PARCC Testing

Grade 5 will be taking the PARCC assessment next week. Testing sessions will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We will have a modified schedule for the remainder of the day after testing is complete. Please eat a healthy breakfast and get plenty of sleep to start each day off right!!!

Field Trip on Thursday!

Our field trip to the Babcock Smith house will be on Thursday, May 4th. Please come to school with a bag lunch. No glass containers allowed! Be on time for school as we will be leaving promptly at 8:45.

Test on Friday!

This Friday students will be tested on Food Chains and Food Webs. A study guide has gone home on Tuesday, April 4. 

Living Systems

We have begun our new Science kit called, "LIVING SYSTEMS".  This kit has 4 investigations that focus on systems as the unit of study. ​Students start by looking at Earth as the interaction of four Earth systems or subsystems—the geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. The focus of the module then turns to the biosphere as students explore ecosystems and organisms in terms of their interacting parts. The big ideas are:  A system is a collection of interacting parts that together constitute a whole or perform a function. Systems are often composed of subsystems. Earth can be described as the interaction of four earth systems: the rocky part (the geosphere), the atmosphere, the water (the hydrosphere), and the living organisms (the biosphere). Food webs are subsystems within ecosystems. They describe the transfer of matter and energy within the system. Food webs are made up of producers (organisms that make their own food), consumers (organisms that eat other organisms to obtain food), and decomposers (organisms that consume and recycle dead organisms and organic…

Field Trip on Monday!

Monday March 20th we will be visiting the Garde Arts Theater. Please remember your permission slip and $10!! 

Quiz

We will have a quiz on "Concentration" on Friday 3/17 this week! 

Curriculum Update

We have explored with the idea of concentration in class by making salt solutions during Investigation 3: Concentration. Along with the terms concentration and diluted students learned a new term: equal volumes. During the investigation, students were challenged to figure out how 2 make 2 different salt solutions contain equal volumes in order to determine the mass. The more mass in the solution concludes that the solution is more concentrated.   In addition, students have learned the term density. In class our investigation consisted of 4 different colored salt solutions. Students needed to layer the solutions based on what they know about concentration. As they were introduced to the new term, density, students were asked think about the relationship between concentration and density. We uncovered that if the solution is more concentrated it is more dense. Conversely, if it is less concentrated it is less dense. Students in Harvard were able to taste a "layered punch" I created in class. It was a class favorite! The recipe can be found here:  http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderlushdiary/2012/07/02/red-white-blue-mocktail-recipe-for-july-4th/…

Study Guide

A study guide for Mixtures and Solutions part 2 has been passed out to students. Students should review the big ideas of the study guide and be prepared for a Quiz this Thursday, January 26th. 

Curriculum Update

We are wrapping up part two of Mixtures and Solutions: Developing Models. Students have learned that models are explanations of objects, events, or systems that cannot be observed directly and that developing a model is a process that involves observing, constructing, analyzing, and revising. They have also experimented with understanding the difference between dissolving and melting using 4 solid materials in class. A study guide will come home on Monday, January 23rd with students. Students will be tested on content of part two on Thursday, January 26th.  The next part of our focus in science will be part 3: Concentration. The purpose of part 3 is outlined below: Concentration is the amount of dissolved solid material per unit volume of water Solutions with a lot of solid dissolved in a volume of water are concentrated; solutions with little solid dissolved in a volume of water are dilute.  A concentrated solution can be diluted by adding water; a dilute solution can be concentrated by adding more solid.  When equal volumes of tow salt solutions are weighted, the heavier on is the more concentrated solution. Density is mass per unit volume.  More concentrated salt solutions have greater density. Less dense solutions form layers on more dense…

Quiz Tomorrow!

There will be a Quiz tomorrow on Mixtures and Solutions. Please remember to study! 

Study Guide/Quiz Day

Homework: Tonight your child is asked to study for a QUIZ this FRIDAY on vocabulary and "big ideas" for our first 3 parts of Investigation 1 in Mixtures and Solutions. A study guide was created in class today. 

