Class of 2015

On Tuesday we went to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum and thought about the question: What is art? We still haven’t come up with a definite answer, but so far what we’ve come up with is that it has something to do with difference and with design. We also thought that art could be anything, but isn’t everything.  Before our field trip and discussions I thought that everything was art, but now I am not really sure. I kind of think that everything that has anything to do with design is art.

The reason that we are discussing this is because in the book we are reading,Chasing Vermeer, the teacher (Ms.Hussey) teaches by giving crazy assignments. I think that they work in teaching the kids, but only after a long period of time. We have been doing some of the assignments: like for a day in the book they communicate without writing or talking, so we did this for a period. I thought that it was a good learning experience. Another assignment was to write an unforgettable letter, so we are also doing that.

For the past few weeks the fifth grade has been learning about taxes in colonial America.  Right now we are learning about the Boston Tea Party, how the tea tax was put on the colonists and some who called themselves Patriots went again King George and led to the American revolution.  Some were with King George and thought the tea tax was not much to pay.  This led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773.  People from both sides came together and had a debate at the Old South Meeting House on if the tea tax should stay or get repealed.  We are going to go to the Old South Meeting House to re-enact the tea tax debate.  I have been very intrigued by this topic and am very exited for this field trip.

In different words, this question has been raised lately, multiple times.

This week we read that Mae Tuck killed a man to save a child, her family, and possibly the fate of humankind in our class novel, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.   But did she have to kill him?  Was that the right thing to do?  Was that her only option?  What might she have done instead?

Students were riveted by the story of the Burning of the Gaspee.  As we prepare for the tea tax debate, we are looking closely at the many catalysts for the American Revolution.  While some colonists wrote letters to express their feelings of discontent, many others reacted with violence.

In fifth grade, we will continue to wrestle with this question.  Is it ok to do something wrong if it is for the right reason?  Do the ends justify the means?  For the sake of a more generative discussion, I’d like to encourage parents and fifth graders to post any thoughts they have on this big question directly onto our blog.  Thank you!!!

Fifth graders synthesized their knowledge by retelling the event, sharing the big ideas, and making predictions.  Completed work included: slideshows, a news article, two cartoons, and a poster board display. Below are links to the student slideshows about the Burning of the Gaspee.  You might need to copy and paste the link into your address bar.

https://docs.google.com/a/jcdsri.com/presentation/d/1lAGJ9CuRaFTsuyMOGcu9CwbOLIaHR-c-MW_jNKSKtSA/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/jcdsri.com/presentation/d/1jUfUUKeW5Y4098b4v6mVk88v_xxzgL4vN8aCobPq3j0/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OGpvFtRXCW3Pm5Fx6kCOrfgy-Fl07PlquAewLNuThtg/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fCSV74Er5SLZu3CPQ0UwxnurU9rrtR0f4k1d491PC0s/edit?usp=sharing

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This week in Social Studies we learned about the burning of the Gaspee, which took place in 1772 when the British were ruling Rhode Island. The British had passed a tax on the cargo in ships, so they had ships to collect the tax. In Rhode Island we were very upset by this, so we would smuggle the cargo and try to avoid the tax collector ship. Then when the British found out about the smuggling they hired a large boat called the Gaspee to collect taxes. The Gaspee was a mean and aggressive ship and the crew on the Gaspee made sure no one would smuggle. One day a cargo ship called the Hannah was sailing to Providence when the Gaspee asked them to stop and let them search their ship. When the Hannah said, “NO,” and started sailing away, the Gaspee started sailing after them, and for a long time this went on until the Gaspee got stuck in a sand bar because it was heavy. The Hannah then rushed to Providence to tell people what had happened. Then a drummer went out in the streets to gather up people to plan the attack on the Gaspee. After that they all got in 8 big row boats and went to the sand bar where the Gaspee was stuck, and at 12:00 they attacked it and lit the Gaspee on fire. When the British got word of this they questioned everyone about the attack and no one told. Overall I think it would have been really cool to experience the burning of the Gaspee, but I was born 200 years late.

This week the fifth grade did so many exciting things!  One of them was making bricks for the brick oven.  We mixed sand, cement, water, and clay in plastic tubs, then put the mixture into empty milk cartons, which we have been collecting since the beginning of the school year.  We did all this in groups of three. The groups were: Jonah, Jordan and Tamar; Tomer, Jodd and Eliora; and Abby, Elliana and Shira.

This week is also Shira’s last week before she leaves for Israel on Tuesday.  We have all made cards for her, and all of us have collaborated to make a PowerPoint where each of us creates a slide saying why we will miss her.  The next time she will be here will be in August.  She has been a huge part of our community, and we will all miss her.