January 27: A New Semester

Humanities

We are well into our new units in humanities! In reading, 5th graders have been assigned and started reading book club books. Each book features a main character who has autism. In connection with our upcoming visits to the Brooklyn Autism Center (BAC- more info to come!), we learned about what it means to be a person with autism. Although we learned about some common symptoms associated with autism, our books and partnership with BAC will emphasize that everyone is a unique individual. The 5th graders have created a reading calendar for their club and will have reading and jobs to complete for the next six weeks.

In writing, we began our argumentative unit with a fun game of “would you rather” where the 5th graders needed to support their answers with reasons. We practiced using the conjunctions “because,” “but,” and “so” to build strong reasoning sentences. From there, we addressed the question of whether or not animals should be kept in zoos. The 5th graders read arguments for and against zoos and practiced taking notes using abbreviations and symbols. Next, we will learn how to form an argument and then each student will choose a debate to research.

We have traveled from Mesopotamia to Ancient Egypt. First, the 5th graders learned about the geography of Egypt including a unique feature of the Nile River. Ask your student which direction the Nile flows! We then studied a modern day conflict in the Nile River Basin, a disagreement between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over a hydroelectric dam built by Ethiopia. Students were divided into country groups and we held a summit to come to agreement over the potential restriction of water flow. Using our knowledge of the Nile River, we then learned about the many different types of boats the Egyptians built to navigate the water. In partners, the 5th graders are working on building a model of an Ancient Egyptian boat.

Math

In math, 5th graders have been focusing on adding and subtracting fractions. They have been engaging in hands-on activities and real-world problem solving to deepen their understanding. They are currently working on a project where they become bakers and create new food by combining ingredients of two different recipes. They will present their bakeries to the class next week. 

The next topic we will cover is: Multiplying Fractions. 

Judaic Studies 

Since coming back from winter break, we went into the pit with Joseph! The 5th grade has been working hard in the classroom, reading, translating, developing kushiot, and even identifying and singing trope phrases such as the sof pasuk. To unpack our story, we looked at our own kushiot, noticed inconsistencies in the text and examined Midrash as a tool for answering difficult questions. Students wrote their own versions of the story from the perspective of a particular character, focusing on the sensory experience of that character. We thought about Joseph’s experience, Reuven’s stepping up to defend his brother, and the continued plotting of Yehuda and his brothers to get rid of Joseph! Next up, Tu Bishvat, then we’re heading down to Egypt!

Hebrew (with Ilana)

Science

We started the month by wrapping up our air resistance lab. Students were able to see and start to describe the effects of surface area on air resistance. At the end of this experiment, the 5th graders also learned some new steps in writing scientific conclusions. In 4th grade, conclusions involved stating whether or not a hypothesis was accepted or rejected and supporting that claim with evidence. In 5th grade, we are also restating our hypothesis, summarizing the data, thinking about what could be improved in the experiment, and thinking about further work that could be done to explore the topic. This first elongated conclusion was guided with a checklist and it will be referenced throughout the year as we practice this scientific writing. Some students still need to edit their conclusions and that will be upcoming homework. 

After that experiment, we explored the properties of air and sought out to prove them true. Air has weight, air has volume, air is matter, air has pressure, air has and is changed by temperature. In the Google Classroom stream, you can find instructions on replicating our investigations at home. You can ask your student to impress you with their “magic” tricks.

Our last investigation for January was a Free Fall lab using Explore Learning. Explore Learning Gizmos are simulations that allow students to explore concepts we can not physically do in the classroom– like dropping objects with and without a parachute from the top of the leaning tower of Pisa in different atmospheric conditions! This investigation is perhaps the most important of our Physics of Flight unit as it allows students to go beyond “heavy things fall faster” and really see how surface area comes into play. It also introduced students to the concept of terminal velocity.

A few pictures from this month: