Happy Easter Break!

Over the Easter break, be sure to continue to research your civil war character and update your journals.  If you have extra time on your hands and want extra credit in reading, complete the cereal box book report!

1) Civil War Character project - due May 13-16

 Civil War Project Page

2) Be sure to catch up on journal writing.  Journals will be collected for a grade.  Students should have one page for each entry, a heading and a date.

3) Cereal Box Book Report: This is an optional book report for any students who wish to get extra points in reading.  Click the link below for information about it.

Optional Easter Break Book Report

Optional Easter Book Report

Optional Easter Break

Cereal Box Book Report

OBJECTIVE: Students will read their self-selected book and create a cereal box book report at home. Students will “decorate” a real cereal box with illustrations and information related to the book they read using the directions below.

GRADING: Students will be graded on neatness, creativity and the inclusion of all the elements listed below: characters, setting, plot, vocabulary, summary, illustrations, title, author and “star rating” given to the book. 

FRONT OF BOX: Use a piece of white or light colored paper to cover the front of your cereal box.  (You will probably want to create the cover before gluing it on your box.)  Include the name of the cereal and a picture. Invent a name for the cereal that is related to the title of the book and sounds like a cereal. Do not use the exact title of the book.  Choose a shape for the cereal as well as colors and ingredients that all relate to the book. For example, for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, you might invent a cereal called Wizard Wands, a toasted oat cereal in the shape of miniature lightning bolts. 

RIGHT SIDE: Make a list of ingredients that includes the story elements Characters and Setting.  Under the heading "Ingredients," list the main characters and write a sentence about each one. Then describe the setting.  Make sure to include the main characters and the setting.

LEFT SIDE: Write a summary that describes the main problem and the solution of the book.  Try to use words that will “grab” readers’ attention and make them want to buy your cereal. 

BACK OF BOX: Design a game that is based on the story using vocabulary from the book. It can be a puzzle, a word search, a word scramble, a maze, a crossword puzzle, a hidden pictures illustration, or any other fun activity that might  be found on the back of a cereal box. Make sure it includes information from the book.

TOP OF BOX: Include the title, author, number of pages, and number of stars you would give this book if you were a book critic.  The maximum number of stars would be 5. 

PRIZE (optional): Cereal boxes often include a prize. Your prize must be something the main character could have used in the book or something that reminds you of the main character.  You can even include a picture of the prize on the front of your box to let the reader know what is inside the box.

**This cereal box book report information sheet was also given out in class. 

More Civil War Websites & People

  Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 � September 27, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War..
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  Civil War Leaders 
This site provides biographies of many of the leaders in the Civil War, both Northern and Southern.
http: //library.thinkquest.org/3055/netscape/people...

  Civil War Women 
The sites focuses on material that reflects women's lives and experiences during the Civil War. Links to primary sources on the Internet that are directly related to women and the Civil War.
http: //scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/cwdocs.html

  David Glasgow Farragut 
This site provides information about David Glasgow Farragut
http: //us-civilwar.com/farragut.htm

  Death of General Stonewall Jackson 
Death and Funeral of General Stonewall Jackson. A Civil War Resource from the VMI Archives.
http: //vmi.edu/~archtml/cwjacksn.html

  First New York Dragoons 19th Cavalry 
This regiment was organized in the summer of 1862 at Portage, as the 130th infantry.
http: //americancivilwar.com/north/new_york_dragoon...

  Frederick Douglass 
Originally named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, Douglass was one of the most eminent human-rights leaders of the 19th century.
http: //us-civilwar.com/douglass.htm

  Frederick Douglass African-American Civil War Soldiers 
Frederick Douglass recruited over one hundred free blacks from upstate New York for the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts.
http: //americancivilwar.com/colored/frederick_doug...

  General John B. Hood American Civil War Confederate General 
John Hood was a hero at the Battle of Chickamauga.
http: //americancivilwar.com/south/hood.html

  General Robert E. Lee American Civil War Confederate General 
Confederate general, born in Stratford, VA.
http: //americancivilwar.com/south/lee.html

  George Brinton McClellan 
1826-85, Union general in the American Civil War
http: //us-civilwar.com/mcclellan.htm

  George Edward Pickett 
Confederate Army officer during the American Civil War, known for Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
http: //us-civilwar.com/pickett.htm

  George Gordon Meade 
George G. Meade was one of the most competent of the Civil War's Union generals.
http: //us-civilwar.com/meade.htm

  Harriet Beecher Stowe 
Harriet Beecher was a schoolteacher and writer in Hartford.
http: //us-civilwar.com/stowe.htm

  Harriet Tubman 
Runaway slave Harriet Tubman was famous in the North before the Civil War for her work on the Underground Railroad.
http: //us-civilwar.com/tubman.htm

  Harriet Tubman 
The life of Harriet Tubman and her role in the underground railroad.
http: //nyhistory.com/harriettubman/index.htm

