Saying Goodbye To Our Human Bodies

The Human Body

This week we have been finishing up our unit on the human body. When we began our Inquiry study, we asked the children what they already knew about the human body. Here is what they already knew:

Know:
1. Lungs help you breathe.
2. Your brain is protected by bones.
3. Your ears help you hear.
4. Your nose helps you smell.
5. Your teeth help you chew.
6. Your bones help you walk.
7. Your heart makes blood and veins have blood.
8. Your spine holds you up. It is in the middle of your back.
9. We need to eat healthy food.
10. Eyes help you see.

Next, we asked the children to list what they wanted to learn. Here is what they wanted to learn:

Want to Learn:
1. About the brain and how I think.
2. About my stomach.
3. About my bones.
4. How my spine holds me up.
5. About my heart.

As a method of assessing learning or concept acquisition, we asked the class to list what they learned about the human body. Here is what they learned.

Learned:
1. When your heart beats, it sends blood to your body. (MH)
2. Running makes your heart beat faster. (MW)
3. The lungs help the heart breathe in good air - oxygen. (EN)
4. The lungs help breathe out bad air - carbon dioxide. (TN and JF)
5. The rib cage protects your heart and lungs. (JF)
6. Your brain is made of tissue and cells. (NMC)
7. The kidneys clean your blood. (AK)
8. Your muscles move your bones. (JJM)
9.Your small intestine digests the food first and then it goes to your big intestines.(BS)
10. The heart makes blood come in. (KM)
11. Your bones help you move. (MO)
12. Teeth help you chew your food before it goes in your stomach. (IC)
13. Your stomach is small. (TN)
14. If you drink too much soda, you might get cavities. (WT)
15. Your teeth help you talk. You have 20 teeth when you are little. (JC)
16. Your lungs help you breathe. (NJ)
17. Your brain is big. (KJ)
18. If you didn’t have thumbs, you couldn’t pick things up. (EN)
19. When you touch something, your nerves tell your brain. (MH)

The Human Body and Math

The class was introduced to measuring with inches using a tape measure. Together with a partner, everyone was able to practice measuring different parts of their human body, including height, smile, nose, ear, around the neck, around the chest, around fingers, around the big toe, leg, arm, and foot.

New Inquiry Unit of Study: Transportation

Today, we began our next Inquiry Unit of Study: Transportation. The children learned that the definition of transportation is: To carry things or people from one place to another place. There are three different methods or means of using transportation: 1. Land 2. Water 3. Air!

Tomorrow on our field trip to Aloun Farm, the class will be trying to identify different types of transportation vehicles. On Monday, October 16, Mary Lou and Bob Scott - both pilots for Hawaiian Airlines - have kindly arranged an exciting opportunity for our class to have a personal tour of an actual aircraft! We will also be visiting the Pawaa Fire Station sometime later this month!

2006 Fire Fighter’s Safety Guide

We are sending home the 2006 Fire Fighter’s Safety Guide. IF your child wants the coupon book, please tear out, complete, sign and return the blue section by Thursday, October 26, 2006.

Homework

This week, there are five pages of uppercase and lowercase I’s and J’s. Please have your child do one page of I’s and one page of J’s each night. Please return the yellow homework folder next week Wednesday, October 18.

Reminders

-Field Trip on Friday, October 13. Students should wear their uniform and covered shoes.
-Field Trip on Friday, October 13. If you are joining us as a chaperone but have not sent in $4.50, please plan on bringing the money tomorrow for admission.