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AIG

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POETRY PROJECTS LOOK FABULOUS! MUCH EFFORT WENT INTO CONVEYING CHOSEN THEMES. YOU WILL SEE THEM ALL ON POETRY NIGHT!

4th and 5th grade students are gearing up for their big Poetry Night! Line check will be daily

Students should be gearing up to try out for the B.O.B team very soon!

During the month of November, there will be NO vocabulary packets for 4th or 5th graders because students will be busy preparing for their "Poetry Evening" and finishing their poetry booklets. We will resume with packets in December.
** Mark your calendars now! Our "Poetry Evening of Events" will be on December 1, 6:30 P.M.
in the library. Students will put on a special performance and showcase
their hard work during this unit. Also on the agenda, we have a special
guest speaker who has received much acclaim for her poetry publications.

Try going to these interesting websites:
http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/
www.funology.com

I am requiring my 5th graders to complete a science fair project. It is good for bright minds to form theories and conduct research. If any of my 3rd or 4th graders complete a science fair project adhering to all guidelines then I will put two 100 test grades in my gradebook. The opportunity for you to excel is waiting. Take advantage of opportunities presented and make them work for you!Go to www.sciencebuddies.com for some ideas on science fair topics. Important
science fair handouts have been given to fifth graders. Please look
over these handouts with your child because they explain in-depth what
a science fair project is and defines some important terminology. Official handouts will come home in early December.

Way to go Brooks, J.P., and Sydney...you three are on the ball with AR points. I encourage all of my students to earn as many points as they can! Will you reach your goal this quarter? AIG students should have no trouble reaching their AR goals.
1st Quarter AR TOTAL for 5th Grade is TWENTY points. AR TOTAL for 4th Grade is FIFTEEN points, and 3rd Grade TOTAL is THIRTEEN points.

Do you want to be in the "100 POINT CLUB?" All you have to do is read books and earn 100 AR points by the cut-off date in May, and we will do something special to celebrate this great accomplishment.

* Vocabulary Packet Due: (3rd) Will be given out on Monday (17th) It will be due on (25th)

* Vocab/Spelling Test will be: (3rd) Nov.25

* THINK Assignment Due: All grades will receive a THINK assignment on Monday

**Encourage your child to write down assignments in his or her agenda.Assignments are written on the board for them to copy.

3rd grade is now reading My Dog, Skip. 4th grade will read Sign of the Beaver in class. 5th grade will read Touching Spirit Bear in conjunction with their Native American unit. These are wonderful novels that should spark interesting discussion and products.

Each week students will have a vocabulary packet and a "THINK" assignment OR other writing assignment to complete. Each week there will be a TEST on the vocabulary/spelling words (unless I specify otherwise).
**************************

Unique Features of Fifth Grade:

Science Fair Project Required
Shakespeare Study/Performance
Clarification Writing

Read some books!

Here's the B.O.B list for those who are interested....
Charlotte's Web
Dear Mr. Henshaw
The Dollhouse Murders
Hatchet (4th Graders will read this in class)
How Tia Lola Came to Stay
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns
The Penderwicks
Rules
Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears
A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson
The Summer of the Swans

What's going on in AIG? AIG takes on a very different scene from what one will see in a regular classroom. Class size is substantially smaller, which allows students the opportunity to engage more openly in dialogue with their peers and teacher. As I work with students over the years, we become much like a family. I encourage students to embrace challenges, and I try to foster a love of reading within my students. AIG is very novel-based, project-driven, and group-centered. I expect the quality of work on students' projects to go above and beyond the regular scope. I tell my students that when they exceed my expectations, they are will be praised, but when they fall short, there is a problem. I have encouraged ALL of my students to try out for the B.O.B team. Bostian needs the best representatives on the team. The two main factors as to why I enjoy working with these bright children: 1) I love engaging in great discussions about literature 2) I love seeing the creativity displayed by the students. I consider it an honor to work with gifted children as we explore learning together

Homework

I typically do not assign a lot of homework. Usually students can expect a weekly or bi-weekly vocabulary assignment, writing assignment, and a long-term project to work on.

I ask that students read every night for 20 minutes or more (some of their other assignments can help meet this requirement)!
Often I will assign "extended homework."
By that I mean that students are given an assignment and the due date
is a week or so later. This allows students to work at their own pace
and within their own personal schedules and work loads to get the
assignment completed. I expect all "extended homework assignments" to be completed and turned in on time. Occasionally, I will assign homework that will be due the very next day. In most cases, it will be something that was started in class and needs to be wrapped up for the next day's lesson. Homework assignments are always written on the board.

"In this era of 'No Child Left Behind', it is often said that gifted students can get along all right 'in spite of us.' But neglecting creatively gifted youth could be disastrous for our country's future. If the gifted are undiscovered, who will be our great problem solvers? Who will be those who think "outside the box?" Who will be our nation's next leaders?"

-- John D. Kauffman, Ph.D.

Students should be reviewing their root words that they have recorded in their notebooks. This is the key to unlocking words. We use these for extra credit and vocabulary games, but most importantly, simply knowing them for vocabulary building for such tests as SAT is the greatest benefit!

student + parent + teacher + administrators + community = educational success!

Did you know that if you go to www.freerice.com you can learn new vocabulary words while donating rice to people who need food.

Have your child go to puzzlemaker.com for some really great brainteasers.

