Community Matters
2/16/2018
The Food Bank of Alaska warehouse will not be a weekly trip for PNA students in grades 5-8. We will alternate between Wednesday and Thursday every other week to hopefully get as much participation as we can. The goal is to have 2 adults and 4-5 students work their shift of two hours each week. Mrs. Mariner and I took four students over on Thursday. For this trip, we sort dry and canned food for distribution. We looked at expiration dates and the condition of the container holding the food. The warehouse that we are working for sends food to distribution centers all over Alaska. Our goal, will be to be able help them figure out what is good and can be sent to locations to be handed out. Each week, our task may be different and we will do what we are asked. The kids are excited about it and so am I. We have a video that we are showing through the PNA morning announcements on Monday. The talented 3rd and 4th grade journalists have talked to our class about this project as well and will let everyone know how they can help. I have the sign-up sheet complete in my room and will send a copy out to you. Your student can sign-up for any Wednesday or Thursday that they are available. If you would like to be one of the adult chaperones, please let me know. We need some people to drive them over there and some people to work the shift with them; these do not have to be the same people. This is going to be a great way for us to work together and contribute on a continuous basis. Human Impact on the Environment Action PlanIn Science, students worked to begin an Environmental Action Plan for a issue they would like to help address in the community. To start this, we discussed problems and how to realistically try to implement or suggest change. I think that this is an excellent conversation that changes drastically as students get older, learn more about the world around them, and begin to form their own opinions about issues that they find most important. This will tie in to our persuasive argument unit for ELA and students will have the opportunity to suggest and share a researched plan with others. Parent LunchThank you all for coming to the parent lunch this week! The food was amazing and I know we love any opportunity to have you all here. Thank you!
Lots of Reading
2/9/2018
One of the many that I love about this group of kids is that we all find any way that we can to get outside. At least once a week, we take a lesson that can be mobile and get some fresh air. This week, the Language Arts/Reading focus was on reading Before We Were Free. This is a great book that is going to lead the way for a unit change in History. Before We Were Free dives in to legal immigration, women's roles in the U.S., different political systems, and family values. Today, we read about the Great Depression in History. From our combined readings, we will begin to discuss women's changing roles in the United States, how the depression greatly altered people's opinions on immigration, and the role of the government in all of the chaos. Editing and ProofreadingWe also spent some time this week using dictionaries to check spelling and looking at proofreading lists to use in the future. Students worked in partners to complete assignments and then we went over the work as a class. The main purpose of this was to guide them in knowing what they are looking for when they are helping proofread someone else's work. Also, I think they collectively began to understand the significance of the spell check feature in most of the things that they type.
Bubbles
2/2/2018
As we begin to plan for the science fair, we took some time to look at the scientific method in class. Our experiment was to see if bubbles freeze when it is 11 degrees outside. To show the process, students made observations, wrote a hypothesis, explained the process of the experiment, and discussed the results. And, just so you know, they definitely freeze! The real fun of projects at PNA is that students get to keep asking questions, so we get to keep looking for the answers. Students started wondering if we could get the bubbles larger, if we could get them to hold as bubbles longer, and what it would look like freezing if they were different colors. As we continued to modify and document our changing plans, we spent time looking up why and how these changes matter. We enjoyed it! Science PresentationsStudents finished their presentations this week. Each student was required to pick two activities to show their understanding of the material covered. These presentations were outstanding and definitely gave each student the opportunity to add a little of their personality in to their work. This is one of the few large assignments that students have done and presented individually this year. It was fascinating to see that almost all of their presentations included working with their classmates by asking questions, playing a group game, or interacting with them during a story. Students did not just show us a final project; these students engaged the class, explained their process, and encouraged each other. Even their individual assignments are done with peer feedback and collaboration along the way. |
AuthorCharlotte Woodside recently moved to Alaska from Central Texas. This is her 8th year teaching middle school. Archives
April 2018
Categories |