Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget

Today in Math, students were given a shopping list and grocery store add to complete their Thanksgiving dinner budgets.

LATE DAY START STEM-SATIONAL

NOVEMBER 9th, 2016

Fifth grade students were divided into teams and challenged to create the tallest free-standing spaghetti tower with a marshmallow on top. The teams were given 5 -10 minutes to plan and design their tower and then 18 minutes to construct. They materials they received to complete their project were: 1 yard of string, 1 yard of masking tape, scissors, 1 marshmallow, and 20 pieces of spaghetti.

A Little Note

Dear Parents,

The months of September and October have come and gone in quite a rush! I apologize for not keeping up with the blog as I was hurriedly trying to keep up with your students. Wow! The things they have learned in the past few months are literally out of this world! Just a month ago many of them believed that the moon glows and that the Sun is the biggest star in the universe. Now they know that the moon reflects the Sun and that our Sun is just an averaged sized star. The reason our Sun appears to be so large is because it is actually closer than the other stars.

Your student has ventured to Old Iron Days in Fredonia for a field trip, experienced Family Fun Night, and decorated downtown for Fall.We have had Halloween festivities and even had a funeral for dead words. They have been paid with the 5th grade money each week for performing the tasks that are expected of then and were then able to use that money to purchase items or coupons in the class store.

Before Thanksgiving a few of the exciting things your child will experience are dissecting an owl pellet and traveling to Wichita to the Symphony. They are also decorating programs for the Veteran's Day program that will take place on Friday, November 11th at 9:00am.

Thank you for all of your support with supplies, words of encouragement, and a great Halloween party.

I will be adding pictures to the blog showing some of the activities that I have mentioned above.

Sincerely,
Mrs.Burden

FUN WITH SCIENCE

Students completed more experiments in Science this week when they explored Mixtures and Solutions and Identified White Powders.

White Powder Experiment 
Students were given Borax, Salt, Sugar, Baking Soda, and Cornstarch to make observations about them. They used their senses of sight and touch to make observations and recorded properties such as granule size, texture, and color. They also used comparisons such as salt if finer than sugar. Then they recorded observations of reactions or changes to the powders when water, iodine, and vinegar were added to them. The students were then given the same powders but this time they were not identified. They had to use their observations to determine which substance was which.

Mixtures and Solutions
A candy mix and lemonade, what a fun and tasty way to learn about mixtures and solutions! The students were given a plastic baggie full of pretzels, goldfish, candies, and marshmallows. Then they were asked to separate the mixture into two different ways. They were also given 3 different types of lemonade: one was diluted, one was concentrated, and one was just right. Of course they had to taste test them to make observations!:)

ONOMATOPOEIA ART
In Reading the students completed posters using Onomatopoeia.

This Week In Review

We have had a busy week! Science experiments about matter, Spelling with shaving cream, acting out idioms in Reading, and lining up decimals in Math!  We even took our MAP tests in Reading and Math and Mr. Hoyt, the new Superintendent of USD #389 came to visit the whole 5th grade.

Reading - Idioms are common phrases that don't mean what they actually say. Confusing right? It's like the phrase, "It's raining cats and dogs." There aren't really cats and dogs falling from the sky; that just means that it is raining really hard. My reading students acted out idioms for part of our Figurative Language Unit.  

Click on the video below and try to guess which idiom they are acting out. 

Spelling - Who says making a mess is just for the younger grades? In Spelling one activity my class did this week was to write their words in shaving cream to practice. They had a great time learning! They would like to do this every week, but I'm not sure I would like to clean up the mess every week.

Click on the picture above to see a video of me teaching the students while they practice their spelling words.

Math this week was spent learning about decimal place value and how to write a numbers in fraction, decimal, and word form. In one activity, students used cards to make numbers from word form.

Science this week was spent learning about matter and how the particles in a liquid, solid, and a gas are different from each other. Students used chocolate candy melts to observe a liquid and solid form and discuss how the particles in a liquid and a solid are different.

