Inspirational People: Richard Turere

One of the teachers on my team found this video for our new unit on inspirational people for the PYP transdisciplinary theme Where We Are in Place and Time. It is a wonderful video about a child thinking of a way to solve a serious problem for his family, village and community around him.

After watching the video, the class made a web of all of the PYP Learner Profile and Attitudes that Richard exemplified and paired up to write and illustrate their thoughts. The kids did a great job on them.

 

Body System Models

During this last PYP Who We Are unit, the kids worked together in art to make body system  models. Check them out!

Water Experiments: Matter on the Move

Yesterday the class did an experiment called Matter on the Move from Inquiry in Action. They were excited to see what happens when food coloring is placed in different temperatures of water. They observed what was happening and wrote down what they saw. The students then made a hypothesis about what they thought was happening within the water. Some of the key words they used included heat, temperature, energy, and molecules. Check out the photos. Can you guess which cup shows the reaction of the food coloring with the hot water versus the cold water?

Reused Material Projects

As reported on a few posts ago, students had an assignment to find items around the house on their way to the rubbish bin, and create something useful out of them. I took photos and wanted to share projects with you. All of the projects were awesome! I found Adrienne's eye mask to be the most creative and I loved both the robot and the parachute toys. Nice work guys!

 

Miss Rorey is a Crocodile!

Did you that I am a crocodile? Well, at least that is what the WWF says. Today in class we discovered this awesome online game that determines your inner animal. You enter your email address and answer a few short questions and pretty soon, you discover what your inner animal is. We found the game by chance, but it was so much fun, we just had to keep playing and postpone our next endangered animal lesson until another day. Ms. Irene was a sloth and the blurb really matched her personality, just like my blurb matched to a crocodile. 

 For homework tonight, the students are going to go on the website, take the quiz for themselves and then ask a family member to play with them. To get there, click here and search the homepage for the title Find Your Inner Animal. You can use the printable below to record your results. Click on it to download and print. Then bring your assignment in to class to share. I can't wait to hear what animal you truly are! 

Final X at IST

The Final Exhibition projects were on display this week and 3R got to visit and learn from the amazing students in grade 5. Final Exhibition is a culminating project conducted over a few months that allows students to show what they have learned while at IST. The students work together in groups to research a topic of their choice (relevant to local issues in Dar es Salaam,) determine an action plan and act on that plan to help important causes and bring awareness about issues to the greater IST community. 

The students in 3R attended performances and exhibitions on Friday for two periods. The students were paired up with clipboards, pencils and new eraser tops in hand with the mission to find out at least one fact about every booth they visit. It was nice seeing everyone interacting with the grade 5 students and learning about some really cool, relevant topics, many of which we have discussed already this year. Way to go grade 5!

Gardening with Ms. Rorey's Roaring Leopards

Our first week back to school from our holiday was great. We had so many fun events planned and the students were so great making the transition back.

Over break, we left our bean plants in the classroom with the hope that they would grow with a little watering help from our dada. Luckily when I came in on Monday for professional development they were flourishing. When I looked out the window, I also saw the garden cleaned up. I knew that things were going to be just perfect for planting on Thursday.

Thursday morning, small groups of kids headed out with Ms. Irene to get some help and instruction from our gardener. Their task was to plant the garden. The kids had so much fun and really helped out a lot. We are eagerly anticipating our seeds germinating and small plants sprouting out of the ground. Stay tuned for more gardening news in the upcoming weeks!

Step Up To The Plate Unit Wrap-Up

This morning we wrapped up our Step Up To The Plate PYP unit of inquiry. The students completed the class K-W-L chart by filling in what they learned over the course of the 5 week health and nutrition unit. We came up with 31 different facts that we learned and I wanted to share them here.

• You shouldn't eat too much of the same food
• Don't eat too much oil
• Keep your body clean
• Try different foods
• Burn calories and do exercise 60 minutes per day
• Don't do too much exercise
• Don't eat too much
• Brushing your teeth is important to your health
• You can ride your bike for exercise
• You can eat sweets, but just a little
• You should get 8-10 hours of sleep
• If you eat good food, then your body grows
• Wash your hands before eating
• Meat and beans give you protein which helps to build your body
• Eat fruit and vegetables
• Don't eat too many fats
• Food can come from plants
• Vegetables have minerals in them
• Avocado has fat in it
• You should eat more vegetables than fruit
• You should keep a healthy diet
• You need a little fat in your diet
• Wash your hands for 30 seconds each time
• Brush your teeth for 2 minutes (you can time it by singing the ABC song 4 times)
• Wash your hands after touching a pet
• Don't play too many video games
• Say how you feel
• Talk about your problems
• Try not to fight with friends
• Don't brush your gums too hard

Yikes, what a great list! Good work Ms. Rorey's Roaring Leopards! I am proud of you.