Friday, March 24, 2017

Highlights in 5B: March 13 - 23, 2017

Thank you to all of the parents who attended parent/teacher conferences.  I enjoyed talking with you about your child and sharing their beautiful work.  

Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:

Math Forum:
Students participated in a math forum to share their knowledge about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals.  The context of the problem they were solving was to determine the cost and profit for a fundraiser.  Students worked well together as they created posters to share all of their wonderful math strategies.







Earth's Systems in Science
Students continued learning about Earth's Systems in science.  They investigated tectonic plates by using a hard boiled egg.  The egg represented the Earth.  After they tapped the egg a few times they were able to trace the cracks which represented the tectonic plates. After making some scientific labeled sketches and answering questions about their investigation about tectonic plates, many enjoyed snacking on their egg.














Students also participated in a lab to observe how mountains are formed.  They used graham crackers and colored cool whip to build their understanding of how plate tectonics and earthquakes can lead to mountain formation.  This investigation helped them see how movement of the tectonic plates impact the Geosphere.  







They couldn't wait to finish writing up their lab so they could eat the tectonic plates and magma.. yummy!







Fun with Fact Fluency
Students practiced their multiplication facts by playing a game called Poison Hearts. I am using math games to help increase how quickly they recall their facts.  Any work you can do with them at home to help them learn their multiplication facts more quickly is greatly appreciated. We use these facts every day in math. 

















Sunday, March 12, 2017

Highlights from 5B for the week of March 6, 2017

Iditarod 2017!
The students have been learning about the Iditarod and researching a musher to follow on the trail.  On Friday, 5B presented information about their musher, alongside 5R, during our Friday community meeting. They presented to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. They did a wonderful job!  They arrive very excited each morning to find out where their musher is in the race.  









Volcano Lab
As part of our Earth's Systems unit, students created volcanoes on Friday in science. They each had a job to get the volcano lab set up, and then they worked together to make their volcano erupt.  It was very exciting and very messy... they had a great time! Next week they will be completing their lab to see if they can explain how volcanoes affect the geosphere.










Sunday, March 5, 2017

Highlights from 5B for the week of February 27th 2017...

Our first week back from the February break was a busy one...

Earth's Systems
Students have continued to learn about the water cycle. I created two samples of contaminated water and their task was to draw a labeled sketch of what they saw in the two samples, research how to clean polluted water, and design a system that would make the contaminated water drinkable.  Once their system drawing was complete they had to write about how their system would work.  They came up with some very creative ideas... be sure to ask them about their design.





Later in the week they learned about the layers of the Earth by making an edible model! They used the following ingredients to represent different layers of the Earth:

The Oreo crust represents the crust of the Earth.
The creme of the Oreo represents the mantle.
The chocolate syrup represents the outer core.
The M&M represents the inner core.

When students found out they could eat their model, after making labeled sketches, there were screams of excitement in the room!  It was a delicious way to end the week.













Sled Dogs visit OQS!
On Tuesday, we were fortunate to have the Braeburn Siberians visit OQS.  This visit kicked off our unit about the Iditarod.  The 5th and 2nd grades (our buddy class) listened to a presentation in the library about the sled dogs and then we were able to head outside to interact with the dogs. The students had a great time.  We are very grateful to the PTO for providing funds for this visit!  

Be sure to check out the 2 movies I've posted below the pictures to see the dogs on the go.









 

   

   
 
 


 
   





OQS Spelling Bee
Congratulations to Evan, Lilly, and Kate for participating in the OQS Spelling Bee on Thursday night. Public speaking is very hard; especially in front of your parents, friends, and teachers!  I was very proud to have them representing our class.  A job well done by all! 

Congratulations to Madeline from Ms. Rhoades' class for winning the spelling bee, and a special thank you to Miss Carlock for all of her hard work to make the spelling bee a reality!