Parents and Guardians,
Our final assignment in our Space unit as been set upon us. Today, everyone was instructed to write an essay about their own planet! The catch : they have to work with a partner! Our students will be working independently on a laptop, however they will be taking turns writing with their partner. Our students will be collaborating on their paper using Google Documents, allowing them to access this paper and modify it in real time with other people!
In their essay, they have to tell me about all the characteristics of their planet, such as its atmosphere, orbit pattern, what life exists on it, etc. The overall object of their essay is to sell it as a travel destination, and be as factually appriopriate as possible. This will display the synthesis and application of the knowledge they learned within our whole space unit.
Students will continue working on this essay in class for the next two days. They will be crafting two rough drafts and one final draft. The final drafts will be read to the whole class.
It would be greatly apprecitated if you can encourage your children to think creatively. Also, ask your child to demonstrate how to access their essay on GoogleDocs. Have them share their progress this far with you!
Remember, the sky's the limit!
Thanks for your support :)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Here's Alex Trebek! - Review Time!!
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Unfortunately that time is upon us in our 5th Grade classroom - time for the dreaded test! But this one won't be bad, we promise. Today our students did a little review Jeopardy game with yours truly as Alex Trebek. We covered all the material in this Science unit on the Solar System - all lessons are posted on our Blackboard's if you'd like to see what we've covered. As reinforcement tonight, go through the lesson plans and ask your student to summarize their learning from each lesson - it will help them keep the lessons straight and the information categorized in their brains, while helping you understand what we've covering in class. We'd love for you to help our students this way if you can tonight.
In addition, if you or your student feel they need more help, PLEASE ask us - we are here to help! We can schedule a private review session, get your student some addition help, or just do a general review of a topic if the students all seem to be struggling with the same information. Let us know how we can help you and your students! Email, post, or call. Have a great evening, don't stress out too much about this test, and get a good night's sleep/good breakfast - that's most important!
Ms. Opdyke
Unfortunately that time is upon us in our 5th Grade classroom - time for the dreaded test! But this one won't be bad, we promise. Today our students did a little review Jeopardy game with yours truly as Alex Trebek. We covered all the material in this Science unit on the Solar System - all lessons are posted on our Blackboard's if you'd like to see what we've covered. As reinforcement tonight, go through the lesson plans and ask your student to summarize their learning from each lesson - it will help them keep the lessons straight and the information categorized in their brains, while helping you understand what we've covering in class. We'd love for you to help our students this way if you can tonight.
In addition, if you or your student feel they need more help, PLEASE ask us - we are here to help! We can schedule a private review session, get your student some addition help, or just do a general review of a topic if the students all seem to be struggling with the same information. Let us know how we can help you and your students! Email, post, or call. Have a great evening, don't stress out too much about this test, and get a good night's sleep/good breakfast - that's most important!
Ms. Opdyke
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Stars and Constellations - Part II
Today we finished our discussion on stars and constellations. We drew upon our newly learned knowledge yesterday to expand upon what we know about stars and constellations. Not only do we now know the locations of these stars and constellations, but we also know what makes up a star, and how these stars make up constellations.
We talked about the mythological history behind each constellation, and engrossed ourselves within tales of heros and legends.
After our jaunt through mythology, we returned back to our classroom ceiling full of constellations. We began a discussion of how stars and constellations help sailors navigate their ways across the seas. We also investigated the lore behind stonehenge and how it relates to stars. Ask your children for some cool facts!
Still enveloped within our ceiling full of stars, we then turned to Flickr where we look at some up close pictures of the stars and constellations within our solar system. I admit we also indulged in some supreme photos of other stars and even some solar systems! My delicious page will be updated with links to these photos so you can both revel in the beauty that is outer space.
Take an evening, and go outdoors! Enjoy the night sky with your children - and hey, you might learn something along the way!
Thanks for your support and helping me bring learning inside the home, too!
We talked about the mythological history behind each constellation, and engrossed ourselves within tales of heros and legends.
After our jaunt through mythology, we returned back to our classroom ceiling full of constellations. We began a discussion of how stars and constellations help sailors navigate their ways across the seas. We also investigated the lore behind stonehenge and how it relates to stars. Ask your children for some cool facts!
Still enveloped within our ceiling full of stars, we then turned to Flickr where we look at some up close pictures of the stars and constellations within our solar system. I admit we also indulged in some supreme photos of other stars and even some solar systems! My delicious page will be updated with links to these photos so you can both revel in the beauty that is outer space.
Take an evening, and go outdoors! Enjoy the night sky with your children - and hey, you might learn something along the way!
Thanks for your support and helping me bring learning inside the home, too!
Stars and Constellations
Today we started part one of our two part lesson on the stars and constellations. To start this lesson, the lights were turned out and the students were completly immersed within a physical representation of our night sky. Our classroom ceiling is completely covered in black fabric, allowing for the strategic placement of a constellation projector. Once turned on, the night sky lights up in front of our eyes.
