Hi All,
This week we had our Wax Museum and I couldn't prouder of my class and the entire 5th Grade. The students chose a Biography to read. Then, they wrote a summary and a speech. They had to memorize the speech, create props and costumes and present them in the evening to our guests who walked around the classroom bringing the statues to life by shining a flashlight on them. If I could capture the amount of energy in that room, we wouldn't be worrying about an oil crisis in the Middle East :)
We also started reading Gary Paulsen's "Hatchet." It's a great adventure book and the students are identifying key information as they read and respond to the text. They seem to be really enjoying it!
Another big learning area was in Social Studies. We learned a great deal about the injustices of slavery thanks to our wonderful student teacher, Mrs. Coburn. The kids really enjoyed reenacting the journey on a slave ship. One of the things that I love most about teaching fifth grade is the students' ability to foster a deeper and more meaningful understand of why social justice is important. They were shocked that human beings were treated the way slaves were!
Next week we're off to the Museum of Fine Arts-it's going to be GREAT!
Mr. Weinstein
