Have You "Heart" About It???

Dissection is Amazing!

Hello Parents! I hope that you already know about the really exciting things we have been doing in the science classroom from your child! We have had so much fun! The week of April 29th we focused on the circulatory system. We tested our heart rates, studied the parts of the heart and how the heart muscle pumps oxygenated blood to every cell in our bodies. To apply our knowledge of the heart and circulatory system we had an obstacle course. We were the blood cells as they passed through the vena cava, atriums, ventricles, lungs and out the aorta to the rest of the body. Your children climbed through tunnels of the veins and arteries and jumped from chamber to chamber to illustrate the movement of blood through the circulatory system. This was so much fun! Mr. Hoover and I had the best day with every one of our students!

This week we dissected a frog to gain a better understanding of our own body systems. A frog is commonly used for dissection because we share so many of the same body systems. Frogs have a skeletal, nervous, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory and reproductive system. We share these systems and it was really exciting to actually observe these organs and organ systems to discover how they fit together in the chest cavity. The students were also amazed by the connective tissue. They were really surprised that the connective tissue was so thin and clear yet so strong! We found many fascinating foods in the stomach of the frogs. There were insects, a mouse or vole and lots of chyme (partially digested food). I spoke with the students about respecting the organism that we are dissecting. We talked about "unwrapping" the organism for learning and understanding, not slicing or tearing the tissue. I was so proud of every student for actually comprehending the true meaning of dissection. I had a classroom of students who were focused and engaged for the whole dissection process. Today I had a reflection on the frog dissection activity and I had a few students who stated that they were interested in becoming surgeons (I have goose bumps!).

I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to every seventh grade student at CSD! You handled this situation with dignity and maturity. I just love you all and appreciate how hard you work in the science classroom! I would also like to thank Mr. Hoover. Mr. Hoover and I have been co-teaching so Mrs. VonCanon, Ms. Kreit, and Ms. Alter can have intensive math and language arts instruction. Mr. Hoover was not excited about dissection at all and had limited experience with dissection but he rose to the occasion with a professionalism and humor! Thank you!

Just Breathe!

SCIENCE
The Human Body Seminar and Respiratory System

This week we were honored to have three AMAZING guest speakers for the Human Anatomy Seminar.

Amy Vance is Kevin Yascur's aunt and the Chief Operating Officer of Presbyterian Hospital. She brought in organ tissue samples of the heart and lungs. Your children were able to observe a lung that had cancer, a lung that that emphysema, and a healthy lung. They also observed the human heart. It was an amazing opportunity! Ms. Vance also explained how many tests are preformed such as a MRI and CAT scan. Ms. Vance reviewed the respiratory system and the circulatory system. Your children impressed me with their retention of the respiratory system!

Pam Black is Bailey Black's mother. Ms. Black is employed at CMC as the Nurse Manager for the Special Events Department. She has a wide range of nursing experience and was willing to share it with your children! Ms. Black spoke about how chemistry & math are used in pharmacology, drug compounding & dosing, toxicology and statistics in research, This was wonderful as it proved how useful science and math are in medical careers!

Audrey Stasky is a teacher at CSD. Before her teaching career Ms. Stasky was a histologist. Histologists are involved in biological science that studies the structure of human, animal and plant tissues. Histologists study muscles, bones, nervous tissue, blood, liver, lungs, heart, ears and eyes. They study the organization of tissues at all levels, from the whole organ down to the molecular components of cells. Ms. Stasky shared her various experiments with the students. Ms. Statsky explained that some of her experiments gave data to research physicians that could save millions of lives.

I would like to extend an enormous thank you to all three women who shared their vast knowledge and talents with our children. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our community who can help guide that way and explore many types of career opportunities for our seventh grade students to find their passion!

The respiratory system was the main focus this week in class. We had three very exciting lab activities this week. We tested our lung capacity by blowing into a plastic bottle submerged in water. This was a really fun and enlightening activity. We were able to see that your life style had a direct correspondence to our lung health through this cavity! We also made models of the respiratory system with plastic bottles, balloons and plastic wrap. The students were able to move the lungs and observe how the diaphragm works to exchange gases in the lungs! We also tested our breathe to determine if it was basic or acidic. Please take a moment to ask your child about acids, bases, pH, and how our lungs work this weekend!

