Sixth grade elective students demonstrate how to order at the Mexican restaurant.  As soon as they have perfected these conversations,  they will go to a real restaurant!

5th Grade Media - the Plant Project

Carol Gehringer
Media Coordinator

Right now the 5th graders in our school are finishing their first MAJOR research assignment. Although they may moan and groan at the work, once the project is over they will be surprised at what they have learned as a result.

Here's what we've done in 5th Grade Media to prepare them since the start of school:

• Database scavenger hunt for ALL our databases
• Discuss ethical use of information and images (copyright!)
• Review basics of word processing and presentation software
• Review basics of writing a bibliography
• Learn to use a pathfinder provided by the media coordinator
• Discover research means being a detective - one might have to use more than 3 sources to  find the information needed for the assignment
• Learn that during research, a student needs to be diligent in using their time wisely: recording the information for the bibliography before going onto the next source
• Learn that a student needs other keywords for their search. If the assignment asks for the habitat, what does that mean? What other words should they use?

The students conduct their research during the first week of the project. They have time during their regular media time, as well as during their science blocks. The media coordinator assists them during research week.

This project is a collaborative effort between the 5th grade team, the technology teacher, and the media coordinator. The art teacher and Spanish teacher sometimes make their lessons revolve around the plant the students are researching.

After the students complete their assignment, they have everything on display for parents, other students, and teachers to view. Each student presents their plant to their visitors.

The students learn that research means

• they need to look at several sources
• the information doesn't just jump out at you (you have to read the text!)
• sources either add to the information you already have, OR support/confirm what you have written down

Most of all, they learn about time management, and this is probably the most important as they prepare to enter middle school.

Love Letters from February

6th Grade Strategy Games
Mr Edwards

In February we held a tournament for one of the simpler games played in sixth grade, Love Letter.  Released in 2012, this game has been wildly popular for it simplicity and portability.  The game was created by Japanese game designer, Seiji Kanai.  It is no surprise that in a country known for its minimalist culture and crowded living space, Love Letter is comprised of nothing more than 16 cards and a few wooden cubes to track wins.

Love Letter by Seiji Kanai

For the strategy games class, I think it is important for students to learn a little about what makes a game 'tick'.  This is even more important for students who continue taking the games elective in 7th and 8th grade when the main focus is making a game.  Two important facets in a game are theme and mechanics.  The theme for Love Letter:
"Suitors throughout Tempest seek to ease Annette's sorrow by courting her to bring some joy into her life.  You are one of these suitors trying to get your love letter to the princess.  Unfortunately she has locked herself in the palace, so you must rely on intermediaries to carry your message.  During the game, you hold one secret card in your hand.  This card represents the person who currently carries your message of love for the princess.  Make sure that the person closest to the princess holds your love letter at the end of the day so it reaches her first!" 

Mechanics for Love Letter include player elimination, memory, and hand management.  Some cards allow you to see another player's hand, so the memory mechanic just means that a you need to remember what cards you have seen.  Some cards instruct you to compare your hand to another player's hand and the lower ranked card loses; its owner is eliminated for the rest of the round.  On each turn you draw a single card and add it to your hand, and then decide which card to play;  the decision of which card to play is the hand management mechanic.  

A round is played by going through all the cards in the deck just once which takes about five minutes.  The winner of each round receives a little wooden cube, known as a token of affection.  With four players the first person to win 4 tokens of affection wins the game.  

                                                                                                                          

 
 We have winners for the Mon/Wed and Tue/Thur classes.  Congratulations to Lindsey!



 



 Congratulations to Luke!

Connecting Spanish with the 5th grade Arboretum

Students wrote short, descriptive paragraphs about the plants that they studied for the 5th grade Arboretum.  They used simple, Spanish sentences and learned to translate research information from English to Spanish.