Maze Grids, Composite Numbers and more arrays...and Writer's Notebook

This morning, following spelling bingo, we started with a vocabulary and listening skill. I spoke to the class about the "How to increase your word power" section in Reader's Digests I used to do these religiously as a kid and eventually was scoring full scores after a couple of years of persistence.  I have just brought a whole bag of of them into the room and they will inhabit the bottom shelf in our newly acquired withdrawal area. We focused on a list of words with dog as part of their structure, eg dogmatic, dogleg, dogfight etc...

After that we hit The Writer's Notebook and discussed the major genres they need to focus on this year. Students now have the following list written out  so they can keep a tally of the text types they do and eventually publish for the portfolios.


Narrative: to entertain

Recount: to retell events or experiences

Procedure: to explain how to do something

Report: to present factual information in a logical sequence

Exposition: to persuade others to think about an issue from a
                    particular viewpoint

Explanation: explains how or why something works or happens in the world

Then we really got stuck into maths and completed three lessons. It was then off to library. In the afternoon students had time on their mould investigations and their persuasive posters promoting the war-themed picture books for older readers which are due in tomorrow.

One persuasive poster complete

I am still chasing The Lorax film/book report from four students. Two have assured me they will be handed in tomorrow. Students  now need to be firmly focused on their Science reports on their mould experiments and be chipping away at each section a bit at a time. These are due before the end of term, one month away.

Assembly, Hanami, Squash, Spelling and you guessed it... more mouldy bread

Hanami

The comprehension passage

Cutting out the blossoms

The naked trees

Following the usual whole-school assembly and a 5 degrees celsius start in the little Siberian classroom, my students did their desk change for the week and we headed off to Japanese class together. I always enjoy these sessions because I learn so much about another culture. I used to teach the upper primary Italian program at Illawarra Primary School. The lesson today focused on the Hanami. Students did a short comprehension piece and then cut out blossoms to adorn the trees which had been prepared for today's lesson. Next week I will hopefully post up a photo of the finished product.

After recess students went to their daily physical education sessions and then got straight into the phyical eduaction lesson which focused on squash skills.  It was then back to the classroom for the remainder of the day.

This weeks' spelling is focusing on the "drop the y and add ies rule." We discussed the rule that if a consonant (eg. b,d,f etc) precedes the y then the rule is to drop the y and ies. We looked at what happens if the letter which precedes the y is a vowel 
as in donkey, valley...then the rule  is to simply add the s. Knowing our language there is surely some word which doesn't follow this rule but it usually works.   Eight students already understood this rule and applied it capably on various occasions in standardised test so they published work and had extra time on their Science projects (yes, the mould) or on typing up their recounts about the grade 6 camp.

After lunch we successfully watched the whole clip on moulds in Mrs Franz's room whilst her students were at Japanese because their internet connect is more reliable than ours. This film will definitely assist students with the write-up of their background to their science reports.

Following that students had time on their Spelling and their Science investigations. We discussed how the cm squares could be used to work our percentages of mould on a surface area.  This weeks spelling bingo words are:

family families

daisy  daisies

city  cities

lady  ladies

butterfly butterflies

baby babies

activity  activities

memory memories

hobby  hobbies

carry  carries

bury   buries

marry marries

cry  cried

hurry hurried

apply applied

Individual feedback was also given on the prime numbers lesson we did on Friday. Some students are still have problems with this concept so I will do another quick lesson on Tuesday and discuss composite numbers at the same time. There are also new books to the classroom library.

As from next Monday I will no longer be teaching on a Monday as I need to have the time to visit my dad in Devonport on a more regular basis. I spoke to the class about this during the afternoon session and trust that they and parents understand my decision.

Writing Science Reports, Arrays and Prime Numbers

All the grade 5/6 classes assembled today in Mr Moore's room for a presentation all about how to write up a Science report. The session went for forty minutes and there was question and answer time. All of the grade 5/6 teachers presented some aspect of the presentation. Students were also shown samples of works done by students from lasts years grade 5/6 classes. They have four weeks to write up their reports. Students all have this guide which can serve as a check list in their Science books and I gave my students an additional copy to take home and keep near their computers. Students without  access to computers at home, which is a third of my class, will be given some time in class to word-process drafts they have written. 

 Here is the guide they were given:

Writing up an investigation as a scientific report

Step 1 Background /Introduction

Write a section explaining about what moulds are then...

• Briefly outline what you are going to investigate.
• Give a reason why the research is important and why you and other people would want to know the answer to the question

Step 2 Hypothesis

• Your prediction(what you think) will happen.
• Give good logical reasons to support this.
• Refer to the information you already know

Step 3 Equipment and materials

• A list of equipment

Step 4 Method

• Use clear sentences to explain each step taken to set up and undertake the experiment
• Order paragraphs so that each step is a new paragraph
• Make sure they are in the correct order
• Include a discussion of how you are making sure the experiment is a fair test.
• Be clear about which variables you are controlling and how.
• A digital photo of the equipment set up or a diagram would be useful to illustrate what you are saying.

