Volcano!

Last month we shared our fantastic volcano projects. Here is one example of our amazing eruptions!

Come Celebrate Learning!

This week is Celebrate Learning! The students have been working on some wonderful animal posters and projects in science. I hope you'll come see them this Friday night from 5-8 pm.

ITBS Testing!

Just a reminder that ITBS testing runs from Sept. 22 - 26th. 5th graders will be testing each morning. Please remind your child to get a good night's sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time next week.

Enrich Your Child's Education

If you would like to help improve your child's learning, there are several fantastic places to visit around Atlanta that relate to what we are learning in science and social studies this year. Here are just a few suggestions:

Stone Mountain shows the leaders of the Confederacy in the carving which relates to our studies of the Civil War. You could also talk about weathering and erosion as you look at the mountain.
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/default.aspx

The Fernbank Museum has some wonderful science exhibits. Right now they are also showing an Imax movie about volcanoes/The Ring of Fire, which we are studying.
http://www.fernbankmuseum.org/

The Cyclorama is an Atlanta Attraction you may not know about. It is a giant painting of the Civil War and it rotates while you listen to music and war stories. It is right next to Zoo Atlanta where you and your child can learn about animals. A great day trip!
http://www.webguide.com/cyclorama.html
http://www.zooatlanta.com/home.htm

If you do get the opportunity to visit any of these places, please let me know. I would love for your child to share his/her experience with our class. Enjoy learning!

We love Landforms!

We recently started our first science unit on Earth Science. We are learning about the constructive and destructive processes of the Earth, including weathering and erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, and more.

We started our unit by learning about the surface features of the Earth, including plateaus, mountains, sand dunes, valleys, and plains.

To kickoff our unit, we created landform maps out of clay. Check out some of our fantastic work:

Welcome to 5th Grade!

Welcome to Mrs. Richards 5th Grade Class Blog! Mrs. Richards 5th grade is located at Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In Mrs. Richards class, we will be learning about a variety of exciting science and social studies topics.

I hope that the students will have an opportunity to participate in updating the blog as the year continues. Check back and please, leave comments, if you enjoy reading about our learning.

We are kicking off an exciting year of social studies with the Civil War. Check out the links if you would like to learn more about the Civil War.


http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/causes.html
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/civilwar.htm

It's going to be a great school year!