Next Week

•  State Report Information

Work on your 2nd Component (If you chose History, leave this until your 3rd component)

Make sure you are able to group your Research into P2s. Examples of possible P2s for the different components are below:

e.g. Tourist attractions
(Examples below- don't just copy these. Devise your own based on your state)
-Historical Importance, Family Actvities, Recreational Opportunities, Outdoor destinations etc...

eg. Commerce and Indusry
-Service Industries, Manufacturing Industries, Major Companies, Industrial Regions, Tourism, Major Products etc...

e.g.Natural Resources+ Crops
Mined Resources, Renewable or Nonrenewable Resources, Scenery, Agriculture Resources, Major Crops etc...

Target Stickers: Between 8-9

You must have all your information collected and written down in order to type out the following:
Next Computing Class: Paraphrased notes for Fun Facts (Fri 5th Feb)
Next Library Class: Gra. Group (This Fri) Bux. Group (Mon 8th Feb)

•  Fifty States and Capitals Test

This will take place on Feb 11th. Use links on the blog to help you with your 50 States Studying. You will need to know each state and capital, its location, the three major bodies of water that border the U.S., and the two major mountain ranges in the U.S. Spelling is not counted; however, you will be expected to spell as accurately as possible.

Mentor Text - Geographical Features

     Enjoy this example of A+ writing. Look at the variety of advanced sentences technqiues used and the succint way the hook is linked to the topic sentence. Count the number of proper nouns in the text as an example of how to integrate precise facts.  Can you apply these elements into your own writing?

    The flapping wings of the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird, fill the air as it soars over the ravishing, earthy scented marshland looking for a place to land. Imagine a boot-shaped fertile land of damp, breath-taking marshes, and the ground is partly underwater. The state of Louisiana is truly that place. Louisiana’s unique setting causes a number of this beautiful, marshy wonderland’s terrain features. Because Louisiana sits in one of the closest areas to the equator, it receives ample sunlight. The three states that border Louisiana are Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi. Additionally, this spectacular haven is located in the Southeast region and in the East South Central sub-region. Louisiana overlooks the Gulf of Mexico, so this paradise receives an abundance of dreadful storms during hurricane season.

    One simply could not speak of Louisiana without mentioning its bustling cities. Not only is Louisiana home to numerous thriving metropolises, but nearly 75% of Louisiana’s population lives in urban or suburban areas. New Orleans, the most densely populated city in this beautiful state, is the 38th largest town in the United States. Baton Rouge, the second most populous boomtown in Louisiana, has reigned as the state capital since 1882. The third significant city is Shreveport; furthermore, it is the cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana meet.
    Because of all its marshes, lakes, and rivers, the state of Louisiana is often thought of as sodden wetland. In fact, Louisiana is one-third water. The rustling Mississippi River depositing into the Gulf of Mexico impacts both the geography and industries of Louisiana. The mouth of the river has changed the shape of the land in the south of Louisiana and improved the fishing industry. For example, New Orleans sits on land created by silt that the Mississippi carries. This beautiful state has countless lakes, including the rippling, 600 square mile Lake Pontchartain. The Louisiana coastline stretches 397 miles along the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ranks as planet Earth’s 5th largest body of water.
    Louisiana cannot boast of the lofty mountains of Alaska, but soggy textured bayous, a common feature in Louisiana, are unique in the nation. A bayou is a slow moving body of water connected to a river, ocean, or lake. Either saltwater, freshwater, or brackish water, a mixture between the earlier two, can be found in a typical bayou. Historian Harnett Kane described bayous as, “A place that seems often unable to make up its mind whether to be earth or water, and so it compromises.”¹ Few people live in bayous, but they remain a beautiful part of the state.
    The low land is another factor that renders Louisiana’s geography unique. Although Driskill Mountain, the highest elevation in Louisiana, is just a hill at 935 feet above sea level, the peak stands as sky scraping to Louisiana as Mt. Everest is to Nepal. Additionally, Louisiana’s low point, New Orleans, is actually nine feet below sea level. This statistic explains why hurricane waves are a quandary in the city. Sadly, citizens are forced to make levees, walls made to regulate a body of water. The average elevation in the Pelican State is a lowly 90 feet. Wetland to the south, flat plains in the middle and a few lush forests to the north combine to give Louisiana very little altitude. The brown pelican flies down into a bayou, and lands on a bald cypress, Louisiana’s state tree. The only noise is the buzz of a honeybee, the state insect.

¹Louisiana by Suzanne LeVert
by Robert

State Report - Geographical Features

 Geographical Features
2010 Mentor Texts coming soon...

Will yours be  published as an example to your classmates?

State Report - This Week

Focus: Geographical Features

How is your note taking going?

Target Stickers by EOD Fri: Between 3-5 stickers

Poetry Parties

Congratulations on your wonderful presentations in each of the poetry parties.

Feel free to give 'kudos' to your fellow classmates through 'comments' complimenting them on some of the poems you enjoyed the most. Of course, only polite responses at all times!

State Report Websites

State Report Websites

Use 'only' these sites below to do your State Report online research. If you find a site on your own that you think is better, share it with me first, and I might add it to the list. There is advice under each website to save you a little time.

State Report Websites

1. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition: http://school.eb.com/elementary [ID=latin, PASSWORD=hawks]  You may copy a picture or map from this site. Type the name of your state in the Search box and click Go.

2. NETSTATE.com
http://www.netstate.com/states/index.html  Click on your state.

Advice: (Only good for basic facts about the states)

3. IPL Kidspace: Stately Knowledge: http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/stateknow/  provides basic facts and links to other sources about each state

Advice: (Use the links at the bottom of each state page for detailed information on specific topics)

4. Infoplease: The Fifty States: http://www.infoplease.com/states.html  Choose state from the list below the map.

(Advice: Good for links to famous people for the character sketch)

5. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm.

(Advice – Good for geographical features and commerce and industry)

Coming Next Week

• Writing and Performing Tall Tales
• Punctuating Dialogue
• Synthesizing and Paraphrasing Practice
• West Region Activities
• State Report Guidelines
• Poetry Parties

There will be no H/W sheets after this week until Feb 22nd. During State Report time, you have the freedom to plan  and organize your own H/W routine. You will be given clear expectations of what needs to be completed; you will have the choice of when to do the work.  Fifth grade is about learning to become an independent thinker and worker. Now you are given the opportunity to show what you have learned!

Tall Tales

Our next writing topic will be 'tall tales'. Enjoy reading about Tales Tales by browsing through this website attached to this link.

http://42explore.com/talltale.htm

Coming Next Week

• Poetry Recitals (Mon-Fri)
• Northeast Region Test
• West Region - Video and Notes
• Grammar Powerpoint Presentations + Test
• Reading Skills Practice - Main Idea +Details, Synthesizing, Paraphrasing
• Writing and Performing Tall Tales

Grammar Powerpoint Presentations

How will your group make your powerpoint presentation unique, engaging, enticing?