Food and Gardens

This week, we are reading Chapter 3 in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The fifth graders are intrigued by the information they’re learning from the book, and our reading has prompted interesting class discussions. The first part of the book talks about the history of corn in the Americas (which will tie into social studies when we learn about the Columbian exchange between Native Americans and Europeans). The children were surprised to learn how pervasive corn has become in our American food culture – not necessarily real, whole corn, but instead the kind that shows up in corn-fed livestock and processed foods. We talked about the recent invention of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and how seed companies have changed the face of farming in the last few decades. We were surprised to see how little crop diversity there is on American farms nowadays compared to 1920.

You can’t read about food without wanting to eat it, so we also did a Tuesday Tasting which featured – you guessed it – corn! Sadly, corn on the cob is not in season right now, so instead we tasted canned organic sweet corn, frozen organic sweet corn, organic blue corn tortilla chips, and organic popcorn. The fifth graders used their senses and their wonderful vocabularies to describe the nuances of each corn product.

This week, we will get into the garden to prepare our bed for fall planting. Many more classes are going to be gardening this year (yay!), which means less space for us (boo!). We are still working out the logistics (and cost) of expanding our TCS garden so that we have ample space for everyone.

Vocabulary

Each week, we will learn roughly 10 new vocabulary words. They will be presented in the context of a short essay or story, which will serve as a great example for the weekly essays the students will be writing. Before reading the essay, the fifth graders will do a pre-assessment to see which words they know. Then, we will read the essay together in class and discuss the meaning of each word in context. The students are responsible for completing their packet, including the writing assignment, over the course of the week. They will have a quick quiz on the words each Friday.

Week 1: industry, worship, equator, resource, reservoir, fertile, agricultural, evaporated, delta, silt

Week 2: rapids, wrenching, wielding, resolutely, whirlpool, sloshed, frothing, slush, lurch, retorted

Week 3 (this week): departure, cascades, tempest, shoreline, midstream, ordeal, backpacking, lifeline, remote, pivot

Family Heritage Project

Last week, we discussed the guidelines for the Family Heritage Project. I’m thrilled that the fifth graders are so excited to be discovering interesting facts about their families!

This is a long-term project that we will be working on over the next 2.5 months. (We will, of course, be doing other things as well!) Your child has brought home a hard copy of the project guidelines for each household. The project guidelines are meant to be just that - guidelines. There is plenty of room for flexibility, if necessary, because I understand that sometimes family history information can be difficult to find. I want this to be an enjoyable, relaxed process for everyone involved, so there are several weeks before the first pieces of information need to be brought in to school. I have listed on the guideline sheet which parts will be done at home (mainly research and information gathering) and which parts will be done at school (mainly writing, editing, assembling, multimedia). 

If you have any questions at any point in this process, please feel free to stop by and ask or send me an email. Like I said, my hope is that this will be a fun and enlightening process for your family, and that it will be an engaging "hook" as we start studying the history of the United States.

Mark your calendars now for our Family Heritage Feast, scheduled for Friday, November 22 (the last day before Thanksgiving Break) at 11:30am! This will be an opportunity to share and view each other's projects, as well as to eat together!

States and Capitals

One of our goals for the year is to learn the locations of all fifty states, as well as to know their capitals. According to Yardsticks, one common cognitive characteristic of 10 year olds is that they are “very good at memorizing facts,” so this is a perfect task for this grade! Each week, I am showing the class fun ways to practice the states and capitals. So far, we have played three different board games, listened to a variety of songs, and explored a website with a variety of activities for different levels. For students who have mastered the states and capitals, I also demonstrated some games to play to learn the countries of the world. These days, there are so many engaging ways to practice the states and capitals, and students are more than welcome to share anything they discover with the rest of us!

This game is called "Postcards from North America."

Math

We started our year in math by reviewing fourth grade math concepts. Since then, we’ve been working on our first chapter of fifth grade concepts: number sense, algebraic concepts, and functions. We discussed and practiced prime factors and factor trees, learned about powers and exponents, reviewed order of operations (PEMDAS), and shared problem-solving techniques. Our algebraic concepts included using variables, equations, and functions. We will be wrapping up this unit later this week. There will typically be one page of math homework each night, meant for reinforcement of the day’s concepts. Students should be bringing home their math binders each night, since that day’s notes and homework sheet are inside.

The fifth graders are sharing problem-solving strategies in small groups.