Whither the Weather

I have quite a few educational irons on the fire these days.

1. Math - Factoring
This is nothing new for 5th graders, but they like to pretend it is. Never-the-less, they are making good progress with it. We talked about Greatest Common Factors today and most of them got the hang of it after only a couple tries.

2. Writing - Figurative Language
Similes, metaphors, alliteration, and personification have all been discussed. They have been quite creative and descriptive, which is exactly the point. The best part? They are noticing these things in everything we read, not just in the "writing" activities. Next, we try for hyperbole. Their writing assignment this week is to write a mouth-watering description of their favorite meal, from main dish to desserts, using as much figurative language as possible.

3. Science - Weather
I have put together a kick-ass weather unit. I spent several hours on it on two separate occasions, so it better work! We started it today and they seemed very excited by the whole concept. Mostly the fact that they are going to be tracking the weather in cities of their choice via the internet for the next two weeks. Anywhere else, I would use local weather, but around here it's always the same: clear and sunny, 75 degrees, no precipitation. Nice to live in, but not so helpful in teaching the complexities of weather.

4. Reading - My Side of the Mountain
We are more than half-way through this core lit book now. They have been doing a great job with all the different discussions and comprehension projects. They are also doing well with the additional related material I make them do, mostly vocabulary expanding activities.

The days just seem to fly right by with all this fun stuff to work on. :)