In this period we are learning a lot of cool and fantastic things!

 In Science we are learning about chemical and physical properties. We are also learning chemical fractions, reactants, matter and products. Did you know that the reactant is always on the left side of the equation and the product is always on the right side?  The product means the substance that is made during the chemical reaction. The reactant is the substance that used in the reaction.  Also, did you know that matter can not made or destroyed. Remember we are a type of matter!

We are also learning the three types of reactions. They are a combination reaction where the compounds come and form together. Decomposition is a reaction where compounds split apart to form smaller compounds!  Our last reaction is the replacement reaction. That type of reaction is when molecules switch places. We are also learning the places of where the equation places are.  It is really exciting!  

In Social Studies we have been learning about Jamestown and how it was very unsuccessful until they finally started to work really hard because John Smith came to make the people work hard and be successful. We’ve also have been learning about English explorers and the battle against Spain. We also were learning about the first Thanksgiving. We let the Wampanaga group come in because they showed them good fishing spots, how to grow food, like corn. They had a lot of food items but they did not have corn. Isn’t that awkward? 

We are enjoying these topics in science and social studies!  What has your child told you about these subjects?  What have you enjoyed in these subjects?

-Ryan and Cam

Thank you Mrs. St. George for these great action packed photos from the fall party!

Wow! A great fall party! Thank you to all the parents that sent items and helped make the party a success! The kids thought this was “the best party ever!”

“Our ET lesson this week is on Chain Reactions. A little divergent thinking for our fifth grade friends. Students sequentially can explain the steps in the chain reaction they created in ET to crush an acorn. Many colorful vocabulary and signal words can be included as they attempt to elaborate on how their chain reaction will actually work. The practice in sequencing is particularly helpful in preparing for the math extended response.” – Mrs. Brown

Mrs. Reed started ET with a video that caught our attention! What do you think about the cleverness of the video? What was your reaction to this chain reaction?

Students – Could you use some descriptive writing and figurative language to describe the chain reaction you drew in school?

-Mr. Lund & Mrs. Reed

We have been busy learning in our classroom!  Here are some updates by subject area!

In math, we are about to take our Unit 1 Test!  Unit 1 had us learning about the properties of multiplication – commutative, distributive, and associative!  Factors have also been important.  We’ve created factor squares and have worked on our facts.  Algebra and equations are fun but can be tricky.  Mr. Lund always says, “If you do it to one side – you do it to the other!” and “What’s the inverse?” 

Native Americans has been the topic of social studies.  We are working small groups learning about different tribes.  We’ve read about the tribes, creating web notes, and will present them to the class.  We will be able to use our notes on the test!  Earlier today, Mrs. Youngbuck taught us about Native Americans!  She showed us many artifacts from local tribes!  Isabelle’s favorite item was the bow and arrows made from feathers, rocks, and sticks.  Jacob’s favorite part was making fire with the flint and steel!

In reading, we’ve been reading Hatchet.  We’ve had to write predictions and summaries for each of the chapters.  Another book, Mrs. Lazzare is Bizzare, has helped us with the different types of predictions!  In case you haven’t read Hatchet, it’s about a kid named Brian who crashes a plane while on trip to see his Dad in Canada.  Right now, Brian has found a shelter, berries, and is trying to survive in the wilderness!  Book talks have also started this week.  The kids are responsible for giving an exciting summary of a book that they’ve just read.  You can read their summaries on the blog too!

In language arts, we’ve been working on spelling and writing.  Sentence fluency has been our topic.  We’ve done word bursts and other fun things looking at our sentences!  Prefixes and suffixes are one of the topics in spelling right now!

Thanks for reading our updates!  – Isabelle and Jacob O. 

In math class today, we reviewed five types of problems – array/area, equal groups, comparison, and combination. The students created and evaluated problems in their groups.

For a few points of extra credit, please answer one of these four problems. In your answer, explain what you did to solve the problem and why you did those steps!

1. Comparison – Easton has five times as many baseball cards as Mr. Fletcher. If Easton has 35 baseball cards, how many card does Mr. Fletcher have?

2. Combination – Mr. Rembusch has three striped shirts and five pants with polk-a-dots. How many outfits does Mr. Rembusch own?

3. Array/Area – Mrs. Haney has a beautiful backyard. It is filled with 5 trees, 3 flower pots, and 12 frogs. She has a garden that is 11 feet wide and 5 feet long. How much area does her garden take up?

4. For ET this week, Mr. Lund needs to make groups of 5 students. There are 25 students in his class. How many groups will Mr. Lund create for the ET lesson?

Good Luck!

-Mr. Lund

To end our Tall Tale unit in reading, the students have been practicing tall tale readers’ theatres.  In previous years, we would share these oral plays with fellow classes.  This year, my class decided to experiment with our webcam and an internet program called Skype.  Skype has allowed us to share performances with parents at home or work. 

Here is a short video of our first Skype Tall Tale performance.  Check it out!

What do you think of this experiment? 

-Mr. Lund

Reading our Books From England! from Dan Lund on Vimeo.

A few days ago, we started to enjoy the novels from England.  The class loves all the books, but has really gotten into Friend or Foe!  Everyday the class is eager to hear about the unique situation that David and Tucky find themselves. 

This video shows a short clip of the students enjoying each of the novels.  I’ve also included a little discussion that always seems to follow Friends or Foe – be it World War II, Churchill, Ack-Ack Stations, or their unique spelling of words and phrases!

—- I can’t wait to hear the reaction from my class to the videos and how Mrs. Larson and I seem to find just the right spot to stop reading each day!

-Mr. Lund

Earlier today, we received a package from a Sacred Heart Reading club in England containing stickers, book marks, book reports, book advice, and a letter to or class about the books we sent them. Some of the book marks they sent us had some funny things on them. For example, one of them said dive into a good book. We enjoyed looking up the books they might send us and noticed that some of the books that they have there are more popular then here. We also noticed that in the letter that they sent us that some of there words were spelled differently then we spell them here. We look forward to reading all of the books they send us.                 

By: Jocelyn and Krista

Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Reed bring us great, hands-on lessons each Wednesday during ET.  These lessons push the students to expand their thinking.  I quickly put together this video to showcase a lesson that had each student considering cubes and their nets!

This video was made with music over the talking.
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This video was made with no music so you can hear some of the discussions.