Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Monday, April 25, 2016

The Room 24 Museum of Science


Our Friday science museum was a terrific success.  Thanks for all of the support you gave our students in making such great projects.  We had such a wealth of projects and demonstrations - from onion DNA  to hand-shaken butter, from non-newtonian fluids to homemade fossils.  There were foaming monsters and dancing peppercorns. There was a dental floss-and-plastic-cup-duck-noise-maker and a surprisingly strong tower made out of marshmallows and spaghetti. The list goes on.  Students did  a great job demonstrating how they created their project and explaining the scientific concepts involved. Check our blog for photos and videos.
Last week students had a great experience in Tech Class with Mr. Jamesbarry.  They were able to create their own game or interactive scene using a programming environment called Scratch.  They then used Makeymakey kits to create a a game controller that would operate their games.
Next Tuesday 5/3, we are heading downtown for our visit to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center to learn about the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon.  If you have not yet sent in the permission slip for the trip, please get it to us soon.  Also if you did not send the $5 get that to us too so we can reimburse our class account for the bus pass.  The cafeteria also needs to know soon if your child will need a school lunch for that day, so get those forms in!  
Thanks,
Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/29

  • READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
  • Math challenge
  • Optional: Science project #2

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Monday, April 18, 2016


As promised, Spring is here.  The classroom is getting kind of stuffy and we are making our way through the State tests.  Because testing chops up our schedule somewhat, we took the opportunity to do some more independent projects.  Based on some recent curiosity about Zika virus, kids watched videos about the human immune system and took notes.  We also used the Tinkercad program and Thingiverse to find 3D models of viruses, immune cells and different proteins to learn about the cellular shape of things.  After that kids had a choice on how to represent what they had learned.  Some students made posters, some made quizzes using Google forms and some made slideshows.  On Friday we had an Immune System museum where everyone shared their learning.  Great stuff!
http://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=virus&sa=
To further the joy of independent learning we are switching up homework for a while.  We have a really nice class set of science project cards donated by a parent.  Kids are going to choose a card that they think they could do more or less independently at home.  If that doesn’t work out just let me know and we’ll get them a new card.  None of them require any special materials but feel free to embellish if you want.  I’m hoping the projects can be done in time to share on Friday for another museum time.  The science project will replace our normal math homework.  Enjoy the work together!
Thanks,
Mark
Two hour late opening on Wednesday 4/20.  It is also a school spirit day where students can dress as their favorite book character.
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/22

  • READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
  • Science project.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Health study: How does our immune system work?

Watch the following videos and then answer the questions in the form below.





Then, see if you can download stl files from this link or this link and then upload them to Tinkercad to explore them.

To finish up, make a poster, a slideshow or propose your own way to explain how our immune system works!

Monday, April 11, 2016

30 letters and 3D modelling


Dear families,
I’ll be honest; my faith in our class wavered for a moment but I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I thought our class would balk at writing 30 letters in 30 days, but they have taken on the challenge with real enthusiasm.  They’ve written fan letters, written thank you letters, translated notes into Spanish, translated notes into Korean and connected with friends in other schools.  So what is going here? Part of their excitement is meeting the challenge and part of it is the aesthetic pleasure of using the lovely stationery that Egg Press and Hello Lucky donated to our class.  But a big part of their engagement is the inherent joy of connecting with another person through writing.  Extending your thoughts and feeling through writing to meet someone else’s reality is a rewarding and meaningful experience.  Now I just have to get them to be a little more patient about getting notes back!
Last week we started exploring with some online tools for 3D design called tinkercad.  The website offers an open-ended design environment where students can create 3D objects and landscapes.  Our goals are for students to develop modelling skills and apply their understanding of geometric solids in space.  Long-term we are hoping students will be able to design models for Oregon Historical monuments that we can print using Ms. Kennedy’s 3D printer!  We will keep you posted!
Thanks,
Mark
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/7
  • READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
  • MATH: Math Challenges

Monday, April 4, 2016

30 letters in 30 days? We can do this.


Dear families,
Last week we took on an exceptional challenge.  Mr. Richner arranged for two stationary printers, Egg Press and Hello Lucky, to donate enough cards and envelopes for our students to write thirty letters in thirty days.  Some kids got so excited they took home cards over the weekend.  Many kids wrote notes to friends here at school.  Some wrote letters to their former teachers.  One student decided to connect with his grandma that he’s never met.  After working on his letter for a long time he came over and showed me that he’d translated the whole note into Spanish using Google Translate because his grandma doesn’t speak English! We do not have a budget for stamps to mail the letters so be on the lookout for letters coming home with your students.

Math homework this week is a healthy challenge that I’d love for you to try with your child.  We have been working on reading problems carefully to understand the situation and make sense of what is being asked.  For one of the problems, making comparison tables is a useful way to start while the other is rather open-ended and will require some observation.
Thanks,
Mark
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/7
  • READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
  • MATH: Math Challenges