Sturgeon For Tomorrow Bracelets + Christmas Tree Ship Story

Sturgeon For Tomorrow Bracelets For Sale Soon!

We received a great present from Sturgeon For Tomorrow this week!  They sent us about 300 hundred bracelets that we plan to sell.  Our goal is to raise money for bloodworms, water testing kits, an official top for our tank, and potentially a live streaming web cam for the Sturgeon For Tomorrow website.  Our fish would be live online all the time!  Anyone could visit SFT’s website and learn about Sturgeon in the Classroom Program, and see our fish.  When we return from break we will begin studying persuasive writing and economics, we’ll use the bracelet fundraiser as a way to weave in these curriculum goals. 

Next week we will begin reading about the famous Christmas Tree Ship and I will be giving the students the challenge of writing and performing their own Reader’s Theatre about the story.  You can check out our website to see the kids from a few years ago, and how their theatre turned out. 

I can……

Identify the causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization.

Determine a theme from a piece of literature and support it with examples from the text.

Divide a unit fraction by a whole number.

Comparing the Colonies + Ice Skating Party

Water Testing in the Wetland is fun!

The kids did a great job on their Explorer Projects and Reports

It has been a good week getting back into the groove.  The pizza orders came in today and we will get them processed asap.  Hopefully we can get the coupons before break starts. 

We have been reading, writing, and learning about the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.  The kids are working on designing billboards that convince people to come and settle in their colony. 

We are also getting into division with fractions.  I will send some of the math tips of the day along via email.  Those are always uploaded to Edmodo as well, so have the kids look their if they need some homework help. 

We will also be learning about the Christmas Tree Ship , and will be have a fifth grade skating party at The Edge Ice Arena during our last week before break.  (see attached notes for more info)

I can……

Identify the causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization.

Determine a theme from a piece of literature and support it with examples from the text.

Divide a unit fraction by a whole number.

Math Tips of the Day:

Multiplying Mixed Numbers

Division of Fractions

Explorer Projects and Snow Days!

I loved seeing the explorer projects come in!   I hope everyone enjoyed working on them and learning along the way. 

It has been a roller coaster here with snow days, conferences, and now the upcoming Thanksgiving break.  If you could remind the kids that when they come to school we have to get right down to business.  Breaks are fun, and snow days are amazing, but that means we fall behind and I need them to be here ready to work.  Thanks in advance! 

We will be wrapping up our science switch after Thanksgiving break and we’ll be ready to be back together all day. 

REMINDER TO SELL THOSE PIZZAS!

ORDER FORMS ARE DUE

DECEMBER 4TH

Cat-tail Investigations and Wolf Presentations!

We had another week of good times learning about Life Science!  That pretty much wraps up our unit, and we’ll start learning about Explorers next week.  We will also be doing a little moving around.  Our class will be headed to Mrs. Greshaw’s room to learn more about our solar system in the afternoon.   

The cat-tail investigation was interesting and yes we did try and eat some of this amazing edible plant. The shoots are quite tasty, don’t worry we washed them before we sampled.  Have the kids tell you where to find them on the plant, in case your ever in need of survival you can find some cat-tails! 

Our wolf presenters did an amazing job helping us learn more about this beautiful animal, it’s structural, and behavioral characteristics that help it to survive in the wild. 

I can…    Use sensory details, internal stories, flashbacks, strong leads, and effective conclusions in my personal narratives.

Describe Non Fiction and Fiction Retelling Strategies.

Interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator.

Identify the causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization.

Invertebrates and Gold Fish Lab!

This past week took a specific look at what type of invertebrates are in our wetland here at school.  We began brainstorming some driving questions for our school wetland.  For example, “Is our wetland healthy, and what biological indicators should we see in our wetland to determine it’s health?  We are planning to collect many different sets of data throughout the year that we can present to the fourth graders at the end of the school year to prep them for continuing what we did this year.  We also had a big dream to present to the Macatawa Watershed Council about what we are doing learning in our little part of the greater watershed.  If you know anyone that I could get in touch with please email or call me when you get a chance.

