Pulleys: By Alexander Kuehn

A pulley is something that reduces force in order to lift an object.    An example would be if you need water from a well and you pull one end while the other would bring you a bucket of water.  We use pulleys all around us.  Flags are raised and lowered using a pulley.  Shoelaces are a type of pulley system.  Crains are pulleys and work with one end that raises and lowers while helping to pick up heavy objects.  I think pulleys are helpful with everyday things from tying shoes to picking up heavy objects.  This simple machine gets the job done!

The Brain By: Patrick Kerrigan

The brain is a complex organ that helps you think.  The brain is located in your head (or skull).  Each side of the brain controls one half of the body.  Our brains are the center of our bodies nervous system and control all of our bodies functions.  Did you know that the body is almost fully by the age of 11?  An avrege adult brain weighs 3 to 4 pounds.  Your brain generates up to 25 watts of power when you are awake.Your brain is the boss of your  body.  The Cerebrum is the biggest part of your brain.The cerebullm  is about the size of a pear.  Remember that even though your brain is the computer, you are in control of your body.

Human Body Projects

Our Human Body Projects have been completed now for a few weeks, but its never too late to get pictures posted for you to view how hard the kids have worked on this unit.  Each group worked to add the details to create a human body with organs, bones, muscles, and veins.  We added special elements to make each picture really "come to life."  Q-tips were used to create the phalanges (fingers and toes) and clavicle (collar) bones.  The class even decided to make a lift the flap portion on their bodies to reveal our organs and their more acurate placements in the body.  Labels were used to emphasize placement of all of our functioning parts and I am really impressed with how thoroughly interested in this project every student was in the class.  I think we may have some doctors in the group for sure!! Nicely done third grade!!

Luke B's Tips To Keep Your Lungs Healthy

Lungs

Breathing In and Breathing Out

You need your lungs to breathe.  The second image I have posted shows how you first to breathe in and then to breathe out.  You first breathe in, then out and thats how you stay alive.  However, if you smoke you might not live as long as you would like because when you smoke it hurts your lungs. 
SO, DO NOT SMOKE!!  IT IS VERY BAD FOR YOU!! 
So you ask, how do you live a long and healthy life?  You shouldnt smoke or hang around with friends who smoke.   Drink lots of water and eat healthy foods!  Help your friends understand that smoking is something that is bad for their bodies too.   If we all knew what a smokers lungs look like and if our bodies looked like that on the outside too, it would be a lot easier to remember how dangerous and bad it is for you.  Stay healthy!!

Simple Machines Unit

The kids just LOVED this video.  We began the days lesson by reviewing who Rube Goldberg was and then watching this video inspired by the genius of his imagination and creativity.  The following link will take you to his biography and is a very good site...http://www.rubegoldberg.com/about
Please take care to note before watching the video that there is a lot of paint use throughout and that is why the man in the opening scene is covered in red.  Hes wearing a labcoat and when I first watched it, I immediately thought it was blood and almost turned it off.  Im happy I hung in there because it was only paint.  I cant wait to share the sketches the third graders did on what their contraptions might look like during the creative learning process on this our new unit on simple machines!!:)

Contraption Created By a 3rd Grade Student at Home.  Nice Job RJ  Goldberg!!  Maybe you are in fact in Mr Rube Goldbergs Family Tree!!:) 

I also received this picture via email.  It was created at home and I think really shows how inspired the students are by this unit.  Great job RJ!!  You are an inventor, creator and scientist!!  We are all proud of you!!:)

Bones In Our Leg

The following entry was written by Leah Hasby:

We are studying the bones in the leg.  These bones are the femur (thigh bone), fibula (small bone in lower leg), tibea (large bone in lower leg),  and patella (knee cap).  We learned all of these bones in our leg in class and took a test on them.  It was fun because our teacher, Mrs. Azoff, came up with funny ways to remember them and we read many books to help us.  One of the funny ways to remember the fibula is that a 'fib' is a small lie and our fibula is the small bone in our leg. 
We are also learning about the circulatory system.  Did you know that there are lots and lots of veins rapped around our legs?  Its true!!

The Human Heart and Other Organs

The following entry is by Luke Somers...

The whole third grade is working on building a human body with organs such as bladder, kidneys, liver, and lungs.  We worked in our table groups and traced one of the members of our group.  Now we are adding the organs to our human body tracing and are learning lots about each one!
I chose the heart image because its a real image and I found it to be interesting because its not fake.