What We're Learning this Week! (October 13-17, 2014)

Standards of focus: Math: 5.NBT.4; Science 5-PS1-2

In Math on Monday, we began by taking our 5.NBT.4 Pre-test. As a whole, we did better on this pre-test than any so far, with 7 of us in each class (Elliott's and Dennis' homerooms) scoring an 80% or better and not being required to take the post-test. This standard has us focusing on rounding numbers to a specific place so we made sure to record notes in our Interactive Student Notebooks that would help us later.

In Science, we completed a graphic organizer in our Science notebooks that helped to further explain the Law of Conservation of Mass.

In Social Studies, we "Read Further" about Spain and France fighting over Florida during the age of exploration. We also matched the various routes to the explorer of which it belonged.

On Tuesday in Math, we completed a "Round and Round..." activity with our partners where we got the chance to practice rounding numbers to a given place value.

In Science, we further discussed the Law of Conservation of Mass and Mrs. Elliott did a demonstration with sugar and water for us. Last week, using ice, we discussed how matter can change states by cooling or heating and the mass remains constant as long as no matter is added nor taken away. Today, we discussed how matter can also be mixed and the sum of the parts seperate equals the sum of the parts when combined. We proved this by weighing a beaker with water and a sugar packet before mixed, and then with the sugar dissolved in the water. We found that both times, the mass was the same.

In Social Studies, we tried something new today: a European Explorer Dice Simulation. We rotated through 6 different scenarios, based upon what they rolled at the previous station. 

(Not pictured: "In Europe", where each student explorer began!)

We did this 20 times; rolling, reading what each role meant, and then going to that station to role again.

After 20 roles, we looked at our recording sheets and then began writing journal entries, pretending we were explorers and using what we rolled and our recording sheet as our guide to tell about our journeys. Some of us never made it our of Europe because we couldn't get funding. Some of us spent months lost at sea, while still others explored vast lands and uncharted territories. It was a BLAST!

On Wednesday in Math, we continued working with rounding decimals. With partners, we worked on football (of course!) themed task cards that also had real life connections, such as rounding money. 

In Social Studies, we began working on our European Explorer Timelines. In groups of 3, we began researching and finding 10 voyages, developments, discoveries, outcomes, etc. of European explorers that we felt were important during the Age of Discovery. We then worked on placing them on the correct spot on the timeline, along with a small blurb and an illustration. We will continue working on this project next week, but so far, they're coming along really nicely!

Science Song! "4 States of Matter"

To accompany our study of matter and Next Generation Science Standards 5-PS1-1 and 5-PS1-2, here's the song we've been jamming to in class the past few days!

What We're Learning this Week! (October 6-10, 2014)

Standards of focus - Math: 5.NBT.3 ; Science: 5-PS1-2

 

In Math, we started the week taking notes over comparing numbers and decimals in our Interactive Student Notebooks. We discussed how important it was to line numbers up according to place value, or the result would be an incorrect answer. 

In Science, we completed an Order Up! activity over the states of matter, that was kind of like the game "I Have, Who Has?" for one person. It was also a great wrap-up and review for the Physical Science standard we've been studying: 5-PS1-1.

In Social Studies, we began our studies of chapter 5, which goes into detail about 8 European Explorers. We researched to find out information about their personal backgrounds, their sponsors, or who helped finance their journey, their motivations, the dates that they explored, the routes they traveled, and the impact of their explorations. So far, as we've completed Christopher Columbus, John Cabout, Juan Ponce de Leon, and Hernan Cortes, we've noticed many of them were sponsored by Spain and shared similar motives.

On Tuesday in Math, in preparation for our 5.NBT.3 post-test, we prepared by what else, playing games of course! In groups of three, we practiced all of the skills that were required by this specific standard. We were ready to ROCK Wednesday's test!

In Science, we began talking about our new focus standard: 5-PS1-2, which discussed conservation of mass. We conducted an experiment to PROVE that the mass of an ice cub as a solid was the same as the mass of the same ice cube after it had melted. After 3 fair trials, collecting results each time, to complete our standards requirements, we analyzed our data and created a graph to display it. Then we practiced writing conclusions, backing our claims up with evidence from our data. This experiment was a simple one, but proved very beneficial in understanding our I Can statement!

 We weighed our ice and let it melt!

Then re-weighed the melted liquid to compared the mass before and after. 

