A lot, it turns out.  To kick off our next math unit on multiplication and division of decimals, the fifth graders are working on a project that requires them to track donations, calculate amounts and prices of dog and cat food, chart numbers of animals, design pet runs of a certain area, track how long veterinarians must spend working with the animals, and make a flyer to advertise their shelter.  Throughout it all, they use multiplication in their calculations.  They get to practice with basic math facts, use models to show visual representations of the multiplication sentences, check their answers by skip counting, demonstrate multiplication properties, and interpret data from graphs.  We will continue working on these projects throughout next week.  Who knew math was such an important part of running a pet shelter?   Well… now the fifth graders do!

In science, we took a closer look at volcanoes this week.  The students learned about how a volcano is formed and about the different types of volcanoes.  We also got to watch a super dramatic video (ask your student about it!) explaining why volcanoes erupt and even got to virtually visit some volcanoes around the world.  Next week, we move on to earthquakes!