Extreme Writing Topic: Monday, April 12th

Hello, writers! Your Extreme Writing Topics for today. Watch the video below, then give yourself 10 minutes to write about whatever topic(s) inspire you! You can either keep this writing and hand it in when I see you in class again, or you can e-mail it to me!

  1. Write a story from the perspective of the beluga whale. What is the whale thinking? Does the whale like the music? Is the whale ‘singing’ along?
  2. Do you play any musical instruments? If so, what? If not, what would you like to play (ex: guitar, saxophone, kazoo)?
  3. Do you think animals like music? Why or why not?
  4. Write a story about an animal starting a band or playing an instrument. What happens?

 

Good luck, writers!

Animals and Language: What Do You Think?

Today for Brain Breakfast, we discussed whether we believe animals are able to use language and communication. We watched this video of Billi, a cat who has been a part of the ‘Hungry for Words’ program. This program is researching and testing whether animals like dogs and cats can use human language/words when given the tools and training.

Check out the video below of Billi using her word buttons!

Some discussion questions for at home:

-Do you think that Billi really understands the words she is using? Why or why not?

-What are some ways that animals might communicate with humans or other animals? Do they have their own ‘language’?

-If you could talk to a pet, what do you think they would say? What questions might you ask them?

Extreme Writing: Bonnie the Bossy Goose

Today, in Extreme Writing, our topics were:

  1. Write about a time you felt bossy, frustrated, or angry. What happened? Does Bonnie remind you of anyone you know?
  2. Write a story from the perspective of Bonnie, the bossy goose! Or, write from the perspective of one of the animals living at the sanctuary!
  3. Would you ever have a pet goose? Why or why not? What is your ideal pet?

Change-Makers and Rule-Breakers: Notable Women in History

Today, we said thank you to all of the change-making and rule-breaking women who have helped pave the way for a more equitable future. We ‘stand on their shoulders’ and can build on their accomplishments. We will continue to take steps to create a future without racism, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice.

Who is someone whose ‘shoulders you stand on’? Who inspires you?

‘Roots, Stems, Leaves, and Flowers’: Investigating How Our Food is Grown

When you are diving into a salad or a bowl of mashed potatoes, do you think about where your vegetables come from? Do you think about how they grow? Today, our class investigated how the vegetables we eat are grown… whether they are roots, tubers, leaves, stems, or flowers.

The vegetables we examined were: artichokes, mushrooms, turnips, broccoli, lettuce, radish, brussels sprouts, yams, green onions, beets, and asparagus.

One of the most popular examples of a ‘tuber’ is a potato! CheckĀ  out how they are grown (under the ground) below:

 

Reassembling Skeletons: A Paleontology Mystery

When paleontologists discover fossils, often they have to make educated guesses about what the dinosaur looked like, where it lived, what it ate, whether it was a predator or prey species, etc. Sometimes, the skeletons will be incomplete or mismatched. Today, we tried to assemble a skeleton based on the fossils that paleontologists founds. Check out all of our different results!

This is a picture of what the fossil looked like when it was uncovered.

Based on educated guesses, paleontologists think this dinosaur may have looked like this: