A Spooky Week in 5th Grade!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Hello My Name Is

Yesterday we had a lot of fun in science. First we reviewed the science vocabulary that we have learned this year with a little nametag game. Students had to rely on their classmates to help them figure out what word was on their forehead. Next up, the music started and it was time for musical chairs. We are learning all about ecosystems and this was a great way to show the importance of competition in nature.

Ouch!

Free Rice!

Our class tested our vocabulary skills on this great website a couple of weeks ago, called Free Rice, their website address is www.freerice.org. I have been using it for several years, and students really enjoy it. The premise is, for each vocabulary word that you are able to identify the definition, this site will give 10 grains of rice to the U.N. World Food Program. It is totally legit, and totally addicting! It is easy to watch your knowledge and your bowl of rice grow. I believe the story behind the site is a Dad created it to encourage his daughter to study for the SAT. It's a win, win situation!

The Journey Begins!

The entire fifth grade took the field today to start on our Generosity Journey. We all walked one mile. We will tally the miles at the end of each week so we can tell how far we have gone!

I'm not sure what she is laughing about, probably that we are attempting to walk 2,300 miles!



These two did just as much talking as walking!!

Great News of the Week!

A few nice things to share with you this week:

* A woman who is retired spends her time volunteering at Elder Care Services. She drives senior citizens to and from their doctor's appointments. What a selfless person who gives of her time to help others!

* A local church congregation heard about Dr. Grantham's family and donated their offering to help out the family's needs. The money along with cards full of well wishes from our class was delivered to the Grantham's yesterday morning. How kind and thoughtful you all are!

Out the Back Door

It was so beautiful outside last week, we couldn't help stepping out the back door! Thursday was the perfect day for getting some things done in Mrs. Whitaker's class. While half of my class was in the media center learning all about the Apalachee Tribe and their settlement at Mission San Luis, the other half was with me. Some painted their dugout canoes (a main source of transportation of Native Americans), while the others made terrariums. We rotated around until we were all done! We will be keeping an eye on these little ecosystems and see what sprouts up over the next couple of weeks!



We're pretty sure that if the University of Florida had been around during the establishment of Mission San Luis, that the inhabitants would've been Gators!



My young explorers also traveled the world this week to discover the different biomes that cover our planet.

Don't Forget!

Next Thursday we will rotate around as we celebrate Fall and all the creepy and crawly things that come with it! Please remember to send in items for our spider pops: black pipe cleaners, Tootsie Roll Pops, googly eyes, and Tacky Glue! We thank you!

The Wild World of Science

Here are some of the web sites that we have visited recently for projects or class discussions. Have fun surfing!

Land biomes, water ecosystems, and more!

Take a hike through a tropical rainforest!



Amazing pictures from the Hubble Telescope!

Here is a nebula. Isn't it amazing?

Pumpkin Parade

It's that time of year...pumpkin time! Last week my little artists designed pumpkin "costumes" for our school competition. They were quite creative! Cross your fingers for a winner or two!

P.S. Cinderella's carriage still to come. The mad scientist has a crooked smile that needs to be fixed.

Great News of the Week!

Sadly we have no great news to report. That doesn't mean there aren't great things happening each and every day, in fact we know there is! Please send us the random acts of kindness that you see going on to great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com. Keep our class project alive! We can't wait to hear from you and keep checking back with us!

There's Finally a Chill to the Air!

I hope you are all enjoying the nip in the air. It seems as if we have been sweating for years, so this is definitely a pleasant change! We had a great time at the movies yesterday, and are looking forward to another great (short) week!

Do you have your pumpkin yet? It is a vegetable or a fruit? Come whisper the answer to me for extra credit!

Here is a picture of my niece Pearce picking out her very own pumpkin in chilly northern Georgia.

See You at the Movies!

We are meeting at the movies on Saturday! Hope to see you there! Check times and location on the flier sent home!

Our Generosity Journey

In just over a week the fifth graders and their teachers will embark on a pretty big journey. No suitcases, or carry ons necessary. All that you will need is your walking shoes. We are walking 2,300 miles as a group to promote fun, fitness, and finding a way to help others. Along the way we will be making seven "pit stops." Each class will research an organization in one city that could use a random act of kindness. Students will have a chance to walk before school, during recess, at times during P.E., and sometimes as a class. We are looking forward to our journey from Tallahassee to Santa Monica along I-10. We hope to see you out on the field!

Read more about the journey in the Tallahassee Democrat here.

Downtown Day

We headed down to the Challenger Learning Center today for a great field trip. After seeing the night sky in the planetarium show, we saw an amazing IMAX movie, Magnificent Desolation. The movie, narrated by Tom Hanks, was all about the Apollo Missions and future space travel to the moon. This was a wonderful way to start off our astronomy unit in reading. Afterward we headed outside for a picnic lunch with friends.







Then we let the kids play, and it was a rainbow of colors



Stay tuned for some spooky secret potions from our mad scientists

Great News of the Week!

We have two great things to report this week...

* One of my students let us know that his aunt selflessly gives of her time and serves soup to the homeless on a weekly basis.

* A local elementary student had a Pink Party to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

You might have seen both of these great deeds featured recently in the Northeast Chronicle. Thanks Reid for bringing them to our attention. Make sure to share some good news with us at great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com!

Mad Scientists

This week was full of experiments in our classroom. We are busy studying about plants, so my mini botanists had some experiments to set up and observe. After studying about phloem and xylem, we watched colored water travel through carnations and celery.



We are growing lima bean plants by the window to observe root systems and in honor of Where the Wild Things Are (the children's classic that we just did a book study on).



Being Floridians, we don't get to see many leaves change into those beautiful colors of red and yellow during the fall months. In order to see why this happens we pulled chlorophyll out of some spinach leaves yesterday.

A Pumpkin and a Bottle

You might ask what do these two things have in common??? Well, they are both things that we NEED in our classroom! Next week my students will start designing pumpkins for our school pumpkin contest. Each team just needs one! If your family is able to donate one we would be so grateful. If you made it look like this, we would love you forever!



In science we will be building terrariums soon and each student needs a 2 litter bottle to construct their own. I know some families don't have 2 litter bottles at home, while some of you are slurping down the Coca-Cola products. Please send in any that you have! Potting soil would be lovely too!

Great News of the Week

I am back from the land of flu, and feeling somewhat like a normal human being. While I was under the covers, great things were happening in our world! Here are a few that you all shared with us:

* One parent wrote that she thought that our school book fair was a success because of one very GREAT parent. The Grizzly parent responsible for this year's bookfair is Meg Gibson. Ms. Gibson has twin daughters in the 1st grade, and her husband is a professor of law at FSU. Ms. Gibson is a media specialist herself, and you have probably seen her volunteering in our library. I think that it is Great News that Ms. Gibson dedicated that last several weeks of her life to making our bookfair a huge success.

* One of our students wrote about her mom this week. Every day my mom goes to work, she is the manager of the kitchen at the Cabot Lodge bed and breakfast.She makes the food for everyone in the hotel and she will go outside the kitchen and help people find what their looking for.

* The secret Starbucks fairy showed up again. Kind people paying it forward for others in line. Wow, coffee really must make people happy!

* And finally, it wasn't a random act of kindness, it was just kindness. My husband took very good care of me when I was under the weather. He went to Walgreens, then to Publix, then back to Walgreens, just to make me comfortable. What a good guy!

Keep the good news coming and have a great week!
Mrs. Whitaker's Class