5th grade news:
Students built on successes and failures from their foam/marble run activity and transferred what they had learned to building a mini-amusement park ride. (See video below.) I'm so impressed by the way these students collaborated with their team members as well as stepped in to help other teams seeking their help. Students learned about Harry Potter World and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They gave persuasive speeches as to why someone should eat an "icky"-flavored jelly bean. Some of their ideas were hilarious. Take a look and see if you would be persuaded to eat any of these flavors. Will you take a moment and VOTE for the most persuasive? Ask your child about the book we are reading together. It's The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. |
4th grade news:
As an extension of our discussion of "the right stuff" last week, students were given the task of selecting any three people from history (no longer living) who had the right stuff and would be a good choice for the first crew to go to Mars. After sharing the character traits (the "right stuff") that their nominees had, the students voted. The three people who will make up the first crew to Mars : Amelia Earhart Neil Armstrong Mahatma Gandhi (Albert Einstein is back-up crew) Other nominees included: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Christopher Columbus, and Jesse Owens. One of the goals we have for TAG students is to grow in their ability to tolerate ambiguity. One of the ways we do that is through the mystery strategy in which students investigate clues to a mystery that has no answer. Based on the information they receive, they come up with a hypothesis, knowing that there is, as of yet, no way to prove or disprove it. The mystery question this week was "Is there life anywhere else in the universe other than on Earth." Ask your child to tell you about the discussion and how we used the strategies of "physical barometer" and "rebuttal." |
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There was no fifth grade TAG this week due to IOWA testing. With us missing the week before due to Irma, I'm anxious to have the students back in TAG next week.
Fourth graders had a great time learning about what it means to "have the right stuff" as well as the opportunity cost associated with having the job of astronaut. They also enjoyed rocketry experiments (see below). NPE is looking for ten 4th/5th graders to work with teachers and students to advance technology throughout the school. This is year-long commitment from 7:10 - 7:40 every morning. If you are on morning safety patrol and are selected to be on the SWAT team, you will be moved to afternoon safety patrol. Apply here: http://npestechteam.weebly.com/join-the-tech-team.html Ms. Davis (STEM Teacher) and I are the coaches for the SWAT Team. Finally, if your child has not yet submitted a question to ask an astronaut, now is the time to do this. The deadline for asking questions is October 2nd. To learn more about the event, as well as the Station and the work being done there, visit https://talktotheiss.weebly.com Well, this was an interesting week. I hope you survived Irma. At my home, we had about 18 hours without power and a huge tree down in the yard. The winds were measuring 60 mph, and it was a little scary. I had to admit that I think I'm addicted to technology....18 hours without power put me into withdrawal !!! Actually, I do think we take for granted the wonders of electricity. I only saw my fourth grade students this week, and it was an action-packed day. We investigated space food from the first Mercury space missions up to the current Space Station meals. There was lot of taste-testing: ask your child about liquified mac-n-cheese, freeze dried vegetables, and "space ice cream." Many people think that astronauts eat that freeze-dried ice cream in space but they do NOT. It's just a tourist delicacy that you can buy at tourist destinations. Even though astronauts don't eat it, I brought some in for the kids to try. The students are really enjoying October Sky. This week, the characters in the book were building their first rocket, so we built one, too - well, sort of. Using balloons as the space craft and the carbon-dioxide they blew out of their mouth, a simple rocket was created. Check out the first launches and flights (be sure to note the two students who were "mission control"). This week, students in my 4th and 5th grade TAG classes learned about Flo Groberg, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. (You may be interested in watching his story in his own words. Go to this SITE and scroll down to the video. After the students finished watching the video, you could have heard a pin drop in the classroom.) In fifth grade, students discussed the character trait of "Integrity" and fourth graders honed in on "Courage." Each week, students will have the opportunity to nominate a classmate for the TAG Medal of Honor. They will be looking for students who exhibit the character traits we have focused on in class. We had three nominations for TAG Medal of Honor Recipients this week. I will post the Medal of Honor winner on the blog each week, starting next week. (FYI...I met and was inspired by Flo Groberg this summer when I participated in a week-long conference, "Heroes and Heroines: Transforming Character Through Biography" in Valley Forge, PA). In 5th grade, students did some creative problem-solving as they took on the challenge to move a marble through a 6' long piece of foam tubing. Students create hills, loops, and eventually joined their "track" with those of other teams.
Fourth graders this week participated in a Six Hats Thinking Strategy for the topic of Animals in Space. Students looked at the issue from six different perspectives (see image below). They then assumed responsibility as a member of "NASA’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)." With the responsibility for making sure that all animal research conducted in spaceflight is done appropriately, the students created guidelines for the use of animals in spaceflight research.
The students decided that they wanted an easy way to share some of the things they viewed in class with their family and friends. So, I'll be posting the things the kids want to share HERE. How can it be September already? It's my favorite month for two reasons. #1 -My birthday is this month #2 - Growing up in California, September was the month school started. I have always loved school; I guess that's one of the reasons why I chose to be a teacher - so I could be in an environment I enjoyed for the rest of my life. The fifth graders started their Amusement Park unit by creating creatures that had two buttons that would create some type of amusement. The students then categorized all of the types of amusement and posted it on our new "window wall." Students then went on in pairs to brainstorming 50 things associated with amusement parks. They are in the middle of categorizing those things and creating an amusement park-related visual to display them. Fourth graders this week started their journey into our space unit with a look at the magnitude and magnificence of the ever-expanding universe. When you see how teeny-tiny Earth is in the grand scheme of things, it's really "brings you down to Earth" (pun-intended). The students each created one headline to summarize their feelings about the universe (and our place in it). A few photos are posted at the bottom of this blog. [Check out this very cool presentation that takes you from the atom of a leaf all the way out to the farthest reach of the Universe: Power of Ten.] The fourth graders are beginning their study of manned spaceflight. But....before there was a human in space, there were animals in space. Ask your child about the stray dogs that Russia used or the monkeys that the U.S. used. Russia beat us into space with the first satellite (Sputnik) and the first animal (Laika, the dog) AND the first human in space (Yuri Gargarin), but the U.S. did have it's "firsts" as well - first human to orbit the Earth (John Glenn) and first human to step on the moon (you-know-who, right? It's interesting how we started the Space Race as enemies of Russia and, now, they are our partners on the International Space Station. Speaking of the Space Station, I've built a site on just that topic to prepare our students for the video-conference with three of the astronauts aboard the station on October 23. http://talktotheiss.com It is my hope that students will become familiar with the astronauts, the ISS, and more so that they can create and submit great questions. About 20 of our students will be selected to ask their questions directly to the astronauts on October 23rd. Check out the website. I'm hoping to have some exhibits and guests around the time of our video-conference, and these will be events that parents and the community will be invited to attend. IF you would like to help me in preparation for this exciting time, please send me an e-mail. |
AuthorI started teaching in 1985. Yes, that's a LONG time ago. I started off as an elementary music teacher, but have been teaching gifted students for the past 20 years. I came to Fulton County Schools in 1991 and taught at Mtn Park ES for 24 years before coming to New Prospect ES in 2015. I love being a Panther ! Archives
September 2019
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