What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class? - Gianna

KinderPals Reflection

5/22/2018

Reflection Questions

Reflect on the 7-8 times we worked with our KinderPals this year.

What is the KinderPals Program?
In what ways do you think the program benefits the kindergartners? Try to explain several with support.
Why is the KinderPals program beneficial to 5th graders? Believe it or not, you should be getting something out of the program as well!
What challenges did you experience in KinderPals this year?
What improvements could be made to the program for next year?
Do you think the kindergartners enjoyed the stories from Peekapak? Why do you think that? Do you have any evidence to support your answer?

Answers

The KinderPals program is a program that teaches Kindergarteners about life skills that they need when they get older like honesty, and kindness. It also teaches kindergarteners how to handle their emotions without getting upset or mad. I like this program because the kindergarteners really get a lot out of what we do, especially when we read the books from Peekapak.com. We also do activities from Peekapak.com that make the learning a lot more fun and interesting.
I think the program is great for kindergarteners because it lets them know about how to respect people when they are only five-six. They learn so many more things about people skills with this program.
The KinderPals program is important for us because not only does it teach the kindergarteners how to behave an act properly but it also teaches us because we didn't have this when we were in kindergarten. I am also learning a lot from doing the interactive activities and the books too. The books are actually very much enjoyable for me as they are for the younger kids. I like them a lot they show me how to handle my situations and how to not handle them.
One challenge was that When we had to explain what the category was about and ask them questions then they would sometimes repeat themselves or get confused and it is hard to get them to understand. Another was that the web of questions my partners was always peeking over my computer to look at it. One last one was that sometimes I couldn't finish the whole thing because she would always bring up conversations even though they were great conversations about the topic.
I don't know of much improvements but maybe we could take away the sheets at the end because then we would have more time for other things and also sometimes the worksheet isn't really that important. But all in all I really like the program the way it is.
I think my kindergartener loved the stories because she would always get really excited when we start to read the book also she would always stop near the conflict and talk to me about what thyey could do to solve problems. I would also stop and ask her questions throughout and we would get so deep into conversation she could answer me for hours. Or she would just stop me at a point where she felt there was a good conversation. I think the PeekaPak stories are a lot more creative and it helps the kids understand what they have to focus on in terms of how to solve the problem.

Testing Plant Growth

5/14/2018

Independent Variable

Plant seeds in different kinds of soil (e.g. potting soil, perlite, sand, etc.)

Dependent Variable

Measure the height of each plant at certain checkpoints.
_________________________

Evidence

We can record our data using measurements (in cm.)
________________________

Reflection Questions

Name your Control Variables (What will stay the same for each of the three cups)?
Name the Independent Variable (What is it that is different for each of the three cups)?
Name your Dependent Variable (What is it that you are testing & recording data on?)
What data are you collecting to serve as Evidence to show how plants grow in organic material versus inorganic planting material?
Why is everyone starting with the same three cups? Why do we need to test so many plants?
What sprouts first in a seed: the stem or the root?
How do you know? How do the pictures below help explain your answer for #6?
Why do you think it goes in that order?

Answers

The Control Variable is the bean sprout we use, and in our group of three the potting soil is another Control Variable, and one more is the jar they are in.
The bean sprouts are different in size when we measured the height, others were taller than others.
The Dependent Variable is the height of all the plants.
The plants are growing larger everyday when being grown in organic material, all the inorganic material seem to have shorter sprouts. The Organic material seem to help the plants grow much healthier.
We are starting with the same three cups so that we have multiple chances to collect as much data as possible so that we can see what soil is the better. It is also better to have a larger amount of the sample in case some is wrong or needs to be retaken. If one plant grows well in a certain soil it might be luck, but iof it happens two or three times then it is probably the best soil to use.
The root sprouts first in the seed because when the seed starts to grow the root sprouts out and it points downward so that it can absorb the water in the soil and carry it up to the stem and it's leaves. The plant would die without roots because the plant wouldn't really have a way to absorb the water, even if you poor water on the top of a plant it would not be absorbed the plant would just drip.
In the first picture you can see that the seed is germinating and is popping out a root this root is coming out because the rest of the plant wouldn't be able tpo survive without the roots. The root comes first to get the plant its water. The shoot germinates and the photosynthesizes and it creates food for the plant, also when a seed sprouts cotelydons are the first leaf or leaves.
I think it goes in this order because if it didn't the plant would have no way of getting water until the roots finally grew in also the roots do somewhat of the holding for the plant the roots sit in the ground very studily so the plant doesn't move. It mostly goes in this order because the plant wouldn't survive without roots.

