5th Grade: Perfect World

To set the stage for The Giver my 5th graders have been thinking about what they consider a perfect world.  They read 4 poems from Langston Hughes, chose one, and rewrote it from through their vision of a perfect world.  The kids also created a visual.  The students chose various tools on the iPad to put their visual and their poem together.  Here are a few of the completed projects.

The Giver: 

Precision of Language is an important element of the community in The Giver. The main character spends nearly the entire first chapter trying to come up with the correct word to describe how he is feeling.  The word was apprehensive.  We did a quick write in our Giver Journal’s about a time we felt apprehensive.  

Photo Nov 11, 3 01 58 PM

5th Grade: Curiosity Hour

I introduced the kids to Curiosity Hour this past week and boy have they taken off with it.  Each kids is to choose something they want to THINK about, investigate, spend time with.  Once they have chosen their topic is time to LEARN everything there is to know about their chosen topic.  Once they have learned all that they needed or wanted to, they will CREATE a project and SHARE it with their peers.

Step 1 was to THINK about things they were curious about or wanted to learn.  Here are some examples of the planning process.


Learning: Here are the kids working on their Curiosity Hour Projects

5th Grade: Perfect World

Tuesday was an early dismissal week, so we had to cram a lot of learning into a short time.  Thankfully my 5th graders are always ready to work.

Last week we discussed whether we lived in a perfect world, and if not, what kept our world from being perfect.  The kids brainstormed a list of ideas on Padlet. then watched the video World by Five for Fighting.  The kids added the problems that they saw depicted in the video to the Padlet.  One line of the song says, “Printed on the box I see A.C.M.E’s Build-A-World-To-Be”.  We discussed this phrase and thought about what tools we would want in our box to help build a more perfect world.  You can see some of the kids’ ideas below.

Padlet Brainstorm:

Our A.C.M.E Build-A-World-To-Be Boxes:

This week the 5th graders read 4 of Langston Hughes’ poems and chose one to rewrite.  They needed to rewrite it from the frame of their vision for a perfect world.  These still need to be cleaned up, but I thought they were on the right track.  Next week they will finish their poem and their visual for their perfect world and out the two together into one complete project.  For now enjoy their rough drafts.

5th Grade: Integrity and More

In 5th grade we have been spending time with an amazing writer, Langston Hughes.  After spending a few weeks on his poetry we read a short story called Thank You, Ma’am.  We used an amazing app called Nearpod to investigate the idea of integrity and how it connects to the story. The 5th graders looked at the definition of integrity and thought about examples of people that do and do NOT show integrity.  Parents, you will be happy that the kids (for the most part 🙂 ) listed you and even their siblings as people that do show integrity. Non-examples tended to be Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bynes,  oh, and Hitler.

After our Nearpod, I listed questions for the kids to consider connecting Thank You, Ma’am and Integrity.  The kids had the opportunity to participate in their second Socratic Smackdown.  Some parts were a definite improvement to our first experience, but we still have a lot of work to do.

Following our Socratic Smackdown we did a Behavior Over Time Graph to examine how Roger’s level of integrity changed throughout the story. The 5th graders chose a way to reflect on their learning.  Here are a few examples.  A few kids still need to finish.

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It was Coach Faulstich’s big day on Tuesday, so the kids and I decided to surprise her with a little treat.  The 5th graders created songs and raps to celebrate her big day.  It is amazing what they can create in 10 minutes.  🙂  Their talent is inspiring.  I love the freedom they have to take risks and create.

5th Grade: Dreams

In fifth grade we started with a Langston Hughes poem:

Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly,
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go,
Life is a barren field,
Frozen with snow.

 Before the 5th graders came to class, they studied a wordle that included the words from the poem and had to consider the meaning behind the words.  They created a presentation to share their interpretations. From there, the kids had a chance to look at the actual poem and break it apart.

This week the kids spent time researching Langston Hughes to learn about the events and experiences in his life that impacted who he became. Following our research.  I gave the kids a quote by Les Brown, “If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.”  We considered how this quote could connect to Hughes and his poem.

Photo Sep 30, 2 40 23 PMNext up: SOCRATIC SMACKDOWN!  This was our first time and it was awesome.  We have a great deal of improvements to make, but for our first one I was quite impressed.

I gave the kids another Langston Hughes’ poem: What Happens to a Dream Deferred?  The 5th graders had time to study and break the poem down.  They focused on literary devices Hughes’ used, the tone and message of the poem, the imagery, and how it all served to impact the reader.  After preparing the kids formed two circles, an inner and outer circle.  The inner circle were the first to participate in a Socratic dialogue for 6 minutes, while the outer circle scored and took notes on the inner circle.  Then we switched roles.  The goal of the Socratic Smackdown is to learn to dive into a piece of text with true depth and complexity.  We aren’t there yet, but with practice I am excited to see how we improve.

After participating in the Socratic Smackdown, the 5th graders went back to their desks to reflect on the poem.  They chose between two possbilities to share their thinking.

