Hour of Code

"The Hour of Code is designed to demystify code and show that computer science is not rocket-science, anybody can learn the basics," said Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org. "In one week last year, 15 million students tried an Hour of Code. Now we're aiming for 100 million worldwide to prove that the demand for relevant 21st century computer science education crosses all borders and knows no boundaries."

In the U.S., 90 percent of schools don’t even teach computer science. It’s time for us to catch up to the 21st century. We know that regardless of what our students do when they grow up, whether they go into medicine, business, politics, or the arts, knowing how to build technology will give them the confidence and know-how to succeed. Today, all 5th graders had an opportunity to explore computer science and I was thrilled with their enthusiasm, wonder, and perseverance.

Mixtures and Solutions

In Science, students are discovering that different substances dissolve at different rates.  In groups, the students have learned about how to create saturated solutions.  In order to create a saturated solution, salt was stirred into water until no more of it would dissolve.  It took about 25 grams of salt to saturate 50 ml of water.  Today, students used granulated citric acid to see how many grams it would take to saturate the same amount of water. 

Would it be the same amount as salt? 

Ask your child to tell you the results.

Opinion Writing

Use the link below to gather evidence to back up your claim:

http://www.jogtheweb.com/run/Szb5P0vbPNnJ/Opinion-Writing-Assessment 

Understanding Convection Currents

Heated air in our atmosphere expands, becoming less dense. Because it is less dense, it rises upward. Cooler air rushes in to replace the air that lifted up. As warm air rises and cool air falls, a giant circular pattern is created. Eventually the warmer air cools and begins to fall again. _(Kidsgeo.com)


http://safeshare.tv/w/TJGQpBpQMi 

http://safeshare.tv/w/sFJkuMBCTt 



Click here to read about convection currents and weather.
(start reading on page 6 and end on 10)

Layers of the Atmosphere

Read the sites below to learn about the atmosphere.  The information from these sites will allow you to finish the atmosphere activity.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/layers.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/science/atmosphere.php

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0046-layers-of-the-atmosphere.php
(click on the different pages to learn more)

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-climate.htm
(most of the information about the atmosphere is at the bottom of this website)

Cloud types

Click on the links below to find information regarding clouds:

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-clouds.htm

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/clouds/ 

http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/reproducibles/profbooks/cloudkey.pdf

http://www.clouds-online.com/ 

How much does a cloud weigh?

So...what do you think?  How much does a cloud weigh?

I recently asked that same question to my class.  RM said "as much as a feather." JH first said, "500 pounds" and then immediately changed it to "50 pounds!" AJ said that a cloud probably weighs, "next to nothing."

A majority of my students thought clouds weighed next to nothing. I then asked them how much a hurricane weighs.

Watch this! 
http://safeshare.tv/w/RiYPcPnKGA