7th – Audrey's Blog

Back from break! This week we started a project on addictions and how they effects our brains, bodies, and more. We chose an addiction from a list Shane created, things like drugs and alcohol, and even social media, because that is definitely an addiction to many people. I chose to learn about marijuana, and to be honest, I think I chose it because of all the weird names it has. I’ve learned that marijuana has some of the craziest names, including Nuggets, Mary Jane, Dope, Weed, Pot, etc.

I also learned addictions are a serious problem in the world. They have the ability to take over our minds and become something we think we can not live without. I learned that anyone can easily be pressured into taking drugs or drinking. It is extremely hard to quit being addicted to something, and with that comes a withdrawal stage, which can make you feel anxious, nauseous, and more. I learned that we, as a society have stereotypes for people who get addicted to drugs. Anyone, due to peer pressure and other reasons, can get seriously addicted to drugs, etc. I think it is a good thing we are learning about what addictions can do to us, so that when we are pressured and tempted, we understand what the consequences are.

-When did people decide to make a minute 60 seconds?

-Are there different types of bananas?

-What is the average number of people that get addicted to drugs every day?

 

–For anyone that it might be interesting to: There are different types of bananas:)

 

 

This week we finished doing the urinary system. I wasn’t at school last Monday, so I missed a bit.

Lots of things are in the blood, and not all good things. Cells die and are in the blood, and other gross things that are considered waste are in the blood, too. So, the kidneys come into play. When the blood is brought into the kidneys by the renal artery, it gets filtered by the nephrons which are in the kidneys. They take out all the bad and gross things – this is called urine. The renal vein then takes the healthy things and returns them to the body. Excess water and waste is urine. They kidneys recycle the good things back into the blood, including vitamins, amino acids, glucose, etc.

Questions:

Why is there more than one language in the world?

Do chipmunks give other chipmunks hugs?

Why are oranges called oranges?

 

In this blog I read, it talks about little moss balls that are nicknamed Glacier Mice. These moss balls roll on glaciers in Alaska and Iceland. The crazy thing about them is they roll in herds. Scientists are trying to find out why and how they move together on ice, and how they survive living on a glacier. Scientists think the moss “forms when airborne moss spores gain a foothold on a small rock or similar debris.” After that, the moss grows and shape into an oval-like ball of green. Tiny communities of creatures are created inside the balls and develop and thrive. The scientists decided they wanted to know more about these glacier mice, and started tagging them. They called it “mark and recapture.” They tagged 30 balls, and the scientists ended up returning 6 summers to check with the tagged moss balls, and they also put markers on the glaciers to track where the balls were going and coming from. They found 18 out of the 30 balls they tracked.

They discovered that moss balls can live for six years or longer, and that the balls move because of the sun. When the sun melts the glacier, the ball shades only the spot of the glacier that it is under. That part of the glacier doesn’t melt, so eventually, the ball ends up being on top of an ice tower about 2 or 3 inches tall. Then, the ball rolls off the tower. The moss ball continues to do this in order to survive, and move. But, what is amazing, is the balls don’t roll on their own, they move with the other moss balls, and they even change direction together.

Questions:

How many scientists study these amazing creatures?

Why do they travel together? How do they communicate?

What insects live inside them?

Here is the blog I used:

On an Alaskan glacier, little green moss balls roll in herds

This week we learned about the digestive system. We watched this creepy video of this dude, Slim Goodbody, and we were assigned a project. Our job is to take a “journey” through someone’s digestive system. We are supposed to write postcards about where we are at in the body, our “destinations”. I am going into Shane’s body. I think this is a little strange, but also really cool, seeing how there are all different ways to learn.

Our assignment for homework is to write 5 paragraphs about a disease or health issue, like bulimia or celiac disease. We got to choose which disease we would like to research, and I chose celiac disease because I thought it would be cool to learn more about, and I know people who have it, like my uncle.

Anyway, away from assignments, we did this really gross but amazing experiment in class on Thursday. We were put into two person groups, and one of us had to chew a saltine cracker for three minutes straight, and spit it into a cup. The other person had to crush a cracker and put it into another cup. Next, we put water into it, and then, iodine. The chewed cracker was a light purple color from the iodine, and mixed very well, but the crushed cracker did not mix very nicely. This is called chemical reaction, and it was very cool to witness.

Picture: Dylann and I stirring and staring 🙂

Questions: Will we have to go back virtual? Who invented the cello? Who decided to call the color red, red?

