Simple Machines, Big Ideas!

It has been a busy couple of months in 5th grade STEAM!
We have just completed our Simple Machine and Engineering Unit and wow! was it fun!

In this unit we focused on How simple machines can make a task easier?
However, to understand the HOW, we needed to understand the basics of simple machines and be able to: 

1.1 Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, e.g., strength, hardness, and flexibility.

1.2 Identify and explain the appropriate materials and tools (e.g., hammer, screwdriver, pliers, tape measure, screws, nails, and other mechanical fasteners) to construct a given prototype safely.

1.3  Identify and explain the difference between simple and complex machines, e.g., hand can opener that includes multiple gears, wheel, wedge, gear, and lever.

Beginning with inclined planes, we constructed paper roller coasters! 

One big focus in our design challenges is being able to communicate with our peers. After coming up with our own ideas, the real skill is in being able to listen to each other and collaborate on our work. 

To see more check out these videos and photos!

Ms. Tosches' Class

Ms. Bougas' Class

Ms. Murphy's Class 

We also learned about levers. Wondering how levers work? Ask us how the placement of a load and fulcrum can make completing a task easier!

Once we had the basics down, it was time to design a catapult for the Catapult Challenge! Again, being able to communicate our ideas was key! So we spent some independent time researching, brainstorming, and designing what we thought would make for a good design! After that, we were assigned to our groups and got to work! 

See more here! Catapult Challenge! 

To celebrate our learning, we took a trip to the Museum of Science! Thank you to all of the parents who braved the elements to join us on the trip! If you missed it, you can see some of the highlights by clicking on the logo!

Writing with the Engineering and Design Process

Since the beginning of the year we have been looking at science through the lens of the Engineering and Design Process. We extended this thinking into our current learning intention - informational writing! After a couple of weeks studying how plants and animals adapt in different biomes around the world, we were ready to organize our research and try out our informational writing skills. Each student was assigned one or two paragraphs that were then put together to form a 5 paragraph essay.

After writing our initial rough draft using Google Docs, it was time to revise our work. This can be a difficult process for students as it involves persevering through a task and a willingness to accept mistakes. To help us through this process, we used the Engineering and Design Process - something we have talked a lot about already this year. The BEST step in this process, where we say "the magic (learning)" happens, is the Evaluate and Redesign step. Through this lens, we are able to accept our initial trial and make changes to move forward. In the example to right, we used this redesign step as a way to include domain specific vocabulary in our revisions!

Presenting Our Work

Ask us to describe the traits to you...can we give you examples of what each one means?

It was really fun to work so hard on our informational writing. But...how could we share our learning with others? With Group Presentations, of course! Each student was responsible for creating 1-2 slides that corresponded with the paragraph they had written for the essay. Students worked together to create a collaborative Google Presentation and then presented to the class.

Including these traits in presentations brings the work you are doing to life and helps to engage your audience! You can view our google Slide Presentations by using the links below:
Tosches Homeroom 
Bougas Homeroom 
Murphy Homeroom

*Graded writing will be coming home by Wednesday November 23

We have been very reflective over the past week about what we are grateful for. Most common answers - family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with family and friends!

Chain, Chain, chain...Chain of Food!

 How can energy continuously cycle through an ecosystem? 

That's what we wanted to know! So we set out to uncover the answer! For this unit students needed to be able to describe how energy derived from the sun is used by plants to produce sugars (photosynthesis) and is transferred within a food chain from producers, to consumers, to decomposers. We also needed to be able to develop a model to describe the movement of energy through a food chain. 

We started off by doing our background research on food chains - what they are, how they can be different, and how different organisms live in different food chains. We studied the difference between producers (they can make their own food) and consumers (depend on eating other organisms for food) and how they depend on each other for survival. Once we had the background knowledge, we set out to build our model. How? STOP MOTION VIDEOS!! 

First, we had to build our ecosystem backgrounds. 

Then, we built our organisms out of clay and other craft supplies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally...ACTION! 

We were really happy with the final results!
Check out all of our stop motions videos here

ENJOY!

It's Alive! Organisms and Plants in the School Garden

This week in Grade 5 STEAM: 

LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!

We have officially begun our first science unit of the year: Studying Life Science through Plants! In 2016 the state of Massachusetts launched a new set of science standards. They are well developed and thought out and leave a lot of room for student engagement, project based learning, and knowledge development. For this unit we are focusing on the following: 

Life Science 1. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• 5-LS1-1. Ask testable questions about the process by which plants use air, water, and energy from sunlight to produce sugars and plant materials needed for growth and reproduction.

In order for us to get to this testable question, we need to do our background research. This involves learning that plants are living organisms that go through a predictable life cycle. We will also be studying the structure and function of plant parts in order to understand how plants live and grow.

What better place to do this than in our very own school Community Garden!

This week involved our first expedition out to the garden. We simply observed what we saw- living organisms (both plants and animals). Next week, the Somerville Farm to School Program will come in for our first lesson. We will head back outside to "put the garden to bed" for the season.

Plant Parts and Their Functions: Drawing Scientific Diagrams and Non-Fiction Reading/Note Taking

This year students will be working on incorporating some art into their science class. On Friday we learned how to draw a scientific diagram. Since one of our standards requires us to identify the structures of plants, what better way to learn the skill.

We also practiced reading a short non-fiction text: an article about a plant parts, and talked about the different text features and how they can help us to understand the text.

Coming up next week:

Planting terrariums, measuring plant growth, and graphing the data!

Stay Tuned and have a great weekend!

First Week of School

Hello Grade 5 Families!

We are off to an amazing start this year in the Grade 5 STEAM class at the John F. Kennedy school!

A bit about me:
My name is Lindsey Tosches and this year will be my second year at the Kennedy! This year also marks my 6th year of teaching science at the elementary school level, and my 4th year at the 5th grade level. I absolutely LOVE teaching science and am thrilled to have a full block of science each day with the students!


Traveling is one of my favorite things to do and this summer I was fortunate enough to travel to Iceland! One of the best parts was that I got to experience first hand some of the amazing geological features that your children will be learning about over the course of the year! I can't wait to share my experiences and knowledge with them.
More than that, I am really looking forward to getting to know you and your children! I can already tell that they are all kind and motivated students and I know that this year is going to be GREAT!



Our First week Together: 
5th Grade STEAM is all about learning to work together as partners and eventually (starting next week) in small groups to complete our scientific / engineering tasks. To prep students for the year, we spent time this week talking about what a good partner(ship) sounds like and looks like. Students shared some great ideas and proved that they really understood the meaning behind their words! This was obvious to me as tasks were completed with smiles and learning objectives were met!

Students were presented with two partner tasks this week: building a "q-tip maze" and building a "Tooth-pic Bridge". The latter proved to me a bit more challenging but everyone persevered!

Q-Tip Mazes: A task used to build partnership skills

Tooth-Pic Bridges: A more complicated task used to reinforce partnership skills as well as to teach the Engineering and Design Process!

Use this link to view more photos from this week! 
Partner Tasks


Should you have any questions or concerns this year, please do not hesitate to contact me at
ltosches@k12.somerville.ma.us

I hope to see you all at Open House on Sept 21 6-7:30pm!