On Thursday and Friday we made our annual trek to North Central 4-H Camp in Carlisle, Kentucky for Social Studies Camp. It's an overnight field trip that Bath County 4th graders have been taking for years to experience Environmental Camp and Science content. Last year, 5th grade decided for the first year to get in on the fun, but to change the classes and concepts, tailoring it more toward Social Studies content and needs. We love it and this year was no different! 

At Social Studies Camp, we did a ton of fun activities that not only tied into Social Studies, but Science, Arts & Humanities, and Practical Living, as well! We went to classes discussing the importance of our water here on Earth and how civilizations and colonies from long ago got and treated water. We went on a nature hike, which discussed various trees, shrubs, greenery, etc., that Native Americans used to both eat and build with. We also learned about mammals of Kentucky, where we got to see various mammal pelts and hear about how Native Americans used the pelts in their everyday lives. 

We also visited an authentic log cabin that had been taken apart and reassembled at camp. It was neat to see how people during the colonial times lived and the steps they had to go through in order to cook, bathe, use the restroom, etc. that we take for granted. 

We learned about the different Native American tribes we were broken into and represented, as well as viewed various Native American artifacts!

 

On Friday, we got to watch a REALLY neat presentation on Falconry! The presenter brought in his birds that he has trained and talked about the length of time, hard work and training that are involved to become a falconry hunter. It was awesome!

 

Of course, as always, Thursday night we did "Sally Down the Alley", which we loved, got us all hot and sweaty, and wore us smack out! And Friday right before time to load up, we did 4-H Olympics. Mrs. Elliott's class didn't fair so well, but we all had fun and still got treats! All in all, 4-H Social Studies camp was a blast and we can't wait to go back again next year!

What We're Learning this Week! (September 29-October 3, 2014)

In Math this week, we began by taking our pre-test over standard 5.NBT.3, which turned out to be the best pre-test scores so far! We had 3 students in green, meaning they scored an 80% or better and don't have to take the post-test, quite a few in yellow, indicating a score of 60-70%, and although we had more red (50% or lower) than anything, MANY of those reds were right at 50%, meaning they were BARELY red. All in all, these scores are still fine, considering this was a pre-test and skills hadn't been taught yet. 

In Social Studies, we began discussing Explorers and the tools they used during exploration. We worked both Monday and Tuesday on reading about various underwater "ship-wrecked" artifacts, noting what they did, what they were used for, and then sorted them into categories, such as a navigational tool used, an item brought back from the New World, etc. Wednesday we "Read Further" about Christopher Columbus and completed a Processing activity that required us to write in an "Exploration Log" about one artifact that we used to help navigate our trip and one artifact that we brought back with us, which allowed us to integrate Writing in Social Studies! A win-win!

In Science, we continued working on Matter and its states. Monday we watched a BrainPop over the 3 states of matter and completed an activity. Tuesday and Wednesday we completed comprehension handouts about liquids and gases. Finally, on Thursday, with partners, we did a simple States of Matter Sort. 

Thursday in Social Studies we opted not to take our end-of-the-chapter test and, since the weather was great, took a walk instead! We listened to the podcast about Marco Polo to help kick off our next chapter about specific explorers, their backgrounds, reasons for exploration, etc. 

What We're Learning this Week! (September 22-26, 2014)

On Monday in Math, we took our pre-test for standard 5.NBT.2. The same rules applied as our previous pre-test: any student scoring an 80% or better doesn't have to take the post-test. Unfortunately, no one got an 80% or better, but we're definitely motivated to improve our scores!

In Science, we continued with our iLearn Science PowerPoint, focusing on "Experiments". We discussed how each experiment begins with a testable question, then research is done, and finally a hypothesis created. We also set up our Skittles Experiment. Our question was "Do Skittles dissolve faster in hot water or cold water?"

In Social Studies, we continued researching and working on our Native American Tribes research projects. After researching last Friday, we began putting our information together and organizing our projects. 

On Tuesday in Math, we practiced solving problems using exponents and powers of ten. We discussed how there is a pattern that is created and how you're really only moving a decimal point and adding zeroes. 

In Science, we completed our Experiment notes, which discussed collecting, analyzing and communicating data. We also completed our Skittles Experiment. 

We discovered that Skittles dissolve faster in warm water!

In Social Studies, we continued working on our projects. They're coming along and looking better day by day!

On Wednesday, it was more of the same! In Math, we continued working with powers of 10 by completing a Powers of 10 Match Up activity with partners. This helped clear up some of the issues a few of us were still having.

