Welcome to 5th and 6th grade!
In this portion of the website, you will be able to keep track of what is going on in the lower levels of the middle school classrooms at Holy Ghost.
Hands-On EngineeringBefore Thanksgiving break, students in 5th and 6th grade were visited by Ryan Werner, an engineering student at Michigan Tech University. He gave a presentation on what it was like to be an engineer and what kinds of jobs are available to engineering students. Then he let the 5th and 6th graders try their hands at a simple engineering project. The challenge was this: who could make the tallest tower using only a set number of toothpicks and marshmallows? The winners received a bag of marshmallows and some engineering magazines.
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Playing with Legos in Science?
Holiday Entertainment
The 5th and 6th graders performed "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" in sign language at the Ladies Aid Christmas party in December. They also pantomimed the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." Everyone loved their antics!
Quiz Bowl
The 5th and 6th grade Quiz Bowl team competed in December at the Monroe ISD. They did extremely well, winning four games before they were knocked out. They lost each game by only one point. Everyone was very proud of their accomplishments.
Social Studies Art with Relief Maps
During social studies, the 5th and 6th grade students created relief maps of North America using flour, salt, and cream of tartar. Students created these masterpieces by first drawing North America, then mixing the dough and spreading it on the map, and finally painting the physical features. The maps were then displayed in the school hallway.
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Decimal Centers
The 6th grade math students became teachers for the 5th grade math students in mid-October. They got to lead decimal centers where the 5th grade math students traveled each day to learn about one new concept of decimals. For example, one center was learning how to compare decimals. At this center, after doing a short lesson and a short worksheet, the students got to play war with decimal cards. They enjoyed this game. Other centers taught them about decimal place value, fractions and decimals, and how to create equivalent decimals. Every center had a hands-on component.
The centers were a good way for the 5th grade students to learn about decimals and for the 6th grade students to review them! |
Mummifying Chickens!?
As part of their ancient Egypt study, the 5th and 6th graders took their learning to the next level. They were able to get hands-on with an embalming process that is similar to what the ancient Egyptians used. Each team of 3 students got a cornish hen (freshly washed and store-bought). They then had to dry their hen thoroughly and cover it with alcohol. To begin the process of dehydration, they covered the hens in salt and baking soda mixtures.
This experiment will be an ongoing process. After a few weeks, the students will change the salt in their chicken bag. A few weeks after that, they will wrap their small mummies--hopefully just in time for Halloween! The next step will be the burial process, and in the spring, they will dig up their sarcophagus and see whether or not their mummification process worked!
This experiment will be an ongoing process. After a few weeks, the students will change the salt in their chicken bag. A few weeks after that, they will wrap their small mummies--hopefully just in time for Halloween! The next step will be the burial process, and in the spring, they will dig up their sarcophagus and see whether or not their mummification process worked!
Dry Ice Experiments
In September, the 5th and 6th graders learned about matter and phase changes. They learned what happens to an object's particles when the object is heated or cooled. They also learned about evaporation, condensation, and sublimation. In order to really see sublimation, they were able to get hands-on (well, gloves-on) with some dry ice. After they each held a chunk of dry ice, they got to discover how dry ice would react when it was put into some boiling water. The result was a giant cloud that proved very fun to play in!
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Science Lab: Mass, Volume, and Weight
The 5th and 6th graders went hands-on in science in the beginning of September when they got to use tools like balances, scales, and graduated cylinders to find mass, volume, and weight. They are learning about physical science for the first half of the school year. During this particular lab, they had a bunch of objects for which they had to calculate the mass using a balance and gram cubes, calculate the weight using a scale, and calculate the volume using water in graduated cylinders. They had fun learning about science hands-on!
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Our Classroom Rules
During the first week of school, we decided on 3 rules to govern our classroom. We wrote these rules together, and then every student signed the rules sheet to signify that they agree to follow our classroom rules. As a reminder, they are posted in the back of our classroom.