Exciting Things Ahead

We are about to begin the Cardboard Challenge.  This is a very exciting challenge for the class.  If you are wondering what this is all about or what you may need to do, watch the video below.  Parents do not need to anything except maybe save some recyclables for your child to bring in for the challenge.  This will be our first Engineering and Design challenge.  We will be working on this until October 10th.  I will be posting pictures, so check back soon.

Caine's Arcade Global Cardboard Challenge

We have also been busy with our Moldy Bread Experiment.  Starting Monday we will be observing the changes in the bread and answering some questions about why certain breads will mold faster than others.  I will have updates and pictures for you on the bread later this week.

We are very busy in fifth grade!  But we have a lot of fun.  Stay tuned for updates.

Off To A Great Start!

We have had a great start to our year!  Each day since school has started, I have been greeted by smiling faces and eager to learn children.  A teacher couldn't ask for anything more.

A few things to remember, gym is on Tuesday and Friday so make sure you come dressed and ready to play!  If you don't have all of your supplies, please make sure you get them soon.  We all need to be ready to work and need the tools to be successful.

Fifth grade will be challenging, but we will have a lot of fun together! It is going to be a great year!

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you have all had a restful and relaxing summer.  It is hard to believe that school is about to start in just a few days.  I have been busy getting the classroom ready for all of us, and I am excited to have you join me for the fun year ahead.

School will start promptly at 8:40 A.M. on September 3, 2014 for a full day.  I can't wait to see you all then! Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Mrs. Boucher

End of the Year Activities!

We finished off the year with weather instruments and a "mini water cycle".  The students made observations and gained a better understanding of the water cycle.  See the pictures below of the students working.

We also learned about the Battles of the Revolutionary War. The students researched battles using books from the library and then used the ipads to gather more information.  After compiling information, students worked in groups to write scripts and acted as news reporters.  They reported out on the Battles, in costume, while being filmed in front of the green screen.  These shorts films will be linked soon.

Katie actually wore her costume to the dentist!

We also have some new additions to our class.  Each day they continue to grow and change before our eyes!  I will post a picture on the last day of school to show how much the tadpoles have grown.

I will also post pictures of the other activities we have done.  Stay tuned!

Egg Drop, Bubble Wands, and Weather Instuments

We are approaching the end of the year and still have much to do. Your children may have come home excited to tell you about our egg drop project. Just in case you are wondering, this is what your child will need to do: create a homemade structure that will hold a raw egg intact while being thrown off of Proctor's roof. This contraption cannot be bigger than a shoebox and must be made from recycled materials. You should not buy any materials. This project will be completed at home and children should come to school on June 13th with a finished product and raw egg.

The children will also be building bubble wands. There will be a handout coming home at the end of this week. Please check your child's backpack for information. This should also be made completely from recycled materials and you will not need to purchase any materials.

We have been working very hard constructing  weather instruments in class. Ask your child about the different types of instruments we have made.  We will be taking some data using the instruments later this week.

Check back often to see pictures of your children hard at work.

How Many Boxes Will Fill Our Classroom?

After MCAS testing was over, the class took on the challenge of trying to calculate the total number of Scholastic boxes that would fit in our classroom.  The students were grouped in fours and were given a box. One group was given a basketball. The only directions the students were given was to work together to think through the process and use the tools in the classroom and all that we have learned in math to help them with this task. They also needed to be able to show their thinking and calculations when they were finished.  Below are some pictures of the students working to solve the problem.

A head scratching challenge!

Will and Olivia measuring the length of the room.

Jack telling Karleigh she must be right!

Double checking your work is always a good idea!

One group had an extra challenge, a basketball!

This was a fun way to spend the rest of the morning after MCAS tests.  The students worked very hard to find an answer.  But it wasn't about finding the correct answer, but rather about thinking about a problem. 

James thinking about creative ways to measure.

New Happenings in 5B

Difficult word problem homework . Maybe
you remember helping your child with
this one?

We have all been working very hard on our latest math unit - Surface Area and Volume.  The students have trying their best and working very hard to understand new math concepts.  The photo to the left was one of the rather difficult math word problems the children had to work on for homework one night last week.  A couple of girls tackled the problem together and worked very hard until they got the correct answer. These problems are not easy, but they do show that with perseverance you can get the answer.

Katie, James, and Kate
sorting shapes on our class Venn
diagram. 

In an attempt to learn Geometry, the students have been making all kinds of shapes for the past month or so.  Once everyone put their shapes up on the Venn diagram it wasn't quite correct so Katie, James, and Kate volunteered to come in early one morning last week to fix it.  They took on the challenge of identifying the mistake and then reorganizing the class Venn diagram.  Stop outside our classroom if you are at school to see if you can identify how they sorted the shaped.

Our class Happy Meal from September.

I thought I would take a picture to show all of you what our class Happy Meal looks like as of the end of April, 2014 - NOT MUCH different than September!  The apples are more brown and a little bit softer, the nuggets and fries are as hard as rocks but that is it.  Other than that they look like they did they day I bought them back in September.  I don't know about you, but I won't be eating at McDonald's any time soon!

We have just finished up our
reading unit on Historical Fiction.  I thought it would be fun to write Spy Letters from the point of view of a character in the book we have just read.  To the left is an example of how the recipient of the spy letter would read the letter using the decoder.  To the right, you can see what looks like an ordinary letter but it really contains a secret message. The students used the decoder to write their letters.  It was more difficult than it sounds, but it was a lot of fun.  If you would like to read the secret letters, stop outside our classroom and read the bulletin board to read about all the secret messages.

Stop by our classroom to see all of these projects!  Your children work very hard.