The Life Cycle of Plants

Dear Parents and Students,

Over the next several weeks, we will be focusing on Hawaii Content Standard 4 in Science. This standard deals with life and environmental sciences--two of my favorites branches of science! Specifically, we will be learning about plants and their life cycles.

First, this week, we will become familiar with the parts of a flower. So, I have selected three Internet sites that have fun activities designed to help you learn the parts of flowers.

1. At the Life Cycles site, you will find a picture of a beautiful flower. Learn about the life cycle of a plant by sorting the parts of a flower, discovering what each part does and how in contributes to the life cycle of a living thing.
   
   Your task is to virtually dissect the flower into the following parts: petals, sepals, nectaries, carpel, stamen, and receptacle. Do you think you can do that? I bet you can!
   
   After virtually dissecting the plants, click the Label button and see if you can label the following plant parts: petal, sepal, nectary, style, stigma, ovary, ovule, anther, filament, and receptacle. Do you think you can do that? I bet you can!
   
   Finally, click on the Quiz link and see if you can earn a perfect score. That will be an indication that you truly understand and can identify each part of a flower.
   
2. Enjoy the beautiful photographs and paintings as you review the Parts of a Flower in the video below.
   
   
   
   
3. At the Great Plant Escape site, help Detective LePlant, Bud, and Sprout solves the mysteries of plant life. Match each clue with the part of the plant that it describes.

Well, what do you think? Which activity was the most fun for you? From which activity did you learn the most? Let me know.
I will be back next week with more learning activities that support your classroom instruction.
A hui ho kakou!
Ms. Ray

Get Ready for a Field Trip!

Dear Parents and Students,

As you know, in four days we will be visiting the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Gardens (HTBG) on Onomea Bay along the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island.

This adventure will get us out into the gardens where "the trails themselves provide an 'outdoor classroom' of living plants. Signs along the trails identify plants and trees by common and botanical names, as well as by country of origin. Some signs relate legends connected with particular plants and tell stories of garden landmarks."

The founders of the HTBG, Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse, explain that ". . . subtle vistas unfold as you meander along the garden paths. Patterned foliage and brilliantly colored flowers invite close inspection, enticing you further into the mysteries of the jungle. This is the allure of paradise. The Hawaiians have a word for it--aina--"the spirit of the land." Truly the garden is a perfect expression of the state motto of Hawaii--ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono--"the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

There are over 2,000 species of plants at the HTBG. I wonder how many we will get to see!

Take some time before we go to explore the HTBG website at the following URL: http://www.htbg.com/index.html. Then prepare for the trip by gathering the following items:

1. a camera (although your cell phone might do just fine)
2. some drinking water (that you will carry in and out, even if the bottle is empty)
3. some sun screen (optional)
4. some bug spray (optional)
5. an umbrella (optional)
6. a list of five questions you would like to ask the tour guide and/or specific things you would like to see during this field trip (required)
7. a smile and conscientious appreciation of this beautiful site

We will leave the school at 8:00 a.m. this Saturday morning (1.21.12). So please arrive by 7:45 a.m. to sign in and load up. We should return at approximately 2 p.m. Lunch will be provided for everyone.

Let me know if you have questions. I look forward to going to the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Gardens with you this Saturday!

Aloha!

Ms. Ray

P.S. We will be using many of the pictures you take at the HTBG for a variety of learning activities, so plan on taking lots and lots of pictures!

Please Come to the School Open House Next Week!

Dear students, parents, family members, and friends,  

Next Monday (February 4th), our school will hold its spring Open House event from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  First, everyone will gather in the school cafeteria for a welcome message from our principal, Ms. Tutu; a welcome song (or two) from the student choir; and light refreshments.  

Starting at 6:30 pm, everyone is invited to visit the classrooms throughout the school. I will be anxiously waiting to meet you and your family in Room 307 between 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm.

Your child has put together a special folder of outstanding work to share with you. View the science, social studies, and mathematics projects displayed in the classroom Learning Centers. There will also be a tour of the Learning Gardens. Beautiful student artwork will cover the classroom walls. Finally, enjoy browsing the classroom Library, where many of the books were actually written by the students!  

Students have been working hard to prepare for this special event, when what is being learned and created inside the classroom is shared with everyone. So, please, do join us.

If you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming Open House, please feel free to text, call or email me through the communication portal.

Look forward to seeing you on Monday evening!

Ms. Ray

Welcome to the Super Students Edublog

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to the Super Students Edublog. This edublog is designed to provide you with links to Internet sites that provide supporting e-materials each and every week of the marking period. By visiting this edublog, you will find study tips, e-resources for projects, class announcements, homework helpers, academic games, and much, much more. This edublog will be updated each Friday (if not more often) to support the education of all my Super Students!

Aloha!

Ms. Ray