Heat Wave!

We finished off the week with a scorching Thursday and Friday.  A heat wave hit the Northeast on Thursday with temperatures hitting 96 degrees outside and 84 degrees in Room 209.  While the outside temperatures dropped to comfortable levels outside on Friday and we were able to bring some relief to the hallway, the classroom started and ended the day at a very humid 81 degrees.

I'm so proud of all of Room 209 for continuing to work hard under uncomfortable conditions and for supporting each other.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, we were able to end Friday on a sweet and cool note with Richie's Italian Ice.  Deeeeeeee-lish!

You Light Up My Life!

We are deep into our learning about electricity and having a great time working our way from very simple circuits to parallel and series circuits and building our own switches.

Creating our own switches

Series vs. Parallel

Working together.

We can figure this out!

Studying a flashlight to see how it works.

Can we figure out how to make the bulb light?

Exploring different configurations.

Hmmm....

Hard at work

With a little help from our friends...

Joining forces and materials

How many light bulbs can we light on a parallel circuit?

Thunder and Lightning!

As we settled in for the day, Room 209 heard thunder outside and it was if the sky suddenly opened up to drop a curtain of rain.  It seemed the perfect time to do some writing and share stories about our storm experiences.  Here are excerpts from the memories the students shared:

I fell out of my bed because there was thunder outside my room!  I decided to go downstairs and sleep in the family room for the night until the power came on.  (Eric A.)

I remember that when I was about 3 years old my aunt used to baby sit me.  We had a big bay window near the kitchen table.  Every time there was a thunderstorm she would watch them and show me the lightning.  After that I wasn't as scared about thunderstorms.  Now, I love to watch lightning flash and thunder roar.  (Alexandria)

I remember a few years back in my old town when we had a flood.  The streets were like rivers. They were flowing really fast and we couldn't go outside because it was so severe and dangerous. (Kailey)
I remember in Kindergarten when there was such a big storm that the power went out at school.  I was so scared!  (James)

When there is thunder and lightning and the power goes out it is pitch black.  it is pretty scary but not that scary.  When the power goes out it kind of makes you jump.  (Andrew)

One day it was thunder and lightning outside and my dog was outside so I was scared that he was going to get hit. (Jazmin)

When it is raining really hard in my house you hear the raindrops echo through the house.  It is so cool but scary at the same time. (Chris)

I remember when I was about 5 years old there was a storm and I got very scared. I ran into my room and went to my bed and put my covers over my head and put my stuffed animals in with me. (Teresa)

When I hear a thunder storm, I feel very tired because the rain makes a very quiet, settled sound and the darkness makes me feel like I'm about to go to bed.  (Justin)
I think storms are really cool.  With flashes of lightning tearing through the sky.  And giant crackling sounds of thunder.  (Arman)

The sky was really dark and seemed as if it would storm forever.  The hail felt as if it would dent the roof of the van.  The wind was howling and the trees looked as if they would fall over and there were branches on the ground.  (Sarvesh)

Hurricanes can be 600 miles around!  They have an eye and scientists use dropsondes to get data and do research.  Hurricanes can cause a lot of damage.  (Thomas S.)

When I was 10 years old, I was in India with my brother.  It started to rain so we went outside with our umbrellas.  We played until lightning started.  At first, I didn't know that my brother had already gone inside so I had to look all over the apartment complex with my friend.  Finally, when we came home we saw my brother watching TV on the couch! (Arya)

Once when I was a very young girl there was a thunderstorm in the summer and all the windows were open.  The power went out and my mom and dad were at work.  My grandma didn't know how to close the windows so we hung towels up in them.  It was getting late so my sister, brother, grandma and I slept in my grandma's bed room.  We were too scared to sleep alone.  (Jeenal)

A couple of days after I got my dog as a puppy, there was a thunder and lightning storm.  The thunder came and my dog hid in a corner whining.  He was so scared he had his tail between his legs and he put his ears down.  You could tell he was scared.  (Eric B.)

When it is raining and thundering and lightning I get scared to use electronics.  Most of the time I play board games in my room and keep a distance from electronics.  (Thomas H.)

