Servant Hearts

Wow. My heart is so full of joy today. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we have been focusing on what we can be thankful for and how we can bless others to show our gratitude. With that said, we had our class party today. It's become a tradition for our Thanksgiving and Christmas parties to become service projects. A little background: My husband and I have been involved in homeless ministry in downtown Charlotte for about four years now, and my students have amazingly emulated my love for the homeless. So today, we created just under 50 care packages to bring to our homeless friends. The students were SO excited, and their giving attitudes blessed me tremendously. After creating the packages, one of my students prayed over the bags and the recipients of the bags. As it does every year, his prayer pulled at my heart strings in such a powerful way. 

The simple act of making these care packages speaks volumes to those to whom these gifts will go. Each bite of the food is a message: there will be a day with no more hunger. Each sip of water speaks to the heart: you will one day forget the feeling thirst. Each care package is a glimpse into eternity. An eternity that is within reach, offered to all, through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

God bless you this Thanksgiving. 

Poetry Cafe and Reader's Theater

Happy Friday!

Today was the craziest day ever. We performed Reader's Theater to our second grade buddies, ended our poetry unit with Poetry Cafe, and ran a fundraiser after school to raise money for our big fifth grade trip to Charleston, SC! Needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED. This morning, one of my students said, "Mrs. Bush when I go to bed I can't wait to fall asleep so I can wake up and come to school!" Those kind of comments make all the work worth it!! Love my kiddos.

Enjoy a few pictures of our events!

Mrs.Bush

Be a Blood Cell!

Today students traveled through the human body as red blood cells! This kinesthetic activity was a super way for the kids to memorize and understand an otherwise complex topic. Once we finished this activity, each one of my students was able to accurately describe the pathway of a blood cell through our body. Enjoy the video! 

http://youtu.be/cZ7ySsZRtJE

Tour of My Classroom

Every day's a great day in fifth grade! A few people have asked me to post pictures of my classroom, so here you go!

This is how students turn in their writing workshop pieces. If students are waiting to conference with me, they place their drafts in the "conference" bin. Once they publish, they place their finished product in the "publish" bin to be graded. 

This year, we are trying out Daily 3 and CAFE. Our CAFE board contains each of the reading strategies and skills we're learning. 

A bookshelf contains the students' writing workshop binders. 

In fifth grade, we use a classroom economy as a management technique. The students can earn "Bush Bucks" for different things, including their salary for weekly jobs. 

This lovely frame hangs above my desk. It was made for me by last year's class. I love it! It even matches the theme of my room. :) 

I have scripture framed around the room to surround the students in the Word of God. 

One student's job is schedule changer, and he or she moves the magnetic strips depending on the day's schedule. 

In fifth grade, each student has his or her own laptop. We keep them in a cart in the front of the room. 

Our supplies tower contains anything crafty the students may need, including white boards and expo markers inside of baby socks. :) 

Students turn in their homework into categorized bins. This is super helpful when checking which assignments still need to be turned in. 

I have 4th grade for an hour a day, when I teach them writing, grammar, and spelling. Every Friday, they fill in an "exit ticket" with something they learned from the week. They place their exit ticket on the box with their corresponding student number. 

Each 4th grade pod has their own materials bin with their grammar books and workbooks. 

Reading skills and strategies are organized into one tower. 

Grammar skills are organized into another tower. 

Storage for anchor charts - easy access for students to refer to! 

Books are organized by genre in our reading corner. 

Thanks for visiting our classroom! 

Mrs.Bush

Testing Blood Types!

Did you know that dogs have 13 different blood types? WOW! Luckily, humans only have four main types (Type A, B, O, and AB), which we studied today. To start out the lesson, I posed a question to the students: "If you were in need of a blood transfusion, which type of blood would you prefer to be? What about if you were donating blood...what type would be most useful?"

To answer this question, the students did an experiment to test which blood types can mix with others. The students "donated" each type of blood to a "receiver" of Type A, Type B, Type AB, and Type O. They charted the results and then we discussed our findings afterward. To asses whether or not the students understood, they answered the initial questions in their science notebooks. If they said they'd prefer to be type O if donating blood, they got it! If they said they'd prefer to be type AB if receiving blood, they were right. The kids LOVED this activity; one student said he felt like a real-life crime scene investigator. :)

Enjoy!

Mrs.Bush

Author's Purpose...yumm!

This week, we are practicing the reading skill of Author's Purpose. For a fun activity, the students had to write a paragraph about M&Ms for each of the four main author's purposes. After they wrote their paragraphs, they could enjoy their treat!

Mrs.Bush

Making Blood!

Haha...just a cute video to start this topic!

This week, we have been studying the circulatory system. Today, we studied the different parts of blood, and to culminate this lesson, the students created blood!

Plasma: Water dyed red with food coloring
Platelets: Raisins because they stick together
Red blood cells: Cheerios
White blood cells: mini marshmallows

The students created the blood and then each student had to tell me what each part of blood was and what its function was. Great, and fun, way to assess their understanding!

Mrs.Bush