Gold Fish Lab:  We will observe the breathing gill rates of goldfish in different water temperatures! I will be looking for a few good homes for about 6-10 gold fish.  Let me know if your interested!

I can…    Use strong leads and effective conclusions in my personal narratives.

Describe Non Fiction and Fiction Retelling Strategies.

Compare, add, and subtract decimal numbers into the thousandths place.

Describe animal and plant adaptation of characteristics. 

Life Science in the Pond and our Lake Sturgeon+ Halloween

Friends Goodwill Sailing Trip last week!  What an amazing day!

It’s been another busy week here in 5th grade!  Our lake sturgeon arrived last Friday and is doing great!  We have been testing the water for Ammonia, Nitrate, and PH.  All levels are stabilizing and our fish is eating nicely.  We also have some aquatic friends that we caught in the wetland this week.  We continue to learn about life processes, physical and behavioral characteristics of the organisms we catch. 

Please look for the Halloween pumpkin carving note that will be coming home.   Please read the note carefully.  I will be looking for some supplies to donate for the Halloween party. 

DNR Living Resource Patch Competition.  Michigan celebrates its 40th year of the endangered species act.  They are looking 4, 5 , and 6th graders to design a patch to commemorate.  We of course would love to have a Lake Sturgeon Patch in our honor!  Go Artists Go!  Look for the info sheet to come home.

I can…    Use an flashback and flash forwards in my personal narratives.

Describe Non Fiction and Fiction Retelling Strategies.

Compare, add and subtract decimal numbers to the thousandths.

Describe animal physical and behavioral characteristics and their life processes.

Bike Trip, Native American Museum, and Friends Goodwill

What a great past couple of days!  The kids did a fantastic job presenting their Native American projects to the fourth graders.  It was the first time to showcase our projects out in the wetland area and the afternoon was beautiful.

We also had a gorgeous day for our bike trip and all went well.  Thanks again for all the parent helpers, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Next week Wednesday will be our Tall Ship Cruise on the Friends Goodwill out of South Haven.  Please stay tuned, if the weather looks bad we will postpone the trip.  I will make the call about 24 hours prior so be looking for the we go, or don’t go email to come through. 

I can…

Use an internal story  and flashback beginnings in my personal narratives.

Describe Non Fiction and Fiction Retelling Strategies.

Add and Subtract Fractions with like and unlike least common denominators and ungroup when necessary.

Describe animal physical and behavioral characteristics

Native American Profiler Projects, Bike Trip & Systems and Survival

Coke and Pepsi Challenge was a fun way to introduce Scientific Method for next week!

This coming week our Native American Profiler projects are due on Wednesday.  We are hoping to have our museum day on Thursday afternoon.  Again, we hope to set up in on the wetland trail and have our fourth grade friends come through to view our projects and artifacts from home.  Please remember if the students bring anything from home they are responsible for it, and bringing certain items (i.e. weapon like objects) are prohibited.  A photo of the artifact attached the project would be the best option to ensure the student can still highlight that artifact. 

We will be starting our Life Science (Systems and Survival) unit here shortly and the students will be in the wetland on a daily basis.  I have boots and nets, students are welcome to bring boots of their own, but again they are responsible for them.

BIKE TRIP THIS WEEK FRIDAY!  REMINDER TO MEET AND PICK UP AT HELDER PARK.

I can…

Add and Subtract Fractions with like and unlike least common denominators and ungroup when necessary.

Use an internal story in my personal narratives.

Describe animal systems (circulatory, digestive, skeletal, muscular, nervous)

Upcoming Important Events:

Remember to sign up as a volunteer if you want to attend any of the trips below!

Bike Trip

Sept. 26th

Friends Goodwill Tall Ship Cruise and Museum

Oct. 1st ( DATE CHANGE )  LATE PICKUP 5:15ish

Outdoor Discovery Center

Nov.  13th