This lesson then encompassed basic discussion of the location of the five circumpolar constellations (Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Draco) as well as the major stars within and around those consteallations, such as the North Star (Polaris), Vega and Betelgeuse.
Then, we used GoogleEarth and took advantage of their new outer space module. We traveled to all the constellations and stars we are to be discussing. This not only gave our students a fabulous experience with technology, but also gave them an awareness of where constellations are located in relation to each other.
Then we went back to working with our night sky projected above our heads. We traced an outline of the constellations and stars on our ceiling. This required some coordination on my part and sheetrock stilts. I ensure you, it was a good time had for all.
After tracing our constellations and stars that enveloped our whole classroom, we split up into our color groups and the students worked on crafting their own pictoral representation of the constellations and stars. Stop by the bulletin board outside our classroom door and check their illustrations out!
Tomorrow, we will begin part two of our lesson. In this lesson we will be looking at in depth photos of each constellation and star, and learn what makes up a star or a constellation.
Thanks for your continued support and efforts inside and outside the classroom. Take your children out to look for our newly learned constellations!
This lesson then encompassed basic discussion of the location of the five circumpolar constellations (Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Draco) as well as the major stars within and around those consteallations, such as the North Star (Polaris), Vega and Betelgeuse.
Then, we used GoogleEarth and took advantage of their new outer space module. We traveled to all the constellations and stars we are to be discussing. This not only gave our students a fabulous experience with technology, but also gave them an awareness of where constellations are located in relation to each other.
Then we went back to working with our night sky projected above our heads. We traced an outline of the constellations and stars on our ceiling. This required some coordination on my part and sheetrock stilts. I ensure you, it was a good time had for all.
After tracing our constellations and stars that enveloped our whole classroom, we split up into our color groups and the students worked on crafting their own pictoral representation of the constellations and stars. Stop by the bulletin board outside our classroom door and check their illustrations out!
Tomorrow, we will begin part two of our lesson. In this lesson we will be looking at in depth photos of each constellation and star, and learn what makes up a star or a constellation.
Thanks for your continued support and efforts inside and outside the classroom. Take your children out to look for our newly learned constellations!
Friday, December 4, 2009
History in Space?
That's right parents and guardians, today we talked about History in Space! Some people still call it the last frontier, so it is a little confusing to be talking about the future and history all in one lesson - but today we did just that!
Our lesson today was done during our time in the Computer Lab for Special. First, we did another one of our infamous Chalk Talks to see what we already knew about the United States Space Program. We discussed our ideas and prior knowledge, and then watched a few cool TeacherTube.com videos to get our brains thinking about the US Space Program and the Apollo Missions. After watching the videos, our fifth grade class got ready to go to the Lab for a fun-filled activity!
The NASA website offers some great resources for teaching about the history of their programs, and we utilized some of those resources today. During our time in the Lab, we went through a reading passage about the US Space Program, then did an interactive slide show presentation about the Apollo Missions and the history associated with them. If you'd like to check them out yourself, feel free!! The links are posted below, and our student scientists can now help you learn more about the history of the US Space Program.
~ http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-was-apollo-program-58.html
~ http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo40/
During our time in the Lab, our students also filled out a worksheet geared toward the information they gathered online. The worksheet consisted of some basic reading comprehension questions based on the reading and the slide show. Our Ticket Out The Door today was done on the back of our worksheet, and asked our students why they think the US Space Program is so important. This was not a trick question, merely an opinion-based one, and the students came up with some fantastic and thoughtful answers!
After today's lesson, our student scientists were able to see how the past and future connect - and how they affect each other so much! It may seem a bit odd, but we put both together in a great lesson today! If you or your student have any questions about the Space Program, feel free to visit the NASA website - it holds a lot of information that I'm sure will answer your questions. Any class related questions can be posted here, emailed to us, or if you'd like to call that is fine too! Have a good night and we'll see you in the morning!
Ms. Opdyke
Our lesson today was done during our time in the Computer Lab for Special. First, we did another one of our infamous Chalk Talks to see what we already knew about the United States Space Program. We discussed our ideas and prior knowledge, and then watched a few cool TeacherTube.com videos to get our brains thinking about the US Space Program and the Apollo Missions. After watching the videos, our fifth grade class got ready to go to the Lab for a fun-filled activity!
The NASA website offers some great resources for teaching about the history of their programs, and we utilized some of those resources today. During our time in the Lab, we went through a reading passage about the US Space Program, then did an interactive slide show presentation about the Apollo Missions and the history associated with them. If you'd like to check them out yourself, feel free!! The links are posted below, and our student scientists can now help you learn more about the history of the US Space Program.
~ http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-was-apollo-program-58.html
~ http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo40/
During our time in the Lab, our students also filled out a worksheet geared toward the information they gathered online. The worksheet consisted of some basic reading comprehension questions based on the reading and the slide show. Our Ticket Out The Door today was done on the back of our worksheet, and asked our students why they think the US Space Program is so important. This was not a trick question, merely an opinion-based one, and the students came up with some fantastic and thoughtful answers!
