Hello!
I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Even with the day off, we did a lot this week.
In math we learned more about perimeter, then learned to calculate the area of rectangles. Perimeter is adding up the lengths of all the sides. Area is multiplying the length by the width. We used this knowledge to design our own playground blueprints.
In language arts we wrote about our weekend, then worked on our synopsis of the novel study. Most students used the rubric well to add all the necessary information. We also drew 6 pictures to try and retell the story in 6 events.
In science we learned about the nervous system, the parts of the brain, and tested our reflexes with a ruler drop. When we see external stimuli, our eyes send a message to the brain, the brain then sends a message down the brain stem, through the spinal cord, to the nerves to react. We then learned about the urinary system, which the students were thrilled with. Kidneys help filter blood to make urea with the waste, it is combined with water to make urine. It travels down the ureters to the bladder, then released through the urethra.
In social studies we first researched BC political parties and made posters. We then reviewed all the policies of each party as a class. After we learned about Center, Left, and Right ideologies, discussing their view points on different topics such as money, crime, and society. Finally we took a survey discussing some specific events to help determine where we fit on the political spectrum. As this was a pretty big conversation, we also talked about how opinions can differ based on our own personal experiences, and how those opinions will usually change as we grow. We finished up having a discussion about how we are influenced, specifically how my opinions can influency students ideas, as well as how media companies influence all of our opinions, and the importance of asking questions from different viewpoints.
With our Young Entrepreneur project, we finalized our product ideas. Next week we will conduct some market research to help narrow down our focus.
Next week we have two field trips: curling on Tuesday, and museum on Thursday. We will learn how to solve perimeter or area when we are missing information in math, work more on our novel study, take a mini test on political parties in social studies, and review our human body organ systems for a final test. Its going to be a busy week.
Have a good weekend and see you next week.