Polar Regions, Making 5, & Computer Coding

This week we've been learning all about polar animals.  On Monday we started learning about the specific animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.  On Tuesday morning students worked to sort polar animals into the correct regions.

In the afternoon on Tuesday we began learning more specifically about polar bears.  We started by reading a non-fiction article and then highlighting important information in order to prove our answers to the comprehension questions.

Then students worked together with a partner to label the different parts of a polar bear.

On Wednesday we worked together as a class to brainstorm a list of things that polar bears can do, have, and are.

Later in the day students worked with a partner to create polar bear fact notecards.

Finally we used all the information we had gathered to write non-fiction pieces about polar bears.  Here's a few samples of the work students did.

On Thursday students completed their projects by making special polar bears to hold their writing.  The projects are now on display out in the hallway.

In the afternoon on Thursday we started learning about penguins.  We read several non-fiction books and then followed directions to draw and label our own penguins.

In math we have been learning about making and taking apart numbers.  On Tuesday students used dobber markers to create different combinations to make 5.

In library this week students had a chance to practice their computer coding skills in library with Ms. Zbacnik.  They had learned a lot while having lots of fun!

Letter A, Counting by 10s, & Agate

We just finished up our unit on apples on Friday.  Students did a great job and learned a lot.  Hopefully they were able to share their apple books with you!  This is our new apple bulletin board.

This past week we also learned that vowels include: a, e, i, o, u.  We also learned that vowels can make a short sound and a long sound.  On Tuesday we worked together as a class to complete the worksheet below.

Then we sorted short and long A words on the Smartboard.

Lastly, students worked together with a partner to sort short and long A words on their own.

In math we have been practicing counting by 10s.  On Wednesday students had a chance to work together with their table group to build 10s pyramids.

 

We ended the week by reading the story Agate by Joy Morgan Dey.  We spent time talking about the lesson Agate the moose learned in the story that each and everyone of us is special!

 

 

Then students painted their own self-portraits with watercolors just like the ones in the book.

 

Their portraits turned out awesome!

Apples & Bingo

This week we began learning all about apples.  We began on Monday by reading the non-fiction book Apples by Gail Gibbons.  Then we had an apple taste test where students each sampled a piece of a red apple, yellow apple, and green apple.  Students then picked their favorites and we graphed our results.  The most popular apple in our class was yellow.

 

 

Next students examined the different parts of an apple including: a seed, core, flesh, skin, and bottom.  They took notes in their special apple books.

 

 

On Tuesday we did several experiments with apples.  We started by predicting whether we thought an apple would sink or float.  Many students thought that the apple would sink -- but we found out that it floated!

 

Students also had a chance to use balance scales to determine if different classroom objects were heavy or lighter than an apple.

 

We ended our short week by playing Learning Bingo with our 6th grade buddies!  We had lots of fun during this all school event!

 

Odds & Ends

Early last week your child brought their dairy farm diorama project home with them.  Each diorama had to include a cow with an udder, a calf, a barn, a silo, and a pasture.   Students all worked very hard on these projects and they turned out great!

Our current dairy farm bulletin board...

Living & Non-living bulletin board...

Clifford projects students made during our Clifford book study...

On Thursday we had a visit from one of the librarians from the Roseville Public Library.

She shared a few stories with us and talked to students about getting their own library cards.  A special form will be coming home in this week's Wednesday folder with more information!

All week last week we worked on writing fiction stories with cats as the main characters.  First students created rough drafts where they brainstormed their characters, setting, and the beginning, middle, and end of their stories.  When they finished their rough drafts they had a chance to share their stories with their classmates.

On Friday, students worked hard creating their final drafts that are now on display in the hallway outside of our classroom.

Buddy Project & Cows

Yesterday we had a chance to meet with our 6th grade buddies for the second time.  We started by reading the book All the World by Liz Garton Scanton.  Then we had a group discussion about being thankful/grateful.

Next students worked together with their buddies to create a quilt square that showed something that each person was thankful/grateful for.

Here's what the quilt squares looked like when they were all done.  They turned out great!

On Monday, we learned that there are many different types of farms.  We then spent time learning specifically about dairy farms.  Yesterday we learned more about cows.  Students followed step-by-step directions to draw their own cows and then we worked together as a class to label our drawings.

Here's our whole class with our special cow hats!