Ecosystem Study

Who better to explain the process of our recent Ecosystem study than one of the students. Lindsey wrote this paragraph on the class Ecosystem Weebly site to share our learning:

 Our class has been researching about ecosystems around the world. First we each got a word that relates to ecosystems in some way. We studied what our words meant and found some examples of the word. We made a dictionary out of our words. Next, we drew our words in fancy font and colored inside of it. Then, we made a web that had ecosystem in the middle and all the other words connecting to it. Then we were each assigned an ecosystem with one or two other people and given a packet that had things like animal life, plant life, threats, interdependent relationships, conservation, and much more to research. We had to get good information from reliable databases, web sites, and books to fill out the packet. When we were done gathering information we began to write our own informational pieces about our ecosystem. We learned how to write to inform others. We used a writing rubric to help us write each paragraph and showed the expectations for emerging, developing, achieving, and extending.  After that, we edited our writing. We then typed our ecosystem writing and transferred it to this website as a way to share our learning. Next, we worked in groups to research an ecosystem in the United States. We created pages to share information about each ecosystem, threats, and ways to conserve the ecosystems. We hope you enjoy!

I loved having the opportunity to watch the students collaborate and diligently work together to create their individual Weebly pages.

The students learned how to design their pages, add text, photos, and slide shows to their ecosystem page. After a handful of sessions in the computer lab, the students had the opportunity to share the Weebly with their peers. The students did a wonderful job sharing their research and learning on the Weebly. Please be sure to check out each group's page on the site. They are very proud of their work, as they should be!

 The next steps in our Ecosystem study are as follows:

• Create a combined list of threats and ways to conserve each ecosystem 
• Write and produce Public Service Announcements about conserving ecosystems 
• Share Public Service Announcements with our peers
• Create a map of each ecosystem studied in the United States 
• Reflect on the study and share our learning through dialogue and writing 

Lately in 209

Lately we have been engaged in an ecosystem study. The first part of our study was to understand vocabulary related to ecosystems. Each student was assigned a vocabulary word. They then researched the definition from three different sources.  Once they had an understanding of the meaning, the students created their own definition of the word. From there, we created an ecosystem dictionary to share our learning with the class about ecosystem vocabulary words. 

Next, we decided to create our ecosystem vocabulary word on a large piece of paper using watercolor pencils and Sharpies. Each student wrote their word in a creative way and included the definition somewhere inside of the word.

Finally, we created a life-size web of ecosystem vocabulary words that is now displayed outside of our classroom along with our ecosystem dictionary definition and illustrations. 

Researching an ecosystem was the next step in our study. Each student was assigned one of seven ecosystems. We have been using a variety of print and non-print resources to find information about our assigned ecosystems. 

We have been using a personal Ecosystem Weebly that was created by Miss Gibbons, Mrs. Slater, and Mr. Stevenson as a way to easily access reliable resource databases.

The fifth graders have been doing a wonderful job at gathering information and taking notes on their assigned ecosystem. We are at the end of the research part of our study. Next, we will be working on writing an informational piece using the research we gathered. Through this writing piece, we will be meeting the following Common Core Writing Standard: 

W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

We have been very hard at work in 209, but we managed to squeeze in a little Halloween fun as well... 

Last Friday, we enjoyed browsing the Informal Affair Gallery Hop and seeing our finished piece in person. 

We may not be old enough to vote in the presidential election just yet, but we did have a chance to exercise our right to vote today in our classroom. We had several candidates interested in representing our classroom as a Wickliffe Student Council representative. The candidates did a wonderful job speaking in front of their peers and bringing up several important issues such as long lines at lunch, better recess equipment, and recycling and compost bins in the lunchroom. It was a very close vote for classroom representatives. I was so pleased with the thoughtfulness and wonderful questions that the students came up with today during the election process! 

The Real Ivan

Today we had a wonderful opportunity to talk with a former Columbus Zoo gorilla keeper. Mrs. McEvoy's mother-in-law, Jane, came in to speak to us about her experience working with gorillas.  For 28 years Jane worked as an employee at the Columbus Zoo. About eight of her years were spent working with the gorillas. Jane came with amazing stories, information, and photographs that helped us gain insight on what it is like to work with the amazing gorilla species.

