This has been a crazy month!! Science Fair, Auction, Report Cards, oh my! The Sharks have been incredible through all of this! I love how well everyone works together, and share a passion for learning. I have been able to give them challenging tasks that use higher level thinking skills to complete independently and in small groups.
This trimester, we are examining "Interactions among Living Things." I am choosing to focus on Native Americans as our social studies content, and botany for our science. Observational drawing, measuring, geometry, and non-fiction writing are also integrated into this study. This week, I pulled out the microscopes and give the students an opportunity to observe and study a variety of seeds. Afterwards, they had several questions about seeds for us to research and experiment. Here are a few of them:
Why are seed different sizes?
Does the size of the seed affect how big it gets?
How are seeds made?
Why do seeds have different textures (ie: spiky, bumpy, smooth)
In addition, we are analyzing what life is like in the Northwest, by identifying key physical features, animals and foods that are unique to our region. Later, we will examine other regions of the US, as well as learn how humans have interacted with their environment for survival. Below some of the ideas we brainstormed about identifying objects that are natural vs. manmade. The stars next to some was were some groups had different opinions. Again, this is our foundation and will be revised throughout the rest of the term.