Step 5 Results

• You need to have kept good observations all the way through your investigation
• Look at how you can put your observations into a table or graph
• You may have a selection of photos or written observations

Step 6 Discussion

• This section explains your results and gives a chance to discuss why you think certain things happened
• You can include a section of what worked well and why
• Discuss what didn’t work well and why
• Think of ways you would improve the investigation if you did it again, e.g. were there variables that you could or should have controlled?
• Suggest ways to build on from what you have done; another experiment to take the investigation further or to investigate new questions you have.

Step 7 Conclusion

• What you have learned and why this is important to know.

Step  8 References/Cited Sources/Acknowledgements

A glossary could be included

Following this session we continued on with our arrays work started earlier in the week. This will be marked and returned to students on Monday morning.

After recess we spent thirty-five minutes completing the boundary walk of the school grounds to ensure the students knew where they can and cannot play during their recreational breaks.  It was then straight onto looking at their bread samples to make observations and to work on the bread mould unit up until lunch.  I assisted two students setting theirs up as they missed the lesson yesterday. So for them this was day 1. One pair of students found that one of their samples already had mould growth which was visible to the naked eye.

Students can access photos of their samples on the student drive. Students now all have their individual log-ons.

After lunch we did a lesson on prime numbers and looked closely at Sieve of Eratosthenes. 

We discussed instructional texts and they way they are set out. Students had to read this with care in order to sieve out the prime numbers. The solution was then displayed on the board.  

We finished the day with the second half of the story I started yesterday called The Sorcerer's Apprentice and looked at the use of alliteration in the book as well as a lot of new vocabulary.  I also added some Colin Thiele books to the classroom bookshelves. Nearly all the students have read Storm Boy. We will be viewing the film soon.

Mould experiments planned and set to go

Today students worked hard on planning their mould-growing experiments using bread as the food base. We discussed the idea of a fair test again and students set about making their plan and preparing their bread samples. Some are looking the effects of moisture, others are investigating the impact of preservatives, ultraviolet light and other at the differences that may eventuate between the plain, wholemeal or whole seed varieties or brands.

We also talked about how to write up a background, revisited the mould vimeo film we half-viewed the other day and looked at the information offered in four books which focused on fungi.  http://vimeo.com/20196310 Hopefully this film will run faster at your homes than at school. I have watched it three times and think it is quite a useful base of knowledge. It has an excellent part on Florey and Fleming and beneficial aspects of fungi which we haven't see at school because the download fails. It is definitely worth watching. There are also two books totally dedicated to Florey and Fleming available in the classroom for reading.

Today, Students also learnt about the use of bibliographies or cited-sources and learnt how to write up one. They have taken notes in their Science books.

Most students cut their bread samples down to 100 square centimetres so mould growth can be more easily converted to a percentage.

Throw in an assembly and a music lesson, and suddenly the day was over. A big WELL DONE to those four students who shared their reports on the book and film The Lorax. The deliveries were clear, informative and pretty much flawless.

A big thank you to all parents who came to the discussions sessions. 

Tonight's homework is to design a cover page for their investigation inserting an image and to start drafting up the background information on moulds. Some students need to think about how they are going to collect the data and record their observations on the three samples they have prepared.

Cross Country, Sabi, Library and Jelly Snakes

Cross country was the first major event of the day, though we did manage to read the article "Lest we forget animal helpers" and discuss it before 9-20. The students ran the 3 kms and all, but two students who were absent, participated to their best of their ability.

After recess, students re-read the passage about Sabi and the Anzac Parade proposal and located the keywords. They wrote down possible alternatives that could be used as apropriate titles for the article and wrote what they thought was the main message being delivered.

 

Unpacking the article about acknowledging our animal helpers

After recess we discussed what is a fair test and looked at variables and how they can be controlled or not. Students then planned an investigation looking into the elasticity and breaking points of jelly snakes. They had to work out a fair test. We also quickly looked at the prices of the snakes per unit, how much each gram was worth. It was then off to library which I nearly forgot about.

After lunch students carried out their investigations and started to write it up into their science books, stating clearly what it was they were investigation, using a data table and discussing their findings. This is due in Thursday morning. 

 

I had three beautiful Lorax posters I asked for during our cinema visit and we did a draw out of a plastic cup for three lucky recipients.

Mould, mould and more mould

There has been one timetable change to our Monday so as students don't have so many options on a Monday. The library lesson will now happen on a Tuesday.