Jane told us about day-to-day duties as a gorilla keeper. She also told us that there are several gorillas that rotate on display at the Columbus Zoo. The gorillas at the Columbus Zoo have a large  habitat that allows them to interact with their gorilla families. Each day the gorilla keepers give the gorillas a puzzle or activity to work on to keep their minds engaged. We learned that gorillas need to be taken care of just like humans and that human doctors actually care for gorillas if they are in need of medical attention.

One part of today's conversation that was very interesting to us was about the real Ivan that we have been reading about in the book The One and Only Ivan. Jane knew the gorilla keepers who cared for the real Ivan at Zoo Atlanta. The real Ivan just passed away in August and she read us the eulogy that was sent from Ivan's keeper and friend. It was interesting for us to learn that the real Ivan displayed very similar characteristics that Katherine Applegate uses to portray Ivan in the story.

You can read about the true story of Ivan here. I will also share the following video of the real Ivan with the fifth graders tomorrow. We have all been touched and inspired by this true story. Although we are not finished with the story yet, I truly believe that through reading The One and Only Ivan that we are learning compassion and empathy for other living beings.

                           

We are so grateful that we had the opportunity to hear from Jane's experience today. She was so kind to take the time out of her day to share her experience with us, as well as, answer our many questions about what it is like to work with gorillas.

Skyping with a Grade 5 Canada Class

Last Thursday, we had the opportunity to Skype with a Grade 5 class from Gretna, Manitoba,
Canada as a part of the Global Read Aloud.

In order to prepare for the Skype session, we brainstormed a list of questions about The One and Only Ivan that we would like to discuss. We also discussed what we would like to say to the students from Canada. We thought it was important to tell the students that we lived near Columbus, Ohio, that we are the class of 2012, and that Wickliffe is a progressive school.

The time finally came to Skype with Ms. Young's Grade 5 class. We were super excited to see the Skype call come through on our computer. We had fun introducing ourselves to the Grade 5 students.

They shared their class mascot with us, as well as taught us hand signals to use to show whether we agree or disagree with their questions.

We took turns asking questions back and forth and shared our learning and thinking about The One and Only Ivan.

We all thought it was great to have a chance to share our learning with a class in another country. It was interesting to us to learn that the Grade 5 students in Canada are already experiencing winter weather. They thought it was interesting that in Ohio it was still warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts. We learned that most of the students in Ms. Young's class live on farms and it is not unusual for the students to have an hour ride to and from school. It was a wonderful experience and we are hopeful to connect with another classroom this week to discuss The One and Only Ivan. The students reflected on the Skype experience on their individual KidBlogs.

The One and Only Ivan

Last week we began a new read aloud, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

The One and Only Ivan is fiction but is loosely based on a true story of a Silverback Gorilla. The cool thing about this read aloud is that we are reading it along with several other classrooms all around the world. It is a part of the Global Read Aloud which provides opportunities for students to connect with other classrooms around the globe. The students are so excited about this read aloud and potential opportunity to connect with other classrooms. 

Here we are on the partipant map: 

I am excited to participate in the Global Read Aloud with the students and can't wait to dive into this amazing story. 

Stratford

We spent the last two days enjoying the beautiful fall weather at Stratford Ecological Center.

We were greeted by a man and a llama upon entering Stratford.

We split up into small groups and were each led by a different tour guide. Throughout the last two days we explored messages from the earth. We engaged in a variety of activities that allowed us to learn several important things about the earth, habitats, ecosystems, and interdependence.

We learned...

- Organisms perform a variety of roles within an ecosystem. 

- Organisms live in habitats that fit their needs. 

- Organisms need just right habitats to survive. 

- Animals have different ways of living, different ways of feeding, and different defense mechanisms. 

- Populations interact to obtain food energy. 

At the end of each day the students spent time in a Magic Spot. The students chose a quiet spot alone where they could observe the beautiful woods around them. It was definitely one of our favorite activities of each day.

