Month: September 2015

Today we went over the criteria for our first project together. Each student will be doing some research to become an expert on one system of the human body. They will use this expertise to help diagnose a patient! First, they will take notes while recording the resources they use to find information. Second, they will write a two-page report and provide a diagram of their system. Then, after they have this information, students will be placed in groups and given a case study of a patient with a medical problem, complete with notes about their condition and symptoms.

While notes on marked projects can be done in class and at home, the written report is only to be worked on at school. I should be able to see it in progress. Also, there should be significant notes, as the student is becoming an expert, not just providing superficial information on the body parts of the system. The criteria sheet along with a rubric is in their blue binder.

We also had an opportunity today to visit the school library. As a reminder, ALL books checked out need to return to school for Tuesday mornings to be either returned or renewed. Unfortunately, if students are missing a book, they may not check out new ones until it is brought in. In addition to our regular library time, there is an open check out time after lunch from 12:55-1:15 PM. Students should return to class after lunch break, check in with me, and I can give them permission to visit Ms. Ho and check out books.

We had another class meeting, this time led by one of the students, and with Ms. D as a guide. We agreed as a class to have a Halloween Party and to chip in together to provide decorations, food, and drinks. Students will be welcome to wear costumes. This party will likely take place on October 30th, Friday. Please stay tuned for more information as the student Halloween committee will be drafting a letter to send home about the event. We also discussed having a card club (for Pokemon lovers), a cookie-making day later in December, and a class movie of some sort. Committees were formed to discuss and propose ideas on these things at next class meeting.

In the afternoon, we did javelin throws using straws! This was for a math discussion on MEAN and also allowed for review of measurement skills. Students threw clear plastic straws from a given point in the room as hard as they could, and we recorded each person’s distance. Each team of eight found the mean of their distances, and then I asked the class to find the whole class’s mean distance. For homework they were asked to come up with an activity involving “mean” that we could do with other students in the class. They should have it written down briefly so they can share it with us tomorrow.

TOMORROW: Welcoming assembly and Terry Fox Run! Busy day tomorrow. Please wear comfy clothes! Bring donations for Terry, if you can. Also, there were three notices sent home for your review. Anyone who still has not turned in agenda money, the body packet, or the probability games packet, please get them in ASAP.

Have a great night!

Today we had a busy day with two major activities that were important community-building events. Every month we have a Celebration of Learning at Suncrest, and today’s assembly highlighted music! We all had an opportunity to hear the school song sung by the entire school for the first time. The students and I agreed that it is a catchy tune! In the afternoon, we had the Terry Fox Run. After a brief assembly to remember Terry and why we run every September, we celebrated the fundraising the school did over the past week to raise $500 toward cancer research. Then, students ran the route around the school, receiving house colour points (toward a year-long competition) for each lap. It was a warm afternoon, but our class ran hard!

Students continued to work on their body systems expert research. Some students asked, “How much note taking is enough?” To which Ms. D responded, “Well, it is important to make sure you have enough information to respond to the section headings I gave you in the project criteria. Also, remember when researching that you always want more than one perspective. I recommend at least three sources.”

Another question was, “Can we copy from the book even though it is copyrighted?” And I answered, “Yes, you can copy from the book for notes, but then when you go to do your report, it should be your own words, otherwise it becomes plagiarism. It is also important to say where the information is coming from. Give the person credit for their work.” As a reminder, all writing should be done at school, and I will need to see the writing in progress during class time. For homework, students were asked to continue looking for resources to further their research.

Another thing that came up is revisiting criteria for participation and work done in class. Even though there are not letter marks for formative assessment type work, including homework, it still should be completed if you want to do well overall in terms of marks. Please revisit the participation rubric that applies to all subjects. Also, please note that on projects such as our body systems expert report, I have provided a specific rubric for marks. Both participation throughout and projects are important.

We watched Bill Nye’s Brain Video to review the parts of memory and to introduce the scientific method and writing of lab reports, which is something they will learn this year and actively use this Friday or Monday in an experiment about germs! They completed a short experiment about brain/nerve/muscle reaction time using a ruler and then had to write out a quick lab report with a partner. Fun fact: Bill Nye went to my university! I think his story of how he became an educator and why is inspiring.

Finally, we had a discussion about pathogens as we will be discussing germs, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. They read a short article and began to answer questions about these things in class, and more time will be given tomorrow to complete these before we do some experiments.

Remember: YPC Concerts and Pizza Money due Monday. Agenda money due as soon as possible. Bring a jar.

I hope everyone had a great day!

As an update to my previous blog entry on Blood Types, we had a great discussion in class about how there are actually more than four blood types. For example, we had discussed during our experiment the presence of Rh factor, which means each of the main four types of blood can be positive and negative depending on whether you have Rh or not. While these four types, A, AB, B, and O, are the main marker types in blood, there are many other combinations. There are some combinations of markers together, such as AB and O, etc. One student said he also read that a new “K” type has been found, as well. We talked about possible reasons why blood types could become more complicated. Many students had asked their parents about their blood type at home. It was an interesting discussion in hematology! If you are an expert in this area, please do share with your child.

