Seed Design Challenge

JRL Associates received an urgent fax from the WPSeed Corporation, asking for immediate design of some seed prototypes. Our engineers answered the challenge, learning about how seeds travel (by wind, water, stickiness, catapult, and being eaten) and then designed a new way for a corn kernel to travel. Here's what we came up with:

Last Week, Today

We have been hard at work at school the past week. Here’s what we’ve been doing:

Math - measuring in centimeters and meters - subtraction and addition word problems with measurement	Social Studies and Science - designing solutions to river flooding - comparing the solutions from the point of view of town citizens - measuring the tulips we planted in the fall - thinking about our flag
Reader’s Workshop - working on new spelling words - read alouds: The Dark, Helen’s Big World, John Patrick Norman McHennessy, A Giraffe and a Half, Ivy and Bean	Writer’s Workshop - many types of poems! - wish poems - sound poems - used to, but now poems - comparison poems

Questions to ask your student:
- Which solution do you think the town should choose to prevent flooding?
- What is buddy reading?
- What is a wish poem?

In morning meeting, we have been discussing difficult questions. What does your student think about these:
- Should kids be able to drive cars?
- Should kids have homework?
- Should kids learn how to do math or just use a calculator?
- Should kids have recess?
- Should kids have a bedtime?
- Would you rather be invisible or read people’s minds?
- Should kids be allowed to take naps in school?

Soon, we will be starting to work on mental math strategies and estimation, writing persuasive letters and reviews, and starting animal research projects.

Our Bulbs Grew Bigger!

The leaves of our bulbs continue to grow! Soon, we will see flowers on top of the stalks. We went out and measured the height of the bulbs.



Our bulbs grew bigger! from Stephen MacLellan on Vimeo.

Rain sounds comparison poems

After reading a few rain sound poems written by other kids, and thinking about the poem "Raindrop" by Mary Sullivan, we wrote our own rain sound poems. Students had to be very specific. Rain might sound like tapping, but what is tapping on what to make that sound? Students in 204 took this to heart, writing sensory comparison poems that paint very clear images in the mind of the reader.

Rain sounds like a splatter of very orange paint.
Rain smells crisp and chilly like spring.
A rain storm sounds like a big box spilling a lot of small pink, blue, and purple beads.
Falling rain looks like a diamond.
-    Sylvia

Rain sounds like someone tapping softly on drums or windows.
Soft rain sounds like mini tap shoes.
Hard rain sounds like lots of people stomping.
Rain looks like water in drops.
Drops are circles with a point on top.
Rain feels like water.
Rain tastes like water.
(Water doesn’t taste like anything.)
-    Valerie

Rain sounds like my thumb tapping on the floor.
The rain sounds like a pencil is falling on the table.
The rain sounds like a shoe tapping on the floor.
-    Hatice

Puddles forming, cold air occurring, people sprinting and splashing, eager to get inside of their nice, cozy homes.
Kids splashing in the mucky, gooey mud with their rainboots on.
Umbrellas up, overhead, colorful blobs of beautiful patterns in the air.
Delicate raindrops falling down, making a beautiful sound.
-    Nairi

The rain sounds like little
water dropping in a bucket.
The hard sound of rain.
-    Olivia

The rain sounds like a little purple bead hitting wood or when you are snapping your finger.
Hard rain sounds like you having shoes on and you are stomping kind of hard on the carpet.
-    Yara

I think rain sounds like a person’s finger tip tapping on a glass window.
Rain looks like a tear, a pear, or a light bulb falling from the sky.
I LOVE RAIN DROPS!!!
-    Mika

Rain tastes like a fresh water feast.
Rain smells fresh and clean.
Rain looks like a shining crystal.
Rain is beautiful the way it is.
I love RAIN!!!
-    Mika

Rain is as blue as the pure day sky.
Rain is as clear as a wine glass shining in the beautiful sky.
Rain is as powerful as the sun.
Rain brings me joy just the way it is.
-    Mika

I wish rain was everywhere.
I wish rain could be very cold.
-    Mika

Rain sounds like plastic small beads falling on the floor.
Rain sounds like the tapping of a pencil on the table.
Rain sounds like a stapler.
-    Emma G.

Rain sounds like stomping on the floor.
Rain sounds like a pencil tapping on a shower.
Rain sounds like tapping on a sink top.
Rain sounds like tapping on a container.
Rain sounds like tapping on wood.
Rain sounds like tapping on a recycling bin.
Rain sounds like tapping on paper.
Rain sounds like tapping on metal.
Rain sounds like tapping on a book.
Rain sounds like tapping on a table.
Rain sounds like tapping on a plastic egg.
Rain sounds like tapping on glass.
Rain sounds like tapping on a stool.
Rain sounds like tapping on a clock.
Rain sounds like tapping on a whiteboard.
-    Elvis

Rain sounds like a clock’s second hand going around.
Rain sounds like finger nails tapping on a table.
Rain sounds like when a hockey stick hits the puck.
-    Will

The rain sounds like tapping on your palm.
Splashing paint sounds like rain.
The rain sounds like a marble falling from your hand on a school table.
-    Liia

Rain drops are like tip-toeing to the living room to watch TV.
It is also like tapping your fingernail on the table.
Rain drops are like small balls bouncing.
Hard rain sounds are like drums.
Soft rain sounds like a soft pillow.
-    Alina

The rainbow is big.
The rainbow is tall.
The rainbow is colorful just like a butterfly!
Mr. MacLellan is tall just like my dad!
My cousin is big, just like the rainbow!
-    Nathalia

Rain is like slapping when the water is hitting the concrete ground.
Rain is like someone’s finger tapping on the table.
Rain is like ice.
Rain sounds like a stream.
-    Daniel

Rain sounds like me tapping on a wooden shelf with a pencil.
Rain tastes like fresh water in my mouth.
Rain feels like a little droplet on your hand.
Rain smells moist like a swimming pool.
-    Faith

Rain sounds like a boy tapping glass.
Rain tastes like warm water.
Rain feels like a moist melted piece of ice.
-    Justin

When the rain starts it sounds like one small lego falling on the ground.
When you tap on your table it sounds like rain falling on a car and a chair and a window.
-    Kevin

Tulip Test Gardens

In the fall, we planted tulip bulbs as a part of the global research study, The Journey North, in which citizen scientists track certain key sightings relating to migration patterns or seasonal change. When we recently visited our test garden beds, we saw that the first tulip shoots had emerged. We measured the shoots, mapped their locations in the beds, and entered our data into the online database.

Homework project presentations are up on the website!

Interested in seeing any of the homework project presentations we have had in the past few months? Visit these pages on our website to see photos and videos of us sharing our research!

Biography Research Projects

Curiosity Research Project

Family Tradition Project

October Book Reports

Bird Visit

After the successful completion of this year's reading challenge, our school had a visit from Wingmasters, a wildlife rehabilitation organization in Massachusetts that works with raptors. Raptors are a group of birds of prey, hunters of small mammals, fish, and other birds.

To learn more about the Wingmasters organization, visit their website here.