I love snow storms because when the big white snowflakes fall it looks so magical.  I like when it's a whiteout also because then all you can see is white.  The best part of snow storms is that if it's not too bad you can go outside in the storm and play because snow is light and fluffy.  (Meghan)

Storms I see them come and go.  Some they give me a fright, others I sit and watch them.  I can't wait to go outside again, but that's not my decision. (Siri)

Coming Attractions

This month is a busy one for the fifth grade!  We have many activities as we come to the end of the year.

May 30th Memorial Day - No school :-(
May 31st Teresa's birthday!
June 2nd Field Day
June 3rd Cedardale
June 4th Siri's birthday!
June10th Eric's birthday!
June 12th Alexandria's birthday!
June 16th Moving Up Ceremony
June 19th Justin's birthday!
June 22nd Last day of school if no more snow days ;-)

Multiplying Fractions by a Whole Number

Today, we learned that we already knew how to multiply fractions by whole numbers!  It's amazing what we've been doing without even knowing it all this time.  Each time we had figured out a fraction of a whole number (for example, 3/4 of 12), we were actually multiplying (3/4 x 12/1).  

After looking at the mental strategies we already use, we examined the U.S. algorithm to see how it fit with what we understood about fractions.  Before we knew it, we were selecting the process that worked best for each problem and flying through equations and word problems.  

Tying new learning in math to what we already know makes for exciting work and a constant desire to know what comes next.

iPads in Room 209

 Last Tuesday, Room 209 had the incredible opportunity to borrow a class set of iPads from the middle school.

We started out the day by watching videos from Discovery Education to help us review what we learned in earlier years about rocks, minerals and earth processes.  With the iPads, each student could stop the video to take notes or "rewind" to hear information again. What we noticed was that we took more notes and learned more when we could each go at our own pace without fear of missing important information while we were writing.



 









In Math, we worked on problem solving, showing our solutions by using a drawing app.  We then imported the drawing into a word processing app and explained our reasoning.  Wow!  There were some amazing results and we really focused on how we showed our solutions.  For the first time in all my years of teaching, the class asked if they could skip recess and keep working on math!  I was thrilled, but still made everyone head out for some exercise and fresh air.


In English Language Arts, we dove into the world of digital storytelling.  We selected stories we wrote earlier in the year so we could get right to work.  Mr. Callahan guided us in finding images that fit the theme of our stories.  Once we selected images, we imported them into an app called StoryRobe.  With just a little time to go, we found quiet spots in the room and read our stories into the iPad microphones.  StoryRobe put it all together and we had a slideshow which acted as a background to our stories.  It was strange for many of us to hear our voices on the recordings.


Perhaps the most exciting part of this day was that the adults in the classroom were learning as much as the students.  We discovered new uses for the iPads, figured out which apps worked best for accomplishing different tasks, and how we might use them better if we are lucky enough to have a "next time."


Our thanks to Pine Glen's own Mr. Callahan and Mr. Villano from the middle school for allowing us this wonderful learning opportunity.

Electricity Demonstration

Static electricity!

Look at what static electricity can do !
Today the 3rd and 5th graders went to the electricity show hosted by Mr.Papadonis and Ms. Pavlicek. The 5th graders used this show to review for the science MCAS. During the show they did many experiments and saw the Van de Graaff generator. In this picture there is a smaller version of the Van de Graaff generator. This demonstrated static electrity and what it does to people's hair as shown in the picture.  They also learned about Ben Franklin's inventions and Mr.Papadonis also recreated Ben Franklin's experiment.The kids had lots of fun while learning about electricity.

Guest Bloggers: Teresa and Sarvesh

MCBA Voting

On Friday, the 5th grade voted for their favorite MCBA book.  In order to qualify as a voter, students needed to have read a minimum of 5 books from the MCBA list.  We had a record turn-out this year, with several students having managed to read all 25 books!

Pine Glen Librarian, Mrs. Ogren, facilitate the voting in the library. Later, voters came together to have a pizza lunch and discuss the books.  There was a wide range of interests and preferences across the grade level.

When the votes were counted, we ended in a tie!  Alabama Moon and No Talking! each received 7 votes.  Vote totals for each book were sent to the MCBA program at Salem State University who will post the final winner when the votes from across the state are totaled.

Math Olympiad

 This week, I had the privilege of acting as substitute for Mrs. Beaulieu in Math Olympiad.  What an exciting time!  I was amazed  by the complexity of the problems and the "out of the box" thinking  of our 5th graders. 

