The Mystery of Roanoke

C R O A T O A N

What does it mean?

(www.history.com)

Unfortunately, just like calorie free chocolate, the answer to the question, "What EXACTLY happened to the missing colony of Roanoke?" doesn't exist.  The good news is your daughters have to been doing research using various primary sources to try and figure out this history mystery!  Check out their findings below.  

The girls have come up with some theories based on their research and I'm sure they would love to share their thoughts with you and hear what you think really happened to John White's missing colony.

  

Art_Before and After

There is nothing better in art than to see how much more you can see in your own self! Fifth grade completed self-portrait drawings after a series of mini lessons emphasizing different observational skills (value, proportion, mark-making, and contour line). They compared their drawings to what they "saw" before - baseline self-portraits from earlier this fall. You, too, will see much more! Take a look!

The Amazing Human Body!

We began our study of the human body by learning that it is made up of cells.  As we investigated the muscle and skeletal systems, we discovered how they are held together and how they work. Dissecting a chicken leg allowed us to examine bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage.

Then we had the opportunity to figure out how they all work together by constructing our own models of a human arm. We were given a variety of materials as we explored resources to see how others have made similar models. 

We drew up our own plans and made a prototype. 

Based on what we found with the prototype, we made our final models. It was fun seeing the final models work similar to real arms!

Here are our finished models!

Wait, do we have Amazon Prime? : A Math Update

In math, the girls continue to work with manipulating numbers with decimals and percentages.

To practice their skills with calculating sales tax, the girls got to go on a little "shopping spree" this morning!

The spreadsheet they were using to track their purchases had columns for item description, price, sales tax, shipping fees, and total cost.  

When asked if there were any questions before starting the spree, the girls quickly inquired, "Do we still have to calculate shipping costs if we have Amazon Prime?" 

From the Library

Fifth graders read Sharon Creech's Granny Torelli Makes Soup over several library classes. Ask your daughter about Pardo and Violetta and the haircut and Marco, about Bailey, and Janine, and learning braille, and double Marco and beloved Granny herself and her pauses, about cavatelli (little dough canoes) and how Tutto Va Bene. This semester's library project is to read a book that's written in the form of diary entries or letters and then to write and present another entry. They have until spring break to complete this project. So far we've heard from Tovah, a Jewish Russian girl traveling to the US with her family in 1920, Mary, Queen of Scots about to marry a French prince in 1553, Lady of Ch'iao Kuo who lives in Southern China in 531, and a sneaky dog able to escape the most elaborate baby gate and chair barricades. Girls are taking elements of the original story and using their imaginations to create an entry that happens before, during or after the story.

Your homework is to study. Wait. What does that mean?

An inside look at study skills practice in fifth grade.

In fifth grade, we often ask our students to study.  Study for your math test.  Study for your science test.  Study your spelling or vocabulary words.  But what are we really asking?  Do we know?  Do our students know?

We have talked about certain study skills throughout the year, but as the 100th day of school came and went, and we inch closer to middle school, reinforcing these skills will become more and more vital to our students' success after lower school life.

Take a moment to review the same tips and tricks the girls reviewed this morning.  After all, a decent amount of "study" time often takes place outside of the classroom.

https://collegesuccessformoms.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/studyhabits/

Using class time to practice our study skills.

Typing/Keyboarding Resources

As the computer science curriculum continues to expand in the Lower School, we have decided to remove the keyboarding unit from classroom instructional time.  Below are recommended resources that your daughter can use at home to practice and improve her keyboarding skills.

Typing.com offers free lessons for your child.  You have the option of creating user name and password or completing the lessons without an account.  The benefit to having an account it tracking progress.

Typing Club offers touch typing for free.  Again, you can create an account or completing the lessons without one.  This site has good reviews from Common Sense Media.

The most important thing when learning how to type is repeated practice.  There are many other resources available online if you daughter is ready to go beyond these suggestions!