Visit from the Superintendent - Mr. Hoyt shared a little bit about himself with the 5th grade students and then they had the opportunity to ask him a few questions.

Scientific Method to Matter

This week in Science we have been learning about the Scientific Method and States of Matter. Thursday the students were put into teams to complete a Scientific Method Sort that included examples of each step. They needed to put the steps in sequence with their examples.

Click on the picture to see one team work out the steps.

Friday we started our unit on the 3 States of Matter. Students watched a short video and then worked with their teams to demonstrate solid, liquid, and gas.

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

Your student has a homework project this weekend to create a model that shows solid, liquid, and gas. They will need to glue items on to the paper that was provided. Have a great weekend!

Chemilum-a-what?

Chemilum-a-what?

Chemiluminescence is not just a big word. Ask your student what reaction occurs when they use a glow stick. Most of them will be able to tell you chemiluminescence. Not only a big word, but also a really cool one that we learned in Science today! Chemiluminescence is when substances are mixed to create an emission of light.

You might also want to ask them what bioluminescense is. We only talked about it briefly but if they answer something about lightening bugs lighting up, they are correct!

We used the Glow Stick experiment to help discuss the Scientific Method and making observations. .Your student made observations about a glow stick, then predicted what they thought would happen we they bent the stick, and then recorded their observations again. They were challenged with using 4 of their 5 senses to make observations. Lastly the students made a hypothesis on how they think a glow stick works. We then watched a video clip that dissects a glow stick and explains the chemical reaction (Chemiluminescence) that takes place.

The Scientific Method
State the Problem
Form a Hypothesis
Observations
Materials/Procedures
Results/Data
Conclusion/Report Results

Learning by Experience

Killer Whale in the Galapagos Island - Summer 2016 Photo by Michele White

Today I started my science lesson in the classroom and read aloud facts about whales to my students. Most of the time they were listening but I knew I was losing some of them as I read. It was a long passage with a lot of information, even I got distracted and I was the one reading it. Then I had them use fact cards and highlight the coolest facts about the whales that they could find. Next they worked with their teams and each student got 10 seconds to share their coolest facts. The students had picked some pretty spectacular facts like: A male Narwhal has a 3-10 foot long tooth or tusk. . A Killer Whale is actually in the dolphin family. The Blue Whale eats 3 tons of food per day.

None of the students were impressed with the size of the whales. When I asked them about the size they said it wasn't a big deal. This is where the real learning begins.........

The students are all types of learners. Some of them learn by hearing me read the facts aloud and were able to comprehend and remember most of the information while others were able to learn with the fact cards and sharing with their teams. I knew what what capture all of their attention and make a bigger impact on them so I took them outside.

We learn, all of us, by experience. Since we live in Kansas, most of the students have never seen a marine animal up close. Unfortunately, I couldn't make that happen for them, but I could take them outside and have them walk. We went outside and walked steps to approximate the size of a Dolphin, Great White Shark, Killer Whale, Humpback Whale, and lastly a Blue Whale. The kids were really excited after walking out a Great White and a Killer Whale; they could eat us whole!!! The kids couldn't wait to walk out the next animal after each one they turned and looked back in awe. The Blue Whale was last, did you know that a Blue Whale can be as long as 110 feet? Have you ever walked that out to see how big that really is? Try it! You will be amazed at how enormous these amazing creatures are.

At the end of my lesson the kids all decided that the coolest fact they learned today was that a Blue Whale can be around 110 feet long. When they first read the fact in the classroom, they didn't understand what that truly meant. My goal this year is to help these 5th grade students learn by experience.

Mrs. Burden's 2016 Fifth Grade Class

Mrs. Burden

Cole A

Cody B

Trayton B

Reese B

Makayla B

Tyler B

Annaliese C

Aletha C

Sylvie F

Paiton G

Dayne G

Skylar G

Brilee M

Erika M

Katie M

Blake R

Callum T

Jillian W

South America Summer Adventure

Hello Students!

