5th Grade HappeningsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
We have started our quest into learning about food through chemistry! This will serve as a piece of the foundationÃ‚Â for our service learning on the farm that will happen at the end of February.
Students started by analyzing corn, and products in the grocery store that were made from various corn byproducts. Students were amazed how many corn based materials were actually processed and used in cereals, soups, etc. as we began to talk about the pros and cons of having corn within our diet. Students participated in chemistry labs, like Candy Chemistry, using high fructose corn syrup, to both learn about various chemistry combinations, along with starting to look critically, like food scientists, at the ingredients within the foods they eat. We will continue into our food chemistry unit next week in a forensics style food chemistry lab, using grape juice products and baking soda to create imaginary inks.
In conjunction with our learning about corn, and sugars within our diet, Students will increase their understanding of how to dissect non-fiction texts and infographics to extract meaning. We will watch a documentary next week called FED UP, which will provide the students with a closer look into how sugar has been one of the main culprit to both juvenile diabetes and obesity within our country. As I focus on both the Pros and Cons behind all areas of our scientific studies, students will use the documentary viewing of FED UP and a reading called RESHAPING OUR FUTURE THROUGH FOOD to create their own infographics. They will then have the creative freedom to research and write a PRO CON paper on a topic of their choice, and a supplemental infographic that will more succinctly share the information of their research paper.
How does our preservation of food allow us to live more sustainably? Along with inquiry labs on cucumbers and chemical reactions, students will participate in one sustainable food preparation method by making PICKLES. We will discuss the chemical changes that happen in the fermentation processes and students will Ã¢â‚¬ËœpickleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ cucumbers, carrots and hikima. Get ready to taste their learning at home next week!
We will culminate our novel study of THE GIRL WHO OWNED THE CITY next week, and students will begin the Graphic Novel version of the story. Along with being able to compare and contrast the stories, students will work in teams to creatively analyze the text-They will work on a book poster where they will be highlighting the strategic moves of the characters, describing the morals and lessons of the story, making inferences by creating sequel ideas, writing poetry about the main concepts of the book like CHILDREN EMPOWERMENT, LEADERSHIP, FRIENDSHIP, etc. and use their artistic abilities to come up with a group vision of a survival fortress modeling key concepts from the book. As an additional reading experience, students each chose a graphic novel from the library and will perform their third book talk in several weeks!
In math we have been working using coordinate points. Students have learned how to understand uses of coordinate grids, and in how manipulating (x,y) values can create differences within shapes. We will culminate our chapter 4 knowledge by learning to use various algorithms to add and subtract decimals.
Continuing to dare creatively,