  Heinrich Hartmann Wirz 
This site provides information about Heinrich Hartmann Wirz.
http: //us-civilwar.com/wirz.htm

  J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown Stuart (February 6, 1833 - May 12, 1864) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  JEB Stuart 
James Ewell Brown Stuart - Confederate cavalry officer whose reports of enemy troop movements were of particular value to the Southern command during the American Civil War.
http: //us-civilwar.com/jeb.htm

  James Longstreet
James Longstreet (January 8, 1821 - January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost generals of the American Civil War
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  Jefferson Davis 
1808 - 89, American statesman, President of the Southern Confederacy.
http: //us-civilwar.com/davis.htm

  Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis (June 3, 1808-December 6, 1889) was an American soldier and politician. He served in the U.S. Congress..
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

Letters From the Civil War 
A compilation of letters from soldiers, sailors,, nurses, poliiticans,ministers and journalists, from newspapers of the cities and towns of Massachusetts April 1861 to December 1865.
http: //letterscivilwar.com/

  List of people associated with the American Civil War
This is a list of people associated with the American Civil War.
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  Major General Rutherford B. Hayes Citizen Soldier 
Major General Rutherford B. Hayes Citizen Soldier.
http: //americancivilwar.com/hayes.html

  Mary Todd Lincoln 
Information about Mary Todd Lincoln.
http: //us-civilwar.com/mary.htm

  Mathew B. Brady 
One of the best-known 19th-century American photographers, Mathew B. Brady, is recognized for his portraits of politicians and for his photographs of the American Civil War.
http: //us-civilwar.com/brady.htm

  Maxcy Gregg 
One of the Confedracy's most intelligent and cultured men.
http: //us-civilwar.com/mgregg.htm

  Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877), was a Confederate general and perhaps the American Civil War's most highly regarded cavalry and guerrilla leader
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  Oliver Otis Howard 
At the outset of the Civil War, Howard, an abolitionist, was made a colonel.
http: //us-civilwar.com/howard.htm

  Robert Edward Lee 
General in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War.
http: //us-civilwar.com/lee.htm

  Robert Gould Shaw 
Information about Robert Gould Shaw...
http: //us-civilwar.com/shaw.htm

  Stephen Dodson Ramseur 
He began his meteoric rise through the Confederate ranks as a first lieutenant in the artillery.
http: //us-civilwar.com/ramseur.htm

  Stonewall Jackson 
Information about Stonewall Jackson.
http: //us-civilwar.com/jackson.htm

  Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824-May 10, 1863) was an American teacher and soldier. He became a famous Confederate general during the American Civil War..
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  U. S. Grant 
1822-85, commander in chief of the Union army in the Civil War and the 18th President of the United States,
http: //us-civilwar.com/grant.htm

  Ulysses S. Grant 
This site provides a biography and account of Grant's feats during the American Civil War
http: //library.thinkquest.org/3055/netscape/people...

  Ulysses S. Grant Civil War hero American President 
Ulysses S. Grant Civil War hero American President Born in 1822.
http: //americancivilwar.com/north/grant.html

  Varina Howell Davis 
First Lady of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va.
http: //us-civilwar.com/varina.htm

  William Mahone
William Mahone (December 1, 1826 - October 8, 1895), was a civil engineer, teacher, soldier, and a member of the Virginia General Assembly and U.S. Congress..
http: //academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php...

  William T. Sherman 
1820-91, Union general in the American Civil War.
http: //us-civilwar.com/sherman.htm

  Women Civil War 
This site focuses on the Women soldiers in the Civil War. Men were not the only ones to fight that war. Women bore arms and charged into battle, too. Like the men, there were women who lived in camp, suffered in prisons, and died for their respective causes.
http: //archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993...

  Women in the Civil War 
A history of women in the military from the Revolutionary War to present day. Information about sexual harassment issues, current women veterans issues, and extensive information for military women, past and present.
http: //userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets2.html

  eHistory.com - People 
eHistory.com's US Civil War - IMPORTANT PEOPLE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
http: //ehistory.com/uscw/features/people/list....

Civil War Women:

Susan B.  Anthony

Clara Barton

Dorothea Dix

Emma Edmonds

Mary Todd Lincoln

Debra Sampson

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Sojourner Truth

Harriet Tubman

Dr. Mary  Walker

Civil War Men:

John Quincy Adams

John Wilkes Booth

Matthew Brady

John Brown

Henry Clay

Jefferson  Davis

Stephen Douglas

Frederick  Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison

Ulysses S. Grant

“Stonewall” Jackson

Robert E. Lee

Abe Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

George Pickett

Dred Scott

Robert Gould Shaw

Nat Turner

Denmark  Vesey

Daniel Webster

Theodore Weld

Upcoming Tests & Quizzes

Religion:
"Family Life" letters will be sent home next week.  We will begin the unit on Family Life after the Easter Break.
Language Arts:
Reading Log - Due Monday 4/18


Math:
Ch. 9  Test - Thursday

Social Studies:
Chapter 10 - Wednesday

Civil War Living Museum Project

Written Report Due: 5/13
Oral Report Due: 5/16

Directions:

            In this assignment, you will be researching important people from the 1850's through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Your job is to find the reason why each person is important to the Civil War Era.  Students will choose their Civil War Era persona in class (they will draw out of a hat).

