5th Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the 1st for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: We finished our units on numerical expressions this month. We practiced reading expressions out loud so that peers could understand them and write them out. We practiced writing numerical expressions for word problems without solving steps. Many students wanted to solve steps and get an answer to the word problem, so it was a hard task to ask everyone to slow down and just think about the numerical expression behind the word problem. We took time to create some art, using pictures to show the process of breaking down numerical expressions to solve them, and took our post-assessment, which was very similar to our pre-assessment. The class as a whole did amazing, each student improved dramatically from the beginning of the unit to the end, so we celebrated when reviewing class data. During the last week, we started our new unit on place values, identifying the names of each place value from millions down to thousandths. We practiced saying numbers out loud using place values to properly read them; for example, 123 is one hundred twenty three, rather than one two three. We also started rounding numbers using place value knowledge to help us.

Activities:

Teacher Tip or Reflection Questions:

Teacher Info: Mrs. Alexander, halexander@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Descriptive/Sensory Writing, Adding Details, Hooks, Figurative Language, Personal Narratives, Literacy Day Celebration

Activities: We have launched into narrative writing, our first writing unit of the year. Leading up to this task, we spent some time doing activities that would hone our writing skills. We learned about descriptive/sensory writing by describing objects in ways that help our reader develop a picture in their minds. We learned several techniques for adding details to our writing. We hunted for great hooks in writing and then crafted some of our own. And we discovered how figurative language can enhance our writing. Then it was time to brainstorm topics for our personal narratives. Once everyone had a topic, the writing began! It was a pleasure to see the kids dive into their stories with such gusto. As drafts are complete, we will edit and share our masterpieces. For Literacy Day this year we celebrated by dressing up as our favorite book characters and spent our class time reading books and sharing our costumes with the first graders.

Teacher Tip: Our first book project of the year will be due on Wednesday, November 19. Students will select a book, read it at home, and create a project to share with classmates. This first one is optional but I was so pleased that most kids signed up to participate!

Teacher info: Rachel Oscarson, roscarson@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Simple Machines, Friction, Force Gravity, Simple Harmonic Motion, Iteration and the Design Cycle, Scientist Biographies

Activities: We spent several days on a very spirited competition building the tallest earthquake proof tower we could design and learned the importance of structural supports. We learned about wheels, ruler measurements, metric system and unit conversions. And then after learning more about simple machines, force, gravity, and harmonic motion, we engineered a chain reaction device that was a simplified Rube Goldberg machine. We are currently working on rubber band cars and after we compete next week I think we are ready to head into the Tug of War Unit and build our first BaseBots. I’ve also added a very short biography of a famous scientist to every class. Some we have covered so far include: Nikola Tesla, Katherine Johnson, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Marie Curie. Science is for everyone so knowing who some famous scientists are and where they came from and what they did helps inspire the kids.

Teacher Tip: Please make sure laptops are charged. We need laptops for coding tasks. I also emphasized for my students that I expect full participation with all of our activities. Robotics is for everyone and this is a special opportunity to discover this new field.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Clayton - aclayton@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: U.S. Geography, American Symbols - Statue of Liberty, Getting to know the 3 Branches, Checks and Balances

Activities: Since our nation is a community that we are all invested in, we took some time this month to make sure we all had a lay of the land. Students used iCivics to complete a detailed map of the US. This map included neighboring countries, oceans, states, mountain rangers, important rivers systems, even our overseas territories.

Next, we began to explore the idea of what it means to be an American and the symbols that express the virtues of our country. As part of this work, we looked at the Statue of Liberty which is known throughout the world and loaded with symbolism. We read a passage that claimed the Statue of Liberty was a symbol for hope, for freedom and for welcoming. As students read the passage, they highlighted evidence to support each of those claims.

Students also took some time to read about and compare authoritarian governments and democratic governments. We learned that American democracy is built around shared power with 3 branches. So much of our work was dedicated to learning about the 3 branches. We learned who works in each branch, what do they do, how does each branch keep the others balanced and in check. This can be confusing even for adults so we used videos, graphic organizers, reading passages, infographics and more. A super fun activity that we carried out was a challenging simulation to see the separation of powers in action. In our sim, we worked through the process of creating a healthy school lunch menu as a representation of the law making process. Each group got to role-play each branch’s responsibility in the law-making process. We had Lead Chefs (Executive Branch), Menu Writers (Legislative Branch) and Nutrition Inspectors (Judicial Branch). None of the branches could complete their work without the consent of the other branches. This meant that lots of collaboration was required and revisions were frequently made. Students quickly realized that the process was slow and cumbersome, just like the real legislative process, but in the end, we hope to have a satisfactory outcome that meets the required criteria, a healthy lunch that students will enjoy. Just like the real legislative process!

With a solid foundation in place, students tested themselves with a couple of Kahoot quizzes and the class scored a respectable 75%. Pretty good for young people learning about the complexities of the American government for the first time! Well done!

Teacher Tip: Ask your student to explain why compromise was so important as they worked through the 3 Branches simulation.

Teacher Info: Don't hesitate to contact me if you have a question.

Jeff Caraco, jcaraco@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Learned about the circulatory system. Learned about the heart.

Activities: Designed and constructed a working model of the circulatory system. This model needed to contain the following criteria: 1) There is a pumping device that can continually move fluid throughout the body. 2) Fluid must travel through the lungs. 3) Fluid must travel through the majority of the body. 4) The majority of the fluid must not leak out. Students graded their circulatory model based on these criteria and received a score of 0-4. Students created a box diagram of the heart. This diagram showed the movement of blood from the body to the heart via veins and arteries. Students learned that veins move blood toward the heart and arteries away from the heart. For the most part veins carry deoxygenated blood and arteries carry oxygenated blood with the exceptions of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary veins.

Teacher Info: Mrs. DeWaard, Room 7

hdewaard@meridian.wednet.edu