Thursday, April 10, 2014

4/7 - 4/11



5M Highlights:
·        Many students had the opportunity to be role models and helpers to younger students this week, by helping Mrs. Roberts swing jump ropes.
·        Our volume work this week culminated in the measuring and calculating of the cargo space in the back of my car. Students were excited by the opportunity to measure and calculate volume in a real world situation. They are attempting to answer whether or not my camping gear will fit in the cargo space of my car. I had my fingers crossed. As a class, we contacted Toyota via email because we found a discrepancy between our volume calculation and the figure claimed by Toyota. Kids were excited to communicate with experts.
·        Students also got the opportunity to do a measurement scavenger hunt on our playground. They measured circumferences and distances, calculated area and volume too!
·        We began our new unit on the Gulf of Maine beginning with ocean basics. Students got the chance to “map the ocean floor” in one lesson by using a weighted plumb line to measure the depths. We also did some reading and experiments to learn about waves, currents, and tides. Check out the pictures on the back of the page.
·        In order to practice making inferences, we did an activity called “Trash Talk.” Basically, we studied garbage (it is clean I promise!!) to see if we could make inferences about the owners of the trash. Students made some incredible inferences about the families. Check out the pictures on the back of the page. See if you can make some inferences.
·        Our Winter Camp reading reached a major turning point this week. A character was injured by a charging moose, causing the two kids to be required to take on some major responsibilities! We have been using these chapters to discuss tone and mood in text. First we watched some movie clips to identify various moods created by movie producers, as mood and tone is a bit easier to discern in film. Then we began looking at tone and mood in our reading. Kids accurately described the tone of these chapters of Winter Camp as frantic, exciting, chaotic, anxiety producing, and scary.



Our “graphing the ocean floor” activity:





 Car measuring and ocean currents:

   



 


 









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About Me

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I live in Cape Elizabeth with my husband, two daughters, and our cat Nessie. Our family loves to spend time outdoors together, camping, hiking, and gardening. Another past time of mine is triathlons. I have completed nine triathlons, including one Half Ironman. I loved swimming, biking, and running 70.3 miles! You might also find me cozied up with a good book in my free time. I have been teaching for 10 years in a variety of grade levels. Fifth grade is my favorite! The kids are capable of so much! I can't say I have a favorite subject to teach, but love getting students to think deeply. I enjoy getting kids to think critically and be creative in all subject areas. I often use simulations and project based learning to do this. Teambuilding and working on social skills in another major goal of mine. Teaching kids to work effectively together and use good communication skills will help prepare them for life after school.