Grade 5 & 6 News
Newsletter #2: Sharing the Planet
Transdisciplinary Theme:
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Central idea:
Our use of energy resources affects global warming.
Key concepts: Causation, Connection, Responsibility
Related concepts: climate, global warming, pollution, impact, energy resources
Lines of inquiry
- Fossil fuels and global warming.
- Effect on the environment and human health.
- Renewable energy and global warming.
Our Learning So Far!
UOI/Language Arts/Science
Assalam-Alaikum Parents,
Can you believe we only have 2 weeks of school left before summer vacation? This is the second newsletter for our last UOI of the year, Sharing the Planet. Sharing the Planet is another science-based unit. Students have been working on many inquiries and activities to explore global warming, fossil fuels, causes and effects of global warming and energy. They have been exploring the key concepts of causation and connection through the lines of inquiry. They have explored the causes and effects of global warming on the planet and have been connecting what they have learned to current events, specifically the Paris Climate Accord.
Last week, students watched the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, 2006 about the United States former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming. Students listed causes and effects of global warming and what actions we can take to curb the rate of global warming. The class was deeply moved by the documentary and even gave the movie a standing ovation! The sequel to the movie titled An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power will be released next month. It would make a great summer activity so don't miss it this summer. I have attached a trailer at the bottom of this newsletter.
Students also calculated their family carbon footprint and identified ways to decrease the carbon use. This activity led to the awareness of energy conservation; one student even recommended they no longer use devices!
To learn more about our learning so far, please read on.
Science & Social Studies
The focus for this UOI is how the choices we make in our use of energy resources impacts the planet, positively and negatively. Students have been exploring the lines of inquiry through reading informational text, the use of images, videos, and through independent inquiry.
Students have worked on the following:
- identify types of fossil fuels and the mining process.
- explore a consequence of burning fossil fuels: the greenhouse effect.
- explain the effect of the greenhouse effect on temperature and how various human activities could cause changes in local and global temperature over time.
- use a video on the environmental effects of global warming to identify effects of climate change.
- analyze the connection between global warming and environmental issues.
- identify the difference between weather and climate and identify world climate regions by using a map.
- analyze their carbon footprint and identify ways to reduce the carbon footprint.
Next week, students will be working on the summative assessment. Details of the summative assessment are provided below.
ELA
Students have been extending the science investigations through readings in ELA, as well as other activities.
Students worked on the following:
- Unit 11 in Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop
- listen to the read-aloud The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg and analyze the plot using a plot structure diagram. Students identify the characters, conflict, climax, falling action, and resolution.
- review what interjections are and how to recognize and use interjections in writing.
- practice using commas to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.
- read informational text to identify cause and effect.
- infer and support with evidence.
Mining for Coal
Mining for Coal
Collaborative Teams
Math
5th Grade
Students have been working on addition, subtraction, and multiplication of fractions, specifically the following standards:
- use tape diagrams to model fractions as division.
- solve word problems involving the division of whole numbers with answers in the form of fractions or whole numbers.
- relate fractions as division to fraction of a set.
- multiply any whole number by a fraction using tape diagrams.
- divide a whole number by a unit fraction.
- divide a unit fraction by a whole number.
- connect division by a unit fraction to division by 1 tenth and 1 hundredth.
- divide decimal dividends by non-unit decimal divisors.
6th Grade
Students have been working on Module 5: Area, Surface Area, and Volume Problems.
Students have explored the following standards:
- show the area formula for the region bounded by a parallelogram by composing it into rectangles.
- understand that the area of a parallelogram is the area of the region bounded by the parallelogram. Justify the area formula for a right triangle by viewing the right triangle as part of a rectangle composed of two right triangles.
- show the area formula for a triangular region by decomposing a triangle into right triangles.
- understand that the height of the triangle is the perpendicular segment from a vertex of a triangle to the line containing the opposite side. The opposite side is called the base. Students understand that any side of a triangle can be considered a base and that the choice of base determines the height.
- find the perimeter of irregular figures using coordinates to find the length of a side joining points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate.
- Students find the area enclosed by a polygon on the coordinate plane by composing or decomposing using polygons with known area formulas.
- determine distance, perimeter, and area in real-world contexts.
- find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths by packing it with unit cubes of the appropriate unit fraction edge lengths, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths of the prism. Apply the formulas V= lw h and V= bh to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
UOI Summative
- Poster or Glogster
- Powtoon
- Prezi or Google Slides
-
Informational Brochure
Create an informational tri-fold brochure to inform your audience about global warming and its impacts. Give your audience ways to reduce their carbon footprint and solutions to help save the planet. Use facts to support your opinion. Include the key concepts of causation, connection and responsibility.
- Persuasive Writing PSA or YouTube video
You must create a PSA or YouTube video with you as the star about how the planet is being destroyed because of the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases and why we should care. You must explain the causes and effects of global warming and ways to counteract climate change.
- PowerPoint
Create a 10 Slide PowerPoint that discusses global warming. Your PowerPoint should information on the following:
· the Green House Effect including cause, solutions, definition, illustration.
· The effect of the type of energy resources used by humans.
· Other impacts of global warming on the planet.
Include the key concepts of causation, connection and responsibility.
- Persuasive Letter
Write a persuasive letter to your state representatives to encourage them to see your perspective on global warming. Is it happening or is it just another natural cycle of the Earth’s changing system? Use persuasive letter writing strategies in your writing. Use facts to support your opinion. Include the key concepts of causation, connection and responsibility.
- Game
Create a game that quizzes the players on the causes and effects of global warming and the role of energy resources in climate change. Include the key concepts of causation, connection and responsibility. Be sure to use content-appropriate vocabulary.
Subject Specific Summatives
Next week, students will have a summative assessment for Unit 12 in vocabulary. Words and practice activities can be accessed through ManageBac (follow the link in the homework assignment) or students can use their Vocabulary Workshop books.
Math quiz and test dates are specific to the grade level and math group and can also be found on ManageBac.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power (2017)- Official Trailer - Paramount Pictures
Upcoming Events
Tarbiyah Academy Benefit Iftar
Sunday, Jun 11, 2017, 06:00 PM
Owen Brown Interfaith Center, Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD, United States
Last Day of School for Students
Friday, Jun 23, 2017, 07:30 AM
Tarbiyah Academy, Business Parkway, Elkridge, MD, United States
Mrs. Abbasi's 5th/6th Grade Class @ Tarbiyah Academy
Email: sabbasi@tarbiyahacademy.org
Website: www.tarbiyahacademy.com
Location: 6785 Business Pkwy, Elkridge, MD, United States
Phone: 1-844-827-2492