#Maker Space Goals

I am so excited to start the new year.  I am staying in fifth grade but will be taking on a new role as the fifth grade engineering and technology teacher.  I will service about 375 students during the year. Engineering is a special and I will have them for a trimester.

I bought the letters and wood at Michaels.

Goal #1  Setting up the physical layout of the room

My room was a computer lab and I wanted it to have a center/flexible seating feel.  I had the long computer tables and remaining desktop computers removed.  I had to scrounge up furniture that was already in the building and was given some round and rectangular tables and I also managed to get some high tables that were used for drafting.

I set up a recycle/craft area.  The desk was big and old and ugly.  I was going to have it removed but covered it with poster board and paper plates.  I have so much piled up on the floor and it is hidden.

I put the word out on Facebook that I needed a storage bin and a family donated one and it is filled with building materials.  Many of them also donated.  I have Kinex, Legos and Marble Works.

My cubbies are stocked with materials for a Chain Reaction Station.  I put peg board on the back of tables that they can build off of, I will share pictures when we do this project.

I have my bulletin board split in half, one side is the Design Process and the other is "An Engineer is...".  I hope to add pictures of different engineers.

 Stay tuned...more photos and posts to come!

1000 Days of School For Fifth Graders

Did you know that the 100th day of school for fifth graders is actually their 1000th day?  I just learned that cool fact last year.  My school celebrated our first "1000 Days" the first week in February. (I'm behind with my blogging)

I teach math and had to actually do the math to see if it was true.

Kindergarten 180 days

First Grade 180 days

Second Grade 180 days

Third Grade 180 days

Fourth Grade 180 days

180 x 5= 900

Fifth Grade Day 100 + 900-= 1000 days

I wanted to plan a special day and our team decided to make it a STEAM event.  Our team has 16 homerooms so we broke into groups of four.  The students rotated through the four classrooms and completed many lessons and activities that were related to 1000.

Kick-Off- They read "Sadako and the 1000 Cranes" prior to the day. We collected dimes for the whole week and challenged them to raise $100.  We counted our dimes each day and discussed powers of ten.  Our vice-principal was running the Boston Marathon for cancer and we donated our money.  We raised over $400.  The students made paper cranes and started an Acts of Kindness Wall.

Station 1- The kids had to reflect on their first day of school and compare to now.  They had to write a letter to their future self, a 1000 days from now they should be juniors.  

Station 2- We created geometric sculptures using 1000 toothpicks.  Our grade level color is blue so we spray painted them for the display class.

Station 3- The grade level created 1000 Valentine Cards to send into Children's Hospital for cancer patients, a connection to the book.

Station 4-  Students created patterns and designs using 100 grids.  They put them together in groups of 10.

Here is a freebie that I used. The STEAM sheet was for the sculpture.  The 1000 sheet was for

students who finished early, they could create a piece of artwork using the number 1000.  

Click here for free link on TPT

Another thing that all the teachers did was hang sheets of paper in the halls and the students wrote 1000 things that they learned in school since kindergarten.  Each team of four wrote one subject: math, ELA, Science and Social Studies.