Thursday, January 17, 2019

HAPPY POTLATCH!

Whew!  We really did make a Native American museum in 5th grade! Thanks again to all that helped.  I will be updating the previous post with more pics of our great work.  Seeing all the work displayed in the gym was really impressive.  It also provided a nice atmosphere for our feast! Throughout the week, students have been sharing their awesome Native American work.  We have cataloged examples of Native Americans as incredibly resourceful, artistic, spiritual people who appreciate family and community.  With the end of of this social studies unit, we will are already starting the next!  Please refer to the weekly update for each subject below.

MATH: We are working quickly through Unit 4 on decimals.  This week was a focus on Coordinate Grids.  Next week, we will move to adding and subtracting decimals before taking the Unit Test.

READING: In reading, we are reading nonfiction books on European Explorers.  Next week, we will also take the January STAR test and choose books for our Journey Book Clubs.  All students will be reading an award winning book with a plot centered around a character on a journey.

SS/WRITING: We are moving to our Discovery Unit.  This unit focuses on the Age of Exploration.  We will be focusing on the old European Explorers leading up to the formation of the American Colonies.  We will also bring in stories of modern explorers from various backgrounds.   During this unit, we will focus on Narrative writing technique as we read stories of explorers' adventures.

SCIENCE:Our Spider Plants have been properly propagated and we are taking data each week on various aspects of growth like leaf number and leaf length.  During the week, we will be focusing on experimental design and modeling photosynthesis.  We are also planning and designing the Ecooschoolhouse greenspace for our community project.

 

 

 






Monday, January 7, 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We are celebrating the New Year by wrapping up old projects , especially our Native American museum exhibits.  We have extra class time this week to complete final copies of writings, speeches, physical models, lesson plans, poster boards, documentaries, slideshows - you name it!  We will celebrate our work next week with by presenting 4 or 5 exhibits a day (we will determine the days/times later this week so folks can attend if they would like).  On Thursday, January 17, we will have our Potlatch.  It is a yearly celebration of our Native American learning.  There is a letter describing how you can help with this fun event in the "Tuesday" Folder. On January 17th, we will have a feast in the gym at lunch time.  Also, student museum exhibits will be displayed.  Furthermore, there will be Native American storytelling and music in the afternoon.  Please join us in celebrating our awesome work!

Below is a list of our current work and please check the Important Dates section updated for January.

READING:  Kids have a few days to work on book shares and read other material before we get back into another book club cycle starting January 22.  We are also using this time to work on the NA exhibits.  Students should have 5 book shares completed by the end of January.

WRITING/SS:  We are writing the final copies of our NA exhibits.  Students enjoyed writing about Winter Break this week.

MATH:  We are moving quickly through our Unit 4 on decimals. Students are ordering and comparing decimals and will get some practice with coordinate grids in this unit. 

SCIENCE:  We are setting up an in depth Spider Plant experiment.  We are also working on our community project design for the Ecoschoolhouse green space.