Science Learning

Today we got to go to Ms. Gilbertson's class to learn about balance!  Ask your child what he/she learned today using the tools below.     

*They used these tools to balance a pencil on it's tip on the end of their finger.

Mobile 1 Experiment

Today we did the first of two experiments making mobiles.  We made a simple mobile using paperclips, straws, cards and rubber bands.    This was fairly easy to do with a partner and will help students later this week when they make mobile 2 with Ms. Olson.

Maker Space Stations

Today in Library we did Maker Space Stations!  We talked about exploring something new and working together as a group to create something.  Ask your child what he/she did.  Everyone was engaged and busy the whole time!

Triangle and Arch

Yesterday we did another experiment with balance.  We used these tools to talk about stable, balance point and counterweights.  We discovered a rule about the balance point and counterweights.  It was lots of fun!

Today we wrote about our experiments in our science lab books.  

Paragraph Writing

Today we did a practice paragraph using the "stoplight" method.  It is really more of an upside down stoplight, however it really helps to organize our thoughts.

The green is the topic sentences and represents the main idea of the paragraph.  The yellow in the stoplight are the supporting details in a paragraph.  The red is the closing sentence and wraps up the paragraph.  This sentence can be similar to the green sentence.

We all wrote about Birthday parties!  Our topic sentence was: Birthday parties are fun!  Everyone worked hard to write supporting sentences and a closing sentence.  We put them on colored paper and the hung the finished product in the room.

Crayfish Trick~

Today we started our next Science unit - Balance and Motion!  We did the first experiment called the Crayfish Trick.  Using paper crayfish and clothespins we learned about balance.  See if your child can tell you about two terms we learned as well as how she/he made the crayfish balance.

6th Grade Concert and Wordless Picture Books

This morning we went to the first concert of the year!  It was the 6th grade concert!  It was very, very good!  Ask your child about his/her favorite part.

Here we are ready to listen!

We are an excellent audience!

In Library today we learned about Wordless picture books.  We first talked about what makes wordless pictures books different from other books and why we have to read them differently.  Next, we read Sidewalk Flowers which is another Star of the North Picture book award nominee.  Ask your child about the book, what the story was and what was the underlying meaning of the book.

Then, in pairs, we read different picture books.  It was lots of fun!  Everyone worked so carefully to really study the pictures and notice the details.  

Main Idea and Detail Sorting

Last Friday we started practicing sorting main idea/topic sentences from detail sentences.  We used sets of cards that are winter sport themed.  Students had to read all the cards, decide which one was the topic sentence and begin to record the information.  It was lots of fun and good practice!  It was also good to work with a partner!

Today we had a variety of sentences and had to do the same thing . . . sort!  It was a bit harder today as there were more sentences and paragraphs on a variety of topics.