SUMMER LEARNIN - WEEK 5
This week, performer, singer, and dancer, Gabrielle Lee, encourages us to go for it and let it shine! We're talking about following dreams, as Gabrielle shares her story of becoming a performer and inspires us to believe in the power of our ideas.
Then, Gabrielle reads The Little Red Fort, written by Brenda Maier and illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. This wonderful story is about another girl with a big imagination, who is determined to overcome her obstacles and make her dreams come true. To watch, CLICK HERE or on the image above.
Fast & Low
5-10 minutes
Directions
Perform each of the following activities:
1. 30 count jumping jacks.
2. 30 second plank hold.
3. 30 count fast jump rope.
4. 30 count low squat.
5. 30 count fast running with high knees.
6. 30 second plank hold.
7. 30 count wide fast feet (like you are running through tires).
8. 30 count low squat.
9. Rest for 60 seconds.
10. Repeat.
Download additional free resources from BOKS to help your kids stay active and have fun this summer. From activities, crafts, and recipes, to yoga and mindfulness, BOKS will have your kids moving & learning each day.
From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America's largest and most active immigration station, where over 12 million immigrants came to make their way into the country. Today, visitors can learn more about their stories through hundreds of photographs, records, and various in-depth collections.
While the location remains closed to the public, you can still visit through this Virtual Field Trip to Ellis Island, and learn more about this important piece of history.
Today, we're learning about the important cellular processes of diffusion and osmosis! Have you ever seen dark colors spread out from a tea bag into clear water? That's diffusion. Curious about how plants absorb water through their roots? That's a specific type of diffusion called osmosis!
To see diffusion in action, check out THIS VIDEO, in which water is poured over Skittles to create a rainbow-filled plate. For middle school students who want to learn more about osmosis, try the potato experiment outlined below.
Potato Experiment
1. Have each student prepare two shallow dishes: one filled with fresh water and one filled with salt water.
2. Once the dishes are prepared, have each student cut a potato in half, lengthwise, and place one half face down into each dish.
3. Based on their knowledge about osmosis, have your students make predictions about what they think will occur in each dish after the potatoes are left overnight.
4. Leave the potato halves soaking overnight.
5. Have the students take a look at their predictions from the previous day and then observe the potatoes. What happened to each potato, and what different results came from the different solutions?
Results: The halves placed in fresh water should have soaked up the water into their cells by osmosis. The potatoes left in salt water, however, experienced the opposite effect: they withered and became soft because the water in their cells diffused outward into the saltwater, which had a lower concentration of water than inside the potato.
At Mission, we often encourage a growth mindset in our classrooms, a principle coined by psychologist Carol Dweck. When operating from the growth mindset, Dweck says that "people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work...This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment."
To model a growth mindset, try using encouraging language, including:
I haven’t figured it out YET.
I strive for progress, not perfection.
I embrace new challenges.
These are powerful reminders that all of us have the potential to learn and grow - even when a problem or assignment feels too difficult in the moment.
Thank you for joining us for another week of LearnIN. If you missed a newsletter from our seven-week series, we've got you covered. All of our past emails are archived HERE. See you on the 10th!