Novel Study! !

The Graveyard Book
by: Neil Gaiman

Just in time for Halloween!! For our novel study, we will be reading as a class a book titled The Graveyard Book written by Neil Gaiman.  We were really lucky to have Neil Gaiman read to us online today. If you would like to hear him read, or to read along with him, you can by following this link: Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book. Please pay attention to the characters, the setting and the plot, as we will be discussing it within the next few weeks!!

For Gaiman's footage, video trailers, games, podcasts and more, please visit this site: Mouse Circus.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The story of thanksgiving discusses the importance of this special holiday. Monday October 10, 2011 is thanksgiving day and therefore the school will be closed. But, there are many things you can do with your family. You could sit with your family around the dinner table and discuss what thanksgiving iabout and discuss what you are thankful for. Maybe you would like to go to South Brook Pumpkin Patch. Maybe you would like to go apple picking at Apple Wood Farm Winery. If you would like to help at your local food bank, for instance, Vaughan Food Bank, they are willingly accepting volunteers to help serve the food to the poor. If you choose to stay home, you can do some activities online. For instance, you could play Thanksgiving Games, or you could make Thanksgiving Crafts. I hope you all have a wonderful, safe and fun thanksgiving!!

Human Organ Systems

Organ Systems

Our bodies have many organ systems that work together. In the next couple of weeks, we will look at the circulatory system, the digestive system, the muscular system, the skeletal system and the nervous system. We will now look at the names of the organ systems, the descriptions and diagrams which will show us how the certain organ systems look like and where it is located in the body.

The Digestive System
Are organs that take in food and turn it into products that the body uses to survive and stay healthy. Waste products that the body cannot use leave the body through bowel movements. The digestive system includes the salivary glands, mouth, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, small and large intestines and the rectum.

The Circulatory System
The body system consisting of the heart, blood vessels, and blood that delivers nutrients and other essential materials to cells an removes waste products (also called the cardiovascular system).

 

The Musculoskeletal System

The human system that gives us the ability to move. It consists of the muscular system and the human skeleton.

 

The Nervous System

Vast network of neurons and specialized tissues that regulates actions and responses.

With all of these systems working together, our bodies keep us moving.

The following link will help to review your Body Organ systems.

Do you feel confident with the different organ systems? If so, take this quiz on Human Organ Systems   to help review what you know and don't know.

States of Matter

Matter

Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. All substances and materials can be called matter.

Mass is the amount of matter in an object.

Solids, liquids and gases, are made of atoms, molecules and/or ions. These particles are made of 3 phases (solids, liquids and gases). In solids, liquids and gases, the particles in solids vibrate/jiggle in place but do not move from place to place. Liquids move about and slide past each other while gas vibrates and moves freely at high speeds.

Here are some examples of solids, liquids and gases;
Solids: sand, ice and wood
Liquids: milk, rain and syrup
Gas: steam, helium and air

Here is a game you can play to see if you are able to classify by giving examples of Solids, Liquids and Gases. 

Looking at Angles

Angles

When we look at polygons, we need to determine the type of angle.  For instance, we distinguish if the angles are acute, right angles, obtuse or straight angles. Here is a diagram of what the different angles look like; 

 

As we see the difference in the angles, we need to define the different types of angles to understand what they each angle mean. This Angles link, we get to determine the differences between the angles. Look here to view Angles and Angle Terms (this shows some examples of the different triangles).

Geometric Properties: Looking at Polygons

Polygons

A polygon is a plain shape with straight sides.  Polygons are 2-dimensional. They are made of straight lines, and the shapes are closed (all the lines connect).  Some examples of regular polygons are triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, heptagon, octagon, nonagon and decagon.

When we look at polygons, we look at the number of sides, the number of angles and the number of vertices.

A polygon has many angles as it has sides (they have the same number for sides and angles). For example, a triangle has 3 sides and 3 angles. A pentagon has 5 sides and 5 angles.


A Vertex or the point, is where two lines meet or intersect of an angle. 

This link Polygon Basics lists a chart of polygons and shows the number of sides, angles and vertices (please ignore number of diagonals in the third column, we do not need to know it).   

Check out this Polygon Matching Game!!

Welcome Grade 5's!!

Hello Grade 5's! I hope everyone had a great summer! I am looking forward to seeing and meeting everyone on Tuesday!! This blog is where I will be posting upcoming events, upcoming projects and material that have and will be discussed in class. You will be able to access this information here even if you are absent. If you would like to communicate outside of school, here is the place to do so. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave me a post and I will be checking this blog regularly. I hope you enjoy the rest of you week and I will see you all on the first day of school. With best of luck, Ms. Falcao!!

         "the will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence"