On Tuesday the 11th of March we were invited to the opening of the Final Exhibition by the Aga Khan Primary School! It was awesome! Look at the photographs below and reflect on what you SAW, what you THOUGHT and what you WONDERED about the exhibition. Think about your reflection in relation to the work for your Final Exhibition.
We had a great day exploring possible ideas for our Grade 5 Exhibition on Tuesday 25th February. Our initial interests are diverse! Some are linked! But what do basketball, endangered animals and Jackie Chan have in common?
Look at the two short clips below and post your thoughts as a comment.
Next week we will be starting the work towards the Grade 5 Final Exhibition!
It is important that you inquire into something you are passionate about…something which really interests you!
Start thinking now about what you are passionate about and what you might be interested in inquiring into!
Add a thought comment below to highlight some of the things you may be interested in finding out more about! Remember this is just to get you thinking, it is not the final topic you will be studying!
Our Class in February 2014 : Our class is growing!
We would like to welcome Ye Jin and Amir to 5 McA!
We hope you can find them below!
I don’t think they are running from the elephant!
They are running to class as they are enthusiastic to get started on the Final Exhibition!
Literature Circles have just started and here are our first ideas about them! We are all excited to be in a group and have different roles! The first meeting to feed back to the group will take place on Tuesday 18th February!
Make sure you are ready to participate!
After the first meeting please post a comment to say how things went! Make sure you explain what you liked and what was a new challenge!
Do you remember walking to the water pump in Mikumi? Do remember pumping the water and carrying the full bucket of water on your head? Do remember the long walk back to Mikumi village school?
Look at the article on the Water Wheel! It is a great innovative idea! Read the article and this may give you some ideas how you could come up with an innovative idea which coud be used in Mikumi village and other villages in Tanzania to help with the long walk for water!
During the last week of school we planned and created contraption to prevent eggs breaking when dropped from a height and we created balloon car racers!
What innovative fun!
We found out good padding, parachutes and even peanut butter saved the egg from breaking even from the top of a high building!
Try this at home and see what works best!
Balloon powered cars were great fun. Some were powered by one balloon and others were powers by three balloons! Try this at home and see what works best!
On the last day of school we all watched the movie, October Sky, and we are all excited to be taking part in the Great Grade 5 Rocket Launch!
This is something to start planning and thinking about over the holidays. Please check out the details below very carefully! Good Luck to you all and remember what happened to Homer in the film!!
ROCKET BUILDING 2014! 
THE TASK: You will research and build a small rocket that can move unaided by you through the air. Your rocket may only use natural power (e.g. rubber bands, water, bicycle pump) and not fuel (battery or motor) or have any fire involved. You will research and plan your rocket using the Engineering Design Process. You will build your rocket at home. The final launch will happen at school Friday 24th January at 7:20am. All Parents are welcome to watch.
YOUR MATERIALS: You may use any materials you wish. This may include cardboard, paper, plastic, or even lightweight metals. Creativity and using recycled products are highly encouraged. Buying pre-made rockets or spending lots of money on your rocket building is highly discouraged.
PHOTOGRAPHS: You need to photograph each stage of the rocket building as you will be using the photographs in a piece of procedural writing in January. ( 5 – 7 photographs should be enough)
TIMELINE:
Over break: Gather ideas and materials, build and test at home, you will not be given class time.
Friday 24th Jan: Rocket Launch!!!!!
CRITERIA: 1. You may work in pairs within the class or across the grade, or by yourself – please clear this with your teacher first.
2. Your rocket must be less than 1.5 metres by 1 metre in size.
3. Every individual will submit their completed scientific process planning sheet beforehand in order to participate in the rocket launch.
Awards will be given for:
GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!
How the World Works.
Central Idea: Human curiosity and the need to solve problems have led to scientific innovation.
In this unit we will be investigating the scientific process and thinking of innovative solutions to problems! We have completed several experiments in class. Next week, December 7th– 9th, we will be working on how to make a safe environment for an egg to prevent it br
eaking when thrown from a height of several meters! We will also be making balloon car racers and testing the cars against similar powered cars from other classes.
