Volume 11: October 26, 2015

You caught me! I was having fun learning! My brain stem is full!
(Although your "brain stem" can't be full, you get the idea.)

It seems like October break was long ago because this week has been packed full of learning and fun! We hit the ground running with our unit, as we began studying different systems in our body. Before the break, we tackled the Skeletal system and we learned about the Digestive and Respiratory systems this week. Through activities such as BrainPop videos, measuring the length of our digestive system using yarn and meter sticks, and seeing if a it's possible to swallow a cookie upside down we have learned what and why we need the Digestive system. We learned what and why we need our Skeletal system through taping our thumbs and doing simple tasks and creating a human with and without toothpicks (for bones). Yeah, we discovered the toothpicks were pretty important because they helped give our body shape and move. Our learning will continue next week as we attend the Tashkent International Clinic field trip, where we'll see how the staff helps people keep their systems healthy and working together.

The commutative property of addition and multiplication helps students identify patterns in our number system. We are creating a video using the Explain Everything iPad app, which shows our understanding of these properties. The videos are creative, fun, and give both a visual and verbal explanation of the properties.

Our Book Club discussions are transforming and becoming more and more meaningful. This week we focused on using Questioning Thinking Stems, like "I wonder... It confused me..." Thinking Stems are words/phrases that help students thinker deeper about a text before, during, and after reading. We learned that great readers don't really every stop questioning - they question 24/7 (24 hours/7 days) a week!

Of special note, our Book Shares have been outstanding! The level of preparation, practice, and thought put into the objects that have been brought in has been terrific. Keep up the great work!

Lastly, next week is TIS OWLS Spirit Week! StuCo has worked hard to make the week kid-centered and fun. Pay careful attention to each day and come to school with an energized spirit!

Homework: Please remember to read 20 minutes nightly! 1.5 million words are added to your child's vocabulary if you do remind them:)

Monday, or Pajama Day: Knowing about Nails Activity
Tuesday, or Crazy Day: Spinal Signals Activity
Wednesday, or Stripes Day: IXL Math D.4  and D.5
Thursday, or Twin Day: An Efficient Activity (Circulatory System)
Friday, or Blue and White OWLS Day: Read, Relax, and enjoy the Fall weather.

 A day with no thumbs. I guess it seems like a good idea:)

 What a great way to start your day - with your best friend, going over your homework.

Student: "Mr. Mike, my person won't stand up."
Me: "Hum. I see that. It looks like your head is too big."
Student: "Yes. It is anatomically correct! Also, I am smart."

 "Oh, so the toothpicks are like bones. They help us stay together and move."

 Morning Mania has been insanely fun!

 Amazing Book Shares!

"So, yeah... umm... I can... explain everything!" Get it! (It's the name of the app we're using in Math. I'm funny!)

 Swallowing a cookie upside down is possible! Thank you, peristalsis!

 We are so lucky we use standard units, like meters or feet, instead of non-standard units like fathoms, spans, or cubits. We would like pretty silly (like the people above).

Using standard units like centimeters (cm) or meters (m), we learned that the entire length of the digestive system is around 8.35 meters. Look, we have proof. We measured different colored pieces of yarn for each organ/part and tied it together.

 Intestinal Chaos! We may, or may have not, limbo-ed under our intestines.