In the morning we all attended  the whole school assembly where students were reminded about the importance of staying within the boundaries of the school. The new slogan is Stay in bound and be found! We also celebrated the birthdays of the week  and  did a meditation session.

Then it was on to Japanese where the focus continued on classroom items.

Students received feedback on their last lesson

They played a game to reinforce the new vocabulary

Students will make these signs in the near future

Something is not right

Students have been  given some guidance to the aims and expectations of this section of  Marvellous Microorganisms  unit  which is now  focusing on moulds. They will be concentrating on  conducting fair tests in scientifc experiments and the use of computers to publish their findings and results.

After recess students had Daily Phys. Ed and their weekly Physical Education lesson. I am so proud of the dance leaders who I oversee. A job well done girls.  Cross country is tomorrow and students know the run off times  times and all about the expectations of the day.

Over the next few weeks students will be:

*planning an investigation that is a fair test.

*conducting an investigation,and making and recording observations.

*interpreting observations and making a conclusion which answers the
 research question  posed.

* describing the conditions that encourage the growth of food mould.

*use technology to present their final report, including  typed text
  tables, photos, diagrams, graphs etc

Students completed the following cloze procedure on moulds after watching the following doucumetary.
http://vimeo.com/20196310

Tonight as part of their spelling homework they need to ensure that their word walls about Microorganisms are up-to-date. I hope to see the word hyphae there. They also had to complete this cloze procedure and focus on the significant Science words:


The ____ 'mould' is used to refer to several kinds of _____ that grow on
various surfaces. Moulds reproduce by producing ______. Mould spores
are commonly found in the air and soil, but will grow into mould only when
they land somewhere with the right __________ for growth.  Spores are very
_____ and don't contain a supply of food to help them begin to _____ like
seeds do.  They use whatever they land on as ____.

Mould grow _____ away from direct _________ in moist, cool-to-warm conditions
where there is plenty of plant and animal (organic) matter for them to use as an _____
source. A soggy sandwich left in a lunch box over the summer holidays is a
mould's delight. Moulds love  bathrooms and ______ old shoes.  They will even
grow on books and papers that have not been ______ in the right conditions.
Direct ultraviolet light (including) sunshine tends to _____ moulds and they don't
grow well in dry _____________.

When mould spores germinate they produce long, thin strands called hyphae
which give moulds their fluffy __________. Moulds play an important role in the
ecosystem, helping to decompose and ________ dead organic matter.

term        stored  recycle     sunlight   spores      appearance       environments
fungi        kill     conditions   food    energy     small    best   grow  sweaty

To end the day we had a look at mouldy foodstuffs.  There's a nightmare in my lunch box!

Students looked closely at what six week old bread mould looks like along with a very disgusting apple and some really gross tomato paste.  We discussed the importance of sealing or double bagging their future mould experiments. Students have been asked to think about the experiment they are going to conduct to find out about the conditions that mould requires to grow on bread.

I now have a record 23 out of 24 parents who are coming  to or have already had a parent teacher discussion session. Thanks all, I appreciate your time and actually enjoy the whole process. 

Maze Grids, Arrays and Persuasive Posters

This morning we started off the day with Maze Grids, which  another approach to encouraging fluency with mental arithmetic. It was then onto arrays discussing the difference between rows and columns and mathematical sentences which would fit given arrays. We looked at the importance of order of operations and ways to quickly estimate the number of items in an array.

Students were also given back their Monster Grids and I have recorded their individual best times. We will do a revisit to Monster Grids once we finish the Maze Grids.  Ten new calculators turned up today as well as a large container of 2cm square blocks which were very useful in illustrating the concept of arrays. This lesson will be continued next Tuesday and Wednesday.

An array of 5 x 10 which can be partitioned in a number of ways

After recess we revised the components of a persuasive poster and looked at the important elements which would be needed to promote their picture book. Below is a selection of books the students are currently trying to promote.  New to The Little Library of Rescued Books is Caesar the Anzac Dog, which is worth reading:
http://littlelibraryofrescuedbooks.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/caesar-anzac-dog-by-patricia-stroud.html
After lunch we looked at a couple of new idioms, did silent reading and I managed to do a writer's conference with 8 more students regarding their recent persuasive texts. Then students were given the remainder of the afternoon to work on their persuasive posters, A handful opted to take them home. Students, who handed in their Lorax assignments will receive their feedback on Monday and the outcomes will be shared at the parent/teacher discussion. Eighteen students out of twenty four met the deadline. Well done!

My two amazing Daily Physical Education leaders from Mr Moore's class and Mr Stafford's class now have a music disc with some great dance songs on it. Thank you my wonderful friend Glenda Paton for organising that for me, much appreciated.

Also I now have 22 replies and a possible 23rd reply indicating attendance at the parent/teacher discussions which will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings.