Back in Session!

It has been great having my fantastic 5s back again! I have been so proud of how well they have done with all the changes these past two days!...  LOTS to catch you up on! :)

On our first day back we went over all the "Fun Stuff" (rules and procedures)
*** WHAT'S THE RULE??

***BOYS VS. GIRLS CHALLENGE!!!
          A little friendly competition never hurt anyone!

*** Tickets, Tickets, TICKETS!!!
         The fantastic fives are now all about the tickets. Think of it like money. They can earn it, they can lose it, and they can spend it. I am trying to use this to teach them how to be responsible for their actions, think about the choices they make, and hopefully instill in them a little bit of money management skills.
                               ***Still under construction but we shall see how it works... So far so good!

                      (More about this to come)

***WRITING ASSESSMENT FEBRUARY  1ST!!
           Beginning yesterday the entire 5th grade has been working extra hard on "Beefing-UP" their writing. Students will break up into heterogeneously organized small groups to help target specific areas where the students need help in their writing. Thanks to many willing staff for taking time out of their day to help encourage and push our 5th graders to be the best writers they can be!


*** INVESTIGATION STATIONS!!
            I couldn't be more excited with how well my Fantastic 5s have been doing in their new Investigation Stations...

**** DO YOU KNOW THE FACTS??
           We are at it again! The fantastic 5s will continue to do their math drills....
                                             STUDY! STUDY! STUDY!

**** FRACTIONS, FRACTIONS, FRACTIONS!!!
            Yesterday we started with a review of fractions and then the Fantastic 5s were given an opportunity to use Fraction Tiles to help them solve a problem. It was a little harder than they thought but they did a great job.... steam was rising from their brains with the determination to solve the problem!

            Today we worked on Simplifying fractions. The students were given a problem and asked to find as many equivalent fractions as they could get. Some of them caught on rather quickly and soon became teachers themselves!




****THE MACHINE AGE (Late 1800s)
           The Fantastic 5s have been investigating the changes during the late 1800s. Today they were able to look at different inventions and ideas that were developed in the 1800s.

Here are four posters they made in their groups...


They then took a closer look at a few other inventions and how they changed the way people lived and worked.

In case you missed any of these lessons, take a look at the "Catcher-uppers" :)

*** Lots of Pics will be uploaded just as soon as I can get my camera to give them to me... It is being a little stingy today! :)

Project Day!

Well they have done it! This morning my wonderful students came in with their incredible Solar System projects that they have all worked so hard on!

Take a look....

Impressive work guys!

Now for this week....

It has been all about the fractions and Solar System this week. We have had a lot of fun exploring the planets and discussing all the possibilities if this newly discovered planet.

The students have LOVED exploring the Solar System through http://nineplanets.org/tour/, the "Tour of the Galaxy" posters, along with the various books on the different planets. They were able to use these resources for a variety of assignments in class along with research for their Solar System project that they will turn in on Monday! I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM!!

The students have also had an opportunity to do some discovering of fractions this week as they were asked to divide a number of candy bars and oranges (paper) among both a smaller and larger number of people. There was a little disequilibrium for a while but they worked through it and got the job done!

They did such a great job that at the end they each got an orange to take to lunch with them. I told them that as they ate them they were to think about their fractions.

I'm not sure if they thought about the fractions but I know for sure that they ate them... when I walked into the cafeteria to pick them up thats all I could smell!



Great job guys!!

Flipin' shapes!

I know it has been a while so its time for a little update!

Last week my class was working with geometric shapes. They did a great job keeping up with their flip-books and taking notes. 

After learning the overwhelming number of ways to classify and name shapes I put them to the test! The students got together in partners and created whatever shape I called out using their handy-dandy peg boards and rubber bands. 

      -----Yes, you read right, rubber bands in the hands of eighteen 5th graders. I was just as skeptical as you are but not a single one flew! Who knew? I am so proud of how well my students worked together. 

Just a few of their masterpieces!

Swimming anyone??

Everyone was geared up and full of excitement as they made their way back to school after a much deserved Thanksgiving break. Sadly, much to everyones disappointment, we were all greeted by the newly formed swimming pool where the parking lot once was. 

 

Fortunately the side of the building was clear and students were able to arrive safely. We all began the day as usual... or at least as best we could with all the excitement... I'm not sure about the other students but mine were sure having trouble concentrating on their work.

"Ms. Waddell! The geese are swimming on our playground and the plastic house is floating!"

          -One of my students shouting as they pulled up the blinds to our back windows.

Eventually school was called. After 120 sharpened pencils, the start of 9 acronyms for remembering the planets, and quite a few cold, wet feet, all the kids were on their way home. 

Good luck staying dry!!

Talkin' Turkey!

My class has been working on figurative language. You might remember from another blog, that my class had a wonderful time writing about doughnuts.

My students had the best time with this, and they went on a small sugar high.

A co-worker of mine did a figurative language tree and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I decided to take her wonderful idea and create a Thanksgiving turkey.

I have done this turkey with other classes before but this is the first time I have allowed the students to help with the entire thing. After talking about the different types of figurative language, the students were asked to write their own sentences on colorful feathers.

Once the feathers were complete, it was turkey stuffing time! The students cleaned out some of their desks and started stuffing!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!