MS. DETERRA'S MAKER STUDIO

We had another busy day of activity! Today, we began with some journal time, and students were asked to write about how their systems were interacting together as they were sitting and writing their journal entry. This gives us both writing practice and also allows me to see their thinking regarding systems.

Afterwards, we did some math! We started with a discussion about how to calculate the number of calories one burns in a day. They were given a sheet detailing the number of calories per pound used up for a long list of activities. To find the calories burned, they would multiply that number by their weight (in pounds), and multiply that by the amount of time they were doing the activity (expressed in hours). We discovered through this activity that many of the students did not know their weight, which made it difficult to make the calculations. So, as part of homework, students need to find out their current weight in pounds. They do not need to share this with anyone, as it is an individual activity of charting their calories. For those who do not have a scale at home, I recommended trying a friend’s house, a pharmacist such as London Drugs or Shoppers (they often have one if you ask at the desk), or a scale at home. I will also bring one on Monday if we have trouble finding one, so we can continue with this activity related to both math and our unit.

We then moved on to a math activity all about mean, median, mode and range. Students each received a small box of Smarties and had to do data analysis on their box and that of other students in the class. For those who needed an extension of the activity, I also asked for percentages and fractions related to our class’s data. Following the activity, we had a long conversation about how the class is made up of different levels of math strength, so we will be doing activities that allow as much as possible for everyone to feel challenged appropriately. Students also shared their ideas for activities the whole class could do related to data analysis and mean.

Our class is a very energetic and dynamic group of individuals, and we are learning how to work together as a classroom community. To this end, we did an activity related to the language we use to talk to ourselves and to one another, and we also discussed how creative ideas grow best within groups (versus getting shut down.) Students have a chart related to this activity, and we shared aloud our thoughts about the chart and ways we could communicate with one another. For homework I am asking them to go over this chart with you at home.

The latter part of the day was dedicated to music, read aloud (Ms. DeTerra bought some new books!), and our free-choice time on Fridays. Homework is to look at the chart with your parents, think about where we would find germs in the school for an experiment we are doing Monday, find out your weight so we can continue our math activity, and bring in a jar/YPC $ and Pizza $ for Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Reminder that we have our MACC Suncrest parent night on October 8th, Thursday, at 6:00 – 7:00 PM in our classroom space. It is a presentation designed for parents. Just to avoid confusion, this presentation is not for parents who are interested in the MACC program and would like to apply. That presentation is at Burnaby Central on October 8th at 7:00 PM.

We started the day by doing an experiment about how germs spread. Everyone was given a cup of water with their name on it, and Ms. D put a special chemical (Borax) into one cup (without telling the students who had it) that would represent a virus in that person’s system. Then, everyone was asked to choose three people in the room to exchange water with. With each exchange, person A would give person B five spoonfuls of their water, and then person B would give person A five spoonfuls of theirs. After three exchanges, Ms. D came around with chemical #2 (turmeric) and put it in the cup. Turmeric is a natural acid/base indicator and it turns red when exposed to a base like Borax, so anyone infected had their water turn red or pink. Students documented their experiment in a lab report including a title, hypothesis, question, materials, procedure, results/data, and a conclusion about how germs are spread. In our class you appeared to have a 25% chance of becoming infected if one person came in with the pretend virus.

Later in the day, we went over paragraphing as part of language arts, writing a paragraph about what we would do as principal for a day. We did this together, with Ms. D writing on her computer such that everyone could see the paragraph together on the projector. For journals, everyone had to copy the paragraph down and make any changes they wanted to its wording. The main purpose was to talk about how to make paragraphs more interesting with a hook and a strong concluding sentence. Ask your child what things they shouldn’t use for a concluding sentence!

Other time in the day was dedicated to MUSIC, a discussion together about relationships in class, and time to work on their Body Systems Expert research or writing. Homework is to continue working on any research needed. Also, I asked students to think about where the most germs in the school would be in preparation for another experiment either tomorrow or Monday, depending on how Ms. D’s kitchen prep goes tonight. Please also bring in a jar for art. Monies for YPC and Pizza Lunches are due on Monday.

Have a great night!

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!