February: Be the CHANGE that you wish to see in the world!

Changes
Enduring Understandings:
-All life is interdependent and interacts causing change
-All things change over time
 -Patterns and interactions change over time and help us learn about our earth and its culture
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
-How do innovations and technology effect change?
-How do environments effect change over time?
-What causes changes in industry?
-How do interactions influence change?
This second trimester, students will study the changes in power, economy, industry and our earth's features. Through the course of our studies, they will discover how natural and human processes change societies and our environment.  They will make connections between technological advancements and changes within society and will analyze how human activities can impact watersheds and oceans.  Ultimately, the students will gain a deeper understanding of how humans interact with the environment causing change which can effect our industry, economy and our natural environment positively and negatively.
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

      Our class novel, Among the Hidden is a hit! You know it’s good when the kids are begging you to read!! This is a compelling novel about our protagonist, Luke Garner, a shadow child, a third child, a forbidden child. He lives his entire life in hiding due to a population law imposed by the government. A housing development is replacing the woods around his family farm, and he is no longer allowed to go outside……I can’t tell you anymore, you will have to ask your child about it! As we read, students are having in-depth discussions in book clubs and they are making inferences about their reading. Students are also making bigger connections to the real world and the different types of government and change that goes on in different societies while reading the book. ​  

      Students are also reading non-fiction text and learning the different types of text structures. Students are working on finding key words in text in order to identify the type of text structure the author uses. By the end of the unit students will be able to recognize the five different nonfiction text structures including: cause and effect, problem-solution, chronological order, sequencing, and compare and contrast. 
         In writing, students continue to practice argument writing, as well as how to respond to a writing prompt. These last few weeks, students worked closely with Mrs. Lesly, a writing liaison, who helped teach the students more about the components of argument writing. She used real life examples (like General Sherman: Hero or Villain) and fictional stories (like "Goldie Locks and the Three Bears") to help illustrate the different sides of arguments and  the elements that make up a strong argument. Look out for your child's final argumentative essay in the next few weeks!

SCIENCE

     Students have been exploring the idea of "Changes" by investigating how changes under the earth can effect the surface of earth. Students have explored topics of plate movement, erosion, and weathering. Students built models of different plate boundaries and discovered the types of natural disasters and landforms that are created as a result of these plate movements. The photos above show students conducting two different modeling experiments; in both activities students used materials like cool whip, graham crackers, wax paper, and tin foil to illustrate models of plate tectonics.
        Students have also learned about the natural process of erosion and weathering; they discovered the different types of erosion including water, wind, and gravitational erosion.  Students also saw how erosion and weathering cause changes to surface of the earth and can create and destroy different landforms. 
       Next, students will discover more "changes" that happen naturally on the surface of the earth including ocean floor changes and watersheds. In this unit, students will create models of watersheds to show how fresh water travels through a watershed and changes the landscape around it.
     In addition, students will learn about the features of the ocean floor and how scientists use sonar to map the bottom of the ocean.  Students will simulate this technology on a small model of the ocean floor, and created mathematically accurate graphs of the depths at various locations.  We will also learn how waves, tides, and currents can create changes along the ocean shore zone, and students will conduct an inquiry lab to explore how these natural processes shape the coastlines of the world.  

MATH

      Students have been hard at work in math exploring our big idea of "changes" through fractions. They have been creating/drawing visual models and number lines to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. These models enable them to deepen their conceptual understanding of why we need to change unlike denominators to like  denominators in order to add or subtract. Students are then able to transfer their knowledge to solve real world fraction problems. These kids are amazing!! 

SOCIAL STUDIES

​      Our 5th grade big idea, Growth and Power, has proved evident as students discovered how our country grew in both size and power at the turn of the century. With the acquisition of Alaska and Hawaii and a victory in the Spanish American War, our country emerged as a  World Power. A solid government, strong military and stable economy all led to this rise in power.
      With the perspective of the U.S. as a powerhouse, our studies led to WWI.  We discovered the causes of the war, but have an understanding of why the U.S. didn't really want to enter at first.  Students are learning about how propaganda was used during the war and will have the opportunity to analyze WWI propaganda posters. Students will then use this knowledge to integrate with ELA and create posters that would support/oppose the third child law from the novel, Among the Hidden.  Once complete, come by and take a look!
        To wrap up our Industrial Revolution unit, students created individual cartoons which depicted one of the topics we have been studying in class (women's rights / suffrage, mail order catalogs, urbanization and mechanization just to note a few).  The students' hard work definitely paid off. Please enjoy a few pictures highlighting a few of these masterpieces!

Microscopes

A big shout out and thank you goes to Mrs. Scheper for her successful DonorsChoose Project! Mrs. Scheper wrote a grant for ten microscopes for fifth grade science, and her project was fully funded a few months ago! Students have enjoyed using the microscopes and getting a "closer look" of the world around them! Currently, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Stevens have a DonorsChoose Project online; they are asking for copies of new books for a 9/11 Book Club Unit later this year! 

​MORNING MEETING IS LOTS OF FUN!

Students enjoy participating in activities and sharing more about themselves in morning meeting. Mrs. Cox's homeroom recently played a fun "Minute to Win It" game where students tried to move a wafer down their face without their hands! It was hilarious!