We are wrapping up our endangered animals unit, and as the final assessment, students have been creating a movie to show that they have understood the central idea, “Human actions can cause or prevent extinction”. The movie showcases an animal, giving some background information and stating the reasons why the animal is endangered. The students also include suggestions about what can be done to save the animals from extinction.

 We are making these movies in Windows MovieMaker, which the students have already used to create a short movie about themselves. Parents were able to see those movies at the Student-Led Conferences held earlier in the year. Their animal movies are more elaborate, as they include photos, music, sub-titles, and narration.

The screenshot below shows Jong Min’s movie project file on manatees.

We have been reading many books about space and the solar system, and we have learned a great deal in the process.

Below are just some of the facts we’ve been able to find:

• It doesn’t feel like Earth is moving, but actually Earth is moving 67,000 miles an hour – Kee Moon
• Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun. Some people think it was once a moon of Neptune – Sei In
• Saturn could float in water because it has lots of gas in it. Scientist think that Saturn has a small rocky core – Sabrina
• Charon is the moon of Pluto – Ki Tae
• The Sun is 4,600,000,000 years old – Se Jun
• Stars are very small when you look at them from Earth, but when you visit the stars they are bigger than a planet – Matheus
• Earth has land and water. There are people, animals, and plants on Earth. We can breathe on Earth – Do Ah 
• Before they found Uranus, people confused Uranus with a star – Ricky
• The Sun has sunspots. The sunspots are a little colder than the Sun but they are still very hot – Annelie
• Jupiter has a hurricane twice as big as Earth. Four of Jupiter’s moon are bigger than Mercury – Michael
• Earth is a huge big rock. The Sun came from a big cloud of dust and gas in space – Yutaro
• Some people have seen strange things in space, which they think are UFOs – Catherine
• Venus and Earth are the same size but Venus has no water – Jong Min
• Saturn has rings that rotate around Saturn. Saturn’s rings are made of small bits of ice – Max

About My Ari

by Sei In

7 November 2006

When I was 6 years old, my pet was Song Yee. But when it was my birthday, my daddy bought Ari. My mom was thinking if we could keep Song Yee and Ari. My mom said, “I am allergic to fur so we can keep Ari, but we can’t keep Song Yee.” I gave Song Yee to Jesun.  Jesun is my mother’s friend’s daughter. Then I asked my mom, “When I’m grade 5, could you buy a hedgehog for me?” and she said, “Yes”, so I’m waiting until I am grade 5.