Welcome!

Welcome 5th grade students, families, and friends! I will be using this blog to update everyone on happenings in our exciting 5th grade classroom. We will be doing a lot of cool projects and activities this year, and I want everyone to be able to appreciate the great work the students do! I will be updating this blog at least once a week, so be sure to check back frequently to see the latest activities. Also, if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to comment on my posts or email me at geigerk@etown.edu. I love to hear feedback from parents

Our first unit we will be doing is on family heritage. This will give the students a great opportunity to learn about where they came from and a little bit of history about it. At the end of the week, we will be sharing our final projects so everyone can learn a little bit about one another. We are going to be spending a lot of time together this year so we want to become a community of learners. Through this project, students will be able to learn about themselves and their families, as well as families around the world. We are all different and that's a good thing!

Here is a basic outline of the topics we are going to explore:

Day #1: Introduction to family heritage- What is it? What does it mean to us? How do you determine your family heritage? Students will also learn and debate about whether America is more like a melting pot or a mosaic.

We will also be choosing books for our literature circle on this day. Books will be assigned for groups of approximately 4 students. Students will read selected parts from their book each night and be asked to write reflections and/or answer questions according to the book. Students may choose a book describing their own heritage, or the heritage of another culture.

Day #2: Students will be sent on a web-quest to find out information about at least one country of their heritage. If students have trouble determining this, let me know and we'll figure something else out! All information collected on this day will be part of the final project.

Day #3: We will be using Google Maps and Google Earth to create a map of the world depicting countries of origin. Then, students will be able to use Google Earth to explore actual images of the country(ies) that their family came from.

Day #4: Students will be given the opportunity to continue perusing for information on the topic chosen online to finish up their final project. They will also be able to search for pictures online to include in their final presentation. The form of presentation for the final project will vary, but today is a day to tie up any loose odds and ends and prepare for the celebration tomorrow!

Day #5: Everyone gets to come in and present their hard work! Students will be expected to give a 3-5 minute presentation on the research found. Creativity is encouraged and students may choose to teach the class a game, make a craft, bring in food, etc. If any parents would like to come present artifacts, talk, or just observe on this day you are more than welcome!

At the end of the last day, I would like to include pictures from the presentations and activities online so those who couldn't make it can see. I will be sending home a Media Release Form with students at the beginning of the week. Please send it back and let me know if you do not want me to include pictures of your child or any of their work on the web-page.

Like I said before, don't be afraid to contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm so excited to kick off this year and celebrate the diversity in our classroom!