The Week of October 21, 2019

The weather is finally turning cooler!  Let's take advantage of the chance in temperature to refresh our minds!

Our social studies lessons will include battles of the Revolutionary War, the Great Depression, and Latin America country profiles.  Please complete any follow-up work from these lessons by Friday.  As always, everyone will also have a weekly quill.org grammar practice assignment and a current event to read at Newsela.com.  Writing practice will include completing week 6 of the "Red Door" narrative writing project (for 4th and 6th graders) and a writing process lesson from Ms. Pat (5th graders).

Your word study lists will look a bit different than you've seen in the past.  Starting this week, you will have more than 10 words and (often) more than 2 categories.  I've made pre-printed spelling lists for you that can be found on the language arts shelf.  You can simply glue these lists onto your workplan, instead of having to write them down.  I'll also provide you with ready-made sorting card cards to cut apart and use in practice sorting.

Here are the word lists for the week:

Swirl group

Arrow group

Star group

Please study the following vocabulary words for a quiz on Monday, October 28th.

4th Grade Vocabulary List

Branch- a part that has a role within a larger organization 

Legislative branch- passes laws for a nation 

Executive branch- carries out and enforces the laws made by Congress 

Judicial branch- interprets and applies the laws 

Amendment- a change or addition to a written document 

Due process- a legal process established to make sure people are not punished for a crime without first being found guilty in an orderly, adequate process that includes a fair trial 

Prohibit- to not allow 

Explicit- clear, apparent, and thoroughly described 

First Amendment of the US Constitution- Includes freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to petition, and freedom of assembly 

Criminal case- a case brought by the government against a person accused of committing a crime 

5th Grade Vocabulary List

Stock- shares of ownership in a company 

Drought- a long period of dry weather with little or no rain 

Dictator- a ruler with total power over a country and its people 

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)- helped transform the Tennessee River Valley from poverty to productivity by building dams to control flooding and produce electricity. 

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- a plan to put young American men back to work preserving the nation’s natural resources 

New Deal- President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to recover from the Great Depression. 

Herbert Hoover- President of the United States during the Great Depression 

Duke Ellington- one of the most famous musicians of the “swing era” (1930’s) 

Margaret Mitchell- Southern author of the book “Gone With the Wind” 

Jesse Owens- American track-and-field athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany 

6th Grade Vocabulary List

Latin America- large region in the western hemisphere that includes South America, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. 

Gulf of Mexico- an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, cradled by Mexico and the southern US coastline from Texas to Florida 

Caribbean Sea- an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Cuba and South America 

Panama Canal- a man-made feature located in the country of Panama. It is an important waterway that allows ships to easily travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean 

Latitude and longitude- imaginary lines on a map that are used to find locations on Earth’s surface 

Amazon River- the second largest river in the world that flows primarily through Brazil. 

Andes Mountains- the longest continuous mountain range in the world which run along the western edge of South America 

Amazon Rainforest- the world’s largest tropical rainforest that sprawls across much of northern South America 

Political map- designed to show governmental boundaries of countries, states, and counties, the location of major cities, and they usually include significant bodies of water. 

Physical map- designed to show landforms like deserts, mountains and plains 

The PTA fall festival will take place this Friday!  I hope to see you all there to enjoy the autumn season!

Finally, term 1 parent/teacher conferences are coming to an end this week.  I've enjoyed getting a chance to sit down with everyone and talk about our classroom.  

Have a wonderful weekend,
Mr. Trent