The Shellabarger Crew Times
Issue Date: May 11th, 2017
WONDER - EXPLORE - GROW
Math Memo
Reporter: Bella
We did an activity that led us to see that pi is the ratio between the circumference divided by the diameter and also the ratio for the area of a circle divided by the radius squared. It is a pretty irrational number that we are using in our formulas to solve for area and circumference.
Since school is winding up, we are also reviewing some skills we need to practice to be ready for 6th grade math. We have been reviewing 2-D shapes and their properties as well as how they fit together in a hierarchy. We are also reviewing finding all of the prime numbers of any number and using factor trees to determine the prime factorization of a number.
We are finishing unit 10 at the end of the week and moving on to unit 11, which talks about converting measurements.
We are working on a project during our Wonder-Explore-Grow time that deals with thinking like an engineer and an architect. We are practicing scaling a model and converting measurements. We designed and are building scale models of tiny homes. (see photos above) We are having fun using math skills to solve a problem!
The Weather Bugs
With Meteoroligists-in-Training Lucky and Grant
Thursday, May 11th:
Day: AM clouds, PM sunny
Night: Partly cloudy
High: 72
Low: 47
Chance of Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 60%
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Sunrise: 5:59am
Sunset: 8:22pm
Friday, May 12th:
Day: Sunny
Night: Clear
High: 73
Low: 51
Chance of Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 44%
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Sunrise: 5:58am
Sunset: 8:23pm
Saturday, May 13th:
Day: Sunny
Night: Clear
High: 81
Low: 56
Chance of Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 46%
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Sunrise: 5:57am
Sunset: 8:24pm
Sunday, May 14th:
Day: Sunny
Night: Clear
High: 83
Low: 65
Chance of Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 56%
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Sunrise: 5:56am
Sunset: 8:25pm
Monday, May 15th:
Day: Partly Cloudy
Night: Partly Cloudy
High: 88
Low: 69
Chance of Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 62%
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Sunrise: 5:55am
Sunset: 8:26pm
Tune in next time for your latest weather and remember friends - stay cool!!!
Writing Report
Reporter: Emma
This skill goes with the second paper we are doing in writing, which is writing a persuasive letter. We just finished reading Iqbal for read aloud and are using that book as evidence to inform and persuade people to get involved in the fight to end child labor.
We just got done writing an explanatory text on a career that we were interested in. We did research and then explained our jobs to the class.
Science Scoop
We have been learning about what makes up an ecosystem. We learned that every ecosystem is made up of living and non-living things. Each ecosystem also has producers (that get their energy from their sun) and consumers (that get the sun's energy from eating plants or animals in the ecosystem).
We took time researching our own type of ecosystem in the world and constructed models to demonstrate how a food web shows the transfer of energy between living and non-living things.
We are now starting to discuss what an invasive species is and how it can effect the ecosystem.
Window Wonderings with Macy
Find out what question Macy explored off of our wonder window:
This weeks wondering is, Why do tornados hit every continent except Antarctica?
We know that tornadoes are formed when warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and cool, dry air from Canada meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. Some tornadoes are created from severe thunderstorms. Since Antarctica is so cold and no warm air comes up to meet the cold air, it doesn’t form a tornado. Tornadoes are very, very rare to occur in Antarctica, since also they don’t get very many thunderstorms, which need a lot of moisture in the air to form. Tornadoes are most likely to occur in “Tornado Alley” a part of the US.
Here is a list of the top three places to have a tornado:
USA- (Tornado Alley)
Canada
Bangladesh
Hope you found why Tornadoes don’t hit Antarctica, see you next time with a different window wondering!!!
Rocking Reading
Reporter: Courtney
We are also sketch-noting for science and learning how sketches can help us understand information and be able to pull the most important ideas and details. This helps when you have a lot of information to read and need to come away with remembering the main ideas.
We also started our last read-aloud book, which is A Wrinkle in Time. It has been a classic for 5th graders for a long time! Did you enjoy this book as a kid?
That's what we've been learning in reading!
Band and Chorus Concert
Social Studies Situation
- I can explain how creating specialization in a country can make the country interdependent on other country's economies.
- I can recognize why and when there are barriers to trade with other nations.
We had such a great time at Biztown! It was a great day of learning that really helped us see how an economy runs and flows. We also got to enjoy seeing how it will feel to be an adult with the responsibilities of a career. We had fun learning about soft skills and work readiness skills that we will be using for the rest of our life! It was also fun to have a checkbook for a day.
Here's what some of our comments from the day were:
- "It was super busy and fast-paced. You got there and it looked cool, but then all of a sudden you got hit with all of those responsibilities and work. It kept piling up. I almost didn't get everything done. Being an adult is busy! My mom takes care of us before school and then hops into her car and goes around working. This taught me to have more empathy for her. She works hard!" -Ethan
- "Biztown was really fun. When I was working, people just kept passing things for me to do. There was just piles and piles of work that hit me, but it was fun to experience how adults work and that was fun. Working as a CFO was a great, new experience." -Charith
- "It felt like real life. It felt good to be an adult for a day! It was fun working as the Talk Show Host because I got to work with a lot of kids and I got to design the script." -Isabelle
Pictures from our trip are on our class Twitter account if you would like to view them! We are now learning how we are interdependent on other economies here in the United States. We are also starting to talk about what a trade embargo is.
Student in the Spotlight
Reporter: Gavin
It's Gavin! Our student in the spotlight this week is: Macy.
Some of her favorite things are:
Color: pink
Subject: social studies
Book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Sport: running
Special: P.E.
Movie: Avatar
Animal: giraffes
Childhood Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
Singer: Adelle
Restaurant: Blaze Pizza
Game: Monopoly
Macy's Book Recommendations to 5th Graders: Harry Potter books, Counting by 7's
Macy has one brother and one sister! Thanks for letting us get to know you more, Macy!