Grade Five Alive!

On January 20, 2009 president elect Barack Obama was sworn into office.  Our entire school was allowed to watch the historical event.  

In Washington D.C millions of people gathered together to see the first ever African-American president.  The group of  people included former presedent George W. Bush, his competition Senator McCain and his family. Ms. M says, “Aretha Franklin was on hand to belt out My Country Tis of Thee and sporting a fabulous hat!  I wish I had one!”  Obama promises to fix as many conflicts as possible and make things better for the country. 

The bulletin board above shows some of the important issues we talked about that the new president will have to deal with. They are the economy, education, war, the environment, and health care.

 ~Mike

Here is a link to Education World’s Inaugurals of Presidents of the United States: Some Precedents and Notable Event. Here is the link to the Inauguration Trivia Hunt.

This exhilarating tale is a true story about one little girl in the 1960s whose strength helps her change history.  Six-year-old Ruby Bridges is chosen to be the first African-American to integrate her local New Orleans elementary school.  And along the way people threaten to kill her, but this doesn`t stop Ruby from going to school. Her teacher helps her to change history, and same with her mother and father. In the end Ruby proves that integrating schools is not a bad thing.   

~ Jackie

You see something crawling around like a bug, but it’s not a bug. It has a CD for a body and it’s colored like camouflage. There is a AA battery and a motor in it. It’s crawling around the floor going in circles. It is called a jitter critter.

Here is how to make a jitter critter. You need a CD, a  motor that is 3 gigawatts or less, a AA battery and wires to make a complete circuit, and some jumbo paper clips stretched out to make legs.

~ Johnathan

The Jitter Critter Project that Johnathan describes above was assigned on January 5. Here is the information that was sent home to parents:

“Once we have completed the electricity section of the Matter and Forms of Energy unit, I’d like to do a project that applies the concepts taught. In order for all the students to construct their own Jitter Critter, I’m asking parents to provide a few items. I will provide a hobby motor, insulated wire, and duct or electrical tape. I’d like each child to contribute a AA battery and a CD, either blank or recycled. Construction will take part in 3 stages, the first two in school and the final stage at home. The finished project will then be returned to school for presentation and scoring. I will score the project according to the following criteria:

1. The student follows directions and completes tasks on time
2. The student is able to construct a complete circuit that operates a motor
3. The student demonstrates creativity and imagination in the decoration of his/her project.

First stage: Construct the framework of the project in school

Second stage: Students will assemble a complete circuit that powers a hobby motor and mount it using electrical tape to the CD platform in class.

Third stage: Students will take the assembled project home to add their own unique artistic decoration and then return the completed project on the due date. Glitter, wiggly eyes, pom poms, chenille stems, and assorted craft items may be used.”

Genny began this post before our looooong winter break. We are studying the states of matter and experimented with a mystery substance …

In science we made oobleck! Oobleck contains corn starch and water. It is a non-neutonian substance which means it can be two forms of matter.  The two forms are liquid and solid.

The first thing we did with the oobleck was a push test. The push test means we had to stick our finger in the glob of goop.  The second thing we did was a pick-up test to see if we could hold it in between our fingers. The third thing we did was a pour test where we saw how it dried quickly and took up the shape of the cup we poured it into. Finally we did the shape test by rolling it into a ball in our hands. The oobleck dries quickly and becomes flaky. Also, it is very messy!