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The worms have arrived!
In case you haven't heard, fifth grade has gotten some new classroom pets. Well, to some they are just squiggly little creatures with no appeal, but even the most sqeamish among us are begininng to grow fond of them! Our new pets, if you haven't already guessed, are worms. The fifth grade, in learning about our schools philosophy of sustainability, is learning about verma composting. What better way than to have a bin in our classroom designed to do just that. We were lucky enough to have Robin from the Garbage Museum stop by and give us a crash course and help us set up our bin. We feed the worms weekly with a fresh bunch of vegetable scraps from our own kitchen. They seem to be loving our supply of organic veggies. If you would like to stop by and visit the latest addition to 5th grade, please do!
Field Experience: Peabody Museum
Students had a great time at the Peabody Museum in New Haven. First they went to a fascinating lecture on rocks and minerals. The lecture contained many interesting facts of how rocks and minerals form as well as the different types of rocks. They also recieved a brief geoplogical history lesson on the formation of land forms in Connecticut. The students brought a great deal of information to the presentation from what they have been studying in science class. After the lecture students were given a chance to examine all the samples of rocks and minerals that were shown during the lecture. The trip ended with a chance to explore a bit more of the museum.
Field Experince: Sport Hill Farm
Our Visit to Sport Hill Farm
First and fifth graders visited Sport Hill Farm to learn a few things about organic farming from the proprietor Patty Popp. Students had a first hand experiencing of farming while picking potatoes. Their where many excited calls as they pulled out plants that had a multitude of potatoes on each one. The potatoes varied in size from a bit larger than a pea to as big as a softball! Fifth graders did an amazing job helping their first grade partners get the most out of this field experience. Patty explained many things to the students about CSA (community supported agriculture), seasonal eating and the life of an organic farmer. Since we get a great deal of our produce for our own dining program from Patty Popp's, it was a very meaningful field experience. Sport Hill Farm is also associated with our Summer Farm Camp program.
Sticky Sweet Science
Can you think of a better way to experiment with the movements of the earth’s plates than with frosting and graham crackers? Well neither could the fifth grade science class. After smearing a plate with a thick layer of frosting to represent the earth’s mantle, the students placed graham crackers on the frosting and slid them around. The movements chosen were that of plates pushing into each other, away from each other, and sliding and rubbing past each other. The students were amazed as the graham crackers buckled and broke into craggy mountains when forced into each other. When the “plates” were slid against each other they crumbled giving evidence of an earthquake or a weakening crust where a volcano may be likely to erupt. The entire class had a great time and the shouts of “Hey I made a mountain!” and “Look the plates are breaking apart, earthquake!” were worth the sticky mess.
Introducing Friends Old and New
Whether they had known each other for a year or two, or had just met this year, the fifth grade students had a great time getting acquainted. Each student answered twenty questions about themselves then was randomly assigned a partner. The students then swapped papers and prepared to introduce one another to the class. Classmates then chose what they thought were the most interesting facts about their friend and used those while making their introductions. Everyone learned something new about each person in the class.
Scientists at Work
Learning how to be great scientists requires one to be able to make and record accurate observations. The students will be studying how the Earth’s surface as changed over time and what continues to cause those changes to take place. We headed outdoors with clipboards and stream table in tow to observe how one element, water, can alter the landscape. The students made great predictions and observations as water was poured down the channel of the “stream” destroying banks and carrying sediment downstream. We then walked over to the river that runs along the back of our playground to observe how water as changed the landscape overtime. Bravo on a job well done!
