Today John came in to talk about phenology. We learned what to look for as fall begins. John will be coming back in about two weeks to take us out on a nature walk in our school forest.
John Latimer has been visiting my classroom for over 13 years. He has a program on KAXE radio in Grand Rapids called the Phenology Show. Phenology is the study of nature and how it changes as it relates to climate. John has been documenting natural changes for the last 30 years. Each day in science class we record our nature observations and talk about how we see the natural world changing. Then we call in our observations to his program every Tuesday morning.
Today John came in to talk about phenology. We learned what to look for as fall begins. John will be coming back in about two weeks to take us out on a nature walk in our school forest.
0 Comments
Today we went out to the forest to take nature photos with our iPads. We learned about landscape and close up photography and how to compose a good photograph. These photos will be used for our lock and home screens on our iPads.
I love creepy, gross science. It seems to be what second graders love too. So, our first science inquiry lesson was on the Goldenrod Gall Fly. These flies are tiny and fly around without us even noticing them. They lay an egg on a goldenrod stem. When the egg hatches, the little maggot burrows into the stem and causes the goldenrod plant to grow a lump called a gall. Inside the gall, the maggot eats and eats and finally turns into a brown pupa. A few weeks later, it hatches into a fly and burrows its way out of the gall to fly away.
The students had to use their observation skills to draw and color their gall. Then we formed questions about the galls. The number one question asked was, "What is inside?" We decided the best way to find out, was to cut the galls open. Everyone was super amazed to see a little worm. Now our question changed to, "How did it get in there?" After some more drawing and observation, I shared with them the biology of the Goldenrod Gall Fly. Finally we went out into a field near the school, where the kiddos found their own goldenrod galls. The students will be sharing what they have learned by writing a report that will be displayed in the hallway near our room. Come check it out! We always start off our scientific year with a lesson on observational drawing. This teaches the 5th graders how to draw what they see. We start with simple objects in the classroom and work on drawing contours and mixing colors with our colored pencils. Our final exercise is to go out and draw a plant in nature. The students worked so carefully and did an excellent job making their drawings look scientifically accurate.
It always takes awhile to establish routines in the classroom. But my students have been so excited to start reading, that we are getting our reading program organized right away. The students are starting to get to know the books in our classroom as we study the different genres of literature. We also talked about ways readers select books, we have decorated our book boxes, and have started using our reading notebooks. It is going to be a wonderful year of reading!
We have been studying phenology in science. Phenology is looking at how nature changes as we move through the seasons. One of the biggest changes in the fall is the migration of animals. 3 of our 4 monarch butterfly chrysalises emerged today. After getting a close look at the butterflies, we released them so they can start their migration to Mexico.
On Friday the 5th graders received a math project assignment. They are to make a poster showing math information about their lives. They should have brought home paper, a photograph and the directions for the project which is due on Thursday, September 17. In case your child forgot the assignment direction paper, the directions are below. I can't wait to see what my students come up with! The classroom is ready after many hours of work. The custodians have cleaned the carpets and washed the windows. I have spend days cleaning out cupboards and organizing materials. The classroom is the cleanest it will be all year. Soon 28 fifth graders will enter the doors and learning will begin! (Learning is messy, your know...) I can't wait to spend 5th grade with these kids! Here is a quick little tour of our room. Our "Learning Goal" wall and Math Workshop board, the classroom library with our theme study, and our new iPads all charged and ready to go. Our "Ticket out the Door," spelling activities and "Help Wanted" board, the feelings board we will use every day, and our science center filled with all kinds of creatures and plants. One of our Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (we have four), and our pet goldfish, Jaws. It's going to be a great year!
|
Archives
October 2020
Categories |