Reading and Math

For the past few weeks we have been working on how to do research.  Children have been learning how to take notes from biography books and from the internet, including how to properly make citations, parphrase, and hwo to write a bibliography page for where they obtained their information.  Next week they expand this to using an encyclopedia.  Eventually, in two weeks, students will use all of their notecards from all three sources to write a mini report on the American hero they chose to research.

In math, students have been working with negative numbers.  This week was especially challenging, as they learned how to add AND subtract positive and negative numbers (example:  5-(-2)=).  Knowing this is one of the most challenging concepts to wrap a 5th grade brain around, Miss. Fanning taught several strategies to help the class solve such problems, including walking on a number line, "add the opposite", and using special counters.

The Court House Fieldtrip

Written by RJ-

On Feb.9^th we went to the Court House and we learned about many things, including having a mock trial. Plus, the Bailiff let us see pictures of people who smoked meth. They looked different from what they looked before. So don’t take meth! We also talked about peer pressure and what pressure can do to you. Two jail mates came in and told us what peer pressure did to them and their family.

Wasted Water Experiment

Written by a student in our class-

About a couple of weeks ago our teacher, Dr. Brock, was wondering how many gallons of water is wasted a year from the sink. Dr. Brock and our class decided that we should do an experiment to see how much water is wasted in the school from dripping faucets. Some faucets ended up streaming and we had to use a measuring cup instead of counting drops for our calculations. We did the experiment during lunch recess and 2:00 recess. It was really interesting. After we did the experiment, Dr. Brock went online and pulled up a water counting calculator, which did the calculations for us.

We put in the averages for the data we collected in each class. The result for how many gallons are wasted in a year in Dr. Brock’s class is around 3,673 gallons. That’s a lot! We also figured out that in the entire school we waste over 63,000 gallons of water a year.  At least there is a good thing…next year the school will be revitalized and we will have new faucets and won’t be wasting a lot of water.

Written by Anthony

Skull Sketches

Friday afternoon we took some time to discuss shading techniques in drawings.  After analyzing various photos of sketches of skulls, we applied the art technique to our own drawing.  An elk skull was centered in the front of the room with a light shining on it from the side.  Students drew the skull and then accented it shadows.

Events in Our Room

For the next few weeks in reading we will be focusing on identifying two or more main ideas in a reading and then identifying at least two supporting details from the reading to support it.  This week we are working with one main idea and using partners to ensure we have conquered the basics. Next week we move onto more complex reading and identifying more then one main idea in the text.

In science we continue to work towards the Science Conference in February.  Students have completed their procedures and will have completed their hypothesis by week's end.  After this point, they are cleared to begin their science experiement.  We all look forward to the exciting science the discover.

Our student teacher, Miss. Fanning, started last week.  She will be a wonderful addition to our classroom.  The curriculum will be enriched as for the next several weeks we team teach the class, allowing more time with each students since their are two of us.  As she takes over control, I will encourage her to bring in her ideas and mix them with the current practices in place.  This should be a great quarter for students and teachers alike.

The Kids Court field trip is Feb. 9th, and we have plenty of room if you would like to attend.

Report cards will be sent home Friday.  Please sign the envelope that the report card came home in a return it with your child on Monday.

Wild Sheep Show- Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience

For those students who were able to attend the Saturday conference at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center, we had a blast. We learned all about wildlife conservation. One of the most interesting was a presentation by the NV Department of Wildlife who had their wildlife CSI officer come down from Idaho. Our 8:30 to 5 experience has been amazing. Eric simply says it is "awesome." Isaac replies it "is a blast."

Geological Timelines

This week we began our unit on fossils.  The point was to try to fathom how old fossils are. Using geological timelines, students plotted a variety of fossils according to the Epoch of the fossil.  Fossils ranged from 11.8 million years old to over 500 million. A great start to our fossil unit.