Week 33

Dear Parents,

Welcome to week 33! There’s a little less than six weeks until the end of the school year, and we will continue to use that time to gift our students with as much knowledge as possible. Now that standardized tests are over, our focus will be on preparing our students to meet the high expectations of fifth grade.

In math this week, we will continue to explore fractions. We will continue to work on finding fractions equivalent to other fractions and hopefully start working on simplifying fractions. The concept of equivalent fractions poses a particular challenge for students because this is the first time they have experienced quantities that are the same but are expressed with different digits. To further confuse matters, finding equivalent fractions requires multiplying. Granted, you multiply the original fraction by a fraction equal to one, but since you are multiplying, and since the resulting equivalent fraction is expressed in different digits than the original fraction, students often think the quantity has changed as well. We will spend as much time as necessary to make sure students understand equivalent fractions.

In science class, we do have our test on ecology. It is on many of the same topics students were studying for their quiz last week and for their state science test, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I had scheduled it for Tuesday; however, since I am so late getting the study guide out, I will postpone it until Wednesday. The following are things students should know for the test:

1.       They should know the definition of ecology found in their notebooks, and they should understand and be able to draw the ecological/natural cycle found in their notebooks.

2.       They should know the three main kinds of pollution we have studied (land pollution, water pollution and air pollution) and should be able to give two examples of each.

3.       Global warming: Global warming is the scientific observation that the average temperature of the earth is getting ½ a degree warmer each year. A lot of students have answered the question “What is global warming?” by saying, “It means the earth is getting warmer.’ Such an imprecise answer will not be sufficient for the test.

4.       Global warming does not mean you never feel cold. It does not mean you don’t have winter. It does not mean the seasonal changes from winter to spring and spring to summer. It is very important that students know that global warming is NOT any of these things.

5.        Most fourth grade students have not yet studied averages in math, so the best way I have found to explain global warming to them is to say that most places will be half a degree warmer this year than they were last year most of them time. This is not quite correct, because mathematically, cold places like the poles could be heating up a lot, while average temperature of the rest of the earth remained stable, and this could still cause the overall average temperature of the earth to rise. However this is much closer to the scientific concept of global warming than the above common errors about global warming, and it does not require them to learn averages for their science test.

6.       There are two main theories that scientists have put forward to explain why the earth’s average temperature is rising. Students should be able to explain each. One theory is that it is part of a natural cycle of the earth. The thought is that over hundreds or thousands of years the earth gets cooler, and then warmer, and then cooler again. The more commonly held theory is that humans are causing global warming by polluting the air with greenhouse gasses. When humans burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas for power, those burnt fuels give off smoke. The smoke contains greenhouse gasses. The greenhouse gasses trap extra heat from the sun and keep the heat in the earth’s atmosphere, thus making the average temperature of the earth rise.

7.       Students should know some reasons why global warming is potentially harmful. After all, most people like to be warm, so the idea of a warmer earth can be attractive. However, if the earth’s temperature rises ½ a degree each year, than in 100 years it will have risen fifty degrees. That’s a huge change in a short period of time. (Imagine if Phoenix got fifty degrees warmer on average!) That could cause polar ice caps to melt, making the ocean water levels rise and eroding shore lines. It could mean larger, more frequent, and more violent storms of all kinds (hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes). It could mean more wildfires and droughts, fewer cold weather animals, and more mosquitoes and insects that carry diseases.

8.       Resources: Resources are supplies that come from the earth that we use to provide ourselves with the things we need to live.

9.       Renewable resources are resources that we can easily get more of from the earth if we carefully use what we have. Most plants and animals fall into this category, as does water.

10.   Non-renewable resources are resources we can’t get more of from the earth, or at least, not for thousands or millions of years. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas fall into that category.

11.   Students should know the difference between a reusable resource and a renewable resource. Reusable/recyclable resources are ones that can be used again for a new purpose after they have been used once. This is NOT the same as being renewable. Renewable means you can grow more of it or get more of it from the earth. Reusable means you can use the same thing many times for many different purposes. Some renewable resources are not reusable, and some reusable resources are not renewable. Water is renewable; you can get more from the natural water cycle. It is also reusable; it can be filtered and used again. Corn is renewable; you can grow more of it. It is not reusable, though; once your farm animals eat it its gone; it can’t be used for anything else. Metals and plastic are non-renewable. Metal is mined form the earth an there’s only so much of it. Plastic is made from oil, and there’s only so much oil. However, many plastics and metals are reusable; they can be melted down at recycling centers and used again to make new things.

Don’t forget that Friday is a half day! Lunch is not served, and pick-up starts at 12:00pm.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt