Pressure for Air

Dear Parents and Students,

Hooray for your amazing, awesome, aspiring, all-stars!!!!!! It has been a great week learning and growing with each of them. I appreciate the respect they give me and the friendship we share. It is hard to believe they are almost on their way to another year. I wish they could stay, but so glad I was able to teach them this year. Please give each of them an extra wink and smile for me today!!!

This week's crazy Utah spring weather has been PERFECT, not to play in, but to experiment with weather. We made weather vanes, used a anemometer, barometer, rain gauge (before the lawn mower destroyed it), thermometer, and hygometer. WOW! What great metereologists we have.

We also did some crazy mad meteroeologist experiments with air pressure: mixing oil and water, suctioning paper to a cup upside down, pulling a balloon into a bottle, and keeping a ping pong ball in a funnel. Air pressure became a real life magic and wonder to discover right before our eyes!! All the experiments helped the students understand two important ideas about air pressure:

1) High air pressure rises above low air pressure. The disagreement between the two creates wind in an effort to create balance. The stronger the winds, the bigger the storm.

2) Low air pressure creates wind, clouds, and storms.

Be sure to look for science homework in which students need to watch and record the daily forecast NEXT WEEK, BEGINNING APRIL 26TH.

Meters, grams, liters, oh my!!! We compared these measurement units to everyday objects including a fingernail, pinkie finger, paperclip, and canteloupe. Can you think of how many times a day we use measurement? Here are just a few examples: grocery shopping, fueling the car, building, playing sports, taking a drink, measuring growth and so much more. I hope you will encourage your students to continue this and other learning connections at home and in the car.

Our CRT Celebrations will soon on May 2. In an effort to help students CONTINUE build confidence and perform to their best ability, students’ homework will focus on reviewing all that we have learned this year. Each week students are expected to complete 2 practice tests on the computer at home- BUT WITH A SHORT WEEK STUDENTS ONLY NEED TO DO 1. To take the tests on line, follow the directions below. If you do not have access to the Internet, please let me know ASAP, and I will get you a paper copy to take at home instead. The advantages to the computer tests are that students get immediate feedback on their performance. They will know right away what their scores are, if they got the question correct, and if not, what the correct answer is and a possible explanation. Practicing computer testing will also help students prepare for our CRT computer testing. Thank you for your help and support with this! Here are the directions to login. DIRECTIONS TO LOGIN 1. Log on to: www.myutips.org/~ryates2. Click ONE of the following tests DUE BY THE END OF THE WEEK: language arts, math, or science. 3. Enter your first and last name, then click on login and start button. 4. Please record your score on the homework cover sheet.

Our curriculum goals for the week include:

Reading: Water & Weather Nonfiction
Spelling/Vocabulary: Long/Short Vowels & Prefixes/Suffixes
Writing: A to Z Utah Bare BookMath: Measurement UnitsScience: Weather
Social Studies: Pioneers

I love learning and growing with your students each day. Thank you for all your support through emails, phone calls, donations, and bright smiles.

Mrs. Yates