Reading Week ROCKS!

The week before spring break celebrated Reading Week.  Our class participated in themed events each day.  The last day many students dressed up for a final finale to our "Reading Rocks" theme.

Other activities this week included Poem in a Pocket, guessing passages from books, and more.

It didn't stop us from learning though.  We have been working on a novel titled "Dreamsong".  We will finish the book after spring break.  In social studies, we are moving into understanding the reasons the nation became divided in the 1800's leading up to the Civil War.  In science, we are beginning to conclude our unit on mixtures and solutions.  Today students will compare solubility between a saturated solution of salt water and a saturated solution of powdered citric acid and water.  They are all becoming very good at the metric system and using graduated cylinders to measure liquids.  After the break, Monday will start out with Star Lab, followed by a big unit on space science.  Writing is focusing on research.  We have learned about bibliography pages and have begun researching our characters for the book report and Museum Day.

Students are now going to continue this research on their own for their book report book, using the notecard process learned in class.  At the completion of their book report, we will research in class using two other sources and take notes on those as well.  Museum Day will be a great success!

Museum Day

We will begin working on a large scale report on a person who is an American hero, either someone who was an American or greatly influenced America.  Starting this week, students will sign up for the person they want to research and eventually become.  Our book report for the next 3 weeks will be a biography on their person.  Later this week they will learn how to take notes on notecards on important information as they read their book.  These notes, along with the book report, will become the first source for their big report.  Following the book report, which is due April 29th, students will continue researching using one internet site and an encyclopedia.  Creating a well written bibliography page to go along with the report is part of the assignment, as well as citing sources if using quotations.

Finally, the end finale is Museum Day.  On May 10th (times to be determined later by the 5th grades), parents are invited to tour our "museum".  Students will be dressed up their costume representing their person in history.  Simply pushing a "button" on their arm will activate a 3 minute, memorized oral background of the person.  Over 75 fifth graders presenting America's influential people...what a great time that will be!

We began checking out biographies last week in library.  We will continue to do so Wednesday of this week.
The public library is also a great resource.