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Today, students created their edible plant cell models based on their designs from earlier in the week. While they placed the candy/food (organelles) into the icing (cytoplasm), we listened to the cell rap and students had a lot of fun singing along and making up their own lyrics. 

This afternoon, fifth-graders had a blast showcasing their awesome projects to families for trimester celebration. I could see how excited they were to share their “5th Grade Memory Books,” however, my personal favorite activity was watching the students open their time capsules with you all! Thank you so much for coming to celebrate a phenomenal trimester on this beautiful Friday afternoon. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

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This week, students have enjoyed working on their very own Fifth Grade Memory Books. Pages in the memory activity include: A-Z All About Me, Reflection Doodle, Most Likely To…, Summer Goals, and A Letter to Next Year’s Fifth Graders. It has been a lot of fun to hear their ideas, thoughts, and reflections of the past school year.  This assignment has brought up a lot of precious (and hilarious) memories for all of us and I look forward to seeing each student’s completed memory book. 

On Friday, we are finally creating the highly anticipated plant cell models! This is a fun and engaging way to review all eleven organelles of a plant cell, and it’s made entirely of food and candy. Each student has designed a plan for their models including the organelle, its function, a candy representation, and a labeled drawing of their edible cells. Stay tuned for fun pictures of this super sweet activity!

Today, students will finish the planning process for their edible plant cell projects. As a class, we went over each organelle, their function, and what food/candy could be used to represent the organelle on their model. Next week, we will build the edible cells and students will draw/label an additional model based on their unique candy cell creation. This is one of my favorite projects because students always get so excited to design their own cell and when they’re excited, they are participating in valuable learning! 

Yesterday, some fifth graders helped finish up planting in The Dream Garden. There were a few Mint plants leftover that still needed a home, so several students volunteered to help dig, shovel, drill, and water them into their new space. The Dream Garden has been such an all-encompassing experience that has brought so much joy and real-world learning experience to fifth grade.

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Fifth grade students did a fantastic job presenting their Food Truck Projects for Grandfriends’ Day. After transforming our classroom into a food truck festival, decorating and personalizing each desk, and dressing up to match the theme of their trucks, the students were so excited to showcase their hard work. I was very impressed with them and would be an extremely satisfied customer visiting any of their food trucks! 

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This week, we began our last mini math project for this school year, which is creating and designing an original aquatic center or water park. Skills highlighted in this project are: reviewing unit cube, volume of rectangular prisms, and practicing interview skills (they must interview potential employees to work in their park). Finally, students will design their own aquatic center and determine the volume of each pool, as well as the total volume of the park. This will be an impactful learning opportunity that is perfect to launch us into summer vacation!

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Today, students enjoyed the beautiful sunshine outside, presenting their Food Truck Projects, and showcasing their original Haiku poems.

After lots of strategizing and planning, the 5th Grade Food Truck Festival is finally upon us. As practice for our upcoming “Grandfriends’ Day” celebration, students were so excited to present their creations to each other. Each students’ food truck includes a title, menu, theme, featured item, descriptive piece, and grid layout of the inside.

This week, fifth graders also researched and discussed their favorite Haiku poems. That was an inspiring activity that sparked a lot of in-depth discussion on simile, metaphor, imagery, and pun. After reviewing Haiku requirements, each student participated in brainstorming, writing, and illustrating an original Haiku poem. Please ask them to share their poems with you, they truly did a beautiful job!

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This week, fifth graders have continued enhancing their Food Truck Projects. As they began to assemble the 3D version, they also started to visualize a layout for the inside. After viewing videos of successful food trucks and how they operate, students began to create the layout of their own. As a class, we brainstormed appliances and features that a food truck might require, and then students were encouraged to add ideas of their own. After that, students were given graph paper and used perimeter and scale to create a “bird’s eye” visual of their individual truck.

On Thursday, April 29, The Summit will celebrate National Poetry Month by participating in Poem in Your Pocket Day! This week, students have been working on creating original Haiku poems. Tomorrow throughout the day, fifth graders will have the opportunity to present their unique poems to classmates and teachers. It’s going to be a great day celebrating the art of poetry!

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A couple of weeks back, I posted about how hard students were working on their Endangered Species Projects. After studying endangered and extinct species, students chose an animal to focus their individual project on. Students studied the animal’s ecosystem and what caused it to become endangered or extinct in the first place. Earlier this week, students had the opportunity to present their projects in class. It was great timing because Earth Day is coming up, and we learned a lot about human impact on animal ecosystems and the best way to protect them. Students enjoyed brainstorming small ways they can impact the earth in a positive way!

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Fifth graders have also enjoyed their time in STEM with Mr. Powers each Friday. Last week, they were challenged to build the slowest marble maze using pool noodles, tape, and their desks. After a period of practice, trial, and error, Mr. Powers timed their marble runs and then gave them another opportunity to make improvements. The students always enjoy their STEM time and have a lot of fun learning with Mr. Powers!

What a beautiful week in The Big Backyard! We have all enjoyed lots of activities outside this week including learning, playing, journaling, and  games. This week, the fifth graders requested to do their yoga practice in a stunning spot under their favorite tree. Flowers were falling, birds were singing, the sun was shining, and it was incredibly beautiful and relaxing. The students talked all day about how much they enjoyed yoga on Wednesday. 

Next week, we will continue working on a few projects including: Create Your own Food Truck, Grandfriends’ Interview, and Garden Design. Students will also have the opportunity to present their “Endangered Species Projects” so please stay tuned for that as well.

It has been a fantastic week in fifth grade and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

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Reminders: 

• • Grandfriends’ Interview questions are due next Tuesday, April 20. 
  • April’s book, “The Trail” must be read by next Friday, April 23. On that day, Whit will lead the class in an in-depth discussion on the book. 
  • Each student needs one paper towel roll or two toilet paper rolls for their 3D Food Truck Models. If we could have these by the end of April, that would be great!

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In language arts, students read, “Rows and Piles of Coins” by E.B Lewis. After reading, fifth graders participated in a class discussion through “small fires.” This is a fun classroom activity that “shuffles” the students into different groups and gives them the opportunity to gain multiple classmates’ perspectives. As students moved around the room in small groups, they discussed inference, character conflict, character motivation, setting, and author’s craft. 

Today, students continued to work on their food truck projects, which they have been so excited about. As a class, we viewed a slideshow of a real-life food truck festival in Austin, Texas. Students discussed what stood out about each food truck, what improvements could be made, and what math, advertising, and marketing strategies would be most appealing to their businesses. The entire class really impressed me with their critical thinking and creativity. Up next, they will design the outside of their food trucks and create a 3D model. As they continue to create, I look forward to seeing their imaginations shine!