What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class?
What's going on in Mr. Solarz's Class?
  • Parents (Newsletter)
    • Our Online Photo Album >
      • 2018-2019 Photo Album
      • 2017-2018 Photo Album
      • 2016-2017 Daily Photo Journal
      • 2016-2017 Daily Photo Journal - Album 2
      • 2015-2016 Daily Photo Journal
      • 2015-2016 Yearbook
      • 2014-2015 Daily Photo Journal
    • Our YouTube Channels >
      • 2018-2019 YouTube Channel
      • 2017-2018 YouTube Channel
      • 2016-2017 YouTube Channel
      • 2015-2016 YouTube Channel
      • 2014-2015 YouTube Channel
      • 2013-2014 YouTube Channel
      • 2012-2013 YouTube Channel
      • YouTube videos over the years
      • Learn Like a PIRATE videos
    • Calendar
    • Our Weekly Schedule
    • FAQ about our classroom
    • Curriculum Night Presentation
  • Educators
    • Danielson Framework >
      • Domain 1 - Planning & Preparation
      • Domain 2 - Classroom Environment
      • Domain 3 - Instruction
      • Domain 4 - Professional Responsibilities
      • Professional ePortfolio
      • Instructional Coach Evidence
      • Experience Logs
    • FAQ about our Classroom
    • Workshops
    • Our Classroom Library is for Sale
  • Curriculum
    • Science Units >
      • 5th Grade >
        • Human Body Unit >
          • Human Body Links
        • Ecosystems >
          • Ecosystems - Legends of Learning
        • Watery Earth >
          • Watery Earth Links
        • Earth in Space
        • Investigating Matter
      • 4th Grade >
        • Energy >
          • Energy Unit Notes
          • Energy Debates
          • Energy Debate Organizers
        • Our Geosphere
        • Waves
      • Science Fair
      • STEM Investigations!
      • Try Engineering Together
    • Social Studies Units >
      • 5th Grade >
        • Revolutionary War >
          • Liberty's Kids Videos
          • Revolutionary War Hero Project >
            • RWHP Directions
        • U.S. Constitution & Government >
          • Mini Lessons
          • Colonize Mars! >
            • Claiming Mars for Ourselves >
              • 2017-2018 Creating our Country on Mars
              • 2016-2017 Mars Decisions
              • 2015-2016 Claiming Mars for Ourselves
              • 2014-2015 Claiming Mars for Ourselves 2015
            • Solutions to Problems on Mars >
              • 2017-2018 Our Solutions to Problems on Mars
              • 2016-2017 Problems & Solutions
              • 2015-2016 Our Solutions to Problems
              • 2014-2015 Our Solutions to Problems
            • 2014-2015 "Mission: Mars" Video Discussions 2015
          • Project Citizen
        • Westward Expansion >
          • Oregon Trail Simulation
          • Oregon Trail Readings
          • Reflection Rotation >
            • 2017-2018 Reflections >
              • ThingLink Photo Stories
              • Green Screen Tableaux Vivants
              • Fictional Travel Blog
              • Canva Concept Cards
              • YouTube Newscasts
              • Google Slide Show
              • Daily Travel Blog
              • Act-It-Outs
            • 2016-2017 Reflections
            • 2015-2016 Reflections >
              • Voki Reflections >
                • Voki Blog
            • 2014-2015 Reflections >
              • Act-It-Outs
              • Timeline Spreadsheet
              • Newscasts
              • ThingLink >
                • ThingLink Images
                • Sign up for ThingLink
              • Google Slideshow
              • Fictional Travel Log
              • Daily Travel Log
              • Tableaux Vivants
              • Photo Stories
      • 4th Grade >
        • Geography
        • Explorers
        • Native Americans
        • Colonization
        • State of Sustainability
      • Presidential Election Simulation - 2012 >
        • Presidential Election Simulation - 2016
      • Current Events
    • Reading >
      • 5th Grade Units >
        • Literature Circles >
          • Literature Circles >
            • Video Discussions
          • Literature Circles >
            • Video Discussions
            • Activities
        • Schoolwide Launch
        • Schoolwide Fiction
        • Schoolwide Non-Fiction
        • Schoolwide Ecosystems
        • Schoolwide Poetry
        • Wonder >
          • Wonder
        • The Phantom Tollbooth >
          • Phantom Tollbooth Assignments
      • 4th Grade Units >
        • Schoolwide Launch
        • Schoolwide Fiction
        • Schoolwide Non-Fiction
        • Schoolwide Poetry
        • Schoolwide Energy
    • Writing, Spelling & Grammar >
      • Writing >
        • Writing City
        • WEX
        • WriteAbout
        • Reflection Writing
        • JoonBugz
      • Spelling >
        • Words Their Way
      • Grammar >
        • Grammar
    • Math >
      • Money Island
      • Math in Focus
    • Miscellaneous >
      • Activities >
        • Short-Term Projects
        • Challenges!
        • Special Events
        • Projects & Mini Lessons
        • Bonus Activities
        • Miscellaneous >
          • Honor Badges
          • Growing a Growth Mindset
      • Imagination Club >
        • Schedule
        • Daily Ritual
        • Mini-Lessons
        • Photo Journal
        • Student Creations Round 1
      • Mystery Skype
      • Entrepreneurship Unit >
        • Entrepreneurship - Creating Our Own Businesses!
      • Self-Reflection
      • KinderPals
  • Student ePortfolios
    • 2018-2019 ePortfolios >
      • Students 1-7 >
        • 1 - Isabel
        • 2 - Alexis
        • 3 - Oscar
        • 4 - Adrian
        • 5 - Edy
        • 6 - Matthew
        • 7 - Molly
      • Students 8-14 >
        • 8 - Joey
        • 9 - Jeremiah
        • 10 - Emmalina
        • 11 - Sama
        • 12 - Hazel
        • 13 - Nick
        • 14 - Filip
      • Students 15-21 >
        • 15 - Nellie
        • 16 - Landon
        • 17 - Molly
        • 18 - Harrison
        • 19 - Kali
        • 20 - Inti
        • 21 - Ryan
        • 22 - Pavel
      • Blog Assignments
    • 2017-2018 ePortfolios >
      • Students 1-9 >
        • Elle
        • Daniel
        • Tommy
        • Alyssa
        • Gavin
        • Milosz
        • Mikey F
        • Caitlin
        • Brynna
      • Students 10-17 >
        • Kya
        • Olivia
        • Ian
        • Colin
        • Owen
        • Gianna
        • Isabella
        • Carmen P
      • Students 18-25 >
        • Lucy
        • Caleb
        • Mikey S
        • Wes
        • Martin
        • Will
        • Shaun
        • Carmen W
      • Blog Assignments
    • 2016-2017 ePortfolios >
      • Students 1-8 >
        • Hailie
        • Jody
        • Madison
        • Dylan
        • Calvin
        • Connor
        • Louisa
        • Harvey
      • Students 9-16 >
        • Anna
        • Jack
        • Ben
        • Elijah
        • Catelyn
        • Cole
        • Abby
        • Ashley
      • Students 17-23 >
        • Charles
        • Michelle
        • Charlie
        • Daniel
        • Sam
        • Chingoon
        • Kyren
      • Blog Assignments
    • 2015-2016 ePortfolios >
      • Students 1-9 >
        • TJ
        • JJ
        • Bridget
        • Alex
        • Mason
        • Ryan
        • Lucas
        • Shreya
        • Logan
      • Students 10-18 >
        • Charlotte
        • Addie
        • Aidan
        • Andrew
        • Jeremy
        • Rachel
        • Russell
        • Addy
        • Cassidy
      • Students 19-26 >
        • Audrey
        • Regan
        • Giuliana
        • Brady
        • Stephen
        • Matthew
        • Ben
        • Tyler
        • Thomas
      • Blog Assignments
    • 2014-2015 ePortfolios >
      • Students 1-7 >
        • 1 - Michael
        • 2 - Charlie
        • 3 - Nicole
        • 4 - Stacy
        • 5 - Bela
        • 6 - Kendall
        • 7 - Demetri
      • Students 8-14 >
        • 8 - Emily
        • 9 - Nicky
        • 10 - Hanna
        • 11 - Payton
        • 12 - Hasanain
        • 13 - Tucker
        • 14 - Chris
      • Students 15-21 >
        • 15 - Madi
        • 16 - Aidan
        • 17 - Luke
        • 18 - Kaela
        • 19 - Ryan
        • 20 - Alison
        • 21 - Lucas
      • Blog Assignments
  • Passion Time
    • Passion Time Resources >
      • ALL Passion Time Resources
      • Step-By-Step Directions
      • Submit Your Essential Question
      • Our Trello Page
      • Our Passion Projects over the years
      • Our Trello Board
      • SAMPLE Blog Post Format
      • YouTube Upload Page
      • Mini-Lessons
    • 2018-2019 Projects >
      • Round 1
      • Round 2
      • Round 3
      • Round 4
    • 2017-2018 Projects >
      • Round 1
      • Round 2
      • Round 3
      • Round 4
      • Round 5
    • 2016-2017 Projects >
      • Submit Your Essential Question
      • Mini-Lessons
      • Round 1
      • Round 2
      • Round 3
      • Round-4
      • Round 5
      • Round 6
    • 2015-2016 Projects >
      • Round 1
      • Round 2
      • Round 3
      • Round 4
    • 2014-2015 Projects >
      • Round 1
      • Round 2
      • Round 3
      • Round 4
      • Round 5
      • Round 6
  • Student-Led Classroom Info
    • Our Learning Experiences
    • 21st Century Skills
    • Whole Class Goals
    • Individual Goals
    • Classroom Jobs
    • Collaborative Responsibilities
    • Rituals & Routines
    • Uses of "Give Me Five"
    • Student-Led Mini-Lessons
    • Lit Circle Signposts
    • Mystery Skype Jobs

Natures Waste Matter

5/24/2017

0 Comments

 
​
  1. Where do you think the items came from originally?
  2. Do you think the items look the same today as they did a month ago?
  3. What happened to the matter in each item over the past month?
  4. Do you think the items will be the same forever? Why or why not?
  5. What do all of the items in the bag have in common?
  6. Do you notice any relationships between the items in the bags? They all...
  7. What evidence do you have that the items were all once part of a living thing?
  8. Another name for "nature's waste" is "organic remains." These are all organisms that are no longer living, or parts of organisms that are discarded, excreted, or no longer needed.  What other examples of organic remains can you think of?
  9. What would happen to each item from your bag if it were left outside? What might it look like in 6 months? What would cause it to change?
  10. What would eventually happen to the waste MATTER in each type of organic remain?
  11. Why isn't the earth just piled up with all the matter from nature's waste?
  12. Why could all of the items in the mystery bags be classified as nature's waste?
  13. Do you think that all living things generate waste? What makes you think that?
Answers:
  1. Trees, Plants, Flowers, The ground etc.
  2. No because they leaves will decay into the ground and so will the grass and things like wood and branches will possibly be used for building things out of wood. 
  3. It started to rot and decay. Some things will be collected to use and something might be eaten
  4. No because they will either  be used for building or helping the environment. The flower petal will be possibly eaten and so will some plants.
  5. They all come from nature and at one point they will all decay. 
  6. Some relationships that I notice is that a lot of things are wooden or come from something that is wooden.
  7. The pinecones were all part of a living thing because they came from trees which are living things. The flowers came from plants which are living things. The twigs also came from a tree which is a living thing. And the grass was a living thing when it was attached to the ground.
  8. Things like leaves twigs and flower petals because they all fall off of something else that could be natures waste is the pinecone because it was once attached to the tree.
  9. If the the wood chips could decay into the ground so could things like grass the flowers too. After 6 months most things would decay but other things might be rotted.
  10. It eventually will all decay into the ground and eventually rot.
  11. The reason why the earth is not all piled up with natured waste is because it all is either rotted. decayed into the ground, or it had been taken away and used.
  12. Because all of the things in the mystery bag has all died off of the tree and had fallen onto the ground for many reasons maybe because the tree didn't need that part anymore.
  13. Yes because humans create waste so does animals and plants too. This lesson explained why nature has waste. Things like bugs and insects are also creating waste.
Picture
0 Comments

Plants as Producers

5/17/2017

0 Comments

 
  1. Plants need energy and matter to grow. Where do plants get their ENERGY?
  2. Where do plants get their MATTER?
  3. Where do plants get their FOOD (be careful - this is a trick question)?
  4. Why are plants called Producers?
  5. What would happen if plants didn't have a way to get energy?
  6. What would happen to animals if there were no plants to eat?
  7. 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.)
  8. What are some of the NON-LIVING components of a plant "system"?
  9. In what ways do the components of the system interact?
  10. What matter is transported in and out of the plant system?
Answers:
  1. Plants get their energy from the sun.
  2. Plants get their matter from carbon which is from carbon dioxide used during photosynthesis. 
  3. When CO2 Carbon Dioxide combines with H2O water during photosynthesis it has a chemical reaction and creates glucose a type of sugar for the plant and that is how a plant gets their food.
  4. Plants are called producers because they get eaten by other living things but plants don't eat anything that is living.
  5. If plants didn't have any way of getting energy they therefore couldn't do photosynthesis and if they can't do photosynthesis then they can't get food and won't be able to live.
  6. If there were no plants for animals to eat then they would die then the animals that eat them would die then we would die because we couldn't have any food.
  7. Some living components of a plants system is bugs such as beetles, Ants, Spiders and many more. Other things are other plants and bacteria.
  8. Some non living things in a plants system  is things like soil or a piece of wood.
  9. They interact by living off of each other the plant lives off of the soil and other things and the living components like the bugs live off and help the plant.
  10. Oxygen and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is transported out of the plant and carbon dioxide is transported into the plant. 
0 Comments

Food - Matter & Energy

5/11/2017

0 Comments

 
I was absent
0 Comments

Players in an Ecosystem

5/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Reflect & Synthesize:
Answer the following questions in your blog post. Remember to have at least one follow-up sentence for each question, when possible.
  1. Choose one of your Food Chains that you created and explain how it works.
  2. Can a Food Web be considered a "system"? Why or why not?
  3. What happens if a plant or animal all of a sudden disappears from the food web?
  4. Using this food chain, "sunlight to apple to worm to bird to cat," How do organisms in this food chain get the matter they need for body repair and growth?
  5. Using the same food chain in #4, How do organisms in that food chain get the energy they need for body warmth and motion?
  6. What do you think happens to the matter that is NOT used by the organisms in a food chain or food web? Is it wasted or does something else happen?
Answers:
  1. The way that mine works is the sun does photosynthesis and helps grass grow. Then the rabbit eats the grass. Then the eagle eats the rabbit.
  2. Yes because it is a system in a way that it keeps happening over and over again.
  3. Then all of the rest of the food web will die.
  4. From each other if they didn't have each other they would die.
  5. The sun because the sun provides warmth and energy everyone needs.
  6. It is stored as fat so that if you ever have a time where you don't eat food for a while you can live off the fat for a little bit.
0 Comments

Our Mars Constitution

5/8/2017

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

What is an Ecosystem?

5/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

Lake Ecosystems INTERACTIONS

Within a system of living things
​

  • Ducks eat plants and bugs
  • Ducks are interacting with other ducks







Between living and non living things

  • Ducks breathe air (oxygen)
  • Duck is swimming in the lake
  • the duck drinks lake water
  • Plants are growing from the lake taking up nutrients from the water
  • Sunlight is being converted into food for the plants

Fish Image

Between living things
​

Between living and non living things

​

  • Fish interact with the plants
  • Fish interact with smaller fish
  • Fish interact with water

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Reflect & Synthesize:
Answer the following questions in your blog post. Remember to have at least one follow-up sentence for each question, when possible.
  1. What do living things get from their ecosystems?
  2. What evidence do you have to support your answer to Question 1?
  3. 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.)
  4. Brainstorm at least one question you have about Ecosystems that you hope you learn from this unit.
  5. 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. 
  6. What are three (or more) interactions that might occur in this portion of the forest ecosystem?
  1. Answered above.
  2. Answered above.
  3. An ecosystem is an area where different organisms live with and off of each other with different needs.
  4. One question would be what are some differences between all kinds of ecosystems.
  5. The deers drinking water from the pond, the deers eating grass, the grass getting water from the pond, the trees growing from water, leaves growing out of branches. Maybe some animals eating fruit, animals eating animals, plants getting energy.
  6. Animals eating animals, Animals eating fruit, plants getting energy from the sun.
Picture
0 Comments

How to Write a Book About Your Job

5/4/2017

0 Comments

 
  • Just because you think you are a bad writer you can still be a writer
  • Mr. Solarz started with a man named Dave Burgess who persuaded him to write a book
  • Dave was his publisher and he took out a ton which made it a million times better
  • Mr. Solarz listed all the things he wanted in his book then he went to his blogs and got a ton of ideas to write about
  • Threw out ideas just randomly 
  • Got help from other teachers on twitter
  • Then started to organize all of his ideas and started writing and orgainizing chapters to make good chapters
  • Listen to your publishers question 
  • Ask and write questions
  • If something is really important to you ask for it to be in there and say it is really important to you
  • Make lists

0 Comments

My First Week in Space

5/4/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​We finally took off! It was a pretty scary experience taking off. Everything was shaking and rumbling I was hoping for the best and for nothing to go wrong. Once we finally got into space it was kind of indescribable. It was hard to do some things because everything was floating such as eating we might need to be careful with where we set stuff down because we don’t want it to go everywhere. Eating is really gross because everything is freeze dried some things like ice cream is good freeze dried but some other things aren’t. Sleeping is also a weird experience because we have to be strapped into the bed and we also sleep in these weird little pods. It is a little uncomfortable. One of my favorite things to do on the ship is exercising because all of the equipment is really fun to do so one of my favorite things to do on the ship is exercise. I think the space suits are designed really cool wearing them it is very heaving feeling and it feels like there is a ton of weight on me. It felt so amazing taking it off because it felt like I was as light as a feather when I took it off. I do feel very home sick though. I miss my family very much but I know that the experience is going to be amazing. This first week in space was an amazing experience I am definitely glad I decided I wanted to do it and I think it is a great opportunity to do something brand new and it is a once in a lifetime chance.
0 Comments

Star Patterns

4/7/2017

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

VR Trip to Pakistan

4/7/2017

0 Comments

 

Week 1

Picture
Picture

Week 2

Picture
Picture
Picture

Week 3

Picture
Picture
Picture

Week 4 

Picture
Picture

Week 5

Picture
Picture

Week 6

Picture
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Nicole Marino

    I am Nicole Marino, a dentist from Rome Italy. I think that it would be very important to have a dentist on Mars because we will all want good clean teeth so that we can easily eat. I also think it is important because nobody wants cavities and being on Mars not everyone will know how to take care of their teeth properly.

    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.