PAT Tips: Day 6

Language Arts:

Parentheses (par n tha seas) are a form of punctuation that is used to add extra information for the reader. Parentheses ( )  are often referred to as brackets [ ] or curly braces { }. The average person (including your teacher) often calls parentheses brackets and most people probably don't care what they are actually called. It is important that you try to use them correctly. It is important that the sentence makes sense and can stand alone without the info in parentheses. Some examples are listed below:

• I learned a lot about brackets (actually parentheses) during LA. 
• I learned a lot about brackets during LA. 

• The 49ers (the best team ever) will win the SuperBowl next year. 
• The 49ers will win the SuperBowl next year.

• Man Strength saved the day (shockingly) once again. 
• Man Strength saved the day once again.

Math:

When reading a word problem in math, you have to figure what the question is asking before you can solve it. There are certain key words that will help you understand which operation to use. Here are some words that are used for adding and subtracting:

Addition
increased by, more than, combined, together, total of, sum, added to

Subtraction
decreased by, minus, less, difference between/of, less than, fewer than 

Examples:

• What is the sum of 3 and 5? (adding question with an answer of 8)
• What is the difference between 12 and 7? (subtraction question with an answer of 5)
• If $2.50 is combined with $3.50, how much money do you have? (adding question with an answer of $6.00)
• The temperature was +7 degrees and it decreased by 10 degrees overnight. What was the new temperature? (subtraction question with an answer of -3 degrees)

Science:

The four layers of a forest are:

Upper Canopy- top of the forest formed by leaves and branches of the tallest tress.  Birds like owls, orioles, and insects like aphids, tent caterpillars make homes here.

Understory- level below the canopy.  Smaller trees and larger shrubs.  Provides sheltered space for birds and small mammals (squirrels, woodpeckers, insects).

Shrubbery Layer - level before the forest floor.  Home to ferns, wildflowers stem plants, insects, butterflies, small mammals like mice, and larger mammals like deer, skunks.

Forest Floor- bottom level of the forest- groundcover and soil: where you find decomposers (worms, bacteria, soil insects, tree roots) and dead materials.

Social:

Local government is the government of cities, towns, and municipalities. It also includes school boards and First Nations councils. Local government provides services such as: 

• streets and roads
• libraries
• animal control 
• parks and recreation 
• garbage and recycling disposal
• police and fire department (in cities) 
• city buses and C-train transportation 
• senior facilities, and others