Please do discuss topics from class at home, as you have been doing already! You can encourage your child to take ACTION on their learning outside of class by having these discussions and asking them to share what they learn from you in class the next day. They could either tell Ms. D directly or ask to share with the whole class. If anyone finds articles in the newspaper related to our learning, students should bring them in. We will post them on our unit learning board. This is not homework, but if they are interested in the topic, bringing these things in will help deepen our conversation at school. I told everyone on Friday that the best part of being a MACC teacher is the amazing level of student discussion!

Outside of our main curriculum, I also like to support individual student passions and interests as time permits. For this reason, I try to build in one open choice time per week dedicated more to the student’s social-emotional development and independent projects. One group has really taken off with this idea! It started with our abstract art project, when two boys decided to turn the art into a marble maze (which really worked for the project, as they were supposed to produce something that represented their personalities and interests, and these mazes show some excellent builder abilities and creative thinking.) Now six different students have formed a mini marble maze club that originated in the classroom but also meets outside to play together. They have been using a variety of paper and building supplies I try to keep on hand.

We have many students in the class who are makers that enjoy building! If you have a maker at home, you may consider dropping by Urban Source, a shop on Main Street in Vancouver where I frequently pick up unique building supplies. The store is dedicated to crafting with reusable items that someone else thought were trash. For $5-20 you have free pick of items available and can fill bags of different sizes. See their website for more info.

Also, I found some new games for the program this weekend, including Maze Racers, that I hope the group will enjoy. Granville Island Toys is having their annual 25% off everything sale until EOD Sunday (lego excluded.) I find they have a great selection of critical thinking based games.

Enjoy the sunny fall weather!

Happy Friday! We started the day by talking about the Jar of Inquiry and used this technique to post questions about our unit on the WONDERINGS board in our classroom. The Jar of Inquiry is a metaphor I use for the inquiry process. At the beginning of your research, you have to build a foundation of basic information by asking simple questions that can usually be answered with a specific answer. Then, after the bottom of the jar is full, you continue building your information by asking deeper questions. Ask your child to explain the process. Everyone contributed questions, and it gave me a better sense of student interests and where to go next with the unit.

Afterwards, everyone signed up to be an expert on one of the body systems, doing more research on an area of interest to them. They will learn more about conditions related to their system, as well, so they can eventually do a project related to diagnosing a patient. They were asked to take notes, while also documenting the resource they were using with a title, author and copyright. This involved discussion about non-fiction features of a book that help you find the information you need.

Students finished up their probability and body stations packets to turn in to me. If they are not done, I asked them to take the packets home. They may need some supplies from me to finish, in which case they should see me at recess on Tuesday to finish up those small details.

We then did some more art related to line, symmetry and composition. Students folded watercolour paper in half, drew half of a butterfly using pictures provided, outlined it using black pastel, and then folded the picture so the pastel would transfer to the other side with rubbing. Afterwards, they filled the picture with background using black pastel again, then used watercolours to fill in the spaces of the picture. Some decided not to do a butterfly and chose to do a beetle, instead. Overall, they are looking great! If students didn’t finish today, they can have more time on Tuesday.

Professional Development day on Monday, so no school! Also, I signed agendas today, as I noted students need to take more care recording all homework. We will do this as a routine until students get used to writing down assignments.

We are looking for jars for next Friday in preparation for an art project. Jars should be larger, approximately spaghetti sauce size, cleaned, no labels, with the lid. Thank you in advance for helping us with this project.

If anyone has doctors or nurses they know who could come to visit us, please let us know! I am trying to create a panel of experts we could talk to. Thank you for your help!

Today we continued our probability experiments and games and we finished our body systems stations packet, which is due tomorrow. In addition, we talked about blood types and transfusions, and we did an experiment to further explore the four blood types and determine which blood types are from those individuals labeled universal donors (type O) and universal recipients (AB). Please ask your child to explain how we used food colouring to represent the four main blood types, combined them by pretending they were from a donor and a recipient of a transfusion, and then recorded the results to see whether the transfusion would be a success or failure. We discussed how the proteins in our blood that are related to our blood type will act upon foreign blood types and cause agglutination, or clumping of red blood cells. If you or anyone in your family has undergone a transfusion and knows something about blood types, please share this with your child now that they have more information to understand blood transfusions!

***Also, if anyone is a doctor or knows of doctors who would be willing to come in and speak with us about general advice he or she would give to maintain good health for children and adults, please let me know. I am trying to put together classroom visitors we can interview, and I appreciate your help or expertise!

