Vital Capacity of Lungs

This week in science we further explored the systems of the human body. We learned about the respiratory system and how the lungs are important for the exchange of oxygen to our red blood cells and the exchange of the waste product C02 from the blood. The connection between the circulatory system and respiratory system was focused on. In this week's lab, students measured their lung capacity to further understand how a larger person requires a larger set of lungs so that more oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanges can take place simply due to the person having more cells in his or her body. Not surprising, the larger students in class had larger lung capacity and those smaller students had less lung capacity. Students involved math by finding the average of three of their exhales.

Making a Working Model of the Heart

As we continue to learn about systems, we have recently ventured into learning how the circulatory system transports nutrients to the cells in our bodiy. Thursday our class teamed up with Mrs. Espinosa's class to create a working model of the heart. Students had cups, containers, one-way valves, tubes, rubber stoppers and more. Their challenge was to use what was recently learned about the heart to assemble a model of it. Groups did amazing. In the end, all groups had a heart that could be "pumped" by squeezing one container. This pressurized the container and pushed "blood" (water) out of that ventricle into the lungs. Then the other side of the heart would "pump" by being squeezed, sending water from that ventricle to the body. Additionally, each time the squeezing stopped, water would be suctioned into that part of the heart from the "body" or the "lungs" cup. The complete cycle ensured water never ran out.

Coding the 13 Colonies

Today we started a multi-week task of coding are Spheros robot to go on a journey through the 13 original colonies. Students will have the robot start on an X outside the colonies and code it to go to Virginia, the first colony that was established. Once at that colony, it will speak and tell why it was founded and the year that it was founded. From there they will code it to go to the rest of the colonies in order of when each colony was founded on the map on the floor. Our programs will eventually be utilized by Mrs. Espinosa‘s class, as they will be able to come over and learn about the 13 colonies through our students' coding programs that they created. 

Leaf Veins

Thursday student categorized leaves according to the three main types of veins found on them. This transitioned the learning towards understanding about xylem and phloem, and that some tubes (veins) in plants take water up from roots and others take sugars (nutrients) made in leaves to the rest of the cells in the plant. We then set up an experiment with wheat seeds, placing them on top of a paper towel inside a straw. We are testing to see if plants can grow without soil. The experiment is designed so that no water can be evaporated and we will be able to measure how much water is being taken up through the xylem into the plants.

Rock Out!

Today was the rock finale. After coding on Scratch sounds for our electric guitar and making our cardboard guitar, we hooked it up to Makey Makeys and played some tunes. Each student uploaded their coded files from their USB drive to Scratch and got to play their original sounds on the guitars.

Beck Archery Shoot

We had 5 students show up for the Beck Family Archery Shoot. Although it is November, Halloween was only a few days ago....so we also got to shoot at zombies. 

Campfire Tales

Earlier this week our class focused on dialogue and descriptive words in stories. Each student wrote a "spooky" story, working on plot development, having dialogue between characters, and descriptive text (adjectives) to paint a picture of the story in the reader's mind. Today we sat around campfires in the classroom and shared our stories around the fire, reading by flashlight.

Phases of Matter

To build upon the excitement of Halloween, we did a dry ice lab today in class. Students first learned about different materials and how they conduct heat (aluminum vs. plastic). When ice went on an aluminum plate that felt cold and a plastic plate that felt warm, students predicted ice would melt faster on the warm plate. However, the aluminum plate melted an ice cube in almost exactly 3 minutes while the other plate still had the ice after 20 minutes. This is all due to how aluminum conducts heat better. Next, we explored dry ice, at -109.3 degrees F and its unique properties, including not melting, but sublimating instead (going right from a solid to a gas).Finally, taking what we learned from reading about how root beer is made, we combined our science and reading to make our own root beer for our Halloween party!

Halloween Art

Today Mrs. Weed volunteered in our class to do an art lesson with a "haunted house". Students drew a setting with a black permanent marker and then went over the art with watercolors, creating an eerie sunset and other effects.

Saying Good-bye to our Worms

After over five weeks of observing how red worms, when added to organic matter, change it, today we said good-bye to our worms. We did our final observation and notice much more soil in the jar due to the castings produced from the worms. Some groups noticed several "fruit fly" type of flies inside their jars as well. Students used their observations from past labs and this lab to discuss and then reflect on how these organisms impact organic matter. We were also able to dump out all the items in the jar, which we have never done, to actually look inside at all that has taken place.

What do Plants Need?

In investigating what plants NEED in order to survive at the fifth grade level, students planted wheat seeds and have watched them come out of dormancy. One group of plants have been in complete darkness, while another groups has been receiving lots of light. Today we observed the differences and they were dramatic. The phenomena observed led to several other questions as well as some discussion. One student proposed changed a few plants from the darkness to the light, just to see what would happen. This lesson continues as we learn more about chlorophyll and photosynthesis and what plants TRULY need in order to survive.

Makey Makey Pianos

Today with computer science, pairs of students worked together to create paper keyboards that would play music. Some were quite unique. One student event taped the paper keyboard to his chest to be a "piano man". Now that we have explored circuits of the Makey Makeys, the next step is to have a challenge. Tomorrow students have the task of designing an "old school" joystick, similar to those of the Atari 2600.

Creating our Tie Dye Scarecrow

Our class is making an owl for our class scarecrow. Students cut out feathers, used a sewing machine, and painted a backdrop. Show up Thursday to see the finished project. 

Happy 60th Beck!

Computer Science Kickoff

Today kicked off our class computer science unit. We plan on doing projects each Monday. We started with Makey Makeys, where students experimented with making game controllers out of Playdough. 

Jessie Beck Elementary Turns 60!

With this year being pretty special, with our school in its 60th year, we held an assembly to celebrate. There are not too many things better then magic. The magicians knew how to ohhhh and ahhhh the 4th-6th graders. Hard to believe this is the 60th group of fifth graders to learn at our school. Such a special time. 

The Final Day at JOS

What an amazing trip Journeys Outdoor School was this year. This morning student packed up there cabins and were checked out before breakfast. They transported their gear down to the lodge before breakfast and then filled their stomaches with their last meal, consisting of pancakes, bacon, fruit, yogurt, OJ, eggs, and grits. Stidents also did a great job of clearing dishes, wiping tables , and generally cleaning up after themselves. Students got back into trail groups after breakfast and headed outside for their last get together. 

The Last Evening at JOS

During community time this evening, the majority of students played the game of Gaga. Think of it as gladiator dodgeball in a pit. It is so much fun!  For dinner, the side of baked potatoes was a hit (surprised me), although we had 13 pounds of ort (ask you child what that is, as even learning took place around meals). Our evening activity focused on animal adaptations, specifically on those associated with birds for the hands-on exploration. 

Challenging Ourselves and More

It isn’t even dinner time yet and the fifth graders have packed so much in so far. At pond ecology, one group saw over 12 frogs (super fast and uncatchable), 2 snakes, and perhaps a turtle. Some Robin Hoods stood out at archery. During many of the first ecology hikes many young scientists collected his or her plant sample and voucher, which will be analyzed at a UNR lab and we will be part of the analysis at a later date. The challenge course seemed to be what students were excited the most about today. Starting out on the forest floor, students learned what a safety team is all about. Next, the group moved on to low ropes courses where they worked on their team safety as one student worked through the challenge. Other times, challenges were while group and required discussions and how best to approach the challenge. If the approach didn’t work, they had to listen to each other present alternative ideas. Most groups had time to make it to the famous Alpine Tower. Each student set a goal for where he or she wanted to make it to on the climb up. This beast is impressive!  I’m so proud of all the students!