Life Science with A. Schaff
Students used marshmallows to model the steps of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. After building their tasty molecular models, they drew diagrams showing how plants capture sunlight to make sugar and how mitochondria break down that sugar to produce energy for the cell.
Students biked to Woodside Grill to “brunch and learn” with experts from the Learning Center. In addition to learning about native box turtles, students brainstormed ideas for their sustainability projects: reducing litter, recycling, environmentally friendly swaps, and campaigning for styrofoam alternatives.
Thank you to the Woodside Grill team who so warmly welcomed and accommodated us!
Students rolled up their sleeves and carefully dissected chicken wings to discover how muscle, skeletal, nervous, integumentary, and circulatory systems all work together to make movement possible.
By observing the skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and blood vessels, students could see firsthand how each system plays a role. They traced how the skin protects, how muscles pull on bones, how tendons and joints enable motion, and how nerves and blood vessels support every movement. Our scientists learned how complex and connected living systems really are.
We kicked off our first bike trip into Gulf State Park this year! Students enjoyed the beautiful weather and time with friends while exploring the park’s trails.
As part of our field investigation, everyone spent 1 minute and 15 seconds sitting silently and observing the natural world around them. Afterwards, students shared what they noticed — flower blossoms, fruit bearing trees, song birds, cicadias and more— so we can compare how our observations change with the seasons.
We’re excited to see how our outdoor “classroom” evolves throughout the year!
In Unit 1, our field investigation invited students to explore the outdoors with a sense of wonder. Each student noticed something unexpected in nature, then turned their curiosity into a scientific question. To investigate, they made careful observations, categorized their findings as qualitative or quantitative data, and finally analyzed their results to draw a conclusion about their original wonder.
In Unit 2, we returned to the same outdoor space for a lively game of organ system charades. Working in teams, students acted out different body systems while the audience used the claim–evidence–reasoning framework to guess which system was being shown. Afterward, play turned into reflection: when the whistle blew, students paused to silently observe their own heartbeat, breath, muscles, and more. They recorded how their organ systems responded to movement and connected their observations back to science.
Be sure to ask your scholar how their respiratory, circulatory, muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems work together!
Students apply what they’ve learned about the scientific method and graphing to explore the effects of water, vinegar, and saltwater on the size of gummy bears.
Ask your scholar about T.A.I.L.S., DRYMIX, and % change.
What a start! This week, we worked together to flip the tarp and lower the helium stick to build important communication skills–speaking and listening. We also learned the value of planning and keeping our calm during teamwork activities.
