Ikidarod and Dog Sled Building

Above are some videos from last year!

This week we did some of our final force and motion experiments.  We took our fourth quick quiz and next week we will begin reviewing and get ready for the test. 

We will start designing our dog sleds for the Ikidarod that will take place on March 4th.  This year we will also be doing an IditaRead program throughout the school.  We will have checkpoints throughout the school. As soon as the students’ self chosen musher reaches a check point they will move the musher to that checkpoint.  Eventually all the mushers will end up down here at 5th grade (Nome).  We will be using reading sheets to chart our minutes for an Iditaread Dog Tag prize. 

We would like to thank Zeeland Lumber for being our Ikidarod sponsor this year and donating all the wood.  See the building video and Ikidarod video from last year.

Ikidarod will be Mar. 4th 2pm

 I can…

Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in informational text

Review force and motion concepts.  Specifically apply them to my designs, experiments, products

Relate themes in literary essays to my own life and write a call to action for my readers

Simple Machines/Valentines Day Party/Camp Balance

This week we created some simple machines.  Specifically, we looked at a lever, pulley, wheel and axle, and an inclined plane.  The kids built the models and constructed investigations based on those models. 

We also charted our data and made conclusions about how our simple machines made work easier.

Valentine’s Day Party this year is a little surprise.  All you need to know is that everything will be taken care of, and there will be a special presentation.  The kids are going to love it!  Also, please check the back of this newsletter for a class list the kids can use for handing out Valentine’s Day cards.

Look for Camp Balance Notes coming home soon.

 I can…

Provide specific details (evidence) to support my claim

Quote accurately from a text when drawing inferences

Explore the forces that affect the flight of an aircraft

Design a paper aircraft that will fly a greater distance

Balloon Car Challenge, Stock and Modified!

Welcome back to school everyone.  I hope you all had a restful break and are back into the routine. 

This week we learned about balanced and unbalanced forces.  The kids created some balloon cars in groups. It was a bit more challenging than the kids thought it would be with the  materials I gave them.  It was a great opportunity to work in groups, problem solving, and collaborating to build something and tweaking it to work.  It will be a great activity to build upon for our dog sled building during our Iditarod studies and the third annual Quincy Ikidarod.  It was great to see the at home balloon cars coming in and fun was had by all!

Next week, we will be doing some student directed balloon investigations and measuring of force.

I can…

Plan and organize my ideas for a Literary Essay

Determine two or more main ideas from a text and explain how they are supported by key details

Measure force needed to move an object over different surfaces

Christmas Tree Ship Play , Optional Winter Stretch

Thank you everyone for the hats,gloves, scarves, and  mittens(for His Harvest Stand)!  Thank for the presents to me as well, they were fantastic!  Tell the kids I was so proud of their “Christmas Tree Ship Theatre” they performed for our reading buddies from kindergarten.  It was a great learning experience, they did it all themselves, practiced at recess, dealt with issues, and eventually performed a great show about a great story from our area. 

I attached the Winter Stretch packet in the email.  I told the kids who complete it there will be a Sturgeon Prize for them when they return.  I have some cool stuff to give away! 

Get ready for the Balloon Car Challenge after break. 

I can…

Create a conclusion that connects my life to the theme of a story.

Compare and Contrast Characters in a story

Demonstrate Motion on a Graph

Describe forces that affect the motion of objects.

Christmas Tree Ship / Balloon Car Challenge

This week we began our Force and Motion unit. Next week we’ll be learning all about the “Rouse Simmons” or better known in the early 1900’s as the Christmas Tree Ship. This week we did some marble time trials, and built mini roller coasters. This coming week we’ll do some measuring of distance over time to calculate speed.  When we get back from Christmas Break we’ll begin building our Balloon Cars with the end goal of racing them and crowning an overall Balloon Car Champion.  It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get the kids working in design teams and building something using the force and motion content expectations I’m teaching in the first part of this unit.  

I can…

Write a Literary Essay

Quote accurately from text when drawing inferences

Make Observations of the motion of an object over distance and time.

Describe forces that affect the motion of objects.

Monday, Tuesday, and Thanksgiving Break

Math Video - Fractions multiplied by Fractions

Math Video - Fractions multiplied by Whole Numbers

We have a short week coming up.   We will be doing some finish up work and getting ready for nice long Thanksgiving Break. 

We will be finishing our Systems and Survival unit shortly after break.  We spent some time this week working on our Wetland Investigation iBook.  It is looking good so far!  We are hoping to have it uploaded to iTunes for download before Christmas Break.  It will be very helpful for students in the future to show all the questions and research the kids did on the wetlands this year.  

Have a great restful Thanksgiving with friends and family.

 I can…

Identifying theme and author’s message.

Compare and Contrast two or more settings or events in a story.

Generate scientific questions based on observations.  Design and conduct scientific experiments.

Sturgeon Arrival/Native American Day and Conferences

Our sturgeon arrived today!  It was exciting to get the fish in it’s new home.  We will have to decide on a name next week, and start the hard work of caring for the fish daily with feeding and water testing. 

The kids also did a great job on our Native American Day.  It was great to see their projects done well and presented to the younger students.  Thank you for all the donations and support for our special days here at Quincy!

This week is conferences Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I am looking forwarding to meeting with all of you! 

NO SCHOOL FRIDAY.

 I can…

Identifying theme and author’s message.

Use pronouns to show an author using third person.

Generate scientific questions and hypothesis, based on observations and research.