5th Science:

Wow! The scientists in 5th grade have been discovering so much throughout the past week! Our experiments are in full swing and the scientists have been doing a great job keeping their experiments fair, checking in on them daily, and making detailed observations based on what they are noticing.

Take a look at some of their experiments below and make sure you ask your child or children about what they are noticing in their experiment over the weekend!

Along with this, we have started to investigate mold further.

Here is what we have figured out about mold SO FAR…

• Mold is a living organism called fungi
• Mold is formed from spores
• Mold grows and survives especially well in warm environments where there is moisture and nutrients
• The color and texture of mold depends on its environment, what it is growing on, and the type of nutrients it’s getting.

Yesterday, as a class we started discussing what happens to food when mold begins to grow on it. I asked the scientists the following question…

When mold starts to grow on a strawberry will the strawberry…

• Weigh less?
• Weigh more?
• Weigh the same?

5 of our scientists thought it would weigh less, 4 of our scientists thought it would weigh more, and 1 scientist thought it would weigh the same, which lead us to our next experiment!

As a class of scientists we decided that maybe if we tested the weight of something before it molded and then tested the weight of it after it molded we would be able to figure out which scientists were correct in their prediction!

So that is of course what we did! Throughout this process, we also realized that our food sample needed to be kept in an airtight container.

Why? Because we discovered that AIR HAS MASS (ask your scientist(s) at home about our balloon experiment), so our food sample has to be in a closed container because air could affect our data results!

Stay tuned for more of our 5th grade scientists findings!

5th Math:

We are halfway through our next 5th grade math unit where our mathematicians are learning all about decimals and how to add and subtract them!

Shown below are all of the ‘I Can’ statements the mathematicians will be able to show and explain by the end of our unit.

Ask your mathematician(s) about what we have learned so far at home!

I have been so impressed with their engagement and participation throughout this unit so far!

I love learning with and from them 🙂

Have a great weekend,

Gev. McAdams