5th Class Antarctica Project

For the month of September 2011 5th class were working on the theme of "Antarctica". In geography we focused on learning about the continents of the world.  We examined an atlas and discovered there are 7 continents - Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North & South America and Antarctica.  We investigated Antarctica a bit more under the headings of location, weather and animals (whales, penguins, seal) and wrote reports on them.

             

In history we focused on the life of the great Irish explorer Tom Crean who famously made 3 expeditions to Antarctica in an attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole but he never achieved his goal.  However he did play a very important role in these dangerous trips and made some brave rescues and is an Irish hero.  In groups of 4 we made timelines of the important events in Tom Crean's life.  We also did alot of drama about his life.

                                     

In science we learned about the force of "buoyancy" and we investigated it by designing a boat (from plasticine) that could hold the maximum number of passengers (5c coins).   We discovered that the shape of the boat is extremely important. A simple ball of plasticine will sink, however, when moulded into the shape of a boat it floats. We discovered that the flatter and wider the base of the boat the more passengers (coins) it could hold.  We recorded everyones results - MoreBlessing's boat held the most coins, over 30!   We made it a fair test by giving everyone the exact same amout of plasticine and we all used 5c coins as "passengers".  Finally we wrote up our experiment in our Science copies.

5th Class Project - Ancient Greece

5th Class October 2011 Project - Ancient Greece

For the month of October 5th class were working on the theme of "Ancient Greece".   In history we investigated the lives of the Ancient Greeks under headings such as school, clothes, architecture, food, festivals, olympics and Gods.  This month we worked in groups and made posters to present our work.

          

 

In geography we studied modern day Greece.  Individually we researched a factfile which included a map, the flag and lots of information about the country of Greece.
                                     

 

We even learned how to write our names using the Greek alphabet!!

                                         

Our Student Teacher

For the month of November 5th class have a student teacher from Froebel College of Education called Mr. Bracken.  He will be teaching us all about Anne Frank and World War II.

                                     

Christmas Shoebox appeal 2011

5th Class November 2011 - Christmas Shoe Box Appeal

Every November the children and parents of St. Philomena's School are extremely generous and fill many shoe boxes for the "Hope" Christmas Shoe Box appeal.  These present boxes are delivered to children all over the world who are less fortunate than our lucky children.

This is 5th class as they leave their classroom and form part of a human chain of shoeboxes to pack their own box into the collection car.  Some girls with their parents' help even put together 2 and 3 boxes.  Well done everyone!

                               

                           

    

Classroom Aquarium - 5th Class

5th Class November 2011 - Classroom Aquarium

This month 5th class are very lucky to be involved in a project with Sealife, Bray.  Cathy and Aishing from Sealife have installed a small aquarium in our classroom.  Our tank contains a starfish, a crab, a young dogfish, a dogfish egg, a Blenny and a Butterfish.

Here is Cathy and Ashling with our empty tank.  They put gravel at the bottom for filtration.  Then they poured in about 75 litres of salt sea water.
             


                                                

Watch this space and we'll keep you posted on our investigations and activities!!

5th Class January Theme : Weather and Flight

Hi 5th Class!   Hi All!

Ms. Phelan here!  Our theme for the month of January  in 5th class is "Weather and Flight" and we're going to have a busy few weeks  investigating and researching this topic and doing lots of exciting activities.

In history we are going to create a timeline for "The History of Flight", starting way back with Ancient Myths and Icarus and ending with modern jets.   We are also going to learn about a very famous female aviator  called Amelia Earhart - the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

In geography we are going to set up a weather station and record the daily temperature, rainfall and wind direction for 2 weeks.  We are also going to study the earth's atmosphere and how it influences our weather. Weather is very important when considering flight.

In science we are going to investigate the forces of flight - air resistance.  We'll be experimenting with paper helicopters to understand how flight works.  We will also be exploring air pressure and the concept that hot air rises. 

In Irish of course we are working on "An Aimsir" - you will be working for TG4 doing the weather forecast in no time!

We will have a busy month and I look forward to seeing your posts on our new blog. I hope you will enjoy it. 

Ms. Phelan

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