Hey 5th Graders! This Friday in 5C's current event sharing time, Martin informed us about NASA's space exploration budget. Specifically we learned: "NASA has a budget that costs about $17 billion per year and it costs more than $60 million to take just one astronaut to the space station." What are your thoughts? Should we be spending this money on space exploration? Why or why not?
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Class,
I really appreciated everyone's active participation in our class "discussion" on Water in Zambia. You were engaged in the conversation on our Today's Meet site (click the red words to get our discussion). You can still access it and we will carry on the discussion tomorrow. Did you like this format of discussion? Why or why not? Mrs. K Here is the video we watched in class today. Please write (or record) a blog post reflecting on "The Story of Stuff" with your thoughts, what shocked you, and what you feel about it. Post it onto your Weebly site by Wednesday. As we learned for our assembly, hunger is a world wide problem. There is enough food in teh world, but not everyone has access to it. After watching this video one could feel helpless, or one could feel motivated.
Check out ten kids (just like you) that used the motivation and started charities to help others. (source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/nakedjuice/incredible-charities-started-by-children) Leave a comment answering one of the two prompts: 1. What part of the video grabbed your attention and why? 2. What is a problem you see that needs solving and what are you going to do about it? Leave a comment and respond to a peer's comment by Wednesday. Yesterday morning was pretty status quo until I checked my email and instantly my interest was peeked. I received the email below from Khan Academy's creator, Sal. I immediately thought of you guys, my students! Coding is a skill that kids your age need to learn, and dare I say want to learn? I figure what better way to learn coding than at class with friends you can ask questions to and learn alongside? Starting today we will embark on the Hour of Code. Who knows, you may love it and be hooked, or you may hate it and never want to try again. It's my job as your teacher to expose you to new challenges and help you figure out what you are passionate about.
You can find more information and tools for coding on a new page I created. Go to "Information for Students" at the top of our home page. From there, go to the scroll down "Investigate Menu". Slide your little cursor over to "You Can Code", and you're there. (You can also click this link if you are lazy!) I am so excited to begin a new, individualized way to teach math in the 2013-2014 school year. I have worked hard to create a curriculum and format for math class that will challenge the students and help them become more proficient. This year will be conducted in a new format, which is called a “flipped” classroom. Since this will be new for both the students and parents, I wanted to explain it so I can answer any questions that you might have. A “flipped” classroom format is defined as a class that does what has been traditionally thought of as classwork as homework, and what has been traditionally thought of as homework as classwork. This is not a new idea, or even my idea. This is being used in many types of classrooms across the world. This summer I was fortunate enough to take classes for my Masters and thoroughly researched the “flipped” classroom and I am confident that this format is going to allow your child to be more successful in math Students will be able to use computers, iPods, or Smartphones to watch the lectures which I have created. These lectures are given in different formats, for example PowerPoint or Prezi, and will be similar to the style of lectures from a traditional class. This format enables students to watch lectures at their own pace, replay lectures when they need additional help, and helps students that miss class keep up with their classmates. If I am no longer giving a formal lecture in class, what will be going on in the classroom? During regular class time, students will be completing assigned activities that help them put into practice the concepts that were learned in the lectures at home. Additionally, students will work on real world problem solving, have group discussions to deepening understanding, receive individual help, and creating their own ways to show their understanding in class. Students will be able to work in small groups or individually to accomplish their assigned tasks. Since I am not giving a formal lecture during class time, students will be able to complete more activities to increase their knowledge and challenge themselves with harder material. In this format, not only will the students be working hard, but I will be too. I will be able to answer more questions during class time and interact more with each student. I will be able to do more checks for comprehension and be able to address any problems that students are having with the material quickly. I will also be able to have more conversations using math vocabulary with students both individually and in small groups, which will increase their math terms. I introduced this new format to the class and we discussed the benefits and responsibilities. They were excited and eager to begin. Since this is a new format, we will begin slowly and will not be fully “flipped” until all students have shown they can access and watch the videos from home. I am looking forward to making this school year our best yet at EAC. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. The best way to reach me is via email at [email protected] We LOVE to use technology in our class, not just as a tool, but as an essential part of our learning environment. So far this year we have learned Prezi, Glogster, Weebly, Twitter (with Mrs. K's supervision, stop-motion videos, and of course the basics of Microsoft Office. We have also made connections with classes around the world. Here's a little peek of us immersed in our tech! As a teacher I have been blessed to work in three different continents and have worked hard to develop a network of teachers to collaborate with. I am always looking for ways to provide authentic learning opportunities for my students that provide them with 21st century skills. I connected with a teacher to create a learning experience using Skype. We did our first Mystery Skype with another class in a different country. Students did a fabulous job of working together, problem solving, and communicating during the activity. Please check out our video and leave comments and feedback for us. |
AuthorWelcome to our fifth grade site! We are 5th graders at an international school in Brazil. We use this site as an avenue of communication and to share our learning. Please join us in our learning journey! Class Instagram: @journeywithmrskOur class Social Media Manager takes our Instagram photographs and writes the caption.
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