Practice Math This Summer

Check out the following math websites to keep your skills sharp this summer:

1.  Khan Academy

2.  Soft Schools

3.  Math ABC

4.  IXL

5.  Common Core practice

6.  Front Row (You can still use your account from the school year.)

Summer Reading Challenge -- Library Style

Hello Students,

I hope your summer is going well.  I would like to encourage you to continue your great work on the Summer Reading Challenge.  Feel free to encourage others to join as well.  A great way to expand your reading options this summer is to utilize the San Jose Public Library system.  They also have a reading challenge for the summer.

Check out the library's summer reading list.
If you have never been to the MLK library downtown, I recommend it as a summer field trip.  Tell your parents to take you.

Happy reading!  Don't forget to leave comments on this post to update me with which books you have read.

Introducing the 2015 Summer Reading Challenge!

Are you sad about the school year being over?  Do you pine away in front of the TV or computer screen wishing that you had something to read?  Perhaps you yearn for adventure and inspiration.

If so, THE SUMMER READING CHALLENGE OF 2015 is for you!!! (Perhaps you just enjoy a good book.  If so, it's still for you!)

How does it work?  The challenge is to read at least 5 good chapter books before the summer is over.  A champion reader would read at least 10 good chapter books.  An elite reader would read at least 15 good chapter books.

Every time you finish a book, leave me a note in the comment section of this blog with your name and the title and author of the book you read.  Then I can update your status.  You can follow your progress and your friends progress on the Summer Reading Challenge Status Page.

Not sure what to read?  Check out these reading lists.
5th grade list: Education World
5th grade list: Good Reads
Don't forget about the San Jose Public Library this summer.

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama! -- Palindromes

In the story Holes, the main character's name is a palindrome.  A palindrome is a word or series of words that are spelled the same backwards and forwards. Stanley Yelnats likes this particular fact about his name.

Please look up the definition of palindrome.

Use these websites to help you understand palindromes:

1. Fun with Words.
2. Kids Pages
3. Enchanted Learning
4. Fun English

Try out a few quizzes:

• Palindrome numbers quiz (math)
• Guess the Palindrome
• Enchanted Learning Quiz

What is aibohphobia? (Answer this in the comments.)

(You get to ignore punctuation in palindromic phrases when you are trying to spell them backwards.  I can't believe I just told you that!)

Health Assignment -- Health & Nutrition for Growing Kids

This week you will be using your Google accounts to create slideshows about how to be a healthy kid and teenager.  This will be an in class assignment that should be completed by Friday.  Please create a slideshow that is at least 12 slides long, includes relevant images, and has been proofread.

Please focus on the following topics:

1. Eating healthy -- Use the links at Choosemyplate.gov, especially the 10 tips page.  You can also research nutrition on Mayoclinic's website or nutrition.gov.
2. Exercise -- Use links from the USDA, kidshealth.org, Kaiser, letsmove.gov, or Mayoclinic.  You may want to have fun researching this at Kaiser's kid page.
3. Limiting Screen Time -- Use these links: Screen Time & Children, and Mayoclinic.
4. Tobacco -- How is tobacco harmful?  How do you say no? -- Read about the dangers of tobacco on Smoking Stinks!, PBS kids, and Be Tobacco Free.

  Work hard and create a slide show that shows kids how to be healthy!

Take Your Coordinate Plane Knowledge to the Next Level

Parallelogram on the coordinate plane: Remember our discussion of the coordinate plane? Sure you do! Let's graph the given coordinates of three of the polygon vertices, and find where the 4th vertex is.

Check out more videos and practice on this concept.
Move ahead of this concept at Math Planet.

Coordinate Planes

Coordinate plane examples: Let's get familiar with the x/y coordinate plane, both from the perspective of plotting points and interpreting the placement of points on a plane.
We have been learning the basics of coordinate planes.  Watch the video above and check out more on Khan Academy's website.

Check out a few Learnzillion videos about the same concept.

Quiz time.

Three Branches of Government Project

Check out a few videos on the three branches of government as a supplement to your research:

1. http://www.teachertube.com/video/the-three-branches-of-government-117875
2. http://www.teachertube.com/video/three-branches-of-government-115192
3. http://mrnussbaum.com/presidents/georgewashington
4. http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-madison/videos/america-gets-a-constitution

Make sure you complete your project on time.  (Follow the directions posted here.)

Quadrilateral Kidblog Post -- Homework

This weekend, please post a paragraph on Kidblog comparing and contrasting two types of quadrilaterals.  For example, please tell me the similarities between a parallelogram and a rectangle.  What properties do they have in common?  (Make sure you include that a rectangle is a type of parallelogram.)  How are they different?  A really good post should probably include a few pictures of these shapes.

Bonus:  Watch these Khan Academy videos on quadrilaterals.

Exploring Quadrilaterals

Please read the following links to explore and learn more about quadrilaterals.

Learn the basics of quadrilaterals on Math Is Fun.
Math.com also explores the basics of quadrilaterals.  (Make sure you get through step 4)

Now read about and explore different types of quadrilaterals.  Each link has a cool quadrilateral that you can change the shape of.  Make sure you read about and try out each one.

1. Trapezoid
2. Parallelogram
3. Rhombus
4. Kite
5. Rectangle
6. Square

Bonus:  Check out Khan Academy's page on quadrilaterals.

Three Branches of Government Project & Webquest

Watch the slideshow above as an introduction to our Webquests and PBL unit on the United States government.
Follow this link to begin your project and webquests.
Don't forget that you can use your power cards and social studies book as references during this unit.

Find your group here.

Trapezoids

Read about trapezoids at Math Is Fun.  Please try out the trapezoid that you can move and manipulate with your mouse.  Learn about many types of quadrilaterals that we will be studying.

Try out a quadrilateral game.

Coordinate Plane

Coordinate plane examples: Let's get familiar with the x/y coordinate plane, both from the perspective of plotting points and interpreting the placement of points on a plane.

Practice this concept online.

Testing This Week

Testing this week will be on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  We will also be testing next Monday.  Please try to be at school on time and eat a good breakfast.

The Constitution -- 3 Branches of Government

Learn about the three branches of the government of the United States.
Read more at Congress for Kids.
Read about how a bill becomes a law.