In Science, we completed our iLearn Science PowerPoint, which has taught us SO much about Science Process Skills. Today's wrap-up discussed "Communication", both informally and formally, which was perfect timing since we finished up our Native American Tribe projects and are ready to present those as well!

What We're Learning this Week! (September 15-19, 2014)

The school days sure are flyin' by! Today in Math we continued our study of place value and standard 5.NBT.1. We worked with partners to complete a "Base Ten Blast" activity, requiring us again to apply the concepts we have been discussing to the place value chart. 

In Science, we discussed how our "I Can..." Statements, with an engineering focus, relate to the activities and skills we have been learning and practicing in class. 

In Social Studies, we wrapped up our chapter 3 readings, which focused on Native American cultural regions. We have now discussed all 7 regions, located them on a map, discussed the tribes that live in each region, and matched home, clothing, and miscellaneous artifacts to tribes that live in each region.  We also "Read Further" and compared and contrasted the lives of Native Americans of 4 different tribes, discussing how the men's work, women's work, food, homes, artwork and crafts all differed. 

On Tuesday, we practiced the skills we have been working on as part of our 5.NBT.1 standard one last time before our post-test on Thursday. Working in groups of 3 with one person being the official "checker", we played a game that had us using comparative sentences to compare the place value of two different numbers. We loved this activity!

In Social Studies, we began our Processing activity requiring us to write a letter to a movie director telling them how the script to their latest movie needed changed to correctly portray Native Americans of the Northwest Coast. We didn't get finished with these, but it did spark some interesting conversation about stereotypes and how we should avoid this type of thinking. In preparation for our Kentucky Living Archaeology field trip to Gladie in Red River Gorge, we also listened to our Walking Classroom podcast over Tecumseh. Unfortunately, due to nasty weather outside and the gym already having two classes because of M.A.P. testing, we weren't able to actually take a walk. So, we improvised and listened to the podcast inside. Some of us sat and chilled out while we listened, using it as time to de-stress, while others of us walked laps around the room as we listened to get our blood pumping and flowing. It was a bit crazy, as everyone was doing their own thing, but it worked! Organized chaos at its finest!

Wednesday we M.A.P. tested for Math, which took almost the entire time we were with Mrs. Elliott. Before we tested, we discussed how the goal for Fall, to be considered "on-level" as a 5th grader, was a score of 213. If we were above that already, we were to try to increase our scores as much as possible and if we were below that, it was what we were shooting for. We also talked about how important it was we try our hardest, as Mrs. Elliott uses the information to group us and to base her lessons upon. Of course there was also some friendly competition involved! Mrs. Elliott pitted her homeroom against Mrs. Dennis' homeroom to see which homeroom, as a whole, could reach a proficiency of 70% or better first by the end of the year! Between the two homerooms, there were 3 people absent who haven't tested yet, but so far, the highest score to beat is Shane Davis with a score of 239! He did an AWESOME job!

On Thursday in Math, we took our 5.NBT.1 post-assessment and analyzed our results in our Student Data Notebooks. We also updated our "Status of the Class" poster with information from our scores. MANY of us improved our scores greatly and got to move our post-it notes from the "red" to the "green" columns, showing we had fully mastered the required skills. 

In Social Studies, to wrap up our unit over Native American Cultural Regions, we began working on our Native American Research projects. In groups of 4, we picked a tribe we were interested in researching that we had already discussed. These included the Inuit, Seminole, Lakota Sioux, Iriquois, and Hopi. Next, we began researching information using a variety of resources. We used our classroom computers, KindleFires, trade books, notes, and text books. Specifically, for our presentation, we were looking for information regarding their homes, food, natural resources, culture, location, and other interesting facts that might not necessarily fall into of the other categories. We will continue researching into next week before working on our presentations. 

 

 

On Friday, we took our first field trip of the year to the Kentucky Living Archaeology event at Gladie, located in Red River Gorge. We LOVED this trip, as we got to experience so many hands-on activities. We got to use old time machinery to prep corn to be turned into meal, we watched a blacksmith manipulate pieces of random metal into useful items, we turned pieces of wool into thread, we felt furs and pelts and saw a variety of different tools and weapons used in the past, we created necklaces using arrowheads as drills, as many Native Americans did, we made pots out of clay native to Kentucky, we watched flint-makers create arrowheads out of random pieces of rock, we watched how to create long-bows out of trees and thin pieces of wood, we got to watch and even participate in a Native American ceremony, and MUCH, MUCH more! The weather was amazing, we were the best-behaved group there, and it was an all around wonderful day in 5th grade land!