White's Weekly

Explorers

Did Christopher Columbus really discover America?

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/history-kids/christopher-columbus-kids.html

Why was Magellan determined to find the fastest route to Asia?

 http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/magellan.htm

Who is Balboa?

http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0316-Vasco-Nunez-De-Balboa.php

Describe Marco Polo’s life.

Learn Something New

Visit the Explorers Thinkquest:

http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/hall_of_fame.html

This week we are reading “Adelina’s Whales” by Richard Sobol. It can be found on pages 296-309 in your Reading book. The story for this week’s genre is  photo essay.  Photo essays use words and pictures to tell about someone or something.

The comprehension skill for this week is fact/opinion. Remember that a fact is something that can be proven or checked by doing research. Opinions are express what someone thinks or feels. Our strategy for this week is using graphic organizers. We will use T-chart to identify facts and opinions found throughout this week’s story.

If you need to practice distinguishing between facts and opinions, click on this link: http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/factsopinions/

Here are the vocabulary words for the week:

            from   http: //classroom.jc-schools.net/waltkek/  

Click on the link below to see other photos of gray whales from Laguna San Ignacio: http://www.cornforthimages.com/Galleries/Wildlife/Whales/Gray.htm

We will be working with homophones for the next two weeks. Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings/definitions and spellings.

Example:  raise and rays

Please raise your hand.          The suns rays are very bright today.

piece, peace, break, brake, threw, through, by, bye, beat, beet, thrown, throne, aloud, allowed, past, passed, weight, wait, there,  and their.

Bonus words:  principal, principle, symbol, cymbal, stationary, stationery

Here’s the link to help you learn this week’s words: http://www.spellingcity.com/spelling-games-vocabulary-games.html?listId=551231

Have you ever wondered why we have seasons? If so, this is the link for you: 

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/seasons.htm

In order to learn about why the leaves outside are changing colors, click on the link below:

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html

Last week, we learned about light. If you need a quick review or still have questions, click on the link and watch the video. It demonstrates how light and color works.

http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/lightandcolor.html

This six week’s we will begin learning about the history of Tennessee. Create a timeline, fact poster, or biographical graphic organizer on one person from Tennessee. Post a comment listed on important fact about the person that you have chosen to read about.  

Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson: The Spoil System

Sam Houston

Sam Houston: Biography & Politics

Sequoyia
Andrew Jackson:  Biography

Sam Houston:  Biography

James Polk:  Biography

Sequoyia:  Biography

David Crockett:  Biography

Nancy Ward:  Biography

Last November, we inaugurated our 44th president. You might be wondering why the world seems to be so focused on this event. Well, the main reason is that it is very historic. On Tuesday, we will elect our first African-American president. Ironically, it will happen just one day after we celebrate the birth of one of nation’s greatest Civil Rights leaders-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Maybe, its a sign. After watching the presidential inauguration, please leave a comment letting me know what you thought.