Grade 5 is Evolving!
December 6, 2012
From the beginning of time, people have been learning to use their knowledge to harness the world around them. Students in the 5th grade at Pinewood International School, through an interdisciplinary educational approach to learning, have been experiencing this as well.
The year began with an investigation into the marvels of earth science and geology. This study extended itself into all areas of the curricula – History, Language Arts, Art, and Mathematics and Technology. They traced the evolution of early man and the early civilizations of Mesopotamia. Learning about the past also included developing their use of timelines, numeration, and place value. Measurement became meaningful as they used various systems to visualize the sizes of dinosaurs. Students conducted various experiments from the construction and eruption of a model volcano, to rock and mineral classifications, and measurement of liquids and solids to create stalactites and stalagmites.
Students were exposed to a wide range of literature from non-fiction to historical fiction and plays. They read about early settlers in the United States in the “Second Bend in the River”.and came to see how people adapted to the world around them. Issues of of prejudice, and equality, fear, frustration and the importance of communication were dealt with as well. From a story of an early cave dweller, students extended their experiences by making clay artifacts and cave paintings. Throughout this semester, students also took several field trips to aid in connecting the past to the present. They visited the early settlement of Olynthos, the Science Museum where they saw a 3-D movie about dinosaurs and Petralona Cave in Halkidiki. These trips were followed up with both paper and computer projects.
Monica Varsakopoulos
5th Grade Teacher