As a culminating activity, we were given an animal and had to figure out its needs in order to decide if it lives in a marsh, field, or forest habitat. Then, we participated in a mock trial because we found out that the marsh is being destroyed. Therefore, the inhabitants of the marsh land had to stand trial in front of the jury (the field and forest). The students had to decide whether or not the animals and plants that were kicked out of the marsh were able to survive in the field or forest. We learned that this is an actual problem here in Ohio and in the United States. It was a great way for the students to think about a real-world problem and apply their knowledge.

The students reflected on their learning by blogging on their KidBlog. We also documented our learning by creating a web when we returned to school this afternoon. Our trip to Stratford is a kick-off to our ecosystem study. It was a wonderful two days spent learning outside with each other. We are looking forward to returning to Stratford in the winter.

Lately...

Here is what we have been up to lately in fifth grade... 

During Morning Meeting, we have been working on editing a message that I write to the students each morning. We are working on skills that will help us edit our writing during Writer's Workshop. 

We created our own bar model word problems to share our learning of how to solve word problems using the bar model method. Our word problems are now displayed in the classroom.

We are very excited to be buddies with Miss Blake's first and second grade class. We have met with Miss Blake's class twice and are having so much fun getting to know our little buddies. Using a puzzle piece, the student found their buddy match. We have spent time playing with our little buddies on the playground and filled out a getting to know you worksheet to see how many things (if any) that we have in common with our little friends. We are looking forward to building community and friendships with Miss Blake's class. We are already planning on meeting our buddies this week to read with them.

Last week Ms. Redman, an AmeriCorps fellow, came into our classroom to do an activity with our class. She read a book, Paulie Pastrami Acheives World Peace by James Proimos. We learned that you can make the world a better place by doing small things such as being kind to those around you and helping others. Ms. Redman posed the question to the students "Imagine a world where ...". The students were asked to share an idea of what their perfect world might look like.  

Here is our Imagine a World ideas that now reads like a poem. We will be revisiting our ideas using them as a springboard to engage in service-learning projects that will make our school and community a better place. 

Learning and working together takes cooperation and team work. To encourage the students to work together, we have a Smarty jar in our classroom. When the students are great listeners, work hard, and make positive, proactive choices we add a Smarty to the jar. Once there are 24 Smarties in the jar (1 for each student), the students earn a Cooperation Celebration. On Friday, the students voted to spent our first Cooperation Celebration in their pajamas. They also voted and chose to bring in a small, electronic device to use during the afternoon. The students have worked extremely hard during the first month of school and most definitely earned some free time! It was a wonderful, relaxing way to end a busy week! 

Newspaper Study

Miss Gibbons’ fifth grade class became interested in creating a classroom newspaper. This idea sparked as we wrote paragraphs about our first week of school for our parents to read during Parent Information Night. 

Before creating our own classroom newspaper, we decided to research some questions we had about newspapers. We spent some time looking at The Columbus Dispatch. We explored how it was organized, the photographs that were included, the different sections, and what we liked and did not like about the Dispatch. 

Next, we brainstormed a list of questions and chose one to research. We used the Internet as a resource to find information that answered our research question. 

We researched the following questions: 

What is news?

What is journalism?

What is the history of newspapers?

What are the sections of a newspaper? Why are they important?

How are newspapers printed?

What is the purpose of a newspaper?

Why is the layout of a newspaper important?

What are the jobs of people who work for a newspaper? Explain the jobs in detail.

What are the five W’s of a news story?

After spending a few days gathering information and recording our information sources, we decided to share our learning. We chose to create a Keynote presentation or poster to share with others. We planned out how our poster and Keynote would look. We also decided what information we would include onto our poster and Keynotes. Next, we spent a day in the computer lab creating our Keynote presentations and text for the posters using Microsoft Word. We talked about the importance of displaying the information in an interesting way.

Once our Keynote presentations and posters were finished, we shared them with our classmates. Finally, we spent some time discussing the information we learned and reflected on how we can utilize the information when creating our own classroom newspaper.

The fifth grade students did an absolutely amazing job working on their newspaper research. They were very thoughtful in their research and how they chose to display their information. They did an excellent job sharing their information and presenting their research in front of their classmates. I can't wait to work with the students on utilizing their new knowledge and applying it to our classroom newspaper.