According to Mark Twain, “climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” Fifth grade has recently begun an investigation into weather and climate. Students compared and contrasted weather and climate in a lab investigation using M&M’s.

Each student was given a “fun size” bag of M&M’s. On the lab report, they were to choose 6 different types of weather to coincide with the different color of M&M. The next step was to choose one M&M randomly out of the bag (without looking) to represent that day’s weather. Students documented their “random” weekly weather report according to the colors of the M&M’s.

Obviously, weather predicting takes into account more than just M&M’s. Students were able to see how weather and climate work together, but also work independently of each other.

By Susie Rogers, ELA, 5th-8th

Students just completed the novel Restart by Gordon Korman. One of the main themes of this engaging and relatable book is bullying. In the novel, fellow classmates are bullied by Chase, the main character, for the way they look, their activities, and even their grades. As Chase gets a chance to redeem himself and become friends with the ones he bullied for so long, the idea of celebrating uniqueness in yourself and others was made. 

This lesson was the basis of their end of novel project, The Best Part of Me. Students were asked to choose one part of themselves that they liked the most and write a paragraph about it. We then took a picture to illustrate the best part of them! See how hair, eyebrows, birthmarks, shoulders, hands, head, eyes, tongue, and athleticism make this 5th grade class so special! 

Each year, the 5th grade class takes its Colonial America unit and makes it interactive– a complete physical representation of life in the three colonial regions. Students take on the roles of colonial citizens and research the aspects of colonial life in their particular region (New England, Middle, or Southern). The real fun begins when we build rooms and businesses to showcase the students’ research. Students actively participate in the planning and design as well as the physical building of their rooms and businesses. We could not do any of this without the genius and support of Denise Henley, our rock star jack-of-all-trades. Mrs. Denise truly teaches our 5th graders how to think and plan for themselves. She offers suggestions on design and welcomes students’ own ideas. Students build self-confidence and motivation. They learn to take initiative. Real life lessons occur behind the scenes at the Colonial Fair, thanks to Mrs. Denise. 

“Act as if what you do makes a difference…it does! “

Fifth grade had a “work day” for their community service project with the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center. The assignment was to create cat scratchers made from cardboard and decorate collection boxes for the pet food drive.

The pet food drive will begin after Christmas break and students will take another “work day” to construct more cat scratchers.

Fifth grade concluded their unit of Energy this week. Instead of a conventional assessment, each student planned and created an “Energy Robot” that exhibited different forms of energy. In addition to the creation of the robot, students had to put their ideas into writing.

“Only through direct energy can great work be accomplished.”