Mixtures and Solutions

Homework due on Friday. Find an example of a mixture and an example of a solution at home. Draw and label each. 

Our New Kit!

Our new Science kit, Mixtures and Solutions has arrived. ​The Mixtures and Solutions Module has five investigations that introduce students to fundamental ideas about matter and its interactions. Students come to know that matter is made of particles too small to be seen and develop the understanding that matter is conserved when it changes state—from solid to liquid to gas—when it dissolves in another substance, and when it is part of a chemical reaction. Students have experiences with mixtures, solutions of different concentrations, and reactions forming new substances. They also engage in engineering experiences with separation of materials. Students gain experiences that will contribute to the understanding of crosscutting concepts of patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; and energy and…

Quiz Tomorrow

Remember to study the 6 science content words for the quiz tomorrow! The remainder of the quiz will be open notebook!!! 

Science Quiz on Friday

We have been completing the final lessons on the Earth's Atmosphere. In class, your child has been assigned one layer of the Earth's Atmosphere and has been asked to become an expert! They have teamed up with other students to create a poster of the layers of atmosphere. We will be having a quiz on this information on Friday. A copy of definitions in preparation have been handed out. The other information on the quiz will include information on experiments conducted in…

Earth's Atmosphere

We have shifted topics in Science and are now focusing on The Earth's Atmosphere.Students will study Earth’s atmosphere, using diagrams, photos from space, and a reading. They are introduced to the atmosphere as a mixture of gases with properties that change with distance above Earth’s surface. 

After School Help

I will be staying after school next week on Monday, November 21 for any student that would like extra help in Math or Science. This is a change from my normally scheduled Wednesday time due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 

3rd Annual Stuffing Drive!!

WMS is hosting the 3rd Annual Stuffing Drive. Please help us support area families and the Jonnycake Center this holiday season by donating boxes or bags of stuffing. Donations are due by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18th. The homeroom with the most donations will receive a Fun Friday party. The grade with the most donations will receive an extended lunch!! 

Scholastic Book Fair!

The Scholastic Book Fair is being held next week here at WMS. Our class will be visiting the book fair on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17th from 1:00pm-1:30pm. If you would like your child to shop at the book fair please send them in with money on this day. 

Parent Teacher Conferences!

Monday, November 7th is Parent Teacher Conference Day. There is no school for students on this day! Please remember to sign up for a conference and send in your conference form to your child's homeroom teacher ASAP. 

Science Quiz Tomorrow!

A reminder that there will be a science quiz on the phases of the moon tomorrow! We have studied in class, used the quizlet (your child had the opportunity to take the quizlet cards home) and listened to and responded to text about the moon phases in class to prepare for our quiz. 

Phases of the Moon

We have been studying the phases of the moon both in class as well as at home when your child has been observing the night sky. He/she should be able to tell you all about a full Lunar Cycle. This week in science we will be listening to, reading and taking notes on two chapters in our science text called "Changing Moon" and "Lunar Cycle." We will also be watching a BrainPOP movie about the phases on the moon. In addition, there is a quizlet created that your child can refer to in order to prepare for our phases of the moon quiz on FRIDAY! All of this information is available on your child's google classroom page that he/she uses daily in science class.  Tuesday: Prepare Quizlet cards in preparation for quiz on Friday. Class work will continue on moon phases. Wednesday: Audio ebook and text selection: "Changing Moon" study for quiz Thursday: Audio ebook and text selection: "Lunar Cycle" study for quiz Friday: Writing in science notebooks in ACES format. Quiz…

After School Help

Every Wednesday I will be staying after school from 2:30-3:30 for students who may need extra help. There is a late bus available for students who will need transportation home. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 

Walk A Thon

Our grade level Walk A Thon will be on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14th!! Please send all pledge money in an envelope back to school with your child's pledge form. Funds raised will go toward funding school field trips!! 

Homework:

Tuesday October 11th: Night Sky Observations. Students should continue to observe the moon and record their observations on their Night Sky recording sheet. I will collect these on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14th. We will be writing about our observations next week, so it is important these are completed at home.