Hands On Equations Through the Lens of Depth and Complexity: One of the things that I love about my job is that while I get the pleasure of keeping many of my students year to year, I also get an influx of new kids. The additions to each grade level serve to change the dynamics and also keep things fresh.  With HOE being taught in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, I always need to catch up the new students while the other students are reviewing the concepts.  This year I had the 5th graders (that have been in the GT program) do a project showing HOE through the depth and complexity icons.  HOE, is a precursor to algebra.  One group finished their project.  Enjoy their Game Show!

5th Grade: On to Middle School

I sure miss seeing my 5th graders around campus.  I had the pleasure of working with many of them since kindergarten. Wow!  I know that they will all have wonderful experiences in Middle School…and look forward to hearing about it all on Edmodo…but I miss having them drop in to say hi.  As I work my way through testing it reminds me of what a special job I have; working with kids throughout many years.  It is wonderful to watch them grow and develop.  One of my favorite projects is watching my 5th graders develop their own philosophy and to put it together using a variety of mediums.  I realized that I never posted their finished Philosophy projects, so am doing that now.  It was fun to go back through them.  They created a Mandala to represent their philosophy.  They put it into Thinglink and made their image interactive.  So, we now have a nested Thinglink.  Click on each Mandala and it will open that individual student’s mandala and philosophy project.

5th Grade: Mathematicians Are People Too

In 5th grade we have learned that the early philosophers were our first mathematicians and scientists because they had curious minds and wanted to know why.  This year we have studied Pythagoras, Thales, Archimedes, Plato, Aristotle and Socrates.  I decided that the kids were ready to be the teachers, so the kids broke into groups and they were each assigned an important mathematician from the past.  They were to create a presentation that would teach us biographical information about their person, but they also had to learn about one of their contributions to the world of science or math and teach us.  They will be presenting in the next couple of weeks, but here are parts of their presentations.

Isaac Newton

Newton’s Third Law

Galileo Galilee

John Napier Part 1

John Napier Part 2

5th Grade: Instagram Fun

The 5th graders chose a mathematician or philosopher that we have researched this year and created an Instagram for them.  Students used the Science of Character to choose the top 5 traits they believe their person demonstrates.  Students also had to consider what their person believes to be true about the world and what they wanted to give back to the world.  Some of the students used Chatterkid to give their mathematician a voice.

Mathematicians on Instagram on PhotoPeach

Liam

Miguel

Spencer

Nick

Luke

Adrian

5th Grade: The National Anthem

My 5th graders have really taken to their Genius Hour time each week.  This year I have loved watching the kids in action.  This group is creative and passionate. There is still much I need to learn on running a successful Genius Hour, but this group has helped me to see what is possible.

In the middle of March Nick came to class with his guitar.  He told me that he wanted to learn how to play the National Anthem during Genius Hour.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he sat down at the computer, found the music and started trying to learn the chords.  Spencer, was excited by Nick’s idea and decided he wanted to work with Nick on his Genius Project.  Suddenly I had two guitars in my classroom every Tuesday, with the kids working not only during Genius Hour, but also during their lunch.

Two weeks ago the boys stayed in for lunch to practice, along with several of their friends.  They were ready to practice in front of an audience.  Below is a video of their first practice.  In the two weeks since recording the kids have continued to work, practice, and perfect.  I have loved seeing their dedication and passion for learning something new. I hope this example of Genius Hour at work will inspire me to expand it into some other grades next year.

5th Grade: Philosophers & Mathematicians

I am long overdue in posting about 5th grade, but have no fear we have been hard at work every Tuesday.  I am excited about some of the work that we have been doing and think you will enjoy our future posts showcasing the kids work.

This second semester the 5th graders have been introduced to many great minds: Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes, etc.  We discovered that these philosophers were the early mathematicians and scientists because they were the people that dared to ask why and to question accepted truths.  I figured that  I was due for a break from being in charge of teaching all of these math concepts…the studying I have been doing has proved exhausting :). I decided to charge the 5th graders with the responsibility of teaching about the last 4 great minds on my list.  The kids broke into groups and were each assigned a mathematician and/or scientist to learn about.  They were given Newton, Galilee, Napier, and Pascal.  Each group has to come up with an engaging presentation to share biographical information about their person and a hands-on activity to teach one of the concepts their mathematician is known for.

The creativity and passion they have been putting into their projects has been inspiring.  I told the kids that they needed to present and teach in a way they would like to learn.  Apparently I need to add more props and costumes to my teaching.  I have groups creating talk shows, groups using puzzles and games, and much more.  What I have really enjoyed is seeing the kids research the math and science concepts, attempt to figure them out, and think of ways to present them to the class.  One group was showing me Napier’s Bones, an early way to calculate complicated multiplication problems.  Another group has designed a balloon rocket to demonstrate Newton’s law that every action has an opposite and equal reaction.  I know the kids are going to love building those.  I watched another student try to show his teammates how Pascal’s Triangle works.  Awesome thinking is happening here on Tuesdays!  I will post all of the presentations as they are shared with the class, but here are a few images of the kids at work.

Photo Apr 09, 9 05 58 AMWe have also been hard at work on Genius Hour Projects.  We have kids trying to figure out the math behind a magic trick, learn the Arabic language and a little about Islam, how to make cheesecake, making games on Scratch, how to play the National Anthem on the guitar,  and creating a Lego movie using Stop Motion.