Day of Service

Day of Service

Day of service was cancelled for our class due to the extremely cold weather and ill prepared students for the weather. 

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Although the day of service is scheduled for this Wednesday, the M-Step test takes precedence over all other activities.  We have the Social Studies portion of the test beginning in the morning. Students will be allowed to take their time as a way to avoid setting a rushed completion time.

If a majority of the class has completed the test, we will complete our service part of the project in the afternoon. I signed the class up for cleaning the driveway of debris, branches and weeds. Below are the items we will need to loan from your possession:

1. Rakes
2. Push brooms
3. Utility gloves or thick worker's gloves
4. Any other safe and pertinent outdoor items

Feel free to drop off these items at least one day prior to the Scheduled Day of service. Please write your name on the items with a dark sharpie.

5 themes of geography

     Study Guide for 5 Themes of Geography

The 5 themes of geography are used in social studies and history lessons throughout the school year. You need to be familiar with each theme of geography, provide examples of each, and understand its importance.

cati   Location of a place is defined according to its latitude and longitude. Latitude lines measure distances north and south of the Equator. Longitude lines measure distances east and west of the Prime Meridian. A place's absolute location is defined with latitude and longitude lines. This is its exact location.
 The geography theme of location can also deal with relative location. Relative location means how a place is related or connected to other places through water, land, or technology.
For example, the latitude and longitude of London, England is 51 | 32 N; 0 | 5 W





       

              

written by: Margo Dill • edited by: SForsyth • updated: 10/6/2012Place
:Geographers study this geography theme by looking at the characteristics that distinguish one place from another place on Earth. These physical and human characteristics can be landforms, waterways, people, climate, languages, communication, and transportation                   

       Movement
:People are always on the move, but this theme of geography is not just about people moving from one place to another in cars and airplanes. Movement also deals with how and why people travel from one place to another. (Movement: People or Animals) Some people travel for career, others to be close to family, and some move to escape war or religious persecution. One example of movement was pioneers heading West on the Oregon Trail. 
Geographers also study how products and resources are transported from one region or place to another. This includes manufactured products, crops, and oil. For example, a tractor-trailer delivering oranges from Florida to New York (Earth movement), or a boat delivering a shipment of coffee from Africa to Europe. (Water Movement) 
In addition, movement of ideas is also studied. With the advent of technology such as the phone and internet, ideas such as fashion, fads, music and philosophical ideologies are exchanged rapidly from all areas of the globe. Languages also evolve and change based on influence from outside ideas and other languages.



(Ideas and Information)

      Human/Environment Interaction :Geographers study the way humans interact positively and negatively with their environments. (Human Impact)  They also study the lasting affects these interactions may have on a place. Some examples of this geography theme are damming a river, polluting the air, building highways or railroads, and even watering lawns and gardens. Human behavior such as planting trees is a positive interaction with the environment where creating landfills is a negative interaction.



 Human adaptation is how Humans change a place or location to meet a need or want.  Sometimes the changes can occur on their bodies.

Regions :A region is a unit on the earth's surface that has unifying characteristics such as climate or industry. These characteristics may be human, physical, or cultural. Not only do geographers study characteristics, but they also study how regions around the world may change over time.
Different types of physical regions are deserts, mountains, grasslands, and rain forests. In a city or town, there may be commercial or business regions and then residential regions.
For example, in the United States, we commonly identify the South as a region. Those states that are located in the south-eastern part of the United States have similar climates and grow similar crops, in addition many people who live there have a "southern" accent. These are characteristics that help unify this area of land that is considered a region.

Remember Mr. Help.

Movement
Region
HE- Human environment Interaction
Location
Place

Mr. Help moved to New World by water via the Atlantic ocean, and brought his ideas and views about Government and easy ways to make money. He lived in the Southern Region therefore, he lived in a warm climate great for farming.  He planted a lot of cotton to make money. He changed his location because he had to find a way to make a living.  Trees were logged in order to make more room for crops. He adapted to the environment by wearing thin cotton clothes great for warm and humid climates. He even made a straw hat. His colony was located west of the Atlantic ocean in a place called Williamsburg, Virginia. Many of the people there were farmers and slave owners. 

Can you think of other situations in which all 5 themes of geography are applicable?

