Homework
End-of-year Show Ideas

Students can present ideas for us to develop into our end of year event.
Students will present their ideas on Monday, May 21st.
This homework is optional.
This is the final homework of the school year.
I hope you have enjoyed the challenges of the homework projects throughout the year.
Smart students will continue practising reading writing and math from now on all through the summer right up to the start of middle school.
Students: Use your freedom to develop your skills!!!
Previous Projects
Open Response Science practice

The students have two classic open-response questions to tackle over the weekend. The answers are due in on Monday, May 7th.
On Monday and Tuesday they will have one open-response question for each night, due in the next day.
There will be no homework on Wednesday or Thursday, due to the Math MCAS.
Next week will be identical: two open response questions over the weekend, then one each for Monday and Tuesday. There will be no homework on Wednesday or Thursday, due to the Science MCAS.
The final homework project of the year will be announced on Friday, May 18th.
It will be due in on Monday, May 21st. It will be presenting ideas for our end-of-year show!
Creatures of the Earth homework

All homework due in Friday, May 4th
We have begun our study of Life on Earth.
To support our enterprise, I would like you to choose a creature of interest to you and find out about its life.
You should make a booklet about the life of the creature. The booklet should be aimed to inform and educate your fellow students.
Here are some suggested topics for you. Important topics you should consider including in your booklet are in italics:
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Introduction.
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Family – for example mammals, insects, reptiles.
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Life cycle.
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Lifestyle and personality of the creature.
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What does the creature eat? What creatures eat it?
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Description of the creatures preferred ecosystem.
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Challenges and dangers facing the creature.
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Adaptations that allow the creature to live in its preferred habitat.
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A comprehensive list of the sources for your work.
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Basic fact files.
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Where is the creature found?
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How many of the creatures are there?
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What can be done to help the creature survive and prosper? (Or to control the creature if it is a pest or invasive species)
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Invent a game that can teach about your creature.
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A day in the life of the creature.
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Food chains.
The booklet should contain roughly six pages, as explained in class on Friday and should include illustrations and diagrams. Your goal should be to produce a booklet that would be attractive and interesting for your age group to explore.
MCAS Science homework

Week One
Working with your ‘revision buddy’, your homework for this week is to start reading and reviewing fourth grade science texts. This week you will be focusing on ‘Electricity and Magnetism’, and ‘Animals’. There are 62 pages for you to read. (roughly, 10 pages a night with one night off, or roughly two or three sections per night)
There is no rubric for this work, since the judgment on your success will be reflected in your final MCAS science performance result (received in November 2012)!
Here are the page references for this week:
Electricity and Magnetism
Properties of magnets d11-13
Force fields d19-21
Earth as a magnet d22-24
Static Electricity d30-33
Lightning d34-35
Electric current d40-43
Light bulbs d48-49
Series and parallel d50-51
Producing electric current d60-63
Power plant to you d64-65
Electric magnets d72-74
Animals
Parts that help c18-23
Dance of the bees c26-27
Behavior for survival c28-30
Variety of life c36-39
Classification c42-43
Frogs/reptiles c46-50
Fly, dive, gallop c51-53
Nothing in common c56-60
Notes for MCAS reading
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Anything that seems either too new or too difficult for you to be able to remember in three weeks time, take a brief note. Concentrate on ‘bold face terms’, as discussed in class.
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Jot down any questions you have for discussion at school.
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Draw pictures, make diagrams, etc. Structure your notes in any way that makes it possible for you to remember the key points without having to go back to the text.
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Keep your notes as brief as possible – as long as you and your revision buddy can understand them you’re OK.
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Share out the note-taking job with your partner. Read and work together if possible. Discuss the meaning of the material as much as is possible for you and your circumstances.
MCAS Science Homework - Week 2

Working with your ‘revision buddy’ your homework for this week will be reading and reviewing fourth grade science texts. This week you will be focusing on ‘Weather’ and ‘Properties of Matter’. There are a total of 49 pages for you to read.
You should make brief notes on terms and concepts that are unfamiliar to you. The words in bold are important terms for you to know and understand. These bold terms should be where you focus your notes.
Here are the page references for this week:
Weather
It’s got us covered e10-13
Not too warm e14-15
Feeling the air e21-22
All about pressure e31-33
Wind blowing e38-39
Water vapor and weather e46-47
Watching clouds go by e55-57
Weather in the news e63-65
Light and sound show e68-69
Changing seasons 80-83
Florida is not N. Dakota e86-89
Properties of Matter
Matter, matter everywhere b10-11
Making materials useful b12-13
The metric system b19-22
More about matter b29-30
Compounds b33-35
Causing change b39-42
A change for the better b48-49
Changed for good b56-58
Notes for MCAS reading
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Anything that seems either too new or too difficult for you to be able to remember in a few weeks, take a brief note. Concentrate on ‘bold face terms’, as discussed in class.
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Jot down any questions you have for discussion at school.
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Draw pictures, make diagrams, etc. Structure your notes in any way that makes it possible for you to remember the key points without having to go back to the text.
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Keep your notes as brief as possible – as long as you and your revision buddy can understand them you’re OK.
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Share out the note-taking job with your partner. Read and work together if possible. Discuss the meaning of the material as much as is possible for you and your circumstances.
Enjoy yourselves, have fun and remember:
PARENTS ARE THE BOSSES OF HOMEWORK!
American Revolution
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All homework due Friday, March 30th
Job 1:
Find out about one or more early battles of the Revolution:
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Make a poster
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Write a journal entry using your fictional character
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Design the front page for a newspaper the day after the battle you chose. The lead article should begin by describing who did what, when, where, and why.
Job 2:
Find out about one of the following subjects and write a paragraph summary of what you find.
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Women and the armies
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Africans and the armies
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Medicine and the armies
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Winter and the armies
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Daily life for the armies
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Weapons and the armies
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Clothing, equipment and the armies
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Diet and the armies
Enjoy yourselves, have fun and remember:
PARENTS ARE THE BOSSES OF HOMEWORK!
Homework Rubric Page
This is the rubric location for specific homework projects.
Rubric Home Page
This is the main store of rubrics used in the class.
Writing Workshop Special Rubric