Mr. Klein's 5th Grade Blog

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Latitude, longitude, prime meridian, continents, ocean…how do we keep all these terms straight, or spherical for that matter?!?!  Our most recent unit in social studies explored these major concepts in geography.  Knowledge of these concepts will help us better understand the inter-relationship between the United States and countries throughout the world.  What features of the North America first grabbed early explorers’ attention?  Why did specific types of industry develop in certain areas of the country?  What were the geographical benefits of the United States working with the country of Panama?  These questions, and many others, can be explained in geographical terms!

As a cumulative project in the unit, students created mini-worlds using balloons.  On the balloons they included all the major geographical landmarks and concepts explored in class.  With a little creativity and a lot of effort, student had the whole world in their hands!

Take a peek below to see the worlds forming!

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Our mad scientists have been hard at work in the lab this week.  As a culminating project for cells, students formed teams and were presented with the challenge of creating either a plant or animal cell using regular household materials.  Each cell had to include the major organelles we’ve discussed in class, using appropriate scales, and a key explaining the parts and their functions.    Craziness ensued as hair gel, gobstoppers, and floam were magically transformed into one of the major components of the cell.  With all the tasty food items coming in, I was surprised some of the cells even made it through without being eaten first!  It was fun to watch the mish-mash of supplies materialize into the amazingly creative outcomes.

I was very impressed with the teamwork and effort these students put forth on this project.  Be sure to give your super scientists a high five and cell-ebrate their accomplishments!

Take a peek below to see LOTS of pictures of the mad scientists in action.

Remember to click on “Read the rest of this entry>>” to see more pictures!

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The super scientists have been diving deep into cells this week! Over the course of two days students worked in teams and rotated through six different centers that looked in-depth at plant and animal cells. Station 1 and 2 had students exploring 3D models of a plant cell and animal cells, identifying the different organelles and their locations. In station 3, students compared and contrasted the plant and animal cells using a venn diagram. Station 4 brought our scientist up close and personal as they viewed real plant and animal cells through a microscope. They then illustrated and colored what they viewed in the microscope. Station 5 had students drawing relationships between the organelles in a cell and the structures of a mall! Who would have thought they were similar? Finally, students watched a Brainpop video on the computer regarding cell structures in station 6, taking a short quiz afterwards.

Teams did an amazing job of working with one another throughout the entire experience! I observed our little scientists bouncing ideas off one another, sharing information, and clarifying mistakes. It was quite exciting! Take a look at some of the pictures below to get a feel for the action. Remember to click on “Read the rest of this entry>>” to see more pictures!

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I just wanted to send out a brief notice that I have been having difficulty posting nightly homework to the homework forum.  I have been having intermittent site access over the last few days which will likely pass based history with how quickly edublogs handles problems.  If tou have any questions about homework, and the work has not been posted for the day due to the technical difficulty, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me

Abra cadabra!  No, we’re not doing magic.  That’s just one of the many crazy and humorous names used for classifying plant and animal species.  This week we began our study of classification by discussing the different types of traits that make plants and animals distinct.

Our studies transitioned into the classification pyramid that is used by scientist to organize all organisms.  The pyramid shows groups from largest to smallest: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.  We talked about how all organisms’ names are derived from the genus and the species.  Genus is a group made of two or more similar species.  Species is the smallest classification of a group.  From those we get the names like Abra (Genus) cadabra (Species), Reissa (Genus) roni (Species), and the Ba (Genus) humbugi (Species).

Our classroom became a zoo on Wednesday as student brought in a variety of stuffed animals.  Forming groups of 8-9, the super scientists developed classification trees to sort the animals based on their traits.  We found that, even with the same group of animals, they could be sorted differently if you used different traits.  Take a peek below to see the scientists in action!

How does a reader know when it’s okay to abandon a book? In reading we discussed how to choose “Just Right” books. In teams, students Round Robin’ed (ask them about it!) characteristics of the ‘Too Easy’, ‘Too Challenging’, and ‘Just Right’ books they encounter during their book searches. What sets them apart from each other? Team members contributed to a master list we compiled on the front board. Using the list as a guide we discussed how sometimes it’s okay to put a book back on the shelf so we find one that’s just right. These guidelines will keep our super readers focused on getting that perfect book each and every time!

Take a peek at the ideas students contributed!

With the start of the new year comes many new faces!  Not only do I need to become familiar with each child, their interests, and their needs, but the students also need to become familiar with each other!  Our classroom is broken into six teams with four to five superstars on each team.  These teams work together on various tasks throughout the six weeks they are grouped together.  What better way to get team members acquainted then by giving them the task of creating a crazy creation!

Each group was provided with a brown paper baggy filled with an assortment of materials ranging from index cards to paper cups.  With these materials teams were posed with the task of creating anything!  The challenge was to work together as a team, listen to each others ideas, compromise, and decide upon a single creation.  I was amazed at how well the groups members worked together towards a common goal.  In the end, students got to display their wacky objects to the class.

Take a peek below and see the groups in actions!

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The following is a link to the “Getting Started” post. This will be helpful for all those new to the blog. It highlights some of the key features available to you and how to access them.

“Getting Started!”

With the summer quickly coming to an end, some amazing students from year past swooped in to get the classroom ready for a new batch of students.  Every year the room starts as a blank slate, but these superstars quickly brought color and organization to the canvas.

Over a three day period students arrived in the early morning and organized into groups.  There were a wide variety of projects students undertook including making beautiful (and colorful!) new drawer label, relabeling and organizing the classroom library, creating work bins for the team tables, and making new reading centers.  There was no task too big or two for these super students!

To relax from all the hard work, frequent silentball breaks were taken to bring back some good memories.  Battles raged as students (and unfortunately me) were dropped by the likes of Josh, Austin, and the fierce arm of Kaitlyn!

These past students also used this work time to catch up on events of the summer, share stories, and schedules for the school year.  The soon-to-be 6th graders shared some of their fears for the upcoming year and realized they weren’t alone!  Everyone left feeling a little better about what was to come.

When all was said and done, the classroom was immaculate.   More work was accomplished than I could have hoped!  But, with what I had seen from this groups of kids this entire past year, it was no surprise!

So thank you, thank you, thank you my super stars!  Not only do I appreciate the help you provided me but I am so happy I had the opportunity to see you again before the start of your next journey.  With all the exciting times to come, don’t forget about the times in 5K.  Be sure to visit!

Take a peek below to see the hard workers in action!