In the Name of Science!!

    So even though today was the first day of Spring, and we pry should be admiring any blooms that are coming instead of destroying them...but we just couldn't help ourselves!!
     We've begun our new inquiry into how the structures of plants and animals help them to survive.  We began with a concept cartoon that the students examined and chose the statement they most agreed with, of course they had to support their choice with reason.

We then gathered together to fill out our OWL chart and see where we were at in our learning and what misconceptions we may have still carried.  

Yesterday we discussed the internal structures of plants and the importance each part has to the survival, growth and reproduction of plants.  But, today, today was the fun part! Today we got to dissect a flower, specifically an alstromeria.  These are a great specimen to use because you can clearly identify all the parts, and they are cheap!   

Building for the City of Ember

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Designing and Constructing our Devices

     So as seen in previous posts we are working in our current science and IB unit on the idea that innovations of today will affect our lives in the future.  We spent three days designing blueprints for our solution to a problem within the city of Ember.
     Today was the day they students go to finally build their devices.  They spent the first few minutes gathering supplies from our "trash heap", then it was off to work!  It was amazing to see them working so well together and the conversations about their devices were awesome.  While they were working I kept the rubric on the overhead so they could constantly refer to it through the design process.  One group discovered after building that they were actually below basic! Yikes!! So, they had to revise their design to meet the criteria listed.  The students will have 3 days to build and test before they present on Friday.  I can't wait to see how some of their ideas pan out!
Check out the video of our engineers!

Creating Compassion- Beating Bullying

Over the past few weeks our grade level has experienced some issues with bullying and name calling.  We took this as a sign that we needed to go back and revisit expectations and clear up just what bullying is and is not.  Even with doing my own reading and research I found information that could be considered confusing. I truly believe that we have done some injustice to the world of bullying by using the word so loosely, that kids with true bully concerns, are not being addressed.  By the end of our work I wanted the children to see how their actions and choices affect not only them, but at times those around them.  And, that those actions can have lasting, unintended, consequences.  So here begins my lengthy post (sorry about that) into what we did to beat bullying in our room.  

As I set out to find sources that were grade level appropriate and would paint a clear picture for my students, I came across this blog.  I loved her ideas, which she had seen also on another site, and the fact that they really broke it down into small steps that sparked discussion each day.  So, following her example I set off to get a grip on the bullying issue in our grade level.  

Day 1: I didn't take a picture of my board,  but it was completely void of anything! No anchor charts, notices, books etc...NOTHING.  The only thing on my board was one word written quite largely in the center, "MEAN".  As the children entered the room it definitely sparked some conversations and questions. I also showed them this video and had a short discussion about their reaction to it afterward.  

Day 2: I spent day one after school writing a whole slew of words on my board that are reflect characteristics of meanness and negativity.   We also watched another short video that were sited on the Nerdy, Nerdy, Nerdy blog.  "Stand Up, Stand Out"  and again discussed after.  I also brought in one of my most favorite books for teaching about bullying and friendship- Enemy Pie.  I love that this book speaks to the judgement we make about people before we even give them a chance!  

Day 3: On this day I had written over our list of words " How Do You Want To Be Remembered?".  As the children filed in there were some great discussions about what this meant and some of them even started saying, " Well I don't want to be remembered as uncaring!" (or any word that was written on the board).  We watched a few more quick clips including, Mark Wills' "Don't Laugh at Me" and "Being a Friend".  We then continued our discussion from yesterday about how we can  judge another without even knowing the truth about that person.  I chose to read aloud Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I love this book! I think I've read it a few times this year already. But, why I like it is because it is a great example of bullying and how it changes how someone acts or thinks about themselves.  

As the day progressed, I asked the kids to think about how they would like to be remembered.  As they came up with ideas, they were given the opportunity to erase and replace the words written on the board.  They came up with some great ideas!! 

Finally, the last day just happened to be the due date for our door decor contest for Dr. Seuss week and they kids had the most awesome idea! We saw the quote that was hanging above and they took it from there.  They decided on characters they would most like to emulate and then they finished the thought, " I want to be remembered as..."  Wouldn't you know--- WE WON!!!