Students are working together with their cooperative groups to research various environments (desert, arctic, rain forest, etc.). Each group learned about the plants and animals in each environment and presented their findings to the class. They'll spend a bit more time researching the animals and how behavior characteristics of animals help them survive (as this is a second quarter benchmark).
For you 90's music lovers, we brought "Smashing Pumpkins" to a literal reality two weeks ago! After our Pumpkin Math lesson - which you can read about HERE - we took the pumpkins to the roof and participated in an age old tradition for Hoppin fifth graders! There is nothing better than watching a squishy pumpkin SPLAT on impact! The student clean up crew did a good job of making sure our evidence was as minimal as possible ;0)
While it may sound foreboding and spooky, Dia de los Muertos is a loving holiday, full of joy and remembrance. Unlike Halloween, the main focus is not to scare or be scared, it is to remember and cherish your life and the lives of people you love. Dia de los Muertos is a holiday for remembering and honoring loved ones who have passed. It is a festive, joyous time of celebration. Families spend the holiday cleaning graves and placing flowers and candles around the graves (much like we do in America) and then spend the day (and sometimes the night) reminiscing about those they've lost while they picnic, sing, and dance in the graveyard. It is also a time for families to remind each other about the importance of life and that everyone only gets one chance, so we should all be making good decisions with this chance we have. Why Skeletons???? Day of the Dead skulls and skeletons are whimsical and colorful, rather than frightening or evil. Dressed in traditional Mexican garb and doing everyday activities, they symbolize mortality and the cycle of life and death - they remind us that we all must die someday, even the rich and famous cannot escape it. It is a humbling reminder that humans are mortal and should live our lives the best way possible, today, right now. We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time celebrating this holiday together by making sugar skulls, learning about the history of the holiday and the Mexican culture (their ancestors include the Aztec and the Mayan Civilizations of Central and South America), creating name skeletons, and having a "graveyard" celebration where we danced to Mariachi music, ate our sugar skulls, and took some time to remember loved ones we have lost. |
HOPPIN's FABULOUS FIFTH GRADE CLASS!
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