Important Notes and Homework:

• Scholastic Orders due tomorrow
• Body Systems Packet due tomorrow — most are done
• Journal entries due tomorrow — most are done
• $5 for Agendas, please see blue notice that went home today
• Forms and Student Verification Sheet due tomorrow
• PRO-D Day on Sept. 28th, Monday — NO SCHOOL!

Reminders!

• No Parent Meeting tomorrow night — rescheduled to October 8th
• Scholastic Orders due Friday
• Terry Fox Donations being collected this week
• Carnival is tomorrow 3:00 – 7:00 PM
• Bring back forms for office, including yellow student verification form, ASAP.

Homework:

• Finish paragraph on school proposal in your writing journal. Due tomorrow. Many people already finished.
• Finish Math T-Chart on Choices, due tomorrow.
• Fill out student volunteer form if interested and get parents to sign.

Today we began by sharing the brain games we brought in as part of homework last night. We then continued our think, pair, share, finishing off the endocrine system and information about skin.

As part of math, and related to our unit of inquiry, we talked about choices, and students brainstormed a T-Chart of Choices We Control and Choices We Don’t Control. This was in preparation for some work on probability. During an open math time, students were given a series of probability situations and games to complete and respond to using charts and written explanations.

We also had an opportunity to talk about digital citizenship as related to our privilege of using the iPads and laptops soon to come. After a great discussion about their experience with technology rules and safety, I asked them each to contribute one rule they think should be in place to ensure we use our technology appropriately. Eventually, students will be given an agreement to sign regarding their behaviour with technology, which they will bring home so everyone understands what is expected and we can make the most of our tools!

Finally, Ms. DeTerra reviewed with students, as part of language arts, the proper format of a paragraph, including indentation, a topic sentence, supporting statements, and a concluding sentence. I provided them with an example, which we discussed, determining criteria for a quality paragraph. We also looked at what vocabulary could be used to be more persuasive. This will be an area of focus for us during this unit of inquiry, and the skill will assist the students with projects later on. Afterwards, in their writing journals, either with a partner or independently, they created persuasive paragraphs around what they would like to change about school. The sky was the limit in terms of changes, as I really wanted them to focus on paragraphing. Some students proposed we have a shorter school day, a school in the sky, school days full of making things, or a school based on the Hunger Games. Okay, well, maybe not real ideas, but they had a great time writing them, which hopefully made paragraphing a bit more fun.

Thank you for reading these updates. Hope you get to enjoy the Carnival at Suncrest!

Today, we had our first Class Meeting. In the past, class meeting may have been an opportunity to discuss issues that have come up in the classroom, which we will still do; however, we will also use class meetings as an opportunity for students to learn leadership, to learn how a business meeting is run, and to propose events for our class. The meetings will have a student leader each week, as well as a meeting recorder who takes minutes. Students can add items to the weekly agenda and make motions to discuss certain issues. Today I modelled how to be the leader of the meeting, and next week I will ask someone to run the meeting in my place. We formed committees to take action on our discussion, so the Halloween and Gingerbread House committees will present their ideas around those two events next week.

Students also did a Think, Pair, Share activity. Rather than have everyone read all articles on the nervous, urinary, endocrine, and immune systems, as well as an article about the skin, we broke into groups with 5-6 students per article. They had to read it, highlight it (and students were reminded that highlighting does not equal painting the paper yellow, but only indicating the important information), and then meet with their group members to figure out how to share information with the class. All of the articles can be found on the Kids Health website. We will present these tomorrow.

Ms. Carson from the Advanced Learning Team came to visit us as students demonstrated the Question Formulation Technique. Students used the technique to brainstorm questions about our unit focus statement. When asked what they enjoyed about the activity, students said they thought it was interesting how many questions were asked, how they came up with so many deeper questions, and how hard it is to not give commentary (or value) to particular questions. Many of them liked the fact that questions were not judged and were instead just collected, as it allowed them to feel more like sharing. They showed a strong understanding of closed and open questions, which will help us as we get into more independent research.

For the afternoon, students did another journal entry, and we went over journal criteria together. This criteria can be found for your information under Notices and Forms.

Then we completed part 2 of our art project we started on Friday. They demonstrated their math measurement and geometry skills by cutting twelve, square panels from their art produced Friday and then evenly spacing them on a piece of black paper. It was encouraging to see students helping one another as they shared knowledge of how to use measurement tools to make perfect squares. These are now displayed above our whiteboard, and the class is looking more personalized every day!

As students finished, they also completed any work left from their Body Stations packet, which is due to Ms. DeTerra on Friday.

No homework today; however, agendas need to be signed, scholastic orders are due Friday, and forms from the office (the student verification form and larger packet sent Friday) are due ASAP. Students are collecting money for the Terry Fox run this Friday, and the suggested donation is at least $1. Reminder: the Carnival is this Thursday! And our Parent Night has been changed from this Thursday to October 8th. Please do see me during office hours tomorrow, 3-4:30 PM, if you would like to speak with me.