We are off to a great start at White Oak Intermediate 5th grade!  We got to know each other as teachers and students, and we turned strangers into friends as we worked through group activities.  They even found out there is a tiny town in West Texas named Noodle!(Ask your kiddo).

Here’s some pictures from our first week!

 

We start working in earnest this week, and in US History, we will begin every Monday with a character quote of the week that the students will write in their journals.

This week’s quote is:

Our ability to handle life’s challenges is a measure of our strength of character

-Les Brown

 

This week we will begin studying the landmasses of the United States, and we will learn about mountains and hills, creeks and rivers, gulfs and oceans and more.

Here’s our vocabulary for the week:

Vocabulary:

region – a spatial area of land that is unified by a common characteristic, such as political unity, linguistic unity, or common climate patterns

landform – a natural physical feature on the earth’s surface

geographic factors  –  physical and human conditions that impact the environments of places and regions

settlement patterns  – the physical arrangement observed by looking at where people live

We will also talk about these terms:

1. Mountain-land that is much higher in elevation than the area around it.
2. Hill-land that is slightly higher in elevation than the area around it.
3. Desert-land that is very dry with few plants in it. 
4.  Lake-body of water with land on all sides
5. River-large stream of water that flows across the land.
6. Plain-a large area of flat land.
7. Plateau-area of high mostly flat land.
8.  Island-land that has water on all sides.
9. Gulf-part of a sea or ocean that extending into the land, usually larger than a bay.
10.  Ocean-a large body of saltwater. 

Stay tuned for more!