Fancy Friday

Hooray!  We filled our fuzz ball bucket because of the good choices we have been making!  We decided to celebrate by having a "Fancy Friday".  The students looked SO adorable in their fancy clothes!  Mrs. Longo, Mrs. Coyne, and Mrs. Frantz said that we were definitely the best dressed class in the school!

SURPRISE Field Trip To The Rainforest

Last week, we began our fifth IB Unit Of Inquiry, “Sharing The Planet”. 

The central idea of this unit is, "Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.” 

On Tuesday, we kicked off our new unit with a surprise field trip to The Rainforest at The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  As we explored this “habitat”, we were able to learn about the various plants and animals that are able to survive there. The rainforest is one of the five habitats (in addition to desert, ocean, grasslands, and polar) that we will inquire into throughout this unit.

Thank you to Courtney Ottrix, Katie Malone, Angela Bailey-Sundahl, and Carrie Shelfer for chaperoning this field trip!

 

 

 

Topographical Map Project (Salt Dough Maps)

Throughout our IB Unit of Inquiry - "Where We Are In Place And Time", we have been learning about various different geographic and chronological tools.  The culminating project of this unit was the creation of individual salt dough maps by the students.  These maps depict the landforms and structures built by people on the students' imaginary islands.  

The students also created travel brochures to provide information about their imaginary island countries.  The six sections of the travel brochure are:

• Front Cover - The students "advertised" their islands with eye-catching pictures and the name of their islands.
• History of the Island - Using their creativity,  the students detailed the history of their islands - who discovered them, when, and how.
• Landforms/Structures Built By People - The students described the landforms and structures built by people that can be found on their island countries.
• What To Pack - The students helped travelers prepare for a future trip to their island by suggesting what they should bring in their suitcases. 
• Activity - The students suggested an activity or two that could be enjoyed on their islands.
• Location - The students plotted the location of their island countries on a world map and described the location using directional words and landmarks.

The final component to this project was an opinion writing piece.  In their writing, the students stated their opinions (i.e. my island is the best or you should come visit my island), provided supporting reasons for their opinions, and provided a conclusion.

Check out the students' salt dough maps (currently on display outside of our classroom):

Singing And Dancing Paradise by Farrah

Skittles Island by Adrian

Volcano Island by Antonio

Pokemon Island by Dominic

Treasure Island by Jack

LeBron James Island by Asher

Mommy Island by Marie

Golden Plout Paradise by Abhi

Heart Island by Evelyn

Quick Sand Paradise by Quinn

Miss Rollins Island by Venkat

Goalie Island by Connor

The King Island by Camron

Quicken Loans Arena Island by Paul

Beauty Island by Hanna

Chi Island by Sammy

Cutie Island by Elaf

Paradise Island by Cami

Volcaneo Paradise Island by Charlotte