Academy of Sciences, Because of Winn-Dixie, Juanita the Duck, Hockey, and Number Lines

Thanks to everyone, especially Astrid and our fabulous driver/chaperones, for making our trip to the Academy of Sciences a huge success!!!

We're reading one of my favorite novels of all time for young people:

The story takes place the summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida. Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends, and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship-and forgiveness-can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

An ornithologist from Dominican University visited us at Bello Gardens to teach us about ducks like Juanita, Bello Gardens' resident duck. Check out the article in the SF Chronicle!

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Famous-Marin-duck-starts-giving-6875786.php

Here we are placing fractions on the number line. Some of the more complex fractions and mixed numbers needed to be simplified or be converted to "ready to go" form so that their values could be compared. 

Hockey with Kathy in PE:

 The 5th graders invited us to watch and rate their persuasiveness during their debate. The sides argued for and against keeping animals in captivity.