Are You Thankful For?

• I'm thankful for the beautiful world we live in--especially the gorgeous tropical flowers in Guayaquil.
• I'm thankful for friends and family and co-workers. You make my life rich and joyous.
• I'm thankful for my students. You push me to learn new ways to teach so that you understand. You also add much laughter to my life.
• I'm thankful for Ms. Andrea, Mrs. Maya, and Mrs. Zambrano who work with me to teach you in 5th grade.
• I'm thankful for the maintenance men and gardeners who work so hard to make IAA a lovely school--and with a smile.
• I'm thankful for stories--stories we tell, stories we read, and stories we write. Our lives tell a story too.

Friday's Math Test (Unit 3)

Here are the skills that will be tested this Friday:

• Measure angles
• Identify types of angles (acute angle between 0 degrees and 90 degrees, right angle 90 degrees, obtuse angle between 90 degrees and 180 degrees, straight angle 180 degrees, reflex angles between 180 degrees and 360 degrees)
• Identify place value in numbers to billions
• Draw types of triangles
• Identify types of triangles and compare qualities (isosceles, scalene, equilateral, obtuse angles, right angles, acute angles, reflex angle, etc.)
• Compare the properties of polygons (quadrangle, polygon, parrallel, acute, congruent, regular polygon, etc.)
• Determine angle measures based on relationships between angles
• Reading a chart
• Create and define tessellations

Questions for end of unit social studies test

Today I gave the students the questions that we will be considering during our social studies unit on Encounters. Encounters between Europeans and Native Americans. In the Encounters unit, students are creating their projects, we are reading from our textbook and an historical fiction novel called Sign of the Beaver, and we are watching a variety of videos. Here are the questions we are considering:

• Whose land was it? (The Native Americans or the Europeans who claimed it) Why?
• How did the cultural beliefs held by the Europeans and Native Americans affect these encounters?
• How did weaponry play a part in these encounters? Disease?
• How did Native Americans and pioneers survive?
• What's the difference between explorers, pioneers, and settlers?
• How can a society make things right when a big wrong was committed against people in the past? (Like the Cherokee Indians taken from their lands)

P.S. There is no one right answer to these questions, but students need to back up their opinion with information they have learned in the course of the unit. Any one of these topics would make an interesting discussion in your homes. (*Hint*)

Alert: Messy Art Classes Coming Up!

Have your children bring aprons or paintshirts to art tomorrow and next Wednesday. They're going to be using acrylic paint which does not come out of clothes.