Leg Wrestling

In the novel The Great Brain, one of the characters was learning to leg wrestle. After reading the description of this, we needed to try it out for ourselves!

Reading historical fiction is very educational!  :)

Touring the Ocean Bottom

Today in science we studied the features of the bottom of the ocean. It was so interesting to try to visualize underwater volcanoes, mountain ranges and trenches. Here is a computer simulation of what it would look like if all the oceans were drained!

Legend of the Five Kernels

Reading the Legend of the Five Kernels in school today helped us reflect on how fortunate we are. We wrote in our writer's notebooks about all the things we are thankful for. Trying to think outside the box, we considered experiences, times of learning, and influential people in our lives. We even talked about being thankful for the negative things that didn't happen in our lives this year.

It was great to take time to recognize our many blessings. I certainly feel blessed to have such a wonderful class of students. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hatching Aquatic Eggs

These are the eggs in their dormant state. They are magnified 200 times. 

Without the microscope, they looked like brown powder!

These are the hatchlings after 4 days (magnified 100 times.)

During science, we are learning about the conditions for life in aquatic biomes. We are doing an experiment to find out how salinity affects the hatching of aquatic eggs. After setting up solutions of various salinities we have observed the tiny eggs to see if they hatch. We discovered that the solution with 2 spoons of salt seemed to be the optimum environment for these creatures.

When we look at them with a magnifying glass, we only see tiny squiggles zig-zagging back and forth. Using a special microscope called a Proscope, we can watch our hatchlings swim and see more detailed features. It has been fascinating to observe them under magnification!

Next, we will learn more about this mystery creature...what type of animal it is and how it lives in its natural habitat.

Salinity Tests

On Thursday we did an experiment in science to see if we could use our sense of taste to rate 4 solutions in order of salinity. Everyone used cotton swabs to dip in the solutions and taste on their tongues. Some students thought it was "gross!" but many were interested in trying to guess which solution was similar to the salinity of the ocean. They were surprised to learn that the ocean only has a salinity of about 3.5%

Practicing With the Pronunciation Key

One of our activities in reading this week was to practice reading words that have a pronunciation key. The word "estuary" was written like that in our science books. We often find pronunciation keys in dictionary entries. Having that to help makes pronouncing a new word much easier.

Everyone in the class liked the way it resembles a code and had fun trying to spell their names with a pronunciation key.

We especially liked the shirt Christian wore to school that day. It just happened to go along perfectly with our lesson!

Schoolhouse Rock

Parents, do you remember watching these Schoolhouse Rock videos as a child on Saturday mornings? I decided it might be fun to watch this during language arts. We are trying to brush up on the parts of speech. Since we are doing descriptive writing in our writer's notebooks, using adjectives seems even more important lately!

Reflecting Back on First Quarter

I wanted to share a form that your child completed last week as first quarter came to an end. Each student evaluated themselves on important fifth grade behaviors, marking A for something they do "almost always" and N for something they "need to work on". Most students were very objective and truthful about the way they rated themselves.

Next, each student made a goal for the second quarter and a next-step plan for a way to help accomplish their goal. I look forward to sharing your child's self evaluation with you at conference day on Thursday.

It was a wonderful first quarter with a great group of kids. We all look forward to a fabulous second quarter!

Float Time!

Friday was Float Day in fifth grade. Students with positive behavior throughout the first quarter received an ice cream float! Deciding which flavor to choose was tough, but over all, root beer seemed to be the favorite !

Next quarter's reward challenge is to get all work handed in on time and stay off the MASH list.

The Biome Song

We had fun reviewing biome facts in science by watching this YouTube video. It was made by a teacher who changed the words in a popular song. See if you recognize the tune!




http://www.safeshare.tv/w/EMdhaYZcod

Experiencing Edmodo

Today was an exciting day for us because we launched our class Edmodo site. This is an online community that is designed especially for school use. I am delighted to have a safe and secure way to teach the students about the realities of digital literacy. Being able to collaborate and discuss online is a fast growing means of communication. The class is learning how to post appropriate messages, participate in discussion threads, post replies that are on-topic, and many other features of online communities.

What impresses me about Edmodo is the security of the site. Only people who are invited with the access code can see our page and communicate with the students. Students do not need an email account to be a part of this. Parents are invited to join our group with a special parent access code, so you can see your child's activity online.

Students will be uploading their published essays to our Edmodo page so we can read each other's essays and offer positive comments. I will also be posting informal polls and quizzes related to our lessons at school. If students have homework questions, they can post on our page and receive help and encouragement from fellow classmates. I will be actively moderating everything that is posted on our site.

I look forward to hearing your comments and questions about this new project. All the students are very excited about this new way to extend our reading and writing activities outside of school!

Publishing on the Laptops

This week we published our first essays using the laptop computer lab. This was many students' first experience with Microsoft Word. Everyone learned how to center a title, return for a new line, tab to indent, and the most important thing of all....saving documents!

Once we were done publishing, the students enjoyed browsing through our class website, and doing the activities linked to our site: checking grades on Powerschool, reading and finding their picture in blog entries, and playing spelling and math games.

Studying Bugs!

Last week in science, we did experiments with bugs to determine their preferred environment. Since all biomes have special sunlight, soil, temperature and precipitation conditions, we wanted to find out what conditions these critters would choose.

First, we set up bug runs with three types of soil: dry, moist and wet. We observed the darkling beetles and isopods to see where they went. At the end of the experiment, we concluded that beetles prefer dry soil and isopods like to be where it's wet.

Next, we did an experiment to find out if they prefer a light or dark environment. We found out that both isopods and beetles prefer a dark environment.

Working together in groups was so important during these activities. Everyone learned how important it was to cooperate, listen carefully to directions, compromise with group members and help each other stay on task.

