Choosing our Scarecrow

Written by a student in Dr. Brock’s class-

One week ago we sat down and we had to come up with ideas for the building our scarecrow for the festival. First we came up with ideas. Some came from our social studies book and some just popped into our minds. We collected lots and lots of ideas. Next we took a vote. The ideas that didn’t have very many votes were out. Then we took another vote. Now, lots of ideas were out. And finally we took the last vote and we ended up with Crazy Horse. And that’s how we chose Crazy Horse for our classroom scarecrow.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Monday was Talk Like a Pirate Day (internationally if you can believe).  The fifth grade brought in this excitement to our learning on this day.  In math, we solved multiple mathematics problems associated with pirates.  In reading intervention, we read a sea poem and analyzed it.  Later this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, students will continue to capitalize on the excitement by doing experiments with surface area and density as they try to float the "booty" (fancy marbles) in aluminum boats they create.  Feel free to ask your child how surface area impacts buoyancy on Thursday night (after our lab is finished Thursday).

Separating Mixtures and other Happenings in 5th Grade

In social studies this week students in our class are learning about the migration to the Americas.  It is hard to believe we will cover so much this year, from migrating to the Americas all the way to the Civil War.  In math we are beginning to work on squared numbers.  We are moving slowly on this so that each child comprehends that 6 squared is 36, etc.  Eventually we will reverse this process and find the square root of numbers.  In science students began making basic mixtures and are on their way to separating them back into their original components.  This was easily done with a screen filter on gravel and water, but unsuccessful with the powder and salt.  Students will try another method on Thursday and yet another down the road, as one is a special mixture called a solution.

Below are a few photos of science this week. If they don't appear (they don't on my end when I get the email), simply click on the blank spot and they will show up.

Science Unit Begins

We have officially started our mixtures and solutions unit in science.  This week, students set up and observed the materials that will be used for the next few labs.  They included gravel, diatomaceous earth, and sodium chloride (NaCl).  Feel free to ask your child to explain what these items are. You can even ask your child to pass you the sodium chloride or NaCl at the dinner table and you should be passed the salt.  However, your child might ask you this before you get the chance.

Archaeology Dig

The first week of school came and went, with success.  Besides the usual procedure practice the first week, the school participated in a walking fieldtrip of the school.  During this time, students were reminded of the rules for every location at the school.  They were also introduced to the new Bear Paw reward system that the school has put in place. 

Social studies was kicked off with a bang as students ventured to the sand pit, which had been transformed into an archaeology dig site.  Groups of students excavated their site for artifacts.  As they dug up an item, they photographed it, recorded its location on a map, and wrote a basic description. After returning to the classroom, students began piecing together the clues from the artifacts. On Friday, students completed an archaeology form for their "supervisor"  which discussed their findings and assumptions of the people's culture.

Welcome to 5th Grade and the 2011-2012 School Year

Welcome back from another summer vacation.  I hope you enjoyed your time off and at the same time were able to expand your horizons through recent life experiences.  This year holds many exciting opportunities. Be ready for a firm handshake the first day of school as I welcome you to the beginning of your 5th grade year on August 29th.

End of the Year

We are quickly approaching the end of the school year. My how time flies.  In an effort to drive academic instruction to the final days, we will be incorporating multiple disciplines we have learned this year to carry out a variety of projects.

The week-long project we are currently working on involves collecting data involving automobiles.  Yesterday we discussed how companies do in-depth research before sinking funds into making products.  The challenge this week for math, science, art, and writing is to develop a new car or truck based upon the characteristics of the most commonly seen automobiles.  We collected a variety of data on vehicles that drove by the school yesterday on Plumb Lane.  Today students will calculate percents on the vehicle's characteristics (on the many, many cars we saw in 15 minutes).  Later this week students will transform these percents into accurate circle graphs to display the information.  They will then design their own car based upon the most commonly seen traits and create an advertisement which persuades others to purchase it, while at the same time backing up their claims with data they collected.

In social studies, students are narrowing down the top 15 events from U.S. history and designing an accurate time line to display the events they feel had the most impact on American history.

In science, a variety of small labs/lessons will be carried out. One lesson will focus on germs, using a special dust that glows under UV light.  Students will see how quickly germs can spread.  Another lab will challenge students to discover if the size of a ball effects its speed as it rolls down a ramp.  We will also be investaging some new materails I collected this year on wind energy and solar energy.  We have had the wind, we just need to have a little sun too for this lab.

Next Tuesday, June 6th, is our field day for the first two hours of school.  Students will rotate around to a variety of stations around the school.  This is also when we will have a little celebration during lunch time.  Thanks for all those who will help contribute food for this.

That afternoon students will fill out some information, which is exactly the same as the Time Capsule they filled out the first few days of school.  They will then get their original Time Capsule back that they filled out and compare their answers to see how they have changed (and stayed the same with certain likes/dislikes).  It is always a fun time. 

Our last day of school will be on June 8th.  Thank you so much for such a wonderful year.  This has been an amazing class!