The Week of February 27, 2012

As soon as everyone left after lunch today, I went right to work planning an exciting week for you!  In Math, we will be finding the surface area of the geometric solids we recently worked with.  Surface area can be tricky because there are a lot of steps to follow (and alot of places to lose your place or make a mistake).  I really need you to focus, focus, focus while we are working with surface area over the next few weeks.  HERE is a great website that gives you the procedures for finding surface area.  It also includes online quizes to check your understanding.  Be expecting homework Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night and a quiz on Thursday.

In science, we will be talking about the Earth, Sun, and Moon connection.  We will specifically be focusing on nuclear fusion, the phases of the moon, and eclipses.  HERE is the presentation I will show you on Monday.  Below are your vocabulary words that you must study for a quiz on Friday:

nuclear fusion- the process by which nuclei of small atoms combine to form a new, more massive nucleus;  the process releases energy

sunspot- a dark area of the photosphere of the sun that is cooler than the surrounding areas and has a strong magnetic field.

eclipse- an event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another

phase- the change in the sunlit area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body

satellite- a natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet

Yes, that's right!  ONLY 5 WORDS!  But, don't get too excited...the rest of the quiz will require you to identify the phases of the moon we will talk about on Monday.  Here is a picture of the phases you must know:

Over the next two weeks, you will be working on a choice sheet to guide your studies on the Earth, Sun, Moon connection.  This choice sheet will be due Friday, March 10th.  The 10th is also the day of our final test on these topics.

So, you can see it's going to be a busy, busy, busy week.  But, look forward to Friday because we will have a "Drop Everything and Read" event to celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday!  Rest up this weekend so we can hit it hard on Monday.

See you then,

Mr. Trent