#5thchat Archive
#5thchat is for people interested in chatting about topics in education, especially as they relate to Grade 5. The goal is to connect people who enjoy learning & sharing, plus supporting & creating partnerships worldwide!
Tuesday July 5, 2016
Hi, welcome to ! I'm Brian and I live in Delaware. How was your Julty 4th? Our fireworks got rained out. :(
I'm Paul Solarz, a 5th grade teacher from Arlington Heights, IL. Sorry about your fireworks Brian! We had pretty great weather!
I'm Kerry, a 5th-grade teacher in San Diego, CA. We had a great 4th!
I'm Jennifer 5th grade teacher from Cary, NC and my 4th was great-all 3 of my children were home! 🇺🇸
Sorry, We had beautiful weather here in the Boston area all weekend.
Hi Brian! Sorry abt your fireworks but Jealous of your rain! We are in a drought here in Central New York. Crunchy grass..
Glad to hear you have a rain date! https://t.co/TQgpoq4pVW
First time they've been rained out in a long while. Rain date is Sat., so not too bad. Glad you had good weather.
I'm glad everyone had a good holiday. The election is 24/7 in the media. Who's covering it in their class this fall?
We do a Presidential Election Simulation in our class on Election years! Links coming...
I definitely plan to cover the election in the fall. Even the primaries were a HOT topic in my class this spring - lol!
I'm covering the election but looking for PBL to make it more meaningful
Does the whole school vote?
Phil, 5th grade from NJ, jumping in and out tonight. I don't know where this day went.
Hi, Phil. glad you could join us.
Just our classroom & doesn't involve the ACTUAL candidates. Each of my students run for Pres & VP. Focused on issues.
Hello! Nikki from the great state of Texas.
That's a good way to do it. Do they like researching the issues?
Hi, Nikki. Thanks for joining us. There is a festival in Marfa in the fall. Dying to go, but it won't be this year.
Yes, but they LOVE the debates & making political advertisements and commercials the best!
They always love to create the ads. I like that creative work.
A1: I will definitely be covering the Election this year. My prev. class learned so much about primaries. I can not wait.
We do a whole school election planned by the 5th grade.
We have covered it in the past. Our SS cur. Has us at branches of gov. in May, but in election years I've woven it into the fall.
I like it when the Ss get beyond what their parents think and weigh in with their own ideas and opinions. So valuable.
A1: Can I add a little math? I cannot wait to do lessons about electoral votes, poll percentages, etc. Giddy with possibilities.
Good idea. Ignore that calendar!
Great! if you have some resources, please share. You're right, so many possibilities.
A1: I will hopefully be including: A color coded map for the night, a school wide vote, and a mock election using student as cand.
Hey sorry I'm late, u see we're talking election?! My fave!
I'm designing some lessons, and researching now, but can definitely share as I find them!
Great idea. Percentages, ratios, oh the possibilities!
I asked my class to think about what will happen if Texas goes blue with growing Hisp. population. 1/2
This year the primaries came up in our persuasive writ. Unit.
A1 I did a Ss led edcamp w/HS Ss and my 5th graders this year to learn about candidates
2/2 Will we reconsider electoral college then? PA, CA, NY and TX alone account for 142, more than half of 270 to win.
has a lot of election resources too to check out
Hey Rosy! did you see the Royals in Philly? Tell us about your candidate edcamp. Would love to hear.
Love this! And, what happens if there's a tie? Ask Ss which combinations of states can make that happen.
Students discussed how the disrespectful and dismissive tone diminished the ability of the arguments to really be persuasive.
That's a great problem b/c of so many variables. Love that.
From the mouths of babes.....
For the DE primaries, I had my Ss research the candidates and also arranged w/HS T to have her Ss do same then (+)
Great idea. I bet your kids loved collaborating with the Hs Ss.
A1 - Looking forward 2 election this fall. Odd Q: How do you keep parents informed? New grade 4 me and I don't want upset parents.
I really want Ss to see how polling works. Poll small class sample + match to simulated school wide results.
(+) we got together and discussed/asked Qs etc in 10 min sessions. Sessions were indiv candidates or election ideas
like Political parties etc Ss picked which sessions they wanted to attend, I did master schedule so no more than 6 Ss
Can you b more specific? Informed about what you're discussing re: elections?
That sounds great. I'm going to try to get my Ts to do some of that. Thanks for the ideas.
Use the polling feature on Twitter too! We've done that & compared results!
Q2: Who was the oldest person to be elected President, at age 69?
I've been thinking about this as well. There's a lot of passion this year, and I don't want to offend. Suggestions?
Love this! Thanks for sharing.
You might have to do some pre-work, get kids to learn how to listen respectfully and stick to facts.
CORRECT! Trump is 70 and Hillary will be 70 in the fall. Either way, they'll break the record.
Would like to have my students research local candidates and propositions this year
Q3: The economy will be a big topic in the election. What resources do you use to study economics with your students?
Ask kids to stretch themselves by understanding an opposing point of view and similarities/did
A3 This year I intro our economics unit with a song from (clean version) that was debate abt banking!
And modeling. T has to be able to be unbiased and help students articulate their point of view
A3 - Financial Literacy: Money Island from First American Bank, Vault from EverFi. We're starting our own business this year too!
Another great idea! Were your kids into Hamilton?
I like this. Very important!
Have you used them before? I'd like to take a look.
Not until after this! And I think after this they really got into rap battles not so much Hamilton
Yep! I use them each year & love them (as do my students)! :)
We set ground rules and talked about how to be respectful of human differences in our classroom when discussing even if cand. not.
A3. My students participate in JA Biztown, so I provide financial literacy lessons beforehand. US bank resources sound great!
Would love to incorporate kid-friendly Hamilton!
I would love for our class to start our own business! That's great!
Thank you, everyone, for sharing for economics resources!
I just tweeted the song I used last year!
We have used the stock market game and a debate over coins
I also did some economic simulations on savings/interest and interdependency
The savings one was M&Ms that all Ss got & allowed to eat but each hour interest was paid depending on how much saved
It would interesting to know what stocks Ss would choose based on which candidate is elected President.
Q4: Who was the only President to be unanimously elected?
Joe here from SF Bay Area!
Hello , arriving late after my run tonight!
Hey, Joe. Thanks for joining us!
Definitely! Modeling is so important. T needs to model HOW to think, not WHAT to think.
Hey, Jessie. How was the run?
A4 I'm thinking Washington?
Hot and humid here, so it was a perseverance run tonight. Good for my character :)
glad to be here. Trying to do this at Round Table pizza w 3yo
I cannot remember, but I want to learn.
A4: General George Washington
Forget packing for my vacation. I am spending my evening checking out all of these awesome resources.
We spend time talking about taxes at the local level &what is funded through taxes.taps into a lot of discussion on civic resp.
What game is that? I found teaching the stock market kind of hard. Maybe b/c I don't feel well versed in it
Q5: The spotlight will be on immigration in the fall. How do you work with your students on this topic?
Hope you have a good vacation!
My favorite election activity is bio research and presentation - favorite history person for President (no past presidents)
The Ss research the candidates and find things they are into or companies they mentioned in articles.
Always a hot topic as we have many immigrant and 1st gen. students.
Yes! I think it will add an extra dimension to our stock market lesson.
Again, it's not controversial if you use data and there's a lot of data to look at.
W/ almost 100% ethnic diversity , we bring in cultures to convos events 2 https://t.co/pK15VjO7dK
Q5: The spotlight will be on immigration in the fall. How do you work with your students on this topic?
It is the stock market game; I'll send the link. My Ss loved it and after modeling it; Ss were buying and sellin alone
Thanks! I'd appreciate it!
You're absolutely right, but I think Ts teams should meet + discuss. Even the most innocent data can offend.
Yeah, it's not the data though, it's the conclusions that people draw based on it.
A5 - I would like my students to research the why. What circumstances are going on in other countries that are causing the influx.
I signed up for The Stock Market Game last year, but never got around to doing it. Just too much going on!
A5 Natural part of classroom talk in AZ. Some Ss talk abt personal experiences, we all learn from them
Return to Sender, Julia Alvarez is good Hfic. on migrant workers& experience of undocumented. https://t.co/AraaLbZVWR
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."Robert Frost
A5: I think I would focus on/celebrate diverse cultures + promote discussion on how demographics affect elections.
A5: Great interactive map here. Immigration Explorer-interactive immigration data since 1880 via
https://t.co/eEu2KJoRtz
If the data offends- ask why are some people upset by this? What have they experienced to react this way
Reading Home of the Brave was a great conversation starter abt immigration.
You're right. Planning is necessary so Ts don't have groups of angry parents calling/coming to the school.
I have had students share why families have come, but only on volunteer basis.
Yep. Wish everyone had this mentality. That being said, being careful does not equal a lack of self-confidence.
Data can mean different things to different people...why?
Not at all. Important to speak truth while also respecting the audience.
I like this as a way to move forward. I'd try to plan on the front end to avoid issues on the back end.
That's a great ? b/c it moves them toward reflection & away from knee jerk reaction
We used to do heritage unit presentations. Kids would bring experience from all parts of globe
Candidate quotes are great conversation starters!
Because data can be manipulated to fit any situation.
Also teaches empathy, someone offended by this must have experiences different from mineWhat can I learn?
Indeed. "The devil can cite scripture for his purpose"-Shakespeare
A6:Which President established Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1872?
The way it is presented is key. That is why planning is so important on lessons w/ sensitive topics.
Planning important but atmosphere of inquiry and respect fits any difficult topic
A6: It was Grant, though, I always want to give credit to Teddy Roosevelt.
Jordan from Princeton, NJ...so sorry to miss tonight. Sounded like a great topic!