Mystery Seeds...Revealed!

Our mystery seeds are growing zinnia plants! Now that the science experiment has been completed, many students wanted to bring a plant or two home to watch it grow and flower. They carefully scooped the baby plants into a cup and added a lid for safe transport home. As they grow, they will need to be transplanted into a bigger pot.  I will be anxious to hear how the plants are growing at home!

Lunch Time

Lunch time at the middle school is fun! This year, students have to keep track of their own lunch cards, so everyone has lanyards to wear around their necks. 5th graders love all the food choices in the cafeteria. Most days we sit with our homerooms, but if behavior in the lunch room has been good all week, we have Free Seating Friday. That day students can sit wherever they want.

Sheltered Reality

When we walked into the gym for our school assembly Wednesday morning, the place was practically vibrating with drum beats and loud music! It was clear this wasn't going to be any ordinary assembly. A group called "Sheltered Reality" had come to perform for our school, and we all thought they were amazing!

This drum group had the whole school on their feet dancing to the music. They performed several songs and even got teachers and students participating in drum lessons. The speaker shared a simple but very engaging message about personal success and changing the world. They urged each of us to find something we love to do, then use it to help others in some way. Their stories and examples reminded us to take a chance, never give up, and believe in ourselves.

It was a perfect beginning to Club Day. Each student left the assembly to begin a new adventure in their first club and explore a new interest. Many of those new hobbies may become life-long and life-changing passions for the young people in our school!

Our Writer's Notebooks

In fifth grade, students are using writer's notebooks to build their skills in writing. These are spiral notebooks that they write thoughts, opinions, feelings, and experiences in. The notebooks are intended to be a source of ideas they can use for future published pieces of writing. Notebook entries are a way to build writing fluency- learning to think and write at the same time. Writing on demand and elaborating on a topic are also important skills that we will develop this year through our notebooks.

We have learned two strategies for finding topics for notebook entries. Pick a Noun is when students choose any person, place or thing, then jot it at the top of their page for a topic. First they write everything they know about that topic. Then they think about opinions and experiences they have with that thing. Our goal is to fill a whole page with writing!

The other strategy we learned is Reading Reflection. That starts with a connection students make while reading. While reading, anything that makes them think, "Hey that reminds me..." can turn into a great notebook entry. Our class has made connections in our reading and written about themes like: annoying younger siblings, racism, poker face, lost homework, and substitute teachers.

Our writer's notebooks do not contain polished revisions and editing. We re-read them, correct the obvious errors and circle any words we're not sure of the spelling. The big revisions will come when we draft our first essays for publishing!

When we have skill work to do, our notebooks come in very handy. Instead of using the English textbooks for example sentences to practice with, we often search through our writers notebooks for example sentences. Last week we filled our whole white board with examples of proper nouns found in our writing!

Planting Seeds

On Wednesday, the science classes planted seeds to begin our terrarium experiments. Mrs. Byriel brought some Mystery Seeds that we could plant for an experiment. Before we decided on an experiment, the students brainstormed questions a biologist might ask about seeds.  Then we noted which questions were testable and which would need to be researched. Finally we voted on which testable question we wanted to use for an experiment. Some classes chose "How much precipitation does a plant need to survive?" Another class chose "What kind of soil does this plant grow best in?"

It was a great day of cooperation in our classroom! Each group decided on jobs for its members. The students all worked well together as they scooped dirt, measured water, counted tiny seeds, planted and marked them with toothpick flags.

Next week we will observe any changes in our terrarium  and look for signs of plant growth.

Our Class Pets

Ginny and Peg, our guinea pigs, joined us for the second week of school. Although they were very noisy at my house this summer, they have promised to be on their best behavior. So far, they have stayed pretty quiet. A little box ripping and chewing is the extent of their disruption while we work.

Ginny is the black one, and Peg is orange and white. All the students love to pet them during passing time. The hard part is remembering to get to their seats before the chime at the end of passing time! We are working on that and helping each other remember.

On Friday, everyone worked so hard that the class earned a little free time at the end of the day. The students checked out the games & toys in our game cupboard, and even the guinea pigs got out of their cage for playtime! The guinea pigs have their regular food and hay they eat each day, but students are welcome to bring them carrots, apple cores, or dark lettuce greens for a special treat. (Iceberg lettuce doesn't agree with them. :)

Tasting Kimchee

When we started our new class novel, we learned that the main character of the story is a Korean American who can't stand the smell or taste of kimchee. That is a staple food in every Korean's diet, so her family teases her that she should have her DNA tested!

We decided to find out what she was complaining about and taste kimchee for ourselves. Almost everyone in the class felt brave enough to grab a toothpick and have a taste of the garlicky cabbage mixture. Now that we know what kimchee smells and tastes like, some of us agree with her distaste for the stuff. Others think it tastes pretty good and Julia is overreacting.

Ask your child what he/she thought of their first taste of kimchee!

Take Home Tom

A regular part of our fifth grade routine will be doing an assignment called "Take Home Tom" each Tuesday. It is a series of short stories about a boy named Tom, along with reading comprehension and word-study questions. Having this for a weekly homework assignment is an important way for students to grow in responsibility. It's also a valuable assessment. I can tell how students are doing in various skill areas and plan for new instruction.

For the first few weeks of school, I am planning to do Take Home Tom together in class as a guided practice activity. I think that will help students understand the format of the stories, text features, and pattern of questions.  In a few weeks, I will start giving these to the class on Tuesdays to complete independently as homework. At that point, these assigments will be graded and part of their total reading grade.

Many planners came back to school signed today. Having parents check planners really helps the students develop their organizational skills and grow in responsibility. Thanks for helping us get off to a great start!