Just before Thanksgiving Break 5th grade students spent 3 days doing science research in the library to introduce their new cluster. We worked on learning more about topics that had given students trouble in the past: natural resources, fossil fuels, erosion, weather, deposition, and the rock cycle.
Students spent Day One on an introduction to natural resources and fossil fuels by watching some BrainPop videos and then completing a classifying resources game called Sortify. They had a lot of fun while learning some very important and difficult concepts. They thought the game would be super easy, but it turned out to be much more difficult than they expected. They persevered and did an awesome job!
Day Two the students really buckled down and got into the heart of our research by utilizing the databases to answer a research outline that covered a variety of information they'd be learning about during this science cluster. We discussed how databases are much more reliable than just Googling to find the needed information. Students used print resources (books) to answer questions as well. Students have access to our databases at home as well as at school. To access the databases from home you can click on the Research Resources tab on this blog. They should all know their username and password, but if they don't you can contact me to find out that information.
Day Three we finished up our database and book research, and then moved on to the fun part! Students participated in a Kahoot! to review all the information they'd learned the past few days. They still have some more to learn about natural resources, fossil fuels, erosion, weathering, deposition, and the rock cycle, but they're rocking it so far! I can't wait to see how they do on their CBA.
