Modeling the parts of the digestive system- Kinesthetic model

Kinesthetic grade 5 students acted out the process of digestion in an interesting activity.
 First, we placed several M &Ms in a small plastic bag. 

Then, we placed the bag of candies along with wadded papers in a plastic container.

 Finally, we brought spray bottles filled with water that demonstrated the juices in our digestive system; we labeled them as Saliva, gastric juice, pancreatic juice, and bile. 

Now it’s grade 5 students turn to model the digestive system. Students were divided into 2 groups and lined up facing each other. The path between them is the digestive tract. All the students worked together to push the food particles down the tract. I assigned a job for each pairs of students, based on their position along the digestive tract. The first 2 students were the molars that cut food into small pieces. Then the second 2 students were the saliva, stomach, small intestine, blood, large intestine, and finally the rectum.

 At the end of this activity we all enjoyed eating the delicious M & Ms.

Global Teenager Project

For the second year, KSPS 6th graders are taking part in an international collaborative project; Global Teenager Project. This year the project is entitled “Sustainable Development” and during this activity participating students will have the opportunity to adopt a set of global goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.
Participating schools are: Makassed Khalil Shehab School and Hajj Bahaa Eddine Hariri School from Lebanon, Argrani School and College from Bangladesh and Kirovograd Collegium from Ukraine.
During the first stage students from all schools exchanged photos and welcome notes through a wiki space.
We were very happy to meet new friends that talk different languages and have different traditions and backgrounds.
                                         Photos we received

Letters we received

My Character Counts

Every month KSPS students are learning a new value; so far they learned about trustworthiness, respect, and responsibility. These character lessons are helping our students to develop a safe, caring classroom community. To maintain these values along with our students all the times, I asked my 6th graders to create a note book entitled “My Character Counts”. In this notebook, students will write down everything they learned from the character building lessons, draw corresponding diagrams, and share their experiences… At the end of the scholastic year, every student will have “My Character Counts” notebook which is a valuable recourse to learn about character building and share with our community.

Science Hands-on Activities

Since I believe that students learn best if they are actively engaged, several hands-on activities are always performed during science classes.

The Life Cycle Plate:

Grade 4 students were studying about the life cycle of living things. They translated their learning into an interesting hands-on activity. Every student took a life cycle of a different living thing and formulated “The Life Cycle Plate”.

Mitosis activities:

Teaching students about Mitosis is quite challenging since this lesson is completely new for my fifth graders.

I asked students to translate the stages of Mitosis into “The Mitosis Booklet” and “The Mitosis Plates”. These 2 activities ensured that students fully understood and memorized the stages of Mitosis.

The Mitosis  Plates 

The Mitosis Booklet

Angles in Our Names!

Did you know that your name is full of angles? 
Well, you can try this activity as my 6th graders. While we were studying about measuring and types of angles I asked my students to draw their own name, then measure the angles using their protractors and classify them. Finally, students sat in groups of 4 members each and compared angles found in their names (number, type).

Students learned that angles are found in almost everything around us. They also learned to measure and classify angles in a very funny and innovative way.  
I bet you are all trying to find angles in your own names. 

What is Respect?!

This month all KSPS students are learning about a new value “Respect”.

What is respect? And why it is important for us to be respectful? To answer these questions 6^th graders did some investigations; they browsed the net and asked their parents and teachers about the meaning of respect. Now it’s time to translate their understandings into actions, every student wrote a different experience they faced where they disrespected their parents, siblings, friends…

Every student shared his/her experience in front of the whole class, then we selected a 6^th grader story and acted it out.

Script by: Ahmad Imad

Mother: jana Al Ghaly
Dad: Jalal Hijazi
Son: Mohammad Al Masri

Finally, we used “Wordle” a web 2.0 tool to write synonyms of respect that we learned in this activity.

 

 

Am I a trustworthy person?

Taking a part in the character building program, KSPS six graders were exposed to different activities that revealed the true meaning of September value "Trustworthiness". They watched youtube videos that denfined trustworthiness, and did several cooperative activities that reflected the importance of being a trustworthy person in our community. Finally, they used the web 2.0 tool "Answer Garden" to define trustworthiness in their own words.

 
Check Rasha, KSPS 6 grader, proving for others that she is a trustworthy person.

You may post your answers in the above Answer Garden!