10/16/08 5th grade: Circulatory, Respiratory, Skeletal Systems

Today, Ms. Gonzalez's 5th grade class learned more about three body systems that were introduced in their science class. We used a bellevue public schools website about the body to transition from cells (which they learned about a few weeks prior), to body systems. Students built on what we had learned about cells to talk about groups of cells that worked together (tissues), and bigger groups of cells that worked together to perform a function (organs), and organs that worked together to perform several related functions (body systems). We covered three systems ( the circulatory system, respiratory system, and skeletal system), today, and the website presented a thorough overview in accessible and grade appropriate language. To review what the students had learned about the systems, they took a quiz as a class. We passed the wireless mouse around the classroom, and table groups discussed the question at hand before clicking their response. Students appeared to enjoy the quizzes which were in the style of 'who wants to be a millionaire?'.

Circulatory System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Circulatorysystem.html
Respiratory System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Respiratorysystem.html
Skeletal System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Skeletalsystem.html
Quia Quizzes:
http://www.quia.com/rr/117725.html
http://www.quia.com/rr/269891.html

10/10/08 7th grade Carnivale in Italy

The 7th grade continues to learn more about Italy, in order to prepare a presentation and activities for the school. This week, Ms. Boegel found sites and information on Carnevale, the celebration before lent (known as Mardi Gras in the United States). Carnevale in Venice is a huge celebration, and the emblem of their festivities is the Carnevale mask (called maschera). The celebration has had an interesting history, and has gone through some changes over the years. To share the information compiled by Ms. Boegel, I made a short PowerPoint presentation and linked the Youtube videos that she chose. We also chose a couple of sections of Wikipedia's article, including the section on how Carnevale is celebrated in Venice (masquerade), and Ivrea (festival of oranges). The 7th graders seemed to enjoy the presentation, and took notes for their culture of the month presentation to the school. They decided to make Carnevale masks, and talk about the celebration in their presentation.

Resources:
Carnival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival#Italy
Carnevale of Ivrea
http://goitaly.about.com/od/carnevale/a/ivrea_fest.htm
Masks of Venice Carnevale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q98uD1wNbl0&feature=PlayList&p=87C4963588E38E27&playnext=1&index=1