Reading Buddy Celebration

Oh, how I love my job! 

Throughout the year, we've been reading stories with our second grade buddies. This has been an amazing opportunity for the fifth graders to model fluency, expressive reading, and a love for reading. The second graders have love, love, loved reading with their fifth grade buddies and I've noticed incredible improvements in their attitude toward reading as well as their ability. 

To culminate the year, we had a Reading Buddy Celebration. During our celebration, the students made a little memory poster of their year together. The second graders filled out a sheet telling what they enjoyed about reading with their reading buddy and what they learned. The fifth graders' sheet was similar, but they discussed how they noticed their buddies grew as readers. As they created their posters, they enjoyed some yummy popcorn! 

They turned out really well! 

Happy teaching! 

Lia

Weather Forecasting

Happy Thursday!

What a crazy couple of weeks it's been! We have been working through a unit on weather forecasting and the kids are loving it! Recently, we studied weather symbols and reading a weather map. As a culminating activity, the students each got a different weather map, and they had to write out a full-page forecast for their map, using lingo and tone of a meteorologist. Then, they delivered their forecasts with their map behind them on the SmartBoard.

They did an amazing job! I wish I could upload the videos of their presentations, because they ROCKED them!

Enjoy!

If you'd like the resources I used for this presentation, click on the picture below to head to my TpT store. :)

Mrs.Bush

Simple Machines, Motion and Forces...OH MY!

Happy Tuesday!

Much has been going on in our classroom lately. We've been working through a simple machines unit in science, and have just started a motion and forces unit. We did an experiment to test the mechanical advantage of each of the six simple machines (lever, screw, wheel & axle, pulley, inclined plane, and wedge) by following the scientific method. The kids really got into the projects, and so much learning was taking place! I love using the scientific method, because it really causes the students to THINK about what they're doing. They conduct each experiment with PURPOSE.

Here are the steps we took for each experiment:

1. We came up with a question we sought to answer about the mechanical advantage of the simple machine.
2. Each student wrote his or her own hypothesis.
3. We researched the simple machine (aka read about it in our science book/workbook).
4. Students designed an experiment to test the simple machine with a given list of materials.
5. Students tested the experiment in teams.
6. Students analyzed the results of the experiment.
7. We came up with a conclusion about how the simple machine made work easier and why.

We also practice the steps of the scientific method with this awesome resource made by Shari Beck. Lord knows our classroom loves task cards!! :)

Mrs.Bush

Fifty Nifty United States

Hi there!

Currently, we are studying the geography of the United States. Part of this unit includes the creation of a ginormous United States, separated by region. Students worked in groups of two or three to create regions of the U.S. Each group was responsible for researching important landforms and waterways, cities, states, and resources in the area. Then, they were to design their region. They loved this project and it turned out great! Enjoy!  (Sorry Hawaii, we're still working on you!)

Mrs.Bush

Winter Olympics Newspaper

Happy Monday!

I am so excited to share the finished product of our 2014 Winter Olympics Newspaper! Fourth and fifth graders researched Olympic athletes, sports, mascots, and basic facts. After they gathered enough information, each student wrote an article on the topic of their choice. Then, they worked together to compile the information in the form of a newspaper. The kids absolutely LOVED this project and we all learned so much from each other! Today, the students spent some time sharing their articles with one another and browsing around the newspaper to read articles written by their classmates. So fun!

\

Mrs.Bush

Cowboy Quest!

My, my, my! How time flies! I can't believe I haven't posted since NOVEMBER! Anyway, much has been going on in our classroom since then! We recently worked through a unit on Westward Expansion after the Civil War. Part of this unit included the study of cowboy life and the cattle kingdom. To make this concept come alive, we celebrated a day we call "Cowboy Day!" This day includes many themed activities connected to westward expansion after the Civil War, but the most fun is a quest at the end of the day!

This quest includes:

- Learning how to lasso
- Packing supplies for the journey
- A scavenger hunt throughout the school grounds that simulates what the cattle drove would have been like for cowboys during this time
- traditional folk tale around a real fire with biscuits and rootbeer
- Trading in cattle for money with the "Head Honcho" (a.k.a. principal)
...and much more!

Enjoying a snack of refried beans and eggs! 

Listening to a traditional cowboy folktale around a fire as they enjoy biscuits

Visiting Boggy Depot and Perryville

Cashing in their leftover cattle for some cash with the Head Honcho!

We had a blast! Yee-haw! 

If this activity looks like something you'd like to do in your classroom, check out my TpT store and this product! 

Mrs.Bush