Beginning our first unit!

Today, we began our first unit of inquiry, and Ms. DeTerra introduced the focus statement to students:

Our personal choices play a role in the interconnected system of the human body.                            

For the next six weeks, we will go in depth into this unit, combining activities across the disciplines. This will be an inquiry into:

  • The systems of the body and how they work together
  • Diseases and how they impact our community
  • How the body defends itself against disease
  • The factors and strategies that contribute to healthy immunity and well-being

Our first activity today was a pre-assessment of students’ prior knowledge on human anatomy. Working in groups of three, one student lay down on a large sheet of paper while the other students traced him or her. Then, the students worked together, without looking in books, to draw everything they would be able to see in an x-ray of the body, labelling the parts along the way. Students had fun drawing together, and it was an excellent opportunity for Ms. D to see their group work skills and knowledge of our body’s inner workings!

In art today, we focused on the use of LINE, as we will be spending some time going through the elements and principles of art. Using LINES, students created zentangles on bookmarks to help with our book loan system in class. Also, they created 3D drawings of their forearm and hand. We will be doing other art related to both elements and principles, as well as the human anatomy and drawing during this unit.

For homework, students were asked to check out the blog. Ms. D encourages all parents and students to begin looking for books or articles online, in the newspaper, and in magazines, related to our unit. Please bring these things in! Students can share anything they find with the class briefly, and Ms. D will post printed articles in the classroom for sharing with everyone. You can also send Ms. DeTerra links to articles by replying to this blog post, and I will add them to the section Articles of Interest under Body Works, our first unit web list.