State Reports!

Dear Parents/Guardians:

We will begin our fifth-grade year by having our student’s research and write a state report. This goes along nicely with our field trip to the Utah State Fair and culminates with our 5th Grade State Fair on October 7, 2011.

Attached are the guidelines for students to follow in writing the report. Most of the report will be researched and written in class however the poster, oral presentation and final written report will be done outside of school.

We ask that you guide your son or daughter in doing research on the state. Students must write the report using their own thoughts and words and not copy from books or other sources. Students should enjoy doing the state report from their own perspective. Your encouragement will mean a lot to your son or daughter!

The student will also give an oral presentation on the states. They will present their state poster and any other items for display at our “5th Grade State Fair” on Friday October 7, 2011.

State Report Guidelines
The State Report will be done using a report notes packet before writing the final report. Students are to organize their reports using this packet.
The State Report Notes are due Thursday, September 22nd. After the teacher checks the packets, they will be returned, and the students may begin work on their rough drafts.
For the rough draft the student should take the State Report Notes and following the State Report Categories, write their state report in their own words. These can be handwritten in pencil. These will be due on Tuesday September 27th.
The Final Draft and State Poster will be due on Friday September 30th. These may be typed or may be handwritten in blue or black ink, skipping lines. If typed, the report should be done in 12-point font, Times New Roman and double-spaced. Students should use their imagination and creativity in making an interesting report!

Oral presentations will be on Monday/Tuesday, October 3rd and 4th
Guidelines:
• Tell when your state was added to the Union.
• Tell your State’s Nickname.
• Show your State Flag (from your report) and explain the meaning and importance of the flag.
• Name and briefly describe three famous people from your state.
• Tell the five best things about your state.
• Remember your presentation should be 2-3 minutes long.

State Poster Requirements: (must include the following but anything else is great too!)
• Poster cut out in the shape of your state
• Important facts about your state
• Your favorite thing you learned about your state
• Major Cities (including State Capital)
• Famous Places
• Make your poster exciting. Pretend you are a travel agent and you are trying to get people to visit your state!



STATE REPORT CATEGORIES

1. COVER
List the following information on your top cover sheet:
Title (name of your state)
Name (your own, first & last) and number
Grade (5th or Fifth Grade)
Teacher (Mrs. Berven and Mrs. Thomas)
Date (Date that report is due)
You may add pictures, drawings, phrases, or anything else to make your cover page more exciting!

2. INTRODUCTION
(1/2 - page minimum)
Write about these using complete sentences:
a. What state you have been given.
b. What you thought/knew about your state before you started your report
c. What you will be writing and showing in your report.

3. HISTORY
Required: Write about at least two of these topics: (1-page minimum)
* Explorers * Indian tribes * Settlers * Government
* Past and current events * Wars and battles


4. FAMOUS PEOPLE
Required: Write about three famous people from your state: (1-page minimum)
* Presidents * Indians *Authors * Inventors
*War Hero’s *Athletes * Actors/Actresses

5. NATURAL RESOURCES / INDUSTRY/ PRODUCTS
Required: Make a chart or graph of at least one of the following:
• Farm crops (wheat, corn, cotton, etc.)
• Dairy products
• Mining (oil, coal, gold, silver, uranium, borax, etc.)
• Auto or other industries.
• Try http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx

6. STATE SYMBOLS
a. Required: illustrate or print your state seal and state flag.
b. Required: illustrate or print at least one of the following:
• State bird
• state flower
• state animal
7. CLOSING PARAGRAPH (REACTIONS)
Required: (1-page minimum)
Answer these questions using complete sentences for each category.
a. What did you like most about your state?
b. Why?
c. What did you dislike?
d. Why?
e. What makes your state interesting for others to want to visit or live there?
f. Tell about three things everyone should know and remember about your state.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!

Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year

Dear Parents,

Welcome to fifth grade! We are excited to be with your children! Here are a few things to know about the class and what will be expected from your student.

Homework Folders: Every student has a homework folder that should come home everyday as well as a planner. Inside are papers to take home and homework that needs to be completed. Please check their planners for all assignments for the week, upcoming projects and events. Please record reading minutes daily. Monday mornings, planners are checked for the total weekly reading minutes along with a parent signature.
Please check folders and planners nightly.

Reading Minutes: Each student is required to read 150 minutes per week or 30 minutes a night, 5 nights a week. There is a place to fill in reading minutes in the planner. 4,000 minutes is required for the Fantastic Falcon!!!

WEEKLY HOMEWORK:

Spelling: You will receive a Parent Letter on Mondays. Please read the entire paper and complete the assignments given, sign, and return no later than Wednesday of each week.

Language Arts: You will receive a Parent Comprehension Sheet on Monday. Please read, answer the questions, sign, and return by Friday of each week. Students will also receive a Comprehension Challenge worksheet that will be due each Wednesday.

Crosswords: Students are given one state crossword a week that will be due on Friday. This assignment should be completed in class as morning work.

Current Events: Students are assigned a day of the week and should bring their current event each week on that day.

Friday Activities/Missing Work: Student will be given a “missing assignments” report every other week on Wednesday. Those assignments will need to be completed and turned in by Friday morning at 8:30am if they want to participate in our 5th Grade Falcon Friday Activity.

This website will also include a class calendar to keep you informed of upcoming events, assignments and test. Please check it each week with your student.

We look forward to a great school year and working with your and your children!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Berven and Mrs. Thomas

Reminder to Parents

Dear Parents,

End of year testing is already here. We can’t believe this year is coming to an end. Testing dates are as follows:
Language Arts: April 19 and 27 11:15-12:15
Science: May 2,3 11:15-12:15
Math: May 9,10 9:00-10:30

Please make sure your child is here and brings a healthy snack. The Language Arts and Science tests are done in the computer lab. Dates cannot be changed.

DARE Graduation is Friday, May 6, 2011 at 9:00 please plan to attend this event.

Fantastic Falcon deadline is May 20.

Thank you for all of your support this year.

Mrs. Berven and Mrs. Thomas

End of Year CRT Testing

End of year testing is already being scheduled. We will be taking the Science and Language Arts part of the test in the computer lab. Our Language Arts scheduled time is Tuesday, April 19, and Wednesday April 27 from 11:15-12:15. Science will be on May 2 and 3 from 11:15-12:15. Please plan your schedules so that your child will be here for those testing times. The Math part of the test will not be on the computer and will be scheduled at a later date.

We ask that the students get a good nights sleep and have a good breakfast. The students can also bring a healthy snack that they may eat before we take our tests.

Our DARE schedule will be from April 11-May 5. DARE Graduation will be
May 6, 9:00-10:00.

Items of Business

Dear Parents,

We have a few items of business we would like to make you aware. Tomorrow is our field trip to the Hale Center Theater; please have your child here at 8:10 in our classroom and best dressed. We will be leaving at 8:25.

Next week are Parent Teacher Conferences. We will both be there to meet with you on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Please use the Skyward to schedule an appointment. If Wednesday doesn’t work for you please contact us and we will schedule a time to meet with you. (801-446-3200)

End of year testing is already being scheduled. We will be taking the Science and Language Arts part of the test in the computer lab. Our Language Arts scheduled time is Tuesday, April 19, and Wednesday April 27 from 11:15-12:15. Science will be on May 2 and 3 from 11:15-12:15. Please plan your schedules so that your child will be here for those testing times. The Math part of the test will not be on the computer and will be scheduled at a later date.

Our DARE schedule will be from April 11-May 5. DARE Graduation will be
May 6, 9:00-10:00.

Thank you for your help and support.
Mrs. Berven and Mrs. Thomas

Civil War Box Books

Our project for our Civil War Unit is to make a “Box Book”. They are very simple to make. We will send home directions as well as putting pictures on our class blog at http://berventhomas5thgrade.blogspot.com. Please choose either an event or a person from the list below, or find other examples in your textbook. The Civil War can be found in Chapter 16 and 17 of your textbook. Once you have chosen, you will create a Box Book, describing the person or event from the start to finish. There will be 10-12 entries that you feel are the most important about your person or event – just make sure you put them in chronological order. You may find out information about this person/event either from your textbook, online, or other sources including the local library. You need to write 3-5 complete 5th grade sentences for each entry. These will need to be typed or written in your best printing. You will need to decorate the box with pictures of the event or person you have chosen.

IDEAS:
Sojourner Truth
Missouri Compromise
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Compromise of 1850
Jefferson Davis
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Harriet Tubman
John Brown’s Raid
Confederate States of America
Anaconda Plan
Harriet Beecher Stowe
First Battle of Civil War at Bull Run
Frederic Douglass
Monitor and Merrimac
Battle of Antietam
Stonewall Jackson
Emancipation Proclamation
Battle of Gettysburg
Sherman’s March
Robert E. Lee
President Abraham Lincoln
Reconstruction
Abolitionists
Underground Railroad
Clara Barton
…or choose something yourself, but it will need to be approved by your teacher!

Valentines Day!

We will be having a Valentine's Day party on Monday the 14th from 2:15-3:00. If you would like to help, please contact our room mom Alisa Childs. Here is a list of the students in our class, we will also be sending home a list.
Angelina
Emily
Darrin
Dylan
Bryson
Noah
Lexee
Ethan
Erika
Hannah
Mikayla
Eric
Madeline
Alexys
Rian
Bradley
Alissa
Caitlin
Ben
Nathan
Abbie
Emmalie
Baylie
Kaden
Ysabel
and Hadley!