Saturday, June 2, 2018

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Class Update May 5, 2018

Important Dates:

Friday, May 11th- PTO event to celebrate Dr. Parker from  6:00-8:00

Tuesday, May 15th- DARE graduation from 2:00-3:00

Friday, May 18th- Field day

Tuesday, May 22nd- 5th grade party

Wednesday, May 23rd- Half day (last day of school)


Writing:  We took a short break from poetry to write our DARE essays. We will be finished with these soon, and then we will continue making our poetry books.

Reading: The students just finished their Book Madness projects. The class was split into 4 groups, and each group made a book trailer movie for their book. They did a great job! We voted on Friday for the class's favorite book, and the results will be announced on Monday. They really enjoyed working on these book trailers! 

Math: We spent the last few weeks reviewing a variety of math topics that we learned this year. We will end the year by continuing with measurement.  There is also a fun project we will start soon where the students develop a math board game.

Science: We have been learning about food chains and how living things get their energy. We focused on decomposers and how they affect the food chain. The students were given a plate of food, and they created a mold terrarium. Each group chose one variable to change that would either cause mold to form faster or to slow down the process. We discovered that salt worked well to slow the mold. Below are pictures of the different mold terrariums.



We are now starting to learn about some different body systems. We are starting with the nervous system and the muscular/skeletal system. Next week, the students will be creating a robotic finger based on how their fingers actually work.

The students have also been creating zoo enclosure projects. With a partner, each student chose an animal to research. Then, based on what they learned about the animal, they designed an enclosure that could house this animal at a zoo. After they finish building the model, they will evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the enclosure for their animal. 

Social Studies: Below are pictures of the World War I trenches that students built a few weeks ago.








Here are a few pictures from our trip to Truman Middle School on Friday.  The students got to participate in a mock social studies lesson!





Sunday, March 11, 2018

Class Update March 11, 2018

Important Dates:

March 16- Half day- dismiss at 11:50
March 19-23 Spring Break- No school
March 30- No school
April 11- Early release- dismiss at 1:40
April 16- MAP testing begins
May 4- Visit Truman Middle School

Writing:  We finished our unit on argument writing last week. For the second writing piece, the students had a choice between four debatable topics to write about.  They were: should zoos be allowed, should the US keep the penny, should kids have cell phones, and should there be recess in middle school. We had our writing celebration on Friday. After reading a few pieces on each topic, the students voted for which side they were on and wrote down a piece of evidence that convinced them. This week we are learning about the rules for different types of commas, and we will start writing poetry after spring break.






Reading:  We have been focusing on argumentative texts in reading. Last week, the students held their class debates. Each group chose an issue to research and prepare a debate. The students did a great job researching and presenting their debates! Next, we will do a short unit that covers poetry and figurative language. Students will be reading and analyzing poems. We are also doing a fun March Madness Book Battle!  All the students gave a book talk on their favorite book, and we will be doing more fun activities with their books as we start to narrow it down to one winner for the class.

See pictures of the debates below




Math:  We are currently learning how to multiply and divide fractions. We are focusing on word problems and knowing when you are supposed to multiply or divide. After this, we will move onto geometry.


Science:  In science, we are wrapping up a unit on matter. This unit is a favorite for students, and they have been experimenting to create physical and chemical reactions. After this, we will move on to living things and food chains.









Social Studies:
 In Ms. Scalise's class, they are learning about the Industrial Revolution. After spring break, they will move onto World War I and the Great Depression.

STEM: The students were given the task to build a Mars colony when we were learning about space. They had to research Mars first, and they had to plan how they could have an oxygen supply on Mars. They had some creative ideas! When we finished, the students presented their projects to Ms. Scalise's class, and they had to explain their creations.








Monday, January 29, 2018

Book Club of the Week

The Lemonade War book club did a great job of listening to each other this week!  They each participated and helped one another stay on task. 

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Book Club of the Week

Th City of Ember book club was well prepared and stayed focused on their book.  They listened to each other and had a thoughtful discussion about their reading!

Monday, January 15, 2018

Class Update January 15, 2018

Important Dates:

January 24th- Early release day- 1:40 dismissal

January 26th- History Museum field trip

February 7th- Early release day- 1:40 dismissal

Writing:  We celebrated our informational writing pieces right before Winter Break.  Now, we are starting our argumentative unit.  For the first piece, we are looking at the issue of chocolate milk in schools.  The students are reading articles and watching videos that present both sides of the issue.  Currently, we are practicing taking notes from the articles and the videos.  Students will then choose which side of the issue they agree with.

Reading:  In reading, we are also studying debatable topics.  We will be reading articles on a variety of debatable issues, and the students will eventually participate in mini debates about a topic of their choice.  We also began new book club books this week.  Ask your child about the book they are reading.

Math:  We are learning about multiplying and dividing decimals.  Please keep having your child practice his or her multiplication facts until they become automatic.  After this chapter, we will move on to fractions.

Science:  We are starting to learn about the solar system.  We made shadow clocks in the classroom on Friday with paper plates, toothpicks, and flashlights to model how the sun appears to move across the sky.  There are a lot of fun activities we will doing while we learn about space.

Social Studies:  The students are working on a small westward expansion unit.  Students have learned about three opportunities people had back then to move west.  They are now working on a project where they choose which opportunity they would have taken and create something to show what it would have been like.  The opportunities they can choose from are to be an explorer with Lewis and Clark, a pioneer on the Oregon Trail, or a prospector in the California gold rush.  For their project, they could choose to create a journal entry, make a newspaper, or develop a travel brochure.  Students are working on these in class and they will be completed by the end of this week.  Our next unit will be about the Civil War.

STEM:  Right before Christmas break, the students were presented with a challenge.  They needed to build a weatherproof gingerbread house.  Their gingerbread houses needed to be rainproof and windproof.   Most of the houses met the challenge.  Below are pictures of their creations.










Below are some pictures from the Christmas party.  The students had a great time!