Instructions for both assignments have been given out today as has the Innovative Notebook!
Look at the video clip below to help make your balloon car racer!
Good luck to all you young innovators!
Central idea : Human motivation to explore and trade has influenced the world as we know it today.
In this unit of inquiry we will be investigating explorers, reasons for exploration and we will be looking at the perspectives of the explorers and the indigenous peoples.
Today our class travelled back in time to 1492 and met Christopher Columbus, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain and some mothers who did not wish their sons to embark on the journey to the new world! The whole class has been convinced by Columbus to join the journey in search of riches, fame for Spain and to spread the Catholic faith. We will be documenting the journey in a journal and we will be using voice to convey our feelings about the journey.
Here are some diary extracts from August 2nd 1492, the day before we set sail, sailing west, from Spain, to find a sea route to India!!
We have tried to incorporate a lot of VOICE to make you feel you were there!
A diary entry from Queen Isabella.
1492
Thursday August 2nd
Dear Diary: Today Christopher Columbus walked into the castle and started talking about his idea to find a route through the pacific to India. He showed us a map of the world and said that he wanted to find a route to India through the ocean. He was on his knees begging and pleading to King Ferdinand and I, Queen Isabella for three ships, a crew and enough food to last a long time. I was convinced because Christopher Columbus said he would bring Spain RICHES, LAND AND HE WOULD ALSO SPREAD CHRISTIANATY!!! Any ways the king wasn’t convinced, he wasn’t sure we could trust this man. I excused Christopher Columbus and told him to come back the next day for the final answer. After Christopher left we had a big conversation and we decided to give him what he asked.
By Queen Isabella ( Camila)
A diary entry form a crew member.
Thursday August 2nd 1492
Dear diary,
You won’t believe what happened to me today!
Christopher Columbus came to ask Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for permission to set sail towards India with three ships! Towards gold, spices, glory and to spread Christianity! GOLD! SPICES! For Spain! We set sail tomorrow! And I am on the crew! Of course our mothers believe the world is flat and you fall off the end if you sail too far! Nonsense I’m going to keep pushing and gain gold, spices, other goods and spread Christianity for Spain! But my parents just don’t want to stop whining that we will sail off the end of the world and get eaten by, “ Really very dangerous sea monsters”! As if I would ever believe that!
THERE IS NO SUCH THINGS AS A SEA MONSTER!
IT JUST DOESN’T EXIST!
By Crew Member Nynke
Diary entry from a crew member’s mother!
Thursday August 2nd 1472
My son is going on a most dangerous voyage with Christopher Columbus who is absolutely mad. He can’t take my sons away from me. I will report him to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. I won’t allow it. I won’t have my sons taken away from me. There are horrible sea monsters out there and some of them with twenty arms!! They will drag them to the depths of the ocean. Others are flesh eating they will pick their bones clean and toss them into the deep waters of the ocean. Some breathe water and they will capsize the ships and they will sink to the bottom of the ocean. Other monsters breathe fire and they will roast my sons alive!! Columbus doesn’t know what he is saying. He says the earth is round but it is flat they will fall of the edges and we will never see my sons again. My sons must stay. They must not go. My eyes are red and swelling with tears. The lump in my stomach is growing greatly the fear is closing in in my throat. They say they are doing it for Spain but it really is a death trap. They must not go. They can’t, they’ll die!
Upset Mother of a Crew Member (Tamara)
During the Mikumi field trip our class spent a day at the Mikumi village school. The whole school came to greet us and sing for us and we also sang some of our favourite songs! Each student was introduced to a partner, or partners, for the day and the first activity was to go to the well to collect water. The school has access to the well attached to the church and this is a 15 minute walk from the school across a main road. Our students found out that most children have to collect water for their families before walking half an hour to reach the village school.
Our partners arriving with their buckets for the journey to the well.
Pumping the water was hard work!
Walking back to the school with full buckets of water on our heads was a challenge!
Relaxing at the Vuma Hils pool.
Consider the problems villagers have obtaining water and consider the problems animals have in the park looking for water in the dry season.
Do you think hotels in national parks should have swimming pools? Remember to give reasons to support your answer.
5McA Class Blog 