After today's lesson, our student scientists were able to see how the past and future connect - and how they affect each other so much! It may seem a bit odd, but we put both together in a great lesson today! If you or your student have any questions about the Space Program, feel free to visit the NASA website - it holds a lot of information that I'm sure will answer your questions. Any class related questions can be posted here, emailed to us, or if you'd like to call that is fine too! Have a good night and we'll see you in the morning!
Ms. Opdyke
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Galelio and Geocentric vs Heliocentric Solar Systems
Today was a fabulous day for an in depth look at this history of our solar system. We started by watching a video on the differences between geocentric and heliocentric solar systems and the history of the discovery of our solar system. This video is available on Blackboard for your viewing as well!
We also discovered how science has progressed from being mostly speculative to becoming the evidence based subject area it is today. We discussed how advances in technology have helped us make certain discoveries; notably that we are a heliocentric solar system. We also equated it to the discovery of the Earth being round, rather than square.
We finished our lesson today with two fun activities! We gathered in our groups to create a time line as tall as we are that told us about the major discoveries of our solar system. We then used the old magazines so many of you graciously donated to make our own models of the solar system. We then modeled a geocentric solar system, and a heliocentric solar system. These lovely and colorful collages will be on display in our classroom during parent teacher conferences, so be sure to look for them!
I have noticed that some students are having difficulty imagining what life was like without technology. Parents - you and I grew up for a part of our lives without the internet and computers, but our students are having difficulty grasping the concept. Perhaps indulging in an evening with no technolgy and staging your own power outage can help them experience life without technology and help them imagine the past better.
Thanks for encouraging learning inside your homes and outside the classroom!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me!
-Ms.Shoup
We also discovered how science has progressed from being mostly speculative to becoming the evidence based subject area it is today. We discussed how advances in technology have helped us make certain discoveries; notably that we are a heliocentric solar system. We also equated it to the discovery of the Earth being round, rather than square.
We finished our lesson today with two fun activities! We gathered in our groups to create a time line as tall as we are that told us about the major discoveries of our solar system. We then used the old magazines so many of you graciously donated to make our own models of the solar system. We then modeled a geocentric solar system, and a heliocentric solar system. These lovely and colorful collages will be on display in our classroom during parent teacher conferences, so be sure to look for them!
I have noticed that some students are having difficulty imagining what life was like without technology. Parents - you and I grew up for a part of our lives without the internet and computers, but our students are having difficulty grasping the concept. Perhaps indulging in an evening with no technolgy and staging your own power outage can help them experience life without technology and help them imagine the past better.
Thanks for encouraging learning inside your homes and outside the classroom!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me!
-Ms.Shoup
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Modeling our Solar System
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Today we had quite the interactive class about the solar system! Our students drew on their prior knowledge in their ratios and proportions math lesson. We created our own proportions and ratios for the 'legend' or 'scale' in our solar system map, and used that scale to create a model of the solar system. We ended up finding out that we cannot use the same scale for both the distances between planets and the size of the planets - it would have either made our scale too far apart or too big!
Once our scales were created, our Science groups made scale-sized versions of all of the planets and we took them out into the hall outside our classroom. With the help of a yardstick, our class went down the hallway, putting the planets up on the wall where they were supposed to be in relation to each other. Our solar system took up the entire hallway! If you have some time to come to the school soon, stop through our hallway and check out our scientists' great work!
Our students do not have any assigned homework tonight, but if they would like to talk about our interactive class today, please ask them questions! Created scales and the math involved can get a little tricky, so please let us know if your student is struggling to grasp the math material from today. We would be more than happy to help any students review how to create and/or how to use ratios and proportions in their work. Any other questions, feel free to post, email, or call us. Have a great evening!
Ms. Opdyke
Today we had quite the interactive class about the solar system! Our students drew on their prior knowledge in their ratios and proportions math lesson. We created our own proportions and ratios for the 'legend' or 'scale' in our solar system map, and used that scale to create a model of the solar system. We ended up finding out that we cannot use the same scale for both the distances between planets and the size of the planets - it would have either made our scale too far apart or too big!
Once our scales were created, our Science groups made scale-sized versions of all of the planets and we took them out into the hall outside our classroom. With the help of a yardstick, our class went down the hallway, putting the planets up on the wall where they were supposed to be in relation to each other. Our solar system took up the entire hallway! If you have some time to come to the school soon, stop through our hallway and check out our scientists' great work!
Our students do not have any assigned homework tonight, but if they would like to talk about our interactive class today, please ask them questions! Created scales and the math involved can get a little tricky, so please let us know if your student is struggling to grasp the math material from today. We would be more than happy to help any students review how to create and/or how to use ratios and proportions in their work. Any other questions, feel free to post, email, or call us. Have a great evening!
Ms. Opdyke
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