MATH
The Art of Solving Word Problems

I have found that there are three major components that hold kids back when solving complex, multi-step word problems:
• Not comprehending what the problem is asking
• Lack of organizational skills
• Not following the problem all the way through to its conclusion

In his book, Comprehending Math, Arthur Hyde outlines a terrific method for addressing these concerns. It is through the use of a graphic organizer strategy entitled KWC. K represents what we “know for sure”, W represents what we “want to know”, and C represents any special “conditions”, tricks, or other things to remember in order to solve the problem. Click here to see a visual.

I absolutely LOVE this method as it forces kids to SLOW DOWN, an all too common problem amongst many students. They read the problem quickly, and then without really taking time to ingest the information stated within the problem, they jump right into “solution-mode.” Many times they have misread the problem which results in erroneous solutions due to the fact that they didn’t answer what was being asked. Or often in their haste to get through to the “answer”, they only partially complete all of the necessary steps required in order to arrive at the correct answer. Test makers are smart and tricky. You can bet your bottom dollar that at least one of those answer choices will be some of the steps along the way to the correct solution!

I also love KWC because on top of forcing them to slow down, it also provides an extremely helpful visual aid for organizing information. Many kids are not what I would call natural organizers. However this is definitely a skill that can be acquired through practice. As you can imagine, I am catching a little bit of grief from the kids because of the “work” involved to solve one problem, but I truly believe that over the course of time, they will see the benefits of “frontloading.” In other words, the more time they spend upfront, the less likely they are to arrive at an erroneous conclusion.

To see this process in action, please visit the samples that can be found in your child’s math daybook. Also, as your child works through the study guide at home, hold him/her accountable for using this method, particularly when they seem stumped by a word problem. Chances are this method will slow them down, deepen their understanding of the problem, and then get them on the right path without much guiding required from you!  Happy problem-solving!

Be sure to check out the great Problem-Solving and Test-Taking resources found on my website by clicking here!

EOG Study Guide Reminder:
Assignment for this week: Algebra Pdf Pg. 30-36; 46-47 Due April 22nd.
Click here to access the EOG Study Guide, Answer Sheets, and Answer Keys.

If I Only Had A Brain... Oh, Wait... I do, and it's INCREDIBLE!

SCIENCE
The central nervous system continues to be our focus area in science. We had three rotation stations in science this week to understand some very complicated concepts. We created a model of the brain out of play dough. The Brian Model, station 1, required the students to create the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, medulla, and brain stem out of play dough. The students had to discuss the functions of each part of the brain with their group members when they completed the model. I listened to some wonderful peer teaching! Station 2, Pipe Cleaner Neuron, demonstrated the structure of a neuron by created the dendrites, axon, cell body and myelin sheath out of pipe cleaners and arranging them to show how neurons transmit messages and form new connections. Connecting The Neurons, station 3, turned out to be one of the most informative stations. We connected ten neurons to ten other neurons with ten different colors. This allowed the students to observe how connected nerves are with each other. When one nerve cell dies, thousands of other nerve cells are effected. We were able to discuss behaviors that would kill a nerve cell (brain trauma, drug and alcohol abuse) and show how they would damage the neuron connections that are essential for a healthy brain.

Your children were given a sleep data collection sheet with a dream journal on the reverse side. Next week we are focusing on dreams and sleep. We will be discussing why the body needs to sleep and how essential it is for young adults to have adequate sleep for healthy growth and development.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

On March 31 we had the honor of Xander Picot's father, Dr. Picot, who gave a seminar to our seventh grade class on the human brain. We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful parents at CSD! I am very grateful to Dr. Picot for creating an amazing presentation and donating his time and astounding intellectual resources to our central nervous system unit. This is an amazing opportunity for our children at CSD! I have included a brief description of Dr. Picot below.
FRANÇOIS PICOT, MD
François Picot was born in Paris, France, in 1962. He moved with his family to the United States when he was six years old, settling in New York City after a year in Nantucket, Massachusetts. After graduating from Drew University in New Jersey, he attended the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. His one-year medical internship and three-year neurology residency was at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, and his two-year neuromuscular fellowship was completed at SUNY/Stony Brook, New York. François practiced neurology in Florida for 4 years before moving to North Carolina, where he has practiced at Northeast Neurology in Concord for the past 10 years. He is currently the Assistant Medical Director of Northeast Neurology. His special interests are general neurology and neuromuscular disorders. François enjoys tennis, golf, swimming, biking, the New York Yankees, and especially spending time with his wife and three sons.


MATH
Check out the newest page to Mrs. V's math website by clicking here! This page is chock full of information about the NC EOG in math as well as other great resources for problem-solving and test-taking. Hope this helps!

Breaking It Down...

SCIENCE
What did you eat for breakfast? Do know how that food travels through your digestive system? Do you how long it takes for food to make the complete journey through the digestive system? Please ask your child! They know all these answers and more! We created a model of the digestive system this week. Your child used a gallon bag, flexible 5 foot tube, pantie hose and pan to simulate a working digestive system. Our model ate oatmeal and milk for breakfast and we helped the peristalsis with our hand muscles as the food traveled from the stomach to the anus. What was new and really impressive was the laboratory investigation format. I usually provide the background information, procedure, and analysis questions for the students to answer. This week they applied all their knowledge on the digestive system to create the entire lab investigation on their own. I was amazed at the quality of work they exhibited! The analysis questions were very thoughtful and required application of knowledge on the digestive system. They have these lab investigations in their math/science binders. Please take an opportunity to read these with your children!

We began investigating the central nervous system this week with rotation stations. We had a station on optical illusions, testing reflexes, and mapping your brain with color. These were really interactive activities that began a flow of questions about the human brain, nerves, and senses. The begin to understand the central nervous system we also completed an outline extracting information on the central nervous system from a book called The Human Body from Time books. This was full of interesting facts and information on the complexity of the brain and how the brain functions. We will continue to explore the central nervous system next week in science class!

MATH
This week we worked on getting those formulas for surface area and volume into our long term memories! This is done through rehearsal. Marilee Sprenger, renowned brain-based learning specialist, educator, and researcher suggests that “Learning something – that is – getting that ‘aha’ moment – isn’t enough for attaining memory and transfer. We need our students to practice past perfection to ensure that the memory connections are permanent.” She also says that “Memories must be rehearsed in multiple ways to store them in many areas of the brain.” In the past few weeks, I have tried to incorporate ALL learning styles and as many of Gardner’s multiple intelligences into our learning experiences as possible. We have created various 3-D shapes using manipulatives. We have analyzed their properties using solid models. We have recoded this information by talking to each other (interpersonal intelligence) and by writing reflections (intrapersonal intelligence) in our daybooks. We have used the tools of music, movement, and rhythm to involve our emotions and enhance our learning. We have worked on committing formulas to memory and practiced formatting through the repetition of solving surface area and volume problems. Now it is your child’s turn to take his/her own learning into his/her own hands! On Thursday, we brainstormed various ways to “study” for this test. Here is a sampling of some of the ideas given in class:
• Make a PowerPoint to review all important information (vocabulary, formulas, etc). Use this PowerPoint to test memory by using the animation feature so that formulas or answers appear once the viewer has had time to think. (Visual)
• Download and print off flashcards from Mrs. V’s website OR make flashcards of their own! Use these flashcards to test memory of information. This is particularly effective when done prior to going to sleep. (Visual and auditory if talking aloud is added to processing).
• Download songs and lyrics. Repeatedly listen to song and view lyrics until they are committed to memory. Make up a dance or listen as they go on a walk or jog. (Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic)
• Play a game of “Horse” but instead use formulas and vocabulary. (Auditory and kinesthetic)
• Have someone else quiz me on information. (Auditory and visual)
• Use Mrs. V’s website to watch PowerPoints and visit online, interactive websites. (Visual)

Aren’t they smart learners? Our job as the adults in their lives is to hold them accountable for doing their job. Their job is to study this information in a manner that fits best with their particular learning style. So please check in with your child and see what you can do to help him/her with this process. Then make a plan and stick to it. But the important thing to remember is that we can’t do it for them. Only they can commit these things to memory. Our job is to hold them accountable and assist them in their attempts if they need it. 

REMINDERS:
• The Announced Geometry/Measurement Test is coming up on Wednesday, March 24th.
• Geometry/Measurement Study Guide is due Thursday, March 25th.
• Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (for girls) is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th @ Cone University Center @ UNCC.
• Spring Break begins on April 2nd (Early dismissal April 1st). Classes resume April 12th.

Pump Up the Volume!

SCIENCE
Did you know that you start the digestion process before you begin eating? Do you know that your small intestines are about 20 feet long and that it takes about 24 hours hours for your food pass from you mouth to your anus? How about the billions of bacteria that live in your large intestines feeding on the food that was not absorbed in the small intestines? Your children do! Please ask them about the amazing digestion system and the fun facts that we were discussing in class this week!

Rubber Bones lab investigation concluded the week in science. We finished our observations and measurements of chicken bones after the calcium was dissolved on Monday and Tuesday in class. The bones that were soaked in vinegar were flexible and the bones in water were not flexible. Please take a moment to ask about this lab investigation, Your children should be able to explain this phenomena. It was a little odorous, ask them why!
We had an opportunity to work on our t-shirts this week on Friday. The students added the stomach, liver, small intestines and large intestines. These body system shirts are developing very nicely! I am excited for them to bring them home and share them with you!

We had a web investigation this week on the digestive system. We explored two very different but informative web sites. They are http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html and http://www.neok12.com/Digestive-Systems.htm . If you have an opportunity, please check them out! They are really full of amazing information and a lot of fun too!

MATH
Surface Area and Volume were the names of the game this week in math. Students traveled through the three different stations listed below:

Teacher-Guided Station: Surface Area and Volume of 3-D shapes
In this station, students learned formulas and formatting for solving problems dealing with volume and surface area. We also took this opportunity to sharpen up our calculator skills. Remember that students are allowed to use calculators on their Surface Area/Volume homework this week, however, they must abide by the formatting learned this week during this station. Great examples can be found in the Math Daybooks.

Problem-Solving Station: Packing the Packages
In this station, students worked collaboratively on a wonderful NCTM activity entitled, Packing the Packages. This lesson emphasized the “real-life” application of investigating various designs for packaging soda cans and other items by using geometry to analyze their designs. (To view this activity, see your child's Math/Science binder).

Music/Movement Station: It’s All in the Surface and Pump Up the Volume
In this station, students worked on committing formulas for surface area and volume to memory through the use of song, rhythm, emotion, and movement (Click here to view lyrics). Both of the songs used this week can be purchased from Itunes for $0.99. (Click here to hear a sample and to purchase if interested!) This is a wonderful way to spice up studying! We also explored the nets of common 3-D figures and discovered why the formulas work the way they do.

Next week we will continue to dig a little deeper into these topics and also explore the concept of cross sections. In the meantime, please continue to encourage your child to commit these formulas to memory. A little bit every day is much less stressful (and effective) than cramming the night before! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Thanks for all you do!

EOG Study Guide:
A few of you requested a copy of the 7th Grade Study Guide so your child could get a head-start on EOG review over Spring Break. Please click here if you are interested in printing off a copy. Thanks!

Shaping Up!

MATH
This week we launched our study of geometry and measurement. In 7th grade, students study 3-Dimensional geometry, including the measurement and algebra skills of finding finding surface area and volume of solid figures. After administering a pre-test on the learning objectives, I introduced the students to our new content through a great video on 3-Dimensional Shapes in real-life contexts. (Click here to view) We also explored the two new sets of manipulatives we will be using: Omnifix cubes and Geofix shapes (see pictures above). The purpose of these particular manipulatives is to support the acquisition of spatial sense as well as the language of three-dimensional geometry (base, edge, vertices, etc). Our classroom activities included constructing and drawing 3-D shapes, as well as identifying and creating different views (and nets) of the shapes they constructed. These types of activities enhance visualization skills, as well as promote the ability to analyze characteristics of various polyhedra. During this unit, we will focus specifically on the characteristics of the following solid figures:
• Triangular prisms
• Rectangular prisms
• Triangular pyramids
• Rectangular pyramids
• Cubes
• Cylinders
• Spheres
• Cones
Students will also be responsible for mastering the formulas for surface area and volume for the following solid figures:
• Triangular and rectangular prisms
• Cylinders

Normally, I do not allow students to use calculators on homework assignments. However, I am suspending this policy throughout the duration of this unit on geometry assigments. (Note: Students still should NOT use a calculator on Mixed Review assignments). Since the objective of these assignments will be mastery of the formulas and not necessarily the calculations, I believe the use of a calculator is very appropriate. I have made it clear to the students, however, that I do expect them to show all formulas and number sentences as “stand-alone answers” are not sufficient demonstration of knowledge.

The Geometry/Measurement Test was announced this week during class for Wed/Thurs March 24th and 25th. Study guides were handed out to the students, and they will be due during Advisory on Thursday, March 25th. However, if your child is in Section 2 or 3, then he/she should make sure the study guide is completed prior to taking the test to receive the intended benefit. In addition to this Study Guide and other homework assignments that will be coming home weekly, I highly encourage the students to make use of their wonderful Math On Call resources, as well as the information I provide on http://www.mrsv.org/.

Just so you know… upon return from Spring Break we will begin our EOG Testing Review, Preparation, and Practice unit. I have Study Guides for this test that we will begin at that time. If you feel your child would benefit from this information prior to then, please let me know, and I’ll gladly get you a copy! Thanks for all you do!

SCIENCE

"GOT MILK?" Calcium was one our minds and in our bones this week in science. We began the week with a lesson on the skeletal system. We are talking about what makes bones and why bones are so important. We were talking about osteoporosis and how calcium consumption now will help them have healthy strong bones when they are older adults. We talked about how much the body needs calcium for our teeth and bone strength, all cellular metabolic processes, blood clotting, blood vessel dilation and constriction. If you body needs calcium and you have not consumed enough in your diet your body withdraws the calcium from your bones for all the other calcium requirements. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children and teens between 9-18 years old require 1200 mg of calcium per day. We calculated our average calcium intake to see if we were acquiring enough calcium. I was happy to see most of the children were acquiring their daily requirements of calcium! To illustrate this we are removing all the calcium from chicken bones to observe what happens to the bone. "Got Milk?" lab investigation will conclude on Monday and Tuesday. Please ask you child about their "rubber bones" and why they became so flexible!

Bones need skeletal muscles to move. We had an activity this week to compare our upper body strength against our lower body strength. The students had a wonderful time pushing their muscles to the limit to find out how many pounds of pressure they exert with the upper and lower muscles! We practiced our comprehension and note taking skills with an outline from a body systems book on the muscular system. We reviewed the muscular system outlines and elaborated on the muscular system Friday in class.

We also had an opportunity to observe muscle cells, bone cells, cartilage, and blood cells with prepared slides. These slides are beautiful and show how different the cells appear for cells that have different functions!

Our tee shirts were utilized this week too! We we able to draw with accuracy and beauty the skeletal and muscular system on the tee shirts. this is just the beginning of our "Draw your Insides on the outside" project! The students worked really hard on this activity and i can not wait to see their products!

No Bones About It!

SCIENCE
Why didn't the skeleton go to the school dance?
He had no body to go with!!!

The skeletal system was our focus this week as we continued on our journey on the human body systems. This week was full of science stations to include many small lab investigations on the skeletal system. Station 1 was called Keep Your Bones in Shape. We determined that the shape of the bone gives the skeleton a strong support system to carry a body's weight. The students tested three different shapes (triangular, square, and cylinder) made of index cards. We placed books on the index cards to test if the shape did support more or less books. Please ask your child what shape held the most books and why or bones are that shape. Bone is made of MANY layers of tissue. In the compact bone there are circular structures called the Haversian system. This system protects the blood vessels in the center of the bone tissue and keep the bones very strong. To test the Haversian system the students tested straws in a random pattern and straws in a circular pattern. They discovered that the Haversian pattern was much stronger. Station 2, Celebrate Vertebrates and Fight Friction tested the joints, synovial fluid and why our backbones are made of 26 vertebrae instead of one long bone. The 3rd station, Building the Framework recreated a skeleton on paper and applied the scientific name of the bone (humerus) to the picture of the bones.

The stations were a lot of fun and the students enjoyed the wide variety of activities!
We began working with our t-shirts this week. The students were introduced to the idea of wearing their interior body systems on the exterior t-shirts. We will be drawing the body systems on front and back of the shirt. We will continue working on our body system t-shirts on Fridays!

The last activity for the week was Chicken Wing Dissection. Your children had an amazing time dissecting grocery store chicken wings. We observed the dermis, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. This activity really demonstrates that even though the body systems are separate they must work together for the organism to live!

Have a wonderful weekend and tell your children to get ready for more bones and muscles next week!

MATH
This week we reviewed all previous learning from the Data, Statistics, and Graphing Unit. The students worked collaboratively in pairs to analyze data collected during the worm dissection. Then, using this data, they composed test questions which was compiled into a subsequent “team test.” I once heard that a teacher’s ultimate goal is to work him/herself out of a job. Thomas Carruthers put it this way: “A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” I’m happy to report that this week I felt rather unnecessary! YAY! Watching these kids own their learning in this capacity is what every teacher strives for. My soul was definitely fed watching them in action this week.

Next week we move ahead to our final unit of the year – Geometry and Geometric Measurement. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed as we are embarking on our concluding unit prior to testing! Wow! The geometry learning objectives for 7th grade focus heavily on surface area and volume of 3-dimensinoal figures, as well as the similar and congruent 2-dimensional figures. I look forward to the exciting learning that lies ahead of us!