Science Experimenting

This week Division 7 has been abuzz with science experimenting!  We have been hard at work conducting experiments to help us discover more about structures before we build our bridge for Max the dog to walk across.  You can see some brainstorming on our class blog.

Students worked in pairs to plan and carry out an experiment.  We documented our process using the iPads, and created videos to share what we discovered.  Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties with the exporting, so we will look into on Monday.  In the meanwhile you can check out our big questions and notes sharing the results.

Next week we will use our collective knowledge to draw blueprints for the bridge!

Fibonacci Sequence

Every month I do a different pattern on our calendar, and the students enjoy guessing the rule.  This month the pattern was a stumper: 1 bug, 1 bee, 2 bugs, 3 bees, 5 bugs, 8 bees, and as of today 5 bugs.  They figured out fairly quickly that it was an increasing pattern, but no one could figure out quite what the rule was.  After I wrote it up on the board as 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and let everyone think about it for a couple days, Ethan discovered the rule on Friday.  If you add 1+1 you get 2, if you add 1+2 you get 3, and so on.  Anik also realized that I can’t complete the pattern because the next number is 13 and there are only 5 days left in April.

This sequence of numbers is the Fibonacci Sequence, named after Leonard Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician who wrote about it in a paper in the 13th century.  He did not discover the sequence–it was first written about in Indian mathematics–but Fibonacci did introduce it to Europe which is why the sequence of numbers bears his name.

I’ve always thought the Fibonacci Sequence is cool (I may be a math geek in addition to loving books!) and Inspiration Green shows some amazing patterns in nature, although I’m doubtful that the population distribution in Africa is a result of the Fibonacci sequence.  The Khan Academy also has an interesting video about Fibonacci spirals.  The narrator speaks really quickly so pay attention!  In case this hasn’t quenched your thirst for math, head on over to the Math Awareness Month site (did you know April was math awareness month?)  The theme this year is magic and mystery, and there are some fun videos to watch.

Getting to Know Rudyard Kipling

As you know, Division 7 has been reading the original Jungle Book as well as singing and dancing in our musical production.  A couple weeks ago the students all wrote questions to Mr. Kipling, and as luck would have it he wrote back!  There were some very thoughtful questions about his life and writing.

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Ready for the Bare Necessities!

Tomorrow is the big day… our Jungle Book performance!  We had a great rehearsal on Monday, the students got to perform on the stage wearing their costumes.  It is was lots of fun being in a real theatre and seeing what it is like onstage and backstage.   We had a chance to be in the audience as well and see the whole dress rehearsal.  It is looking good!  Our costume boxes are packed, and ready to be loaded on the buses first thing in the morning.  Don’t forget to have students wear their costumes to school tomorrow so they’re ready for the afternoon performance, and to meet back at the theatre at 6:15 for the evening show.  There are still a few tickets left for the evening performance, and lots for the afternoon show.  The students are so excited to perform, it will be a fabulous show!