Placement test

Sixth grade and Seventh grade Placement Test

These message does not apply to everyone, but if it is applicable, please respond and register as soon as possible. 

To Parents/Guardians of Current 5^th and 6^th Grade Students who have a student who need enrichment in math or who have a child who is advanced:

Middle school math testing out assessment for Math 6 and Math 7 for the 2015/16 school year will occur at your student’s school between May 4 and May 29 of this school year.  Students must be registered to take the MiddleSchool Math Testing Out test by 3pm on Monday, April 13.   To learn about the testing and to register your child, please access the link below.   No registrations will be accepted after the deadline.

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps/academics/ms_math_-_testing_out

Sincerely,

Ann Arbor Public Schools Math Department

Pi Day

Pi Day, 3.14.15 

(Celebrated on 3.13)
Students discussed the formula for finding the circumference of a circle. Then students measured circular things around the room. Then we compiled a list of the ratios of the circumference to the diameter of each circle. The mean of our list was 3.18, a little less than 3.14. To culminate the entire activity, students feasted on pie on PI Day 2015. Here at the pics from the world's most popular ratio, PI.

Pie on Pi Day

I think I can measure my head.

Finding the circumference first.

Many students chose to find the circumference first. Then found the diameter. 

                 

Student measures the circumference.

More circumferences

Our class was eager to understand how the Greeks found the ratio of pi as 3.14. How do you think the Greeks were able to find the ratio without modern technology?

Elementary Engineering Exploration Day

Elementary Engineering Exploration Day

Elementary Engineering Exploration Day is a day for elementary students to come to campus to learn more about engineering for themselves and participate in fun, engaging activities. This semester, SWE is partnering with BLUElab at the University of Michigan to put on this event. Throughout the day, the students will visit stations put on by different project teams at the University of Michigan, and they will participate in a bigger design challenge towards the end of the day. In addition, we will be having a student panel for the parents to ask current UofM students any questions they may have.

This year, EEE Day will be on Sunday, March 22nd from 10:30am - 1:30pm. The cost is $12 per child and $5 per parent. The cost includes a t-shirt for your child and lunch for everyone attending. In order to attend, you can fill out this link to register. 

Register http://www.swe.engin.umich.edu/#!eeeday/c1pta.

Contact/ Questions: Emily Smith emmsmith@umich.edu

Please register as soon as possible, as space is limited. The registration deadline is Sunday, March 15th. If you register after this day, we cannot guarantee that your child will get the correct t-shirt size.

Intern Instruction

Greetings from our University of Michigan Intern,
Mrs. Michelle Zmich

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015: Unit Test 7
Thursday, Mar. 12, 2015: Chapter 12 Quiz
Friday, Mar. 13, 2015: Pie Day Celebration, 12:30 PM- 1:10 PM
Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2015: Ann Arbor Symphony's Youth Concert @ Hill Auditorium, 9:30 AM-       11:45 AM
Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2015: Volunteer Appreciation, 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM, The Heart of a Volunteer
All parent volunteers are welcome!
Thursday, Apr. 2, 2015: Unit 8, Fractions and Ratios Test
Friday, Apr. 3, 2015: Spring Break begins.
Monday, Apr. 13, 2015: School Resumes

Greetings from the Desk of Mrs. Zmich

March 10, 2015

Dear Families,

    Good afternoon! My name is Michele Zmich, and I am Ms. Hubbard’s teaching intern this year. I am in a one-year master’s program at the University of Michigan called the Elementary Master of Arts and Certification program (ELMAC). I have been working with your student since September, and I’ve had the opportunity to teach lessons alongside Ms. Hubbard the past half year.

    I will begin lead teaching in Ms. Hubbard’s class starting March 16th. In preparation for this I have slowly been taking over lessons day by day. Ms. Hubbard will still be present and working with students during this time. To name a few of the concepts, I will be teaching the following subject matters:

• EDM, Unit 8, Fractions and Ratios
• Science unit, Human Body in Motion 
• Integrated Writing and Science Research Report, Human Body in Motion
• American Revolution 
• Articles of Confederation
• United States of America Constitution and branches of government
• Bill of Rights
• Core Values of American Constitutional Democracy (CDV's)

    I’m excited to work with your child and grow as a teacher in the weeks to come. Thank you for all of your support, and feel free to email me at zmichm@umich.edu if you have any questions! Please carbon copy Ms. Hubbard with all correspondences at hubbarda@aaps.k12.mi.us .

