Texas Indigenous Reservations

1. As the population of Texas grew larger and larger, the lives of Native indigenous groups and new settlers came into closer contact. The interactions between these groups of people were a mix of peaceful negotiations and some hostility.  The Native indigenous groups sometimes felt threatened by the new settlers.

On thing that is very important to know and understand about Native American indigenous groups is that all of the tribes were very unique.  If you can stretch your memory all the way back to September and the beginning of the school year, we studied 4 or 5 of these individual indigenous groups.

Remember how the Caddo and the Apache had different weapons? Do you remember that the Karankawa and the Tigua had different ways of building their houses? Well, there are a number of other ways that each tribe was unique and separate from the others.

Now, as the new settlers came to Texas and took over more and more land, the Native Texas needed ways to preserve and guard the language, lifestyle and beliefs of each tribe.  After several years of struggle between the Native Texas and the new settlers, the government decided to make special areas where the indigenous tribes could live peacefully and apart from others.  These designated areas were called, reservations.

Let's take a look at some of the characteristics and special features of different indigenous tribes and why it was so important to try and save their culture, beliefs and language.

Native Texan Facts for Kids

Texas Indigenous Tribal Names

Flags of Various Native Tribes

2. Looking at the following photos, what can you imagine is happening in the lives of these different indigenous peoples.  What can you see in their faces, the garments they are wearing, the surrounding area or the other objects they have with them? Write a descriptive paragraph about what you seen.

Proofreading Practice

Proofreading Practice

1. Last week we spent some time with proofreading texts written by Mr. Frisch. He sure did make some silly errors.  Now we are going to take a look at some messages written by others and try to provide some of our wisdom and insight.

Click on this proofreading website and review the following two assignments that have been written by the professionals, yet may contain some errors.

The Big Clean Up
Baseball Play-By-Play

2. Spelling Words
    Our spelling words this week are sort  tricky. These words are homophones, which means that two words have a similar sound, but differnt spelling. So as you study your spelling words this week, make sure hold on to the definitions and practice sentences that we make in class.

1. Lone
2. Break
3. Waist
4. Passed
5. Sore
6. Cellar
7. Roll
8. Died
9. Past
10. Steak
11. Role
12. Steel
13. Loan
14. Dyed
15. Seller
16. Brake
17. Soar
18. Steal
19. Stake
20. Waste

3. Take a look at the picture below. Make a list of 10 things that you observe. Next, make 5 comparisons between the green center of the photo and the grey surroundings.

Reading Comprehension Story

1. Reading Comprehension

The Poison Dart Frog
By: National Geographic (Adapted by Have Fun Teaching)

      Poison dart frogs wear some of the most brilliant and beautiful colors on Earth. Depending on their habitats, which are from the tropical forests of Costa Rica to Brazil, their coloring can be yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black. Their designs and colors scare off predators.
     You may have seen monkeys carrying their children on their backs. Well, some of these frogs show some of these parenting habits, including carrying both eggs and tadpoles on their backs.  These frogs are some of the most toxic animals on Earth. The two-inch-long Golden Poison Dart Frog has enough venom to kill 10 grown men. Indigenous people of Colombia have used its powerful venom for centuries to tip their blowgun darts when hunting.
     Scientists are not sure why these poison dart frogs are so poisonous, but it is possible they take in plant poisons which are carried by their prey, including ants, termites and beetles. Poison dart frogs raised in captivity and isolated from insects in their native habitat never develop venom.
     The medical research community has been exploring ways to use poison dart frog venom in medicine. Scientists have already used their venom to create a painkiller medicine.

Read the story. Use the information in the story to answer the questions below.  

1. The poison dart frog has designs and colors that help the frog to

 A. Enter a beauty contest
 B. Scare off predators
 C. Easily hide from predators
 D. Live longer

2. How are poison dart frogs similar to monkeys?

 A. They both are colorful
 B. They both are poisonous
 C. They both carry their young on their backs
 D. They both carry eggs and tadpoles

3. What is so amazing about the Golden Poison Dart Frog?

 A. It has a bright golden color
 B. It is only 2 inches long and has enough venom to kill 10 grown men
 C. It is 10 inches long and has enough venom to kill 2 grown men
 D. It can be Yellow, Gold, Copper, Red, Green, Blue, or Black

4. What is different about poison dart frogs that are raised in captivity?

 A. They never develop venom
 B. They never develop color
 C. They are golden
 D. They make great pets

5. How has the poison dart frog venom been used by people?

 A. The venom has been used in soap
 B. The venom has been used on the tips of darts for hunting
 C. The venom has been used in medicine
 D. Both B and C

Famous Texas

1. After studying the parts of federal and state government, we can now see some photos of those famous people who have been our leaders. 

