Fifth graders have worked extremely hard to complete the final draft of their research based persuasive essays. Students read several articles and engaged in heated discussions to decide if chocolate milk should be an option in schools. The writing process started off strong with students giving heartfelt opinions on both sides of the argument, including statements like, "Kids deserve the right to make their own choices when it come to what they want to drink for lunch!,” and "Adults should set a good example by making sure that children have healthy options for lunch." Well, after much deliberation, research, and the writing process, most fifth graders felt that chocolate milk should not be an option in schools. The top reasons were that children did not need any more sugar in their diet and the belief that students should be given healthy options.
At the same time that fifth graders were looking intently at milk cartons to compare information between regular and chocolate milk, they were also studying measurement in math. The customary and metric systems were explored and discussed. While converting between pints, ounces, and cups, it was great for fifth graders to see how many ounces of chocolate milk a student could end up drinking in a week, if they drank it every day for lunch. Connecting both units of study was an enriching academic experience.