Summer Enrichment Sites

Thank you parents and students for making my half-year with you so wonderful. Here are some sites you may want to remember for the summer, so you can review your subjects and even get a little ahead! 

http://www.time4writing.com/ Offered by the same company that brings you spellingcity.com, Time4Writing has 8 week courses in writing for just $99.  They start at 2nd grade level and go through high school.  Each course is taught online by degreed writing teachers.  It may be a great resource for your child to become more skilled and creative in his or her writing.

http://storybird.com/ This site is awesome, providing kids with a wealth of professional illustrations to add to their own stories.  Your child will have his or her own storybird account, begun in class, that he or she can use over the summer.

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/?utm_source=AWeber&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_content=NL+Kids+Learn+Differently&utm_campaign=DSU+Newsletter
Vocabulary is Fun is offered by the spellingcity.com folks, and offers a variety of games and activities to practice vocabulary. 

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html?utm_source=AWeber&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_content=NL+Kids+Learn+Differently&utm_campaign=DSU+Newsletter
Learning Games for Kids offers a variety of educational games, including several that practice computer typing skills- a skill in which every kid needs to become proficient!

Don't forget http://www.ixl.com/, http://www.spellingcity.com/, and a newer one for the younger kids in your family, http://readingeggs.com/. 

Have a great and restful summer.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Anniversary

In our current social studies chapter (chapter 17), we are learning about major changes the United States went through in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a time period of mass immigration, with many immigrants coming from Eastern Europe and entering the US at Ellis Island. Several students in our class can trace an ancestor to this time period. There were major economic changes as well. An economic boom took place, with thousands of Americans moving to increasingly crowded cities to work in new factories. Unfortunately, safety regulations were far behind the economic progress (as we also learned in studying the Titanic last week). 

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York. This factory was staffed mainly by women of Eastern European Jewish and Catholic descent. It came barely a year after Jewish shirtwaist factory workers had led a strike in New York, protesting the unsafe conditions which would later lead to the tragedy.
 Please look at these links to honor the women and children who perished in the fire.

Watch "Triangle Fire" online (a production of PBS's "American Experience")http://video.pbs.org/video/1817898383/

Jewish and Catholic women of the Triangle http://www.readthespirit.com/friendship-and-faith/2011/3/24/honoring-the-women-behind-the-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-heres.html

Shabbat Rose http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/70017/jewish/The-Shabbat-that-Kept-Rose.htm

Take a virtual tour of the Tenement Museum to see how & where immigrants in New York at this time lived
http://www.tenement.org/

How much was this worth in 1859?

Today in our reading of Elijah of Buxton, Elijah received 5 cents from Mrs. Holton for writing a memorial tablet for her husband. Then Mrs. Holton gave Mr. Leroy $2200 to purchase his family's freedom. We began wondering how much that amount is in today's money. Here's a way to find out!
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/  Enter different amounts in today's money (2009 is the last year you can use) and calculate how much it was in 1859.

Complete these problems for homework, and post as a comment here, or write down the answers to bring to school tomorrow.

1. In 1859 Elijah got $0.05 (5 cents) for his work for Mrs. Holton. How much is that in 2009 dollars?

2. How much is Mr. Leroy's $2200 in 2009?

3. Find out how much your dream car would cost in today's money. If cars existed in 1859, how much would that dream car cost?

4. Ask your parents for the usual cost of 3 items they purchase often (such as bread, eggs, or milk).  How much would those 3 things have cost in 1859?

Websites to check out!

We are beginning a study on exponents this week in math. Here is a really really cool movie (even though it's old!) and a website about that famous movie. You can see how much difference exponents can make in distances!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 If this link does not work, please go to YouTube and search for Powers of Ten Movie.
http://www.powersof10.com/
http://microcosm.web.cern.ch/microcosm/P10/english/P0.html An interactive site.

Here are the links I emailed you this week on Jewish contributions to the Civil War and info on the Hunley, the Civil War submarine.

Info on the Hunley, the Civil War submarine mentioned by Mr. Reed. He said he attended the funeral held for the sailors when the sub was finally raised!
http://www.charlestonillustrated.com/hunley/#
http://www.hunley.org/
http://www.wadehamptoncamp.org/photo-hf.html (funeral photos- check out what ladies in mourning wore- very interesting!)
Here is some info on Jews in the Civil War you may find interesting.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/jewish.htm
http://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/Default.htm

Great Websites for Home!

Hey everyone! I wanted to post these awesome websites for you to take a look at. Some of them I use here at school. 

http://www.aaamath.com/
http://www.mathplayground.com/
http://www.ixl.com/ (can join for a fee or complete 20 problems a day for free)
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/ (great place to print worksheets)
http://www.tlsbooks.com/
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/
http://www.tooter4kids.com/
http://www.brainpop.com/
http://www.starfall.com/ (great for the little brothers and sisters of my 5th graders, learning to read!)
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/


And Mrs. Lewter's personal favorite...

http://www.storybird.com/ (You can write and illustrate your own stories!)

My First Blog- The Civil War in 5th grade!!!

Hi everyone! My name is Angela Lewter and I have recently joined the faculty of Margolin Hebrew Academy as a fifth grade General Studies teacher. I have a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Tennessee (Go Vols!) and have taught in both East and West TN.  I am having a great time with my ten fantastic students. My favorite subject to learn about (and teach!) is Social Studies.  Currently our class is studying the Civil War. We are currently discussing the causes of the war and important people involved in the conflict.  This coming week we will also talk about Abraham Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and how that impacted both the lives of the American people and the outcome of the war.  For more information follow this link: Info for kids on the Emancipation Proclamation Also see this link to a web page on the Civil War, put together by a class in Sleepy Hollow, New York: Civil War for Kids

 In New Orleans, freed slave children joined white children in "freedom schools" after the Emancipation Proclamation.



Reenactors portraying Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass