URBAN WATERSHED FIELD TRIP

So today was another reminder of how great things are at Grant School.  My class took the first Flat Branch Watershed hike today and everything worked out great.  We used a model where the children brought ipads with with learning materials preloaded on them.  Students completed a photo scavenger hunt of pictures from the watershed.  We discussed each picture and its connection to the watershed.

We made our own ball field at Flat Branch Park

Next was lunch and recess time.  Students used the grounds at Flat Branch as their playground.
Main attractions included whiffle ball, wildlife viewing and litter pickup.

Can you spot the Mr/s. Garter Snake?

Cale and Sadie found one stream critter while others picked up litter.

Students taking notes about a photo on the scavenger hunt.

After our free time, the class discussed a few more photos before independent reading and math.  The sprayground park area was our classroom today and I was so impressed with students focus on their tasks.  Readers answered comprehension questions from an Columbia Daily Tribune article on the impact of a major fire in 2012.  During math, students worked on probability with questions based in the context of a Stream Team litter pick up.

This was our classroom today for independent learning. 

These learners are focused readers.

For the rest of the hike, we did manage to locate only 1 stream organism and a small school of fish.

Students will finish their learning tasks on Monday including viewing a movie about the 3M wetland area and completing a written reflection on human impact, both positive and negative, on urban ewatersheds.

I am very excited to observe students' comparisons and differences next week between urban and wilderness watersheds during our Gans Creek Watershed Walk in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park.

This truly a wonderful group to work with.  Our class has many well rounded learners and athletes with a creative flair.   Today I observed students discuss the role of sediment as a pollutant in a watershed, fool the teacher with a strong fastball, and share a story that began with a sumo wrestler and ended with a butler!  There were many eager scientists today too. Great job, kids!

READ A THON FUN!

The past two days I felt doubly blessed to be a teacher at Grant School and with this class specifically! Yesterday, we took a break from our District Writing Assessment, science water cycle experiments and other academic work to enjoy our reward for raising the most Read a Thon money.  What other 5th grade class gets to catch passes from Mizzou Tiger quarterback Matty Mauk?  Thank you families for this experience and donating to our school for future experiences!  This is one part of our school-community relations that works well and we are ever appreciative.  To celebrate I will share the best shots I got from the time on the field.  I have videos of passes for every kid that tried one.  You can email me if you'd like a video of your child catching or trying to catch a pass from a division 1 NCAA quarterback!

Earth Day Every Day!

Today I felt honored to work with this group of kids.  They were fantastic on the field trip.  All students were All-Stars while having a good time, relaxing and being interested in learning.  I am just going to post some pics below so you can enjoy the day through some photos too.  Thanks for all you do.  See you at the GK-12 Science Symposium or the Grant School Beautification or the Generals basketball game or maybe Earth Day...

Our day started with an unplanned viewing of the Garden Ecosystem Display on the playground. 

Here is all 5th graders behind the display where it was set up at Earth Day.

Ellie won this refurbished bike in a recycling competition during an Environmental Survivor Challenge!

The second bird of prey we saw is my favorite - the Peregrine Falcon!

Next was an Eurasian Eagle Owl!

Then a Barn Owl that even flew for us!

Finally, America's national symbol - The Bald Eagle!

 

 These guys went for a float!

Ooooh - a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach!

We saw this Red-eared Slider.

And this Ouachita Map Turtle.

And these Grant All-Stars specimens too!


Finally, the shot of the day from our professional nature photographer Cale. Sorry this was just too hard to pass up posting!

Our national bird felt right at home in Missouri.

A Wonderful End to a Wonderful Week

What a great way to end a week of hard work and learning.  The beginning of the week was filled with MAP test preparation and lots of writing!  Students have been working hard on putting together their presentation for the GK12 Science Symposium.  They have been asked to find research and construct paragraphs on two organisms that affect a garden ecosystem.  Along with this, they are working together to create a poster to demonstrate their findings on their current science experiment.

We were glad that we could use today to relax a bit and enjoy the sunshine.  The 5th grade class went on a tour of the Solar System! We covered about 5.5 billion miles in 3 hours! Our actual distance was about 3 miles in order to give students a better idea of where elements in the Solar System are placed if the sun were the size of an exercise ball.  As we walked by planets, students took turns sharing their posters-- telling us information we needed to know about important parts of the Solar System.  See below!

Students listen while Amareon tells us about the sun!

Amareon gives us interesting information about the Sun.

Chaco listens in...

Allen, telling us about Venus.

Abeni informs us about moons in the Solar System.

Sadie presents satellites to us.

Thanks Mr. Nies for an awesome field trip!

Today was Principal's Day, as well, so we presented Dr. Wingert with cards to show how much we appreciate her work at Grant. Students used a lot of creativity when designing their cards-- Dr. Wingert loved them.

Another great week in 5th grade; keep up the good work! 

P.S. Remember to bring in memory pictures next week!