Math Review -- Multiplying and Dividing Fractions

Practice multiplying fractions:
Check out the personal tutor for multiplying mixed numbers.
Math Playground
Try this lesson.
Quiz

Practice dividing fractions:
Personal tutor for fractions and mixed numbers.
Math Playground
Quiz on fractions and mixed numbers.

Volume Lesson with Area Review

Check out the above video on volume.  When you have watched it, try some of the links below.

Area of Rectangles Review:
Personal Tutor Area
Concepts in Motion -- Area
Area Quiz

Volume of Rectangular Prisms Practice:
Personal Tutor Volume
Volume Demonstration
Online Practice
More Online Practice and Quizzes
Online Demo Showing Change in Volume with Changing Dimensions
Volume Quiz (official)

Check out a few of these advanced videos from learnzillion.

Homework

Read the story in your textbook this week, then try these online activities.

Try the 4th grade web field trip and eword game.
Try the 5th grade online poll, eword game, and meet the author.

Black History Month Reading Passages

We will spend some time reading about the history of African Americans this week.  You can preview some of the reading below.

Learn about segregation and schools in the 1950s and 60s.
Debate topic:  Better Late than Never.
Learn about slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation.
Read one account of escaping from slavery.
Short reading comprehension:  The Struggle for Equality.

Read this short biography about Jackie Robinson.
Next, read this letter he wrote about school segregation (primary source).  What does the letter teach you that the biography doesn't?  How?

Read this short biography of MLK.  Then read part of a letter that he wrote (primary source).  What can both of these teach you?  How do they teach you differently?

Math Practice Websites

Hello students!  For those of you who wish to do you math homework on this website, I have compiled a list of my favorite math links.  Don't forget to use the math tag at the bottom of this post to check out previous math posts from teacherp.

Check out:
Bedtime Math
Math Antics
Cool Math
Khan Academy
Maisonnet Math

(Sneak ahead in math and check out ratios.  Shhhh!  Don't tell.)

Graphing on the Coordinate Plane

I thought this song was a helpful tool in remembering some of the key vocabulary related to coordinate planes.  Watch it and try out some helpful activities below.

Khan Academy Practice.
Locate the Aliens game
Stock the Shelves game
Basketball game

Woolly Mammoths

Readworks -- Mammoths
Nat Geo Kids -- Mammoth Facts
Dialogue for Kids -- Mammoths
BBC Nature
Enchanted Learning Mammoths

Cause and effect:  Can you figure out why woolly mammoths went extinct?  What theory do you thing is the most likely reason for this.
Nat Geo -- Why Did the Mammoth Die Out?
Woolly Mammoths' Taste for Flowers May Have Been Their Undoing.
How Did Mammoths Go Extinct?

How was a mammoth different than a mastadon?

Read about the differences between woolly mammoths and modern elephants.  We will be comparing the two animals.
Mammoths vs. Elephants
A-Z Woolly Mammoths
A-Z Elephants

Extra Credit Debate Topic:
Should people clone woolly mammoths?  NPR -- Cloning Mammoths  Post your opinion on kidblog.

Winter Olympics 2014

I hope you are as excited about the Winter Olympics as I am.  This week we will read about and learn about the Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia.

Read about the history of the Olympics. (easy)
History of the Olympics (Detailed).

Time For Kids has a great site about the Olympics.
Use their website to learn about Russia and take a quiz on it.

NBC learn has some great science videos about the Winter Olympics.
We will compare the snowboarding video with this article.
We will compare the slopestyle skiing video with this article.

Check out the differences between the summer and winter Olympics.
Here is another article about the differences.

If you are interested in following the Olympic Games, check out NBC's Olympic page.

Interpreting Data in a Line Plot

Practice with line plots on the Khan Academy website.

Try out a few more Learnzillion videos on this concept.

This page has great review activities for line plots:  internet4classrooms

Try out this easy quiz on line plots to see if you understand the basics.

Cause & Effect Online Practice

Try out these links to learn about cause and effect.

Reading Comprehension:
Cause and effect paragraphs
Cause and effect reading comprehension
Cause and effect passage

Games & Quizzes:
Cause and effect matching game
Adverb clauses -- C&E relationship
Easy quiz -- C&E

Science Study Aid -- 5th Grade Water Cycle & Clouds

Read about clouds on Weather Wiz Kids.  This site has more cloud types than you need to know.  Focus on cirrus, cumulus, stratus and cumulonimbus.

Check out these cool weather experiments.

Science Study Aid -- 4th Grade -- Continental Drift

The song is just for fun.  Check out this infographic on continental drift theory.

Read more about continental drift.

Fractions on a Number Line

Practice plotting fractions on a number line.

After trying out the review lesson above, check out Learnzillion for a lesson on solving problems with fractional line plots.

Try out a few of these practice exercises on internet4classrooms.

Lunar New Year 2014 -- Year of the Horse

Happy New Year!  Are you curious about Chinese New Year?
Learn about it.
Read about the history of Chinese New Year.
Did you know that other cultures also celebrate Lunar New Year?  In Vietnamese culture it is sometimes referred to as Tet.

Scholastic has a good resource where you can learn more about China.
Check out this fun story about the Chinese Zodiac calendar.
If you like arts and crafts, check out this website.
Read about the Legend of Nian.
Finally, read these Chinese Proverbs and try to figure out what they are teaching you.

Bonus Question:  Teacherp was born in the year of the snake.  2013 was the year of the snake.  Can you figure out which year I was born?

The Life of a Forty-Niner

As you read about the lives of the 49ers, look for evidence that supports the idea that being a 49er was not easy.  Do you think some of them regretted becoming prospectors?  What is your evidence?

Keep reading and look for other evidence that supports the idea that you could strike it rich and make a fortune.

Post your paragraphs on http://kidblog.org/teacherp/.  If you can, include a picture related to this topic.

The California Gold Rush -- Life as a 49er
Life of a 49er
Journey of the Forty-Niners
Gold Fever
Social Studies for Kids -- The California Gold Rush

Bonus:  What could you learn about James Marshall and John Sutter?  Did they enjoy the wealth of the Gold Rush?  Can you infer what their opinion of the Gold Rush probably was?  How do you think they viewed the Forty-Niners?

Bonus:  Use Google to try to learn how to pan for gold.  Write directions in your own words summarizing this technique.  Include a cool picture.