5th Grade Concert

What a great job all the 5th graders did at their spring concert! All the extra practice paid off and the music sounded great. It was fun to see the dancers and the instrumental parts for one of the songs.

How does light travel?

During our light unit, we have been discovering how light travels. First we found evidence for the claim that light travels in a straight path. When we shined it through a comb, we saw that light rays spread out as they travel.

Then we set up mirror obstacle courses to bounce light along a path. The students planned their courses first, using rulers to draw straight lines to show the predicted path of reflected light.

Next, everyone tested their plan to see if they could reflect the light along the planned path.

Another experiment we tried was to see how things looked different when we looked at images through water. We discovered that water definitely stretched and magnified text and images. Next, we learned that was called refraction, when the light bends as it travels from air to water.

Finishing Our Flags

After several weeks of composing words, revising, and practicing our handwriting, we were finally ready for the last step of our flag project-- lettering the words on that beautiful flag print. Knowing they would soon be completed and framed into the finished project was exciting for us!

Everyone is eager for their families to see the finished product on conference day!

Hoops For Heart

Mr. Hoover organized a Hoops for Heart event at our school which raised money for the American Heart Association. We had great participation, and everyone had fun rotating among the various stations in the gym.

Making Glass Sing

The last experiment in our sound unit was a fun one! The class tried to determine the best way to make a glass sing. Starting with the basic trick of rubbing a finger along the rim of a glass to create a high pitched ringing sound, they formed questions and designed experiments.

After groups decided on their question, they chose containers to use for their experiment.

Will it sing with pop in the glass?

What effect does the liquid in the container make on the sound?

Can you imagine what it sounded like in our classroom that day?

My apologies if any fifth grader brings this noisy activity home to the dinner table! :)

Valentine Party

The class chose games and treats for our Valentine party on Friday. We pushed all the tables to the edge of the classroom and had fun with some active games and relays! Then we enjoyed Rice Crispie treats, trail mix and juice.

Tail Tag

Balloon Battle

Fumble Fingers Relay

Instrument Inventions

It was so neat to see what everyone came up with for their instrument inventions. Many students showed creativity in designing, decorating, and naming their instrument. Some even figured out how to play a song with it! My favorite presentations were the ones when students told stories of trial and error. Lots of great learning happened when they adjusted rubber bands or the container size and made the pitch change.

Everyone enjoyed seeing each other's completed projects. Here is a slideshow of the instrument collection.