IDEA: Here is a strategy to unlock the door to hundreds of words...
Get a large ring that can be opened and closed. Put the root word on the front of an index card and the definition on the back. Cut the index cards down to fit comfortably and hole punch them. Place them on the ring and scroll through them whenever you are bored. You will be glad you created this little collection when you get to high school and take college entrance exams.

** WEEKLY VOCABULARY LIST AT BOTTOM **

(I recommend having your child make flashcards for the words to aid study -- word on front and definition on back -- imagine how many words your child will have accumulated in their file if you begin in 3rd grade and go through 5th grade)

3rd Grade vocabulary will come from the Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop book.

4th/5th Grade vocabulary comes from Words on the Vine book which focuses on roots and higher level creative activities to go along with word studies.

I will be posting extra credit opportunities on this site.

Be sure and look for them.

Ten Reasons to Get Kids Reading:

1. Children who love reading are likely to become excellent readers.
2. Avid readers acquire a more complex sense of language.
3. Reading gives children wide-ranging frames of reference, which makes all learning easier.
4. A love of reading is one of the major joys of life.
5.Excellent reading skills make it more likely children will overcome
personal problems with their school work intact, since they will be
able to keep up with their assignments by using only a fraction of
their time and emotional energy.
6. Avid reading gives children a sense of perspective.
7. Reading helps children to be compassionate.
8. Avid readers are exposed to a world full of possibilities and opportunities.
9. Avid readers develop critical thinking skills.
10. By high school only avid readers will have the literacy skills to excel in any course that demands a good deal of reading.

Vocabulary This Week:

Weekly brain teaser/problem solver is also at the bottom. The first student to turn in the answer to me will receive the prize. Now, get to thinking!

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

Sing the "Helping Verb Song" to the class (3rd graders only or new students)
Recite the list of prepositions from memory to the class (See me if you need a list)
If you find any of our vocabulary
words in the newspaper, cut the article out, and bring it in to share.
You will earn bonus points added to an upcoming test. Be on the lookout
for words, words, and more words!
Research the defoliant used in Vietnam, Agent Orange. Report your findings to the class.
Which poplar brand of vitamin supplements contains folic acid? Scout out at the drug store to find out.
Cut out examples of flamboyant dress from a fashion magazine. Make a collage to turn in.
Research the legend of the phoenix, born anew in the flames of a funeral pyre. Share your findings with the class.
Bring in some geodes to show to the class. Discuss their formation.
Two-liter plastic drink bottles make great terrariums. After planting and watering, tighten the caps to keep moisture in.
If you are a dog-lover, you will enjoy digging up facts on the background of the terrier breed. Write them down and turn in.
Research how malaria spreads. How did wrong ideas influence the name of this disease? Report to the class.
Who is Mrs. Malaprop?
Watch some re-runs of Archie Bunker, from the 70's TV show All in the Family. The show was infamous for Archie's malapropisms. Make a collection fo his misused words. Turn in to your teacher.
Conduct a classroom taste test. Are generic foods as tasty as brand names?
Locate a copy of a Mensa intelligence test. Assess your brain-power and share the results with your teacher.
Write an opinion paper that is plagued with sweeping generalizations, then rewrite them using specific statements.
Research the methods slave-traders of the 1800's used to capture and manacle African tribesmen.
From what do you want to be emancipated? Make a list and turn it to your teacher.
What role did missionaries play in the settlement of America? Was it positive, negative, or a mixture of both?
Visit a shipping terminal or customs office. Write up and share your findings.
Research the laws governing U.S. imports and exports.
Write rules of deportment for twenty-first-century students.
Map out castle designs, from moat and portcullis to dungeon.
Write a report explaining why it is not a good idea to be too portly. Make sure to use facts to back up your opinion.

To what remote part of the world would you like to travel? Write an essay about this an turn it in.

**BRAIN TEASERS TO SOLVE**

NOTE: WINNERS ARE SELECTED  BASED ON WHO TURNS IN THE COMPLETE CORRECT ANSWER FIRST

Question:A girl who was just learning
                                to drive went down a one-way street in the wrong
                                direction, but didn't break the law. How come? ANSWER: SHE WAS WALKING -- GOOD JOB BETHANY!

Question: How can you throw a ball as hard as you can
                                  and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't
                                  hit anything, there is nothing attached to it,
                                  and no one else catches or throws it? ANSWER: YOU SIMPLY THREW IT UP INTO THE AIR -- WAY TO GO BETHANY!

Question:  A special endurance test involved two drivers and their cars. They were told to drive 100 miles out into the desert, rest for no more than one hour, and then drive back. The catch was that the last car back would be the winner. The two drivers began to doze. The other driver immediately drove back as fast as he could. Why did he do this? ANSWER: THE DRIVER WHO RACED BACK HAD JUMPED INTO HIS OPPONENT'S CAR, THUS ENSURING THAT HIS CAR WOULD ARRIVE BACK LAST AND HE WOULD WIN.

Question: It was only when he died that the secret of a great ventriloquist was discovered. What was it? Clue: The ventriloquist could do much better tricks with one dummy than with his other dummies. Ventriloquists specialize in trickery. This one specialized in deceit. ANSWER: HE USED A REAL PERSON (A DWARF) TO HELP FOOL PEOPLE.

A door-to-door salesman visited a house in order to demonstrate an excellent new model of vacuum cleaner. As part of the demonstration, he emptied a small bag of soot on carpet. To his embarrassment the vacuum cleaner would not pick up the soot. Why not? There was nothing wrong with the vacuum. This salesman traveled to houses all over various regions.