Thank you....and homework!

Thank you! So many of you sent me holiday greetings in the weeks leading up to the winter break. In addition to kind words, I received cards and gifts. Some gifts I am eating, some I am drinking, some are adorning the (otherwise spare!) classroom, and some will bring fresh books to our classroom in the next months.

I am no longer one consumed with gift-giving or gift-receiving, and usually request that families save gift money for their kids' college funds. However, I was too busy to send out the word this year, and gifts come with the cards I treasure. And you know, it was pretty nice!

It all began during conferences, when a parent (B's mother) surprised me with a kale salad and chocolate - much needed, since I never take time to visit the library for soup! Candy canes soon followed from A, who will not allow me to be too grinchy. And the thoughtfulness extended to just this week, when a gift was brought to me that makes tooting noises - apparently. I am unable to get it to do anything but stick to my fingers.

And all I am giving in return is a bit of homework! Well, necessarily homework, but something that can be done at home. Here it is:

We have been studying "the web of life." That is, we've been learning how living things are connected through food webs and a bit about the carbon cycle. At conferences I sent home three science assessments connected to our early work, and students have since taken three more. On Monday I will give one last assessment that asks students to put ideas together from ALL the lessons - a unit test. I am anxious to find out where students' understanding is, and how capable they are of communicating their understanding.

Some students have been absent and missed some of the work we've done in class in the last months, however. To give all a chance to see what they may have missed - or watch something again - I promised students that I would post links to some of the  videos we watched in class. The homework is simply to watch these, if your fifth grader would like to. Each of these links expires in ten days:

Lesson 1: Why would a hawk move to New York City?
Lesson 2: What do plants eat?
Lesson 3: Where do fallen leaves go?
Lesson 4: Do worms really eat dirt?
Lesson 5: Why do you have to clean a fish tank but not a pond?
Lesson 6: Why did the dinosaurs go extinct?

You may find these interesting, too!

After this assessment, I will resume a study related to the function of the brain that we began in September. I'll post information related to those lessons I begin each.

Happy New Year!