What We're Learning this Week (September 30 - October 4, 2013)

In Math on Monday we continued working on multiplying multi-digit whole numbers, up to 4-digit by 3-digit (5.NBT.5). We've realized that it's the simple mistakes that are costing us to get these problems wrong.  Not adding enough zero placeholders or confusing our multiplication facts, for example. Mrs. Elliott wasn't kidding all those times she preached about us HAVING to know our multiplication facts!

In Science, we are continuing our discussion of ecosystems. Our essential question this week: "Is the lion really king of the jungle?" We discussed how lions don't even live in the jungle, but the savannah instead, with special adaptations that allow them to remain dominant at the top of the food chain: sharp claws, powerful legs, strong jaws, etc.

In Social Studies, we wrapped up Chapter 5, Routes of the Early European Explorers, by taking our summative assessment, or post-test. Hopefully we all did well!

What We're Learning September 23 - 27, 2013

On Monday in Math, we began our lessons focusing on standard 5.NBT.4. Our "I Can" statement reads, "I can round decimal numbers to any place using what I know about base-10 and place value." We began by creating a foldable or "flippy", as we like to call them, over rounding and put them in our Interactive Notebooks. From here, we worked on a task card requiring us to round numbers to the nearest tenth, hundredth, thousandth, ten thousand, and hundred thousand. Once we got the hang of rounding decimals, we realized that this standard is a breeze and just an extension from last year!

In Science, we continued working on our second unit with this week's essential question: Why do pandas eat plants, but polar bears eat meat? This got us discussing a lot of content we learned last year in 4th grade, including vocabulary, as we compared and contrasted the two bears and discussed specific adaptations of other animals as well, such as the blowhole of a dolphin, the long eyelashes of a camel, and a monkey's tail that allowed them to thrive in their specific ecosystem. 

In Social Studies, we dove right back into Chapter 5 that we previewed last Thursday before our field trip to Gladie. We began our European Explorer Matrix, comparing the eight major European explorers. We had to research each explorer's personal background, sponsor, motive for exploration, routes they explored, timeline of their explorations, and impact their exploration had upon the Native peoples and the world. We discussed Christopher Columbus and John Cabot and will continue researching our other explorers throughout the week. 

Summer Vacation!

So... Summer Break is flying by! We are already a full month into break and it's showing no signs of slowing down. I just got back from vacation and feel like I need to be in full-on teacher mode, although I'm fighting to still enjoy all my summer days with baby Jackson! He's getting so big! Although I may be fighting the urges to work on teacher stuff, I'm getting SUPER excited about the upcoming school year... I already know my group of kids, although they HAVE been switched up a little, moving back to 5th grade, teaching Social Studies, this year's Academic team, I could go on and on! I've already got my class list and most of my students know whether they'll be in Ms. Deaton's (soon to be Mrs. Dennis) homeroom or mine. I'll post a class list later. I'm excited! It's going to be an amazing year! Lots of changes in store!

Welcome!

A Warm Welcome to Mrs. Elliott's Class Blog!

Welcome!

Welcome to Mrs. Elliott's classroom blog! We are so excited that you have chosen to visit our class page! This blog was designed so that we could share what's happening in our classroom with you, our family and friends. As you explore our blog, you can see our daily schedule, view cool projects and activities that we've been working on and read about the special events and learning that take place in our room every day. We hope by visiting our blog, you can get a better idea of what we do on a daily basis as 5th grade Math, Science and Social Studies students at Owingsville Elementary School! Enjoy your journey and remember to check back often!

 

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