2N presents The Digestive System

Grade 2N – The Buzzing Bees has been working on the following stop-motion animation project of the digestive system in class.

First we began by tracing an outline of our friend “Alma” then all students worked to create the various parts of the digestive system to be included on our poster. Students were then asked to move pieces of food through the system while Mr. McKillip took photos of each step. Through shared writing, we as a class wrote the script to describe the steps involved in digestion.

Finally, students used microphones to read aloud the script we created to describe the whole process. We hope you enjoy, thanks to Mr. McKillip for all his help, it was lots of fun!

2L Digestive System Animation Project

The Lively Ladybugs have been spending the past several weeks making an animated movie about the digestive system. Since Chisha, one of our classmates, was preparing to move to Dubai, we used his face and body outline as our template. We made each of the organs of the digestive system and glued them onto Chisha’s body. Mr. McKillip came into our classroom and helped us take more than 100 pictures as we moved a little piece of paper food though the digestive system. All of the pictures were put together and made into a ‘stop-motion’ animated movie. We worked with Miss Lane on a shared writing activity to explain what happens to food when you eat it. Then Mr. McKillip brought a microphone into our classroom and helped us record. We combined this audio recording with the pictures and now we have a complete animated video. Check it out!

2W Movie Project: “Journey to the Center of the Toilet”

In class 2W we have been learning about the body systems and in our investigation of the digestive system we worked together to create a movie project using stop motion animation. We all helped design and name the star of the film, “Jake” and write the script describing what happens to food after you eat it. Some very skilled readers did the voice overs (I wonder if you can guess who they are by listening?) and Mr. McKillip helped us with the technical aspects of the job.

It was terrific fun so check out the results.

2P Digestion Animation Project

In Grade 2P, we have been studying the different body systems and how they work together to keep us alive.

We made the following animated video to show how the digestive system enables the food we eat turn into food for our cells.

We drew all the body parts, we took all the photos, we wrote the script and said all the parts. Mr. McKillip helped us put everything together.

We hope you enjoy watching our video as much as we enjoyed making it!

A Visit From CCBRT – Helping People With Disabilities

As we continue our current unit of inquiry, Inside Me – The Human Body, we are learning that our bodies have many different parts. Sometimes people get sick or have accidents that damage parts of the body. Sometimes people are born with damaged or even missing body parts. There are medical people who can help, but unfortunately, many areas of the world (like many areas of Tanzania) are poor and can not afford this kind of medical assistance.

Our class was visited by Mr. Erwin Telemans (Lenno’s dad), from Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation (CCBRT) in Tanzania. Mr. Telemans had heard that we were studying about the Human Body and asked if he could come talk to us about different ability people and how his organization, CCBRT is helping people with disabilities in Tanzania.

Lenno introduced his dad to the class by saying, “This is my dad. He works for CCBRT. He is a Physiotherapist (someone who helps people to walk and move around after an injury or operation). CCBRT helps people, kids and adults with disabilities to walk and move around easier.”

Mr. Telemans showed us pictures of children and adults that CCBRT has helped. He also brought in real x-ray examples for students to see what our skeletons look like inside our bodies.

At the end of Mr. Telemans’ presentation, students had many questions and comments. Students learned a lot about disabilities and how people and organizations like CCBRT are helping people to live happy and productive lives.

CCBRT was established in 1994 and is now the largest disability and rehabilitation center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

More G2 Raz-Kids Reading STARS!

What? You say you’re bored and need something fun to do – well then READ!

That’s right, you can always practice reading no matter where you are – at home, at school or somewhere out in the world.

What? You don’t have a book? Not a problem as long as you have Internet! Mr. McKillip’s class can log into Raz-Kids read books and earn more stars.

Congratulations to students earning over 1000 Raz-Kids Stars!

Noah is a star reader earning more than 6000 Raz-Kids Stars! Noah has been using Raz-Kids both at school and at home. He is quickly becoming a better reader. Noah likes reading to others and reading independently using Raz-Kids on the computer. Keep reading Noah!

Talin is another reading star having earned more than 2000 Raz-Kids Stars! Talin is proud of her reading. She often enjoys reading to others. She takes her time and makes sure to heed punctuation. Keep reading and setting a good example for others!

Bertha has earned more than 1000 Raz-Kids Stars! Bertha enjoys reading. She likes to bring books from home to share with her classmates. Bertha continues to gain confidence reading. She reads to herself and to others everyday. Keep reading Bertha!

Faris has earned more than 1000 Raz-Kids Stars! He is quickly becoming a more fluent reader. He reads with confidence and if he makes a mistake, he is quick to make self corrections. Faris inspires others to read more challenging books. Way to go Faris!

Keelan has earned more than 1000 Raz-Kids Stars! Keelan is eagerly becoming a more confident reader. She loves to read and it shows. When retelling a story, she often makes connections with other stories she has read. Keep making reading a priority Keelan!

