Fraction Talk Slides

Slide show

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!

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.

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!

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

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

Welcome Back!

Welcome back from Spring Break. Our pea sprouts have graduated to “baby plant” status over the rainy and sunny week according to the kids. And it looks like many of them have done an equivalent amount of growing.

This week we will be starting a new History unit on the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon.  We will use resources from Densho.org a grassroots online eudcation forum.  Please take some time to peruse their resources at

http://www.densho.org/core-story/  so you can join our class conversation about the resilience and struggles faced by the Japanese American community.  We will also be trying to make connections to current events, so take some time to talk about the news!  Students will develop their own culminating projects about the unit of study from a menu of choices.

Thanks,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/1  (Really, not a joke!)

Mondrian art tool

http://www.tristesse.com/~howie/Flash/MondRect.html