Mr. Ohama's Class Blog

The class read and analyzed the lyrics of “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. We tried to get some DEEEEEP meaning out of the song. Read the comments below for some of the deep thoughts of sixth graders at Marion Mix Elementary School in Elk Grove, CA.

Our class practiced writing scientific observations of a bean plant growing from seed. We were exploring the idea that seeds contain everything needed to begin growing. We germinated seeds (pinto beans) and wrote down observations. The goal of the writing activity was to write like a scientist. You should see examples of students using precise scientific language and an absence of “I” and “my.” Samples of the student observations are below.

We have been lucky enough to take part in a program called the Writing Partners Program through Sac State. For a semester this fall, our fifth grade class has written letters back and forth to students in Professor Clark’s college class. Yesterday, our class took a field trip to Sac State to finally meet our writing partners.

It was great for me (the teacher) to see the connections that were made between elementary and college student. I think it opened up some people’s eyes to what college life is like, and inspired my students to someday attend a university like Sac State. I could envision a day where all my students attend college.

What made it a great day for the students? Read below.

You are a super hero! You have three energy super powers! Write a paragraph explaining what your super powers are, how you use them, and what kind of energy they use.

Word bank: kinetic energy, potential energy, energy transfer, gravitational energy, chemical energy, elastic energy, thermal energy

Does celery have vascular tissue? How can you tell from our experiment?