This afternoon we used spring scales to measure how force and mass are related to motion. The students timed how long it took to pull their science book one meter using 3 Newtons of force. They then changed only one variable, either the mass or the amount of force. We found that more mass slows the motion, while applying a greater force sped up the motion. We are nearing the end of our physical science unit and beginning to synthesize everything we have learned!
This afternoon, we tried a new method of review called, Graffiti Review. As we have an assessment coming up in science, I pulled out the three overarching topics: properties of matter, physical changes, and chemical changes. When we were learning how to do our brick walls for "Book Graffiti" we discussed creating something eye-catching and getting an idea across in brief, clever ways. This is another way that I am trying to incorporate more creativity and arts-based skills into the general classroom. As groups, they were to brainstorm words, images, and concepts related to each topic. After adding them to the poster, they traveled to the next topic, where they added to what had already been placed on that poster. It was wonderful to eavesdrop and hear students clarifying misconceptions for one another when determining what belonged on each poster. We had great fun determining what each contribution meant and how it related to the topic. I was thrilled with how well the students did on their first try with a graffiti review. We will look at our posters one last time this week before we assess what we've learned in this chapter. After today, I'm certain that we have a very nice understanding of properties and changes, both physical and chemical! As we wrap up our first unit in reading, we worked today on our visual literacy. Small groups were given art done by either Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, or Carmen Lomas Garza. We worked with discussion prompts and began to analyze the art, considering the artist's intent, choice of framing, and how we can connect to the image. We then synthesized a variety of texts, and students worked to answer the Theme Question ("How do we achieve common ground") using a piece of art and one or two stories they read -- all while incorporating our theme vocabulary. It was quite a task but I was very impressed with how well they did!! This morning, we had our first 5th grade assemble to honor those students that have been consistently displaying their BEST for the first month of school. Two representatives were chose for each classroom, and they received a $5 gift card to locations such as Subway, Lemon Tree, and Culver's. We had many students who could have been chosen, but Kynedee and Justice were our classroom's first representatives. Congratulations, girls -- we're all very proud of you! As we continue to progress in math, we've begun looking at probability and chance events. Here, the students are (carefully!) pouring out thumbtacks and finding how many landed point vs. point down. After each pairing did 100 tacks, we were able to determine that there is around a 20% chance that, when poured out, a thumbtack will land point down. |