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Layers of the Earth

We have been eating our way through Earth's changing surface this week.  Make sure you have a conversation about how Milky Way bars are like Earth's surface, and how eggs are like Earth itself.  And check this out:  I can't wait to see what The Crew thinks of this.

How to Prime Factor a Number

We've been doing this in class during math, and the kids love it.  I have to admit, it is one of those satisfying mathematical tasks.  When you're done, you have a nice string of prime numbers.  The students are working on how to use exponential form as well.  Bonus:  can you prime factor 1,500?

Where are YOU from?

This week we have been finishing up our personal renditions of George Lyons' poem Where I'm From.  The kids did and amazing job, and here are a few.  More will come, I promise.  I think they did an amazing job, and the kids' true personalities shine through.

WhErE I'M FrOm

by Eric

I'm from the warm bed in the hospital

To my warm bed at home

From the leaf piles in my yard

To my hot chocolate 

in winter

I'm from my cookies at Christmas

From

Hearing

What

the

Saginaw

Quality is

To 

Clean

In the tub

Where I'm From

by Odin

I'm from Florida or maybe Vermont

I'm from the tree I climb or the rock that says L♥JJ, possibly the hammock

that swings my sister left and right

Maybe I'm from my cousins, my mom, my dad, my brother or sister, the super

heroes that protect me, or it might just be my best friend

Or I'm from the time my pants fell off in a dino museum and said

that dino scared my pants off!

I'm from PIZZA, CAKE, PRETZELS, GOLDFISH, CANDY, GUM 7 of

my favorite foods.

I'm from Lightning Soccer, vacation, snow hills, parties and get-togethers

I'm from feasts at Thanksgiving or presents at Christmas

I'm from mythology, inventing and drawing

I'm from rock'n'roll, or in my sister's case, pop

I'm from fame and the lights that make me shine

or maybe I'm from me, an ordinary kid, just with the coolest life.

Prime or Composite?

Yesterday in math we explored prime and composite numbers.  Prime number are numbers who have only 2 factors (one and itself).  Composite numbers have more than two factors. 

We the People

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union..." The kids in the house might be humming and singing some tunes the parents can't quite put their fingers on...  Yes, it's the old Schoolhouse Rocks videos from Saturday morning cartoons.  We're using them to help us study government, specifically.  We've translated the Preamble to the constitution using THIS VIDEO.  And now we're learning about the branches of government and how a bill becomes a law.  It's all been very musical and lots of fun!
Hopefully we'll have a special video for parents to watch soon.

What a Clunker!

No it's not a car that isn't working.  Today in reading, we began group books.  These books are a unique way for all of us to share our reading thoughts together.  Today we talked about encountering a spot in a book that makes you pause because there is something we don't understand.  "Clunks" can be words, phrases, sentences or whole sections of a book.  Fix Up Strategies are the ways we overcome the "clunks."  When kids are reading independently, there should be very few clunks-- if there are a lot, the book he or she is reading is too hard.

A few more photos to share...

Math Question of the Day

Okay so here is the math question of the day:  How long will it take eighteen fifth graders to get on each other's nerves in a 93 degree classroom during the first week of school?  Exactly five days.  By the end of today, they had all pretty much had it with each other.  However, the day was brightened with cupcakes for a birthday girl... they were YUMMY by the way... popsicles for those students who were willing to pay $5 VCB's for them, and a mini-auction where the students got to see first-hand what kinds of goodies they were in store for.

Here's another math question for today:  How many fifth graders were willing to part with five hard earned dollars in exchange for an ice cold popsicle?  Eight.  Eight out of the seventeen in attendance.  Just to make the economics connection, we talked about what they were giving up in order to buy the popsicle (their opportunity cost), and after we discussed if it was worth it.  We also discussed why some items began at a higher price in the auction than others.  Hmmmm... supply and demand???

Here are a few more photos from the first few days.  In these, we are beginning to explore the heart of the first math unit, patterns and arrangements.  It looks like we're playing with blocks, but really we are exploring patterns, a key step in understanding algebra later on.  The visual, hands-on aspect makes the kids really see the patterns.  Being able to physically manipulate the blocks helps with their understanding of the patterns.

Those little cubes are hard to stack!

Despite the difficulty, arrangements 4 and 5 were built.

We even used 1" cubes, which made the rest jealous!

Height Graphs

One of our first math lessons of the year involves taking measurements of heights, and creating representations to show heights in an organized way.  This lesson reappears in June, and the kids are really amazed how much they grow in one year.  Everyone except me.

The heat is still causing some stir, but the kids are not complaining.  It's only the adults who can't tolerate the heat.

Here are a few more photos from our outdoor work time.  It's nice to be outside, since in a few months this weather will be a distant memory.

JOBS are a topic of discussion lately, as the students really want to start earning a salary.  They are excited to hear about the different jobs tomorrow morning, and they will be asked to choose their top three.  Hopefully they all get what they want.  Bus Patrol with Mrs. B also started today.  That was "HUGE" since many of the kids have been waiting for years to do this.