Grade Five Alive!

TRADE ACROSS TIME AND CULTURES by Susan Marlow

“I always wanted to trade fur but… there is no need to because you can just buy some at the store.”

But in 1500 to 1800 people had to hunt for fur. When people did not have enough fur in Europe, they started to explore North America.

There were two routes to the New World, one from France and one from England. Europeans could not hunt as well as the natives so they would trade tools and beads for fur. Natives would come with piles of fur. Eventually Native Americans had wars over hunting grounds and killed each other off. Later when fur-bearing animals became scarce, many tribes died of starvation. With a huge debt to Europe, other tribes lost their land.

The end of the fur trade was when the Europeans cleared more land and fur-bearing animals became even scarcer. Soon Europeans lost the taste for fur and silk became the trend.

~Elias

Poems make most people feel good. Every person has a favorite thing, and poets capture feelings in the poems that they write. Every poet has a reason for writing poems. Mine is that it makes me feel calm. In these poems above I have captured the beauty of books and the twinkle of the morning star.

~Margaret

Last week we watched a video about ocean currents on BrainPOP.

Ocean currents move in large circular patterns called gyres. Most gyres are surrounded by one or more continents. Gyres in the north spin clockwise, but in the south they move counter clockwise. This is the Coriolis effect. This effect is caused by earth’s rotation.

The gulf stream runs from the Gulf of Mexico to western Europe. That is why it’s warmer in Paris, France than Montreal, Canada which are almost the same latitude.

There is also a global current called the global conveyor belt. It is a system of deep and shallow currents that circle the earth. It is not powered by wind but by temperature and density and can take a thousand years to circulate around the world.

~KOBY

Hey — I found a cool website, sponsored by the New York Zoos and Aquarium. Check it out.

It’s called “Build Your Wild Self” — Learn all about wild animals while you have fun turning yourself into one.

~Mrs. S

It has been a busy week and a few days since a student post : (

I want to thank all the students for patiently waiting for their turn to blog. In any event, there has been a lot of writing going on in Room 246 this week, and I’m very proud of how much effort everyone put into their “favorite holiday” pieces.

Writing isn’t easy, especially when we’re learning to make our writing better — more effective, more powerful. The process of writing comes more easily to some people, but everyone needs to push themselves to make improvements every step of the way: Planning, Organizing, Writing, Revising and Editing.

Remember to use the Empowering Writers binder as a reference.

Keep up the good outstanding work. (No ho-hum words.) Back to blogging next week!

~Mrs. S

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day. Every November eleventh we honor the veterans who fought in wars for the United States. And we get school off this day for the many families who take this holiday very seriously.

At exactly eleven o’clock every November eleventh people lower their flags to honor those who fought. My neighbor lowers his, too! Last year I went to the Veteran’s Day parade. There were girl scouts and boy scouts and people on horses in uniforms.

I appreciate having a day that I can remember the special people who helped this country. Every morning at school we have a moment of silence to think about important things like this. I hope everyone takes a moment tomorrow to remember the veterans.

~Sarah

Photo courtesy of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Today we crushed cans in science!

Water vapor heated in an aluminum can turns back into liquid water when inverted into a pan of cold water. The air pressure outside the can becomes greater than the air pressure inside the can causing the can to collapse. Pop!

Who remembers what else we learned about air pressure?

~Genny

Did you know that learning how to read and play music can help students in Math class? Well, it’s true. That’s not exactly why my friends and I play the flute and other instruments, but it is a good reason to become a musician!

12:05 is probably the most exciting time of the day on Thursday. (Just thinking about it makes me tingle with anticipation.) When we walk into the music room, a rush of joy flows through me. However, the best part is taking my flute out of its case. It just glimmers and sings to me as I carefully put the pieces together. Then Laine, Jackie, and I tune up with the scale. B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

It feels like 10 minutes goes by after we have played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Theme by Beethoven, and an unbelievable quantity of other songs. Then the door to the practice room squeaks open and there is Mr. L with his head peaking through the ajar door saying, “Time to pack up girls.” As soon as the sound of time comes out of Mr. L’s mouth Jackie, Laine and I simultaneously drop our mouths open and about every fly in America flies into our mouths. “WHAT?!” is the only response Mr. L hears every week. Sadly we all put our instruments away and see the last shine of our instruments.

For my friends and I the flute is perfect, but if you are not a flute type of person don’t be afraid to try the saxophone, the trumpet or the clarinet. I can’t wait until we get further into the year so that all our instruments can chime in symphony together.

~Jaime

The results are in for our school’s 2008 presidential election! Of course, I won’t be able to vote for real until the year 2016, but today we held a mock election at school. As you know, Election Day is tomorrow, November 4. The two major candidates are Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Other less well-known candidates include Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Bob Barr, Green Party Cynthia McKinney, and Constitution Party Chuck Baldwin.

Election Day to me is helping America decide who will lead our country. Every vote counts because each vote goes to your state, and each state is won over by a certain candidate. Then the candidate with the most states, wins the election. It’s important to vote because how we feel about the isues in our country determines how our government will work.

Barack Obama won with 496 votes or 66% to John McCain’s 255 votes or 33%. The others only received 11 votes or 1%. That’s what the students at our school want.

How about you?

~Daniel