I had an amazing journey to South America this summer! Thank you for encouraging me and giving me the inspiration to apply for the grant from Rural Schools and Community Trust. Thanks to you and the grant, I was able to experience so many unique experiences to bring back and share with you. For the first part of my journey,  I traveled to Quito, Ecuador and then on to the Galapagos Islands. I stayed on a boat for 5 days and snorkeled with sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, sting rays, and more! We hiked through the islands that were formed from volcanoes; some of them are actual volcanoes. Next, I went on to Cusco, Peru and explored the ruins of Machu Picchu. The engineering and architecture from this ancient civilization is incredible! The bus ride up and down the mountain was the scariest part of my whole trip! Lastly, I flew to Coca, Ecuador and took a boat through the Amazon Rainforest. I was able to meet the native Kichwa people and see seven different species of monkey on our hikes. These are just a few of the amazing sights I experienced! I cannot wait to share the rest of my experience with you!

Mrs. Burden has been awarded a grant from Rural School and Community Trust!

SOUTH AMERICA!!!!

It is hard to believe that this summer I will be traveling to South America to visit Machu Picchu, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Galapagos Islands!

In February, I discovered a grant for rural teachers that allows for global travel. I found the Rural Trust Global Fellowship after a lesson teaching my students about different land forms and using my previous Colorado and Texas pictures and videos to do so. The students were so excited about my experience and my hands on knowledge that I decided to see if travel grants for teachers even existed.

They do! And now I am a Rural Trust Fellow and will be exploring South America! I told the kids that I had applied and they were excited. I never dreamed that I would be chosen my first year of applying! Oh, and did I mention that when I found the grant it was due in 4 days!  I created a budget, itinerary, and a plan for how I will use my knowledge that I gain to inspire my students and my community.

When I found out about the grant I instantly told my students and was rushed with hugged and the excited screams deafened my ears. They can't wait for me to go and bring back the experience to share with them. They also mentioned trying to hide in my suitcases.

Several of the students put together a suprise party complete with cupcakes, drinks, and ice pops to celebrate today. Thank you my AWESOME students! Thank you parents too!

Human Sized Coordinate Grid

My math students were able to do hands on or should I say foot on learning today during their lesson on ordered pairs on a coordinate grid. We went outside and practiced using a large grid with an x and y axis. The students were given a set of numbers for example, (4,6) and they had to move on the grid according to the ordered pair they were given. The 4 is on the x axis and the 6 is on the y axis therefor the students would move over 4 and up 6. The student was then given another set of instructions such as, go down 4 and 3 to the right and then they would have to name their location. I think the kids had a great time learning this skill and will hopefully remember to "go in the elevator before they go up.'

Conservation of Trees Presentation

Luke Westerman and Keila Sherman visited Marshall Elementary on Friday, March 25th to talk to the students about trees. They discussed why trees are important to our planet: they provide oxygen, heat, shelter, habitats for other animals, and many more reasons! The students also learned about the rings in a trees trunk that show how old they are and how to recognize different types of trees.

The students will be bringing home a form about the 2016 Poster Content for the Greenwood County Conservation District. The theme is, "We All Need Trees." The form includes information on what to do and what you should not do when creating your poster.

 

Inferences from Trade Books Posters

INFERENCES

My reading class was given an assignment to use their AR trade books and find a quote where they had to infer what the author was saying using their schema. Whoa, I know slow down! Such big words!!!

AR Trade Book - Books that the students read for their enjoyment. These are not text books. They can be found in libraries and bookstores. AR stands for Accelerated Reader; our reading program at school that monitors students' reading levels and comprehension.

Infer or inference- using reason to come to a conclusion. Students use what they know about something to make a prediction based on the clues in the story.

Schema- Prior knowledge or what they already know.

Comprehension - Do they understand what they read?

The students were able to pick a book they had read or were reading and find a quote. They then had to fill in a quote, inference, and schema bubble, make a poster and finally present it to their classmates.