Famous Texans before 1900

Famous Texans throughout history

2. Next, we are going make some artistic projects about a few of these famous people.

Mr. Frisch will assign you a famous person to research, then complete the following questions.

Name:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Summary of thier life:
One special interesting fact you learned.

Picaso Copies

The 4th grade students took some time to copy a few popular works of Picaso and the the Cubism movement. 

Spelling Patterns

1. In our many writing activities we are constantly coming up with words that are difficult to spell and new words that we have not used in our paragraphs.

As many of you have seen in the weekly spelling tests, it can be helpful to group words together according to various patterns.  Remember the week 9 test that covered a collection of words with 'qu', 'squ', 'qui'? Well there are many other patters and grouping that we could make to help us in our spelling practice.

Let's take a look at some websites that show us the proper way of spelling common words. Also, we are going to look at patterns of words that have double letters.

Commonly Misspelled Words

Double Letters

Five Letter Words with Double Letters


2. Check out this photo! What do you think is happening, or what happened to the earth? Write a story describing what you see or how you understand the photo.

2.

Civil Government

As part of our study of cities and famous people we will take a look at some popular government agencies.  We've all seen these agencies at work in movies and on the news.  Names such as the CIA, FBI, or the Office of the President are all familiar names.  We've also heard about the Governors Office, the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. However, do we really know what these departments of the government really do for us, or what it takes to become a member.

 Click here for an exciting website that explains many aspects of government to us.

For our specific lesson today we are going to learn about making laws and the different functions of the United States Representatives and Senators.  Follow this link to enter a website called: Kids in the House

Ecosystems and the Food Chain

Understanding the Food Chain

1. Many of you probably have your won definition or example of what the food chain is or what it means.  Perhaps you've seen this explained in an exciting movie such as Jurassic Park or other sci-fi film.  Maybe you've discussed it before in other science classes.

Here is a cool little game that will help us see the connections between various parts of the food chain. Start here…

Now for some technical definitions and categories, let us read through some helpful information. Click here for an explanation of the various levels and interactions with in an ecosystem.

We can now take this information and watch a short video that helps bring it all together. National Geographic Kids gives us a good explanation.


2. Let's take a moment to use some of that great artistic talent that has been developing over the past few weeks.  Use your laptops to search for some images of your favorite animals, plants, insects, birds or other parts of nature.  Take a blank piece of paper and sketch your own drawing of your favorite part of nature and the food chain.

Here are a few favorites that Mr. Frisch wanted to share with you.

Fridays were made for field trips

Hello parents!

Today we are going on a special field trip to see a live play.  This special trip was arranged for us by Ms. De la Rosa and we are truly greatful.  

Click here to learn more about the Magic Theater

While I know that some of you may be familiar with this book, perhaps others would enjoy the 'Cliff Notes' version.  Here is a link that reviews the play and it's main characters.

Introduction to the Metric System

Metric System

1. Our knowledge of measurement will go to new horizons today as we enter into the world of the metric system. In our everyday lives, we are familiar with using the U.S. Standard system of inches, yards, gallons, etc.

Let's take a walk with Maggie to learn more about the principals of metric measurement. Follow this link for more information.

2. Mr. Frisch will have some data for you using the U.S. system of measurement, but you will need to convert these numbers into metric.
 Click here for an online conversion chart.

3. Yesterday, we entered into the new world of Cubism. Many of you found new and exciting paintings that attracted your attention. Then you had the opportunity to sketch and paint your own personal representations of these paintings. Before we return to finish our paintings, we should use the inspirations of these painting to spark our writing activities.  Looking at the three paintings below, and answer the questions that Mr. Frisch has written on the board. 

Artists in the making

Our class took some time today to look at the works of Pablo Picaso and other artists from the Cubism movement.

Check out these masterpieces in the making.

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that function together. Within an eco system, organisms are interdependent and adapted to the environment. Ecosystems can be as large as a desert or a sea or as small as a tree or a pond. Examples of ecosystems are coral reefs, rainforests, deep seas, deserts, tundra, savanna and urban centers like our city.

Click Here to get some more information and pictures of these exciting living systems.





Another example of an ecosystem that we have read about in class is the rainforest.  Here is a familiar drawing that shows the different layers and levels of the rainforest that allows it to support and reproduce life.

A new type of ecosystem that we have not discussed in class is the African Savannah. Similar to other ecosystems, this unique combination of plants, animals, water and sunlight creates a special environment to keep the earth alive.  

2. Today we are going to venture into some reall cool art. You have been asking about painting, so we will look at a famous painter and try to imitate some of his popular works.  Click here to learn more about Pablo Picaso.

Remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King Jr. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr.

Texas Cattle

During our lesson about the Cattle Industry in Texas we took a little time to draw some of the more popular breeds.