All of the solutions required multiple steps and students needed to bring together logical thinking, computation, and a high level of creativity in order to find the solutions.  None of the problems were straight computation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division).

But the most impressive part of working with our Math Olympians was watching students work together and discuss their thinking.  We hear all the time about how collaboration, cooperation, and creativity are the most important tools our 21st century learners will need - our 5th graders are well on their way to having these essential citizenship skills.

Guest Post: D.A.R.E.

This post was contributed by Teresa & Thomas S.

This year in Room 209, we have been working on a wrap-up of all the things we learned in D.A.R.E. over the past 5 years. 

This is a summary of an interview with Officer Sheppard, a D.A.R.E. Officer:
He said that D.A.R.E is important because you can build something big from it.  Officer Sheppard also said that he wanted to be a D.A.R.E. officer because it is easier to teach kids to make wise decisions. 

This year the 5th graders will be having a D.A.R.E. graduation, focusing on the subjects that they have learned.  Stay tuned for more information on the D.A.R.E. graduation!

Music and Technology - Call it Love!

It seems that technology has become integrated into every aspect of school life - appropriate, as it has become part of our everyday lives outside of school, as well.  Next week, Room 209 will use MuseScore, an online music composition and notation program as part of Music class.  You can check it out here: MuseScore  Thank you Mrs. Agati, Mrs. Rzasa, and Mr. Callahan!

Guest Post: Art

Clay Coil Pots

This post was contributed by Thomas, Kailey, James, and Meghan.

Miss Fallon

In room 209 we have been working on clay coil pots in Art class. Ms. Fallon was kind enough to let us interview her before art class! We learned a lot about Ms. Fallon. Some of those interesting facts are that she spent a year in Italy as a painter and a student! Also she made her favorite sculpture of a life size papier-mâché model of a lion! Do you know another art teacher that can do that? Ms Fallon learned all different techniques and all of them helped her to do much more on other projects. One of the last things that we want to say is that her favorite kinds of paints to work with are: Paint Acrylic, Gouache paint.

We would like to thank Ms Fallon for all the hard work she put into our projects!

From room 209

Thomas, Kailey, James, Meghan

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

Pine Glen in Snow

It seems that the weather is the topic on everyone's mind these days.  Snow days, delayed openings, and early releases have made for an exciting but confusing January.

Concerns about the missed sessions of our skating program and what will happen about the end of the school year have come up repeatedly.

The Scholars' Garden

A notice is going home today regarding the skating program.  The two sessions missed will be made up next Thursday and Friday, February 10th and 11th.  Please send back the permission form at the bottom of the notice so that your child may attend these sessions.

The Play Structure

We are in no immediate danger of attending school in July.  Nor are there any plans currently for reducing the February or April vacations.  Superintendent Eric Conti has discussed this on his blog here.

Path between the back doors

The Patch recently posted an article, The Making of a Snow Day, which describes how the Superintendent comes to a decision regarding school closings.  Please understand that individual schools do not make decisions regarding school schedules and/or closings.

I hope this addresses some of the concerns parents and students have had this week. 

Seismic Waves

Every so often it turns out that a great idea doesn't quite work out in the classroom.  Today, we tried to look at a website that featured an interactive 3-D seismic wave simulation, only to be disappointed when the pages wouldn't load.  Of course, as soon as our Science block was over, everything worked beautifully!  

Seismic Waves Simulator

(You will need Shockwave in order to see this animation)

I'm posting the link here in hopes that students and families will take a look.  Be sure to play around with the types of waves and the different views.  Zooming in allows you to see the P Waves as longitudinal waves, S Waves as transverse waves, and Surface Waves which act as both longitudinal and transverse waves.

What do you do on a SNOW DAY?

This winter has already brought lots of snow, two snow days and a 2-hour delay.  And a look at the forecast says we are not done yet!

My son, Noah, leads the way.

While constant interruptions to our schedule and curriculum can be challenging, they also give us a chance to try something new.  

A clearing near dusk

On Friday, after the snow stopped, my son, Noah, introduced me to the joys of snowshoeing.  We are fortunate to live near conservation land where the combination of forest and meadow create beautiful scenes whether walking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.  Our family has also used the two snow days thus far this year to learn play much-loved board games and learn new ones as well as put together jigsaw puzzles in 2- and 3-D.

How has your family used the snow days?