Our Field Trip to the Phil Harmonic

 The students got a kick out of our bus #.  We passed a 7 Eleven on the way to the Phil and the students begged to stop.  Maybe next time.

Some of the girls getting ready to listen to the orchestra. 

Today we went on a field trip to the Phil Harmonic.  The students were looking forward to getting out of school for a few hours.   As we loaded the bus, the kids got a kick out of our bus #, 711.  The whole way to the Phil the students talked about stopping and getting a Slurpee from 7-Eleven, at least that is what I kept wishing we could do. 
Once we arrived at the Phil, the students were pumped about going in and listening to the orchestra.  As we entered, you could feel the excitement through the buzz of students talking.  Once the lights were dimmed, the conversations came to a hault.  We sat and listened to different pieces from around the world.  The experience was relaxing, fun, and entertaining. 

DARE Begins

 The girls modeling their new tee-shirts.

 The students working on their Red Ribbon poster.

Today we started DARE.  We started out by getting our DARE planners and cool tee-shirts.  We also went over the expectations. We began working on our poster for Red Ribbon week and began talking about different types of drugs/alcohol and the effects it can have on ourselves.  Red Ribbon week is the week of October 24th through the October 28th.  Our posters are due on October 3rd.  We will be meeting on the following dates: 
September 26
October 17
October 31
November 14
November 28
December 12
December 19
January 23
January 30
February 13

Sensory Activity

 The kids had to use their sense of touch to tell me what they were feeling.  Some of the words used were:  dewy, moist, slimy, and mushy.

 The students had a little more difficulty with explaining how the orange sounded as they squeezed it.

 Everyone was really involved in the activity and trying to come up with adjectives.

 Afterwards, the students enjoyed devouring their oranges. 

Just some of the guys goofing around ;)

I love to bring experiences into the classroom.  Today, I wanted the students to experience a food item using their senses, taking the sense of sight away.  We place blindfolds on and began exploring the object that was in front of us.  At first, the kids were worried that I was going to stick something gross or disgusting in front of them.  I promised I wouldn't.  Prior to passing out the object, we discussed the expectations.  The students had to follow directions step by step and at NO point in time where they to tell me what the object was.  As I place the object in front of them, they had to be sitting on their hands so they would not be tempted to touch the object.  They were to smell the object first.  We then brainstormed a list of adjectives for smell.  Next we touched the object and compiled a list of adjectives for touch.  We continued with the same process for the senses of sound, taste, and sight.  Most of the students knew what the object was prior to taking their blind folds off, but they never told me what the object was.  Afterwards, the kids devoured their orange and began writing about their experience.  We will be working on this writing project for a few days.  It will be sent home in 2 weeks.  So...tonight, ask your student about their experience with the blindfold. 

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to our blog!  This coming year we a lot of fun activities going on in 5th Grade.  I am very proud to be apart of your child's final year at Big Cypress Elementary.  This year has gotten off to a phenomenal beginning.  I have truly enjoyed getting to know each and every one of the students. 


Over the past 2 weeks we have been keeping busy.  On the first day of school, there were a lot of smiles and some nerves, for both myself and the students.  After we were able to "break the ice", we all began to be a little more at ease.  I believe in the students being involved in creating the classroom environment and how it should be run in order for learning to occur.  The students and I worked closely together to create our classroom expectations.  After about 30 minutes of brainstorming and discussing, we came up with the following...
1. Raise your hand when you want to speak.
2. Respect others by using kind words and treating others how you want to be treated.
3. Keep hands and feet quiet and to ourselves at all times.
4. Follow directions.
5. Listen to the person speaking.
The students all agreed to these expectations.  I have turned this into production to be made into a poster.  Once the poster is presented to us, we will be reviewing it again and signing it.  We are treating this as our classroom contract with one another. 


We also have been doing a lot of "Get To Know One Another" activities and team building activities.  These activities have helped us understand each other and how important it is for us all to work together.  I am truly impressed on how well we are all working together thus far. 


Some things you will see on our blog in the future...

• Skills that we are working on in Reading, Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.
• Weekly Spelling Lists
• Supplies or Materials that will be needed for projects
• Upcoming News
• Student Work Samples

I would also like for the students to begin to blog also.  Eventually, it is my goal to have them to type all of the above on the blog.  I truly believe that not only will this experience improve their typing skills, but so much more.  This is also a wonderful way to have home to school communication with one another. 


I am truly honored to be working with both you and your child this year.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Below is my contact information.  Thank you all for your wonderful support so far this year, and I look forward to learning and growing together.


Laura Boyd
boydla@collierschools.com
239-377-9672