*Do not just copy from the Internet. You must write in your own words. If you do not know what something means, look it up, or don't write it. You will be presenting your research in a written report and as a “living museum,” an oral presentation.

Written report:

1. A picture of the person you researched.
2. Write what you have learned about the person’s early years.
1. Where did this person grow up?
2. How did these childhood experiences influence the person’s achievements as an adult?
3. What were this person’s main accomplishments?
1. What factors influenced this person’s achievements?
2. What influence did this person have on the Civil War Era?
3. What is your opinion of this person’s life and accomplishments?
4. How has this person made an impact on others' lives?
5. Quotes and interesting information about the person
6. Bibliography page with sources.

Oral Presentation: 

        

          For this part of the project, you need to become the character that you have selected, complete with costume and props.   You are to use your information that you have gathered to write a two minute speech that is written as though you are speaking as the character you are depicting.  Be sure that you use factual information to complete the oral presentation. The presentation can be written on index cards to help you organize your thoughts, but it must be “mostly” memorized prior to your oral report.

1. What is your name and what is your family background?
2. What city and state are you from?
3. What is your position on the war?  Are you for the North or the South?  Why?
4. What work are you doing in the Civil War?  Explain your job or work. How was it important to the war effort?
5. What tools do you use?  How do they make your job easier?
6. Who are your friends or allies?  How do they help you?
7. Did you work closely with any other group or persons in the war?

            

  

What is a prop?  You must have an item that your character would have used during the war to enhance your oral presentation. For example, as a drummer boy, you would have a drum, or as Abraham Lincoln, you might have a book since he loved reading, or a scroll with the Emancipation Proclamation on it.  After researching, you may get some good ideas about what your character would have used.

Expectations: There is a rubric for the oral presentation and written speech (which will be given to the students next week). The criteria and the expectations are clear.  Have fun with this and learn a lot.  You are becoming an expert on your role. 

Civil War Websites:

Below are several Civil War websites that I have found to be great for research. Have fun exploring.

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html

http://www.americancivilwar.com/statepic/alpha.html

http://americancivilwar.com

http://www.nps.gov/undergroundrr/contents.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/timeline.htm

www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/gettex/

http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm

www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/

Book Orders

Hello 5th Grade Families,

I sent a book order form home on Tuesday with your child.  If you would like to place an order and get a jump on some summer reading books, please place your order by Friday, April 15, extended to Monday, April, 18.

Make it easier, order online and the books will come to the classroom with the other orders! Just click the Scholastic link below.
Scholastic Website

This is not mandatory, but only for your convenience.

Thank you,
Mrs. Lennon

Science & Social Studies

Reminders:
Science Test "Weather and Climate," Chapter 8 - Thursday, April 14.

Social Studies:
Quiz Friday - on Ch. 10, Lessons 1-2

Social Studies Lesson Outlines:

Chapter 10, Lesson 1: Ties to Great Britain (pp. 236-240)

I. Divisions Among the Colonists

A. Country people and city people did not agree over who the British troops should protect.

B. Differences in language separated colonists.

C. Colonists were divided by religion.

II. Benefits and Costs of Empire

A. Britain protected the colonies, but did not tax them.

B. Colonial merchants did not like the British laws that controlled trade.

C. The British governors did not always govern wisely.

D. Most colonists were not unhappy with British rule.

Chapter 10, Lesson 2: The Seven Years' War (pp. 241-246)

I. Rivalry Between Britain and France

A. In North America, Britain and France fought to control the land and its wealth.

B. Indian tribes joined the fighting for both the French and British.

C. The Seven Years' War ended when the British won the Battle of Quebec.

II. Results of the War

A. Colonists were angry when the British saved land west of the Appalachians for Indians.

B. Britain was in debt because of the war.

C. Indian tribes lost power when they no longer could use the French to help them against the British.

D. Colonists lost many men during the war, but learned they could fight as well as the British.

Chapter 10, Lesson 3: A New British Policy (pp. 247-253)

I. Britain Taxes the Colonies

A. Parliament passed the Stamp Act but the colonists protested in anger.

B. Parliament passed the Townshend duties, and the colonists agreed to boycott.

C. Five colonists were killed by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre.

D. Patriots rebelled against the Tea Act by dumping tea into Boston harbor.

II. Colonists Begin to Unite

A. Parliament passed the "Intolerable Acts" that ended town meetings, took away some power from the Massachusetts assembly, and closed Boston harbor.

B. The First Continental Congress voted to stop all trade with Britain.

C. Colonists began to view themselves as "Americans."

D. More and more colonists thought Britain was a danger to their liberties.