And last but not least, Koby has also earned more than 1000 Raz-Kids Stars! Koby has just recently started using Raz-Kids at home. He likes to read and likes to share his reading with others. Way to go Koby – Keep up your enthusiasm for reading!

You too can earn more stars and become a STAR reader on Raz-Kids. NOW students can board the Raz Rocket and blast off to a distant planet for an out-of-this-world experience!

Star System
Students earn stars for every book read and listened to, and quizzes and assignments successfully completed. Students use earned stars to buy items from the Raz-Rocket Catalog to personalize their rocket.

Rocket Ranking System
As students earn stars, they move up in rank. Ranks are displayed on each student’s individual assignment page.

Have fun reading and remember, the more you read, the better you read so READ READ READ!

Vote For Us – PBS Innovation Award

IST Grade 2 is in the running for the 2010 PBS Innovation in Teaching Award for our Simple Machine – Rube Goldberg Project and our attempts at connecting others to our little corner of the world at IST in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Click here to give us your vote:
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/innovators/gallery/entries/306/

Asante!

Blog Buddies! Inquiry Learning

Blog Buddies – Making Global Connections!

IST Grade 2 has been fortunate enough to make friends with Ms. Teri Gragg and her students at Brigantine Public Elementary School, New Jersey, USA. Ms. Gragg is an Art teacher and Technology enthusiast. She had a wonderful idea to set up a blog for her students to post pictures and ask questions to share information about their school and find out more about other schools around the world. Her students have connected with countries such as Switzerland, Spain, England, New Zealand, Canada and of course Tanzania!

We will continue answering the many questions Brigantine Elementary students have for us living here in Tanzania and we will post a few questions for them as well to find out what it is like to live in New Jersey, USA.

Our Global Friends – Thanks for the Comments

One of the many positive things about having a blog is that Grade 2 students get to connect with other students and classes all over the world! Here are a few of our new Global Friends that we have started to communicate with by viewing each others blogs and leaving comments. We welcome you take a look at what is going on in classrooms elsewhere in the world and even take a moment to say hello by leaving them a comment.

__________

Our Global Friends: Mrs. Yollis’ Class, Grade 3 students from California, USA.

Here is a comment they left for us on our post, Learning About Grammar – CONJUNCTIONS!.

Dear IST Grade 2,

This morning we read your post AND watched your video, AND now we have a greater understanding of conjunctions. We like your level of enthusiasm when it comes to conjunctions, BUT be sure to always use them correctly.

It is important to proofread for run-on sentences, BUT sometimes we make mistakes.

Are there really zebras in Tanzania, OR did you just put the zebra header there because you liked it?

From,
Mrs. Yollis’ Class

P.S. We tried to use conjunctions in our sentences. How did we do?

__________

Our Global Friends: The Smarties!, Grade 2 students from Western Australia.

Here is a comment they left us recently from our post Acrostic Poems – The Knight And The Dragon.

S tupendous
A mazing
G reat
E xceptional

D azzling
A uspicious
N ice
N ifty
I nspiring

Love,
Mrs N and the Smarties!

Here is another comment they left for us from one of our weekly posts on Current Events.

Hello IST Grade 2,

We’re The Smarties, from Western Australia. Your Current Affair reports look very interesting. You must be learning a lot about the world.

Love from The Smarties

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Our Global Friends: Room 8 at Melville Intermediate School, Hamilton, Waikato in New Zealand.

Students in room 8 have been writing IST Grade 2 students comments of support and encouragement. We appreciate the many nice things they have to say to us about our learning.

From our blog post, Reduce, Reuse and Make 3D Objects.

Hi it’s great that you guy are learning about 3D and 2D shapes.

Elecia
Room 8, Melville Intermediate

Another comment from our post, How Is A Wedge Used?

Extremely good predictions grade 2!
I liked it how you discovered that a wedge has more than 1 use.
I hope you enjoy your future experiments, GOOD LUCK!!!!

Bradley,
Room 8, Melville Intermediate

__________

Thank you to our growing number of Global Friends. Your comments are read and appreciated. Keep them coming!!!

World Maths Day – 3 March!

Students in Mr. McKillip’s class will be competing in this year’s World Maths Day Challenge!

What is World Maths Day?

“Students play at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 500 games, earning points for each correct answer. The students who answer the most questions appear in the Hall of Fame. Students cannot select their level but will move up as they progress.”

“This is a truly unique world event and a fantastic way to promote numeracy. Past results show that students will make significant improvements in their mental arithmetic skills and have fun in the process.”

Today during Maths students logged in to the official World Maths Day website to test out their login, password and do a bit of practice. Students are welcome to log in and practice solving Maths problems from home. Be sure to check your child’s Link Book for their individual login and password.

The World Maths Day Challenge will take place on 3 March, 2010. Learn more about World Maths Day at www.worldmathsday.com