End of Novel Unit

Today we finished our first novel study. After reading The Sign of the Beaver, students individually recorded some notes on what they thought some possible themes of the book were and included evidence from the book. Next, the class selected 6 possible themes, which were written on butcher paper around the classroom. Small groups had 5 minutes at each poster to add evidence that backed up that particular theme. After much discussion, students wrote a persuasive essay on which theme is the strongest, providing evidence to back up their claim.

Iroquois Soap Carvings

Yesterday students went back in time, pretending to be an early inhabitant of the Americas. Each student pretended a bar of soap was a piece of antler. Using a plastic butter knife, the soap was transformed into a carving similar to something an Iroquois might have carved. Today students will come up with a short historical fiction story telling the story of the artifact.

Adding our Red Worms

Friday we were able to add our red worms to the worm habitats made by student groups on Thursday. Each habitat added about 16-18 worms. Over the course of the next few months, even weeks, we will witness nature's ability to recycle. Habitats are stored in the classroom in black plastic bags so the worms can do their work.

Red Worm Habitats

Over the next few months we will observe and learn how worms can be decomposes, nature's recycler. Yesterday we set up habitats for our worms, which will arrive in on Friday. In each habitat is garden soil (for the finisher decomposers....bacteria), dead leaves collected off playground, some left over organic matter from students' lunches, a few twigs, and damp newspaper. Each jar will house around 16-18 worms.

Iroquois Dances

In furthering our understanding of how the Iroquois people had an advanced civilization, we dove today in understanding how their art, specific that of the Rabbit Dance, led to a more advanced society. After reading and watching the actual Rabbit Dance, small groups selected a Nevada animal to create a dance about that would be worthy of early people giving tribute to. Groups developed their own dance moves and performed it to the beat of the Rabbit Dance.

Food Webs

This week we are working on understanding the complexities of food webs within ecosystems. Monday we created food webs for a wooded ecosystem. Today we move into the marine ecosystem and understand predator/prey relationships within them.

Food Chain

In science this week we learned how earth is a system. Focusing on the biosphere, students learned about food chains a created a woods ecosystem food chain

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