Players in an Ecosystem

5/3/2018

I was absent.

Plants and Producers

5/3/2018

Reflection Questions

Plants need energy and matter to grow. Where do plants get their ENERGY?
Where do plants get their MATTER?
Where do plants get their FOOD (be careful - this is a trick question)?
Why are plants called Producers?
What would happen if plants didn't have a way to get energy?
What would happen to animals if there were no plants to eat?
What are some of the LIVING components of a plant "system"? (A plant "system" is everything that a plant needs to survive and everything it produces.)
What are some of the NON-LIVING components of a plant "system"?
In what ways do the components of the system interact?
What matter is transported in and out of the plant system?

Answers

Plants get their energy from the sun. the sun basically starts all the photosynthesis because it is the biggest part of the photosynthesis of a plant. The sun gives the plant its energy.
Plants get their matter from the sun, water, soil, carbon dioxide, and oxygen.
Plants produce their own food. They create the food they need in their leaves. They use nutrients, water, carbon dioxide, sunlight, and chlorophyll. Plants are able to produce their own food becasue the leaves use the products and it is able to create some nutrients for the plant itself.
Plants are called producers because they produce their own food. Like it said above the plant uses the water and carbon dioxide to be able to produce it just from the leaves.
If a plant couldn't get energy which comes from the sun then they would eventually not be able to produce chlorophyll. They plant would lose its green color becasue it doesn't have chlorophyll and it would die. This is why we see plants starting to turn brown and they start to get slightly crispy, it is because it doesn't have sunlight.
If there were no plants on Earth then there wouldn't be any living things on Earth. This is because plants give off oxygen and humans and animals both need oxygen to survive. Plants are also the bottom of the food chain so if they couldn't start the food chain nothing would end it. All the animals and humans would sease to exist.
The living components of a plant are roots, stems, and leaves. The roots bring the water and nitrients from the soil into the plant and it hold the plant up right.The stem carries and distributes water and nutrients into the many different parts of a plant. The roots carry up the water and nutrients while the stem distributes it among the different sections. The leaves make food by using the sun's light mixed with carbong dioxide which is called photosynthesis. So the photosynthesis occurs inside of the leaves.
The non-living components of a plant are sunlight, water, air, nutrients, soil. These are the non-livign components of a plant's photosynthesis. These are some of the most important components in a plant's photosynthesis. The plant gets all its energy fromt the sun.
The roots take up the water, soil and nutrients. The stem then distributes it to other parts of the plant, most importantly the leaves. Leaves allow photosynthesis to happen. The leaves soke up the sunshine and carbon dioxide, which produces the food for plants to grow. \
The matter that is transported in and out of a plant is water, gases, nutrients, sugars, and sunlight. They are transported in and out by the proccess of photosynthesis.

Food - Matter and Energy

4/16/2018

Questions

On the human food label:

How do we find the energy (calories) per serving?
How do we find the matter (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals)?
Where can we locate the list of ingredients?

Answers

We look at the amount of calories that are in the food or drink.
You have to look at how many carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals there are in the food.
You look at the top of the food label to find the list of ingredients.

Questions

On the pet food label:

Where can we locate the list of ingredients?
How do we find the percentage of different types of matter in the food?

Answers

On the top of the food label.
Next to each of the different ingredients under the Guaranteed Analysis.

Reflection Questions

What does food provide to animals, including humans?
Do the pet food and human food have the same nutrients? In what ways are they different?
Does a higher calorie count mean a food is better for pets to eat? What makes pet owners think that?
What is it in food that helps us repair our bodies and grow?
What in food helps us move and stay warm?
In what way does energy transfer when animals eat food?
Look at the nutrition label below for milk. How much energy is in the food?
What matter is in the food?

Answers

Food gives humans and animals energy and matter. It provides the energy to grow and the matter to repair their bodies (Body repairs).
They have different nutrients because humans and pets don't need the same nutrients. Pets can eat and break down somethings that humans can't and the other way around as well. They are different because the labels tell us that there are different nutrients in the human food and in the pet food label.
No it doesn't but most pet owners think that because they think it will give them more energy.
The energy and nutrients in the food is what helps our bodies grow. The nutrients gives enough for our bodies to grow and the energy helps us get what we need to start our day. Our bodies are able to be healthy and are able to grow when we eat the right amount of nutrients and get the right amount of energy in our bodies.
The energy and nutrients in the food can help us repair our bodies they are also able to keep you moving. If you didn't have proper nutrients then you wouldn't be able to move as well because you wouldn't be as healthy than when you had proper nutrients. The energy and nutrients are also able to help our bodies stay warm because our bodies are processing better and can keep us warm.
The energy transfers from the sun to the plant that takes the energy and then the plant gets eaten by an animal and the energy from the sun was transferred to the animal. So this means that the energy gets transferred from the sun to the plant to the animal. That is when the animal eats the plant and gets the energy that is in the plant transferred to itself.
When you look at the label it says that there are 160 calories in the milk label. It also says there are 80 calories from fat. The calories is the source of energy in a drink or food and that tells us that that is the amount of energy in the drink. You have to look at the calories to find out how much energy you have in what you are eating or drinking.
The matter that is in the food would be the ingredients that make up the food or drink you are having/eating.

Money Island and Vault Reflection

4/10/2018

What is an Ecosystem?

4/10/2018

Lake Ecosystem INTERACTIONS

Within a system of living things

Ducks eating plants
Ducks eating bugs
They eat grass to survive
They eat the fish for food
They interact with eachother

Between living and non-living things

The ducks play together
The duck flaps the water off his/her wings
The ducks float through the water
The ducks catch food together for survival
The duck eats dead fish and dead grass
The ducks breathe the air

Lake Ecosystem INTERACTIONS

Within the system of living things

Fish is eating the seaweed
Fish use seaweed to hide
Seaweed grows
The fish gets eaten
The fish eats smaller fish
The fish gets caught on a fishing line
The fish interact with each other

Reflection Questions

What kinds of living things (organisms) do you see in both pictures?
What other living things might be here, even if you can't see them in the photos?
Why might living things in these photos interact with each other?
Read the BIG IDEA below. How do these pictures depict an ecosystem?

Between living and non-living things

The dirt helps the seaweed grow
The fish swims in the water
The fish interacts with the seaweed
The fish eats the seaweed
The fish sucks the algae
The fish filter oxygen through there gills

Answers

I see plants and I see animals. The animals are interacting with others of its own species. There are plants in both pictures and there are seaweed in both pictures. There are plants that the animals eat to survive.
There might be bugs, and there could be algae. There might be some bits of food in the water. There might also be some other fish swimming around in the water around them or beneath them.
The living things might interact with each other because they might work together to find food. they might interact to mate with each other and they might play around with each other and swim with each other as well.
The first picture with ducks shows the ducks flapping their wings and it also shows the ducks interacting with the water because they are floating through it. The Ecosystem shows the ducks eating the plants. The second photo with the fish shows the seaweed wrapping around the fish. It shows me the fish maybe looking for something to eat or he might just be taking a swim. I see the seaweed and the fish interacting by them swimming and flowing/floating near each other.

Reflection Questions

What do living things get from their ecosystems?
What evidence do you have to support your answer to Question 1?
What does the term ecosystem mean, based on your experience in this lesson? (Don't use the definition from the BIG IDEA here. Put it into your own words.)
Brainstorm at least one question you have about Ecosystems that you hope you learn from this unit.
Look at the image below that shows a portion of a forest ecosystem. Name at least five components (living or non-living things) of the ecosystem that you can either observe directly or infer.
What are three (or more) interactions that might occur in this portion of the forest ecosystem?

Answers

Living things get their food from their ecosystems. Living things also get their energy from their ecosystems. Living things can get their home and their sleep from their ecosystem, they get their habitats from their ecosystem as well. The ecosystems that the living things have provide the living things to have food, shelter, habitat (home), and energy. This is because if they had nowhere to find food or if they didn't have a home they would be stomped on or they wouldn't have any food so they wouldn't be able to stay alive.
For example, I saw a squirrel that was about to climb a tree and that would be his shelter or his safe place because some animals or other things wouldn't be able to get him. The squirrel was also possibly hiding a stash of nuts in a hole in the tree because he was hibernating for the winter. I also saw a worm in the dirt and that worm was hiding in the dirt so that nothing or no one would find him and so that no one could step on him.
The term ecosystem to me means a habitat that we and animals live in. Or a place/home that animals and people need to survive. Ecosystems can also hold the things we need to survive like food and matter that we would need.
One question that I have is, does every food chain have animals or a living creature involoved?
1.) The deer are eating the grass. 2.) The deer might go and hunt some food for his friends or family. 3.) The deer might drink some water from the pond. 4.) They might chew some leaves off of the trees. 5.) The deer is trotting through the field.
1.) The deer might all go hunt for some dinner. 2.) They might go to find a warm place to sleep. 3.) The deer might go and run through the fields to find some other deer from their family.

Skills21 - Superhero Rehabilitation Program

4/9/2018

#WorldPoetryDay

3/21/2018

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Dustania

3/21/2018

Reflection Questions

What was the hardest part of writing your preamble? Explain how you overcame that challenge.
What is your favorite part of your preamble? Why is that part powerful and important?
What is the purpose of a preamble in a constitution? What does it do?

Answers

The hardest part for me was changing parts from what I liked into my own words for me to understand. I overcame this challenge by using google as a resource and looking up a word then using its definition to make the sentence better understood.
My favorite part is when we talk about our goal being to respect each other no matter where we are from and to set aside our disagreements. Also when we say that "we shall agree to peace, equality, and forgivness becuase we never hold grudges in our classroom. We always come up with way to solve differences in opinions, and we never treat each other like we don't belong. This is very important becuase we always have to make sure no one ever feels left out or unheard.
The purpose of the preamble is that the preamble explains the reasons of why our Framers made our government a republic. The Framers wrote the preamble having six goals that they wanted the United States to accomplish. These goals were to form a perfect union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. The preamble lays out the goals for the constitution. The preamble is also the beginning to our constitution.

Peer Collaboration Improvement Focus Responsibility Active Learning Twenty-First Century Skills Empowerment

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Science Units & Resources:

STEM Investigations
Earth in Space
- Science Companion
- Mystery Science
- Mars Generation One
- Recap
- Weebly
Scientific Method (Science Fair)
Investigating Matter
Ecosystems

21st Century Skills:

Life Skills & Abilities (Skills21)
Digital Literacy (DQWorld)
Classroom Meetings
Mini-Lessons

Social Studies Units & Resources:

Revolutionary War
- history Alive Online (TCI)
- Recap
- Weebly
U.S. Constitution/Government
- iCivics
- EverFI
Geography

Social-Emotional Skills:

KinderPals (Peekapak)
Second Step
MindYeti

Reading Units (Schoolwide):

Launch
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Poetry
Content Reading (Ecosystems)

Writing Units (WriteSteps):

Getting Ready
- WriteAbout
- PenPal Schools
True Stories (Narrative)
- Edji
Information/Explanatory
Opinion/Persuasive
Research/Expository

Spelling (Words Their Way):

Spelling City
Word Sorts
Sown to Grow (Goal-Setting)
Rotation Schedule

Math (Math in Focus):

Whole Numbers
1. Think Central
Multiplication & Division
Fractions & Mixed Numbers
Multiplication & Division
Algebra
1. Hands-On Algebra
Area
SKIP
Decimals
Multiplication & Division
Blah blah blah.
Graphs & Probability
1. Vault (EverFi)
2. PARCC Testing
3. Money Island (First America Bank)
Properties of Triangles & Quad's
Surface Area & Volume
Angles

5th grade classroom website