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News from the 5-6 Class

Click here for the April 2009 school calendar.

April 2009

News from the 5-6 Class

In March, the 5/6 class concluded their study of ancient China by having a banquet in celebration of the unit, and by completing a DBQ, Document-Based Question.  For the DBQ, the students were asked to interpret historical records and express their understanding of the history of ancient China through a well-written essay.  In March, the 5/6 students were also busy learning about adolescence and the changing body. In preparation for this year’s Science Fair, the students learned about the scientific method. Each student selected a topic to investigate by beginning with a question they had based on their interests and wonders.  Once they established a topic, they made an educated guess, or hypothesis, based on the research they did on their topic.  Over the course of the remainder of the month, the students performed their experiment, recorded observations, gathered data, and formulated a conclusion based on their results.  The students are now busy organizing, charting, graphing and typing their projects to display at this year’s Science Fair on April 7th. 

In the month of April, the 5/6 class will be starting a biology unit on DNA and genetics.  The students are going to explore and investigate the elements shaping the characteristics of our features and the genetics of our makeup.  Through scientific investigations and inquiries, the students will learn all about the basic building blocks of life, cells.  The students will trace the characteristics of their own features to proteins and then even further to the genetic material inside the nucleus in every cell of their bodies.  The students will identify cell structures and functions and the chromosomes and genes that determine unique traits.  By using base-pair models of double helix DNA molecules, they will study DNA replication and DNA transcription to messenger RNA.  They will investigate how and where mutations can occur, and they will compare animal cells to bacterial and viral cells.  Then, as their perspective changes, the students will consider some cutting-edge applications of biotechnology as they explore genetic engineering, DNA fingerprinting, and the Humane Genome Project.

This very challenging and interesting unit will require the students to use their scientific skills of observing, analyzing and synthesizing information, and apply these skills to a variety of different experiments and investigations.  It is going to be an exciting months.

Have a great month –
Lianne