Sincerely,

Michele Zmich

Pi/Pie Day

Ms. Zmich has planned an exciting Pie Day for our class one day before pie day. We will be studying the popular ratio, Pi. We will end the activity with a feast on pie.

March 2015

Important Dates

Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015: Unit 7 test, Line Graphs, Exponents and Negative Numbers
Thursday, Mar. 12, 2015: Chapter 12, Declaration of Independence Test

Forget Me not Dates

Friday, Feb. 27, 2015- Mar. 10, 2015: Read-a-thon, Set Goals
Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2015: Parent Orientation, Tappan Middle School, 6-7 PM
Monday, Mar. 9, 2015: No School, Teacher Report Writing Day, READ, READ
Monday, Mar. 16, 2015: Read-a-thon money is due.
Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2015: Vocal Music Field trip to Hill Auditorium, 9:30- 11:45
Friday, Apr. 3, 2015: Spring break begins, No school
Monday, Apr. 13, 2015, Spring break ends, School resumes
Wednesday, May 13, 2015: Tappan Visit for sixth graders, 9-11 PM

Subjects at a Glance

Math: 

Math: Unit 7 is Exponents and Negative Numbers. This unit encompasses reviewing how numbers are written in 5 ways as well as adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Below this section are the report letter outcomes. 

After observing data from third, fourth and fifth grade report letter outcomes, our building will be working on increasing students' ability to comprehend and solve fraction word problems. Students will be given a pre and post test. Then separated into instructional groups. Most of our class is going to a different teacher during this block. The block occurs during the reading time on Fridays in March.

Reading: The fifth grade team is doing a unit on historical fiction with a focus on imagery, point of view, mood, and how the past influences the future. 
Writing: During writing workshop, we are reviewing how to use cognitive skills to analyze standardized test. Our goal is to think about how to answer the question as opposed to avoiding solving for the answer. 
Poetry: We will be studying poetry written during the American Revolutionary War era as poetry discussing Core Democratic Values.
Social Studies: We are embarking our studies of Chapter 12, Declaring Independence and Chapter 13 The Revolutionary War. By the end of his month, we will be studying Chapter 14, the Constitution and chapter 15, The Bill of Rights.
Science: We are studying Human Body and Motion. Mrs. Michelle Zmich, a University of Michigan intern,  is teaching this unit. There will be a research report completed by students in class and some portions at home. 

Unit 7

EDM Unit 7: Exponent and Negative Numbers

o Orders and compares positive numbers.

o Understands the relative magnitude of ones, tenths, hundredths, and the relationship of

each place value to the place to its right

o Adds positive and negative numbers

o Subtracts positive and negative numbers

o Uses parenthesis in number sentences to specify the order of operations.

o Multiplies a whole number by powers of 10: 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000

Base scientific notation standard notation

Expanded notation negative number nested parenthesis

Expression parenthesis power of 10

Factor power of a number order of operation

In the black number and word notation opposite

In the red

Line graph

Unit 8

EDM Unit 8 Fractions and Ratios

• Adds and subtracts mixed numbers with common denominators
• Adds simple mixed numbers with unlike denominators, 1 1/4 + 2 3/8.
• Multiplies unit fractions (fractions with a numerator of one.) using tools such as area models.
• Solves applied problems involving fractions and decimals. 

Science Fair

This year, every student submitted a project. I was impressed with the quality and types of projects. These projects were graded using a simplistic rubric. The scoring information along with a comment will be placed in the comment section of the report letter. 

MSTep

In class, we have begun analyzing Michigan's newly designed standardized test, MSTEP. The MSTEp replaced the 40 year old MEAP test, a paper-pencil exam. For the next couple of weeks, I would like focus on the type of questions and how to think about the test. This is called cognitive thinking: thinking about problem solving.
Also, I am suggesting students analyze the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Please note that this test is a little difficult.

The testing schedule will be shared with parents in due time prior to Spring Break.
Below is a link to sample items released by the State of Michigan.
MSTEp practice Test
Smarter balanced practice
Grade level classroom activity and performance samples. LOOK for your grade.

Technology

Casey the runner adding and subtracting positive numbers