Fifth Grade has been bustling with activity as we are preparing for our Civilization Creation showcase this Friday at 2:10. Students have been crafting all week to design their displays, write their presentations and create costumes, artifacts and models to highlight this year-long project. We hope to see you there!
In other news….
Today we welcomed Amber Zia into our classroom to discuss Islam. Amber was gracious enough to answer all of the students questions about Muslim beliefs, current events, prayer and practices. She also shared with us her impressions about her yearly visits to the Ka’aba in Mecca during Ramadan. This visit scaffolded perfectly upon our recent study of Islam and our advisory periods during which we watched and discussed the newly-released documentary about Malala Yousafzai.
In History, we are fully immersed in the world of ancient Greece. Students are currently learning about the Greco-Persian Wars and the influence of political events of the time on the birth of democracy, as well as the vision of Greece as a unified empire. There will be a test on all things ancient Greece in two weeks.
In English, we are studying Greek mythology and making our way through D’aulaire’s Greek Myths. Next week, the students will be doing a project on a Greek god or goddess.
In Writer’s Workshop, we are wrapping up our discussion of the sentence fluency trait. Students spent the past two weeks writing and sharing various types of poetry including rhyming, free verse, haikus, apology poems and poems using participle phrases.
Advisory…we continue to explore the theme of compassion in our advisory periods. The compassion tree now sports a full coat of leaves. It has been exciting to see how students are recognizing small acts of compassion in each other and noting them on the leaves. The spiraling out continues as the fifth graders seem to engage in these acts all around campus. Just this week, I saw two of our kids want to deliver a Twizzler to Mr. Gore. Today several students decided to make a card for a Sra. Velez. When doing classroom chores, they seem to band together, wanting to help each other. And during our lunches outside they offer encouragement to join in a circle, to play catch, to share in the discussion, and extend a compliment on a drawing. I am so proud and thankful each day that I can witness the generosity and warmth of this class.
Cheers!
Jilly