This week, we discussed our hopes and dreams for our lives. Some of our classmates hope to play in the little league world series, become a marine biologist, go to Penn State, work for the FBI, become an author, and much more! We discussed how school is a place to learn all the tools we’ll need to achieve our hopes and dreams. Then, we talked about what our goals are for this school year. Some people want to feel more comfortable with math, some kids want to meet new friends, and others want to become more responsible and organize. In order to be certain that all students can reach their hopes and dreams, we create a set of expectations, or a class constitution. We’ll be finalizing this document next week, so check back to see our final draft!
We also spent a lot of time working on our teamwork and problem solving skills. In the highest structure challenge, one team built a tower out of ONLY straws, toothpicks, and paper that was self-standing and reached over 40 centimeters high! More importantly, every team did a fantastic job listening to their peers, including all members, and sharing their ideas. Those important skills will allow the students to succeed in math, science, language arts, and social studies. Well done, 5th grade!
We also completed a math challenge called “Petals Around the Rose.” The students kept records of the outcomes and created lists of questions as we worked on the activity. They worked in small groups to discuss their ideas until they were able to uncover the pattern or rule for the game. Congratulations to all the students who achieved “Ruler of the Rose” status during this challenge. (Want to play the game with your parents? Check it out here: http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons/Petals/Petals.htm.)
In math we also created surveys, collected data, and made pictographs to represent our classes likes and dislikes. These pictographs will be hanging in the hallway for parents to view at Back-to-School night on September 16th.
In language arts, we began talking about strategies readers and writers use. This includes picking a “just-right” book, discussing what we’re reading, reading for a sustained amount of time, and telling stories orally. We also began to discuss the purpose of a writer’s notebook. The students personalized their notebooks, and I learned so much about their personality through this activity! I can’t wait to read what they write inside!
This was a great first week, and I’m really looking forward to week two!
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