The title of the article I wrote about is called “Microplastics are blowing in the wind” written by Carolyn Gramling.

This article talks about tiny micro plastics that carry in the wind, from cities, to remote areas. They can travel 59 miles away, at least. New studies show, plastics are not just staying in one polluted area, they travel very quickly, and lots of new plastic drops from the wind every day. It is not a little bit of plastic, but lots. To find out how much plastic can be dropped into a location, the researchers put two big containers in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain, and visited it around every month for five months. They took that plastic when they visited, and counted all of the plastic at the end of the five months, and there was lots of it, “plenty” the article says. “An average 365 micro plastic particles per square meter (10.7 square feet) per day landed at the sight.”

These plastics came from regular things we use in our lives, like Styrofoam. Things like Styrofoam can easily be lifted into the air.

This is a very serious thing to talk about in this generation, because our lives are surrounded with plastic that is devouring our planet. Micro plastics are everywhere in our world, and we need to make a change, if we truly care what happens to ourselves, the next generation, and our earth. Hopefully we can change things before it is too late. I have hope that we can.

Why is plastic ubiquitous?

How long until single use plastics are banned anywhere in the United States?

Why aren’t plastic bags banned in Michigan?

 

This week we were working on our human body assignment. We talked a little about this topic last week, and we had to cut out all the bones of the human body that we will be learning. First, we had to cut them out, then we had to glue them on a huge sheet of paper so they make up a skeleton. We then had to cut out the certain muscles we were learning and put them in the correct places. Next week, we are going to finish that up, and then we get to decorate these bodies with makers and clothe!

For homework, we had a choice of either defining words on a google slide or reading the first chapter in our science book. I chose to do the slide and I am learning more about our amazing bodies.

Hopefully next week it won’t be so rainy and we can continue working on our chairs, but for now, we will continue learning about bones and muscles.

• I wonder if we will have any field trips this year??
• Will we get homework on the same week we have to do NWEAs?
• Will we go back into quarantine??

Thanks, and bye!

 

Hi! This week our science classes consumed of first, finishing our insect project, and second, making chairs! You are probably thinking “how could 7th and 8th graders actually make well made chairs?”, well here is the answer: a “chair recipe”, help from Shane and Tom, and a great thinking mind! We were allowed to decorate our chairs however we like, but first we had to do the thinking part of the project. We had to measure, check to see if our measurements were correct, and–OH YEAH! We got to handle power tools! At first, I wasn’t scared at all, but I wasn’t expecting the tool to vibrate so much! It was so much fun. Thanks to Shane for thinking of this to do in class!

(These chairs looked somewhat like the ones we made in class)

 

 

 

 

For the design part, I am going to draw a frog and put a quote I like behind him. I can’t wait!

-Who thought to name chairs “chairs”?

-How big is the biggest chair in the world?

-How big is the biggest chair that’s ever been in the White House?

-Audrey

It’s Minty the Mean Mosquito.

Hey, guys. Today was exhausting. Today my friends, my family, and I went out to find some food, when all the sudden we saw that we were being followed by an owl. Guess the owl was hungry, because once we noticed him, he came at us so fast, like a dog to his frisbee. Which was horrible because mosquitos only go about 1 to 1.5 miles an hour. Some of us escaped, but most of us were eaten. Not too big of a deal, though, because I was not captured and swallowed by the blood-thirsty animal. After the owl seemed like he had had his full, he retreated back to his nest. Good thing he did, because the rest of the mosquitos were getting really hungry, now. The whole reason we went out of our houses was to eat. We searched a little longer until, finally, we found some good, young, juicy, children in the shade. Perfect. The children were only a few years old, and they didn’t know how to kill us properly, so we got an amazing meal. We were spitting our saliva into the children and sucking up tasty blood with our needle-like mouths into the squishy flesh, when out came the dreaded bug spray. We had to go back home. The taste is AWFUL!!!!! No mosquito can stand it.

This day has been terrible!! Especially when the average mosquito gets about 5-millionths of a liter of blood when they go feeding.

Anyway, I hope tomorrow will be better. Thanks for following up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Why are some people more allergic to mosquitoes than others?

-Who made up 7 days in a week?

-Why are our national colors red, white, and blue?

-Why do chrysalises have to hang? Do they die if they get knocked down?

Hello everyone!!

It’s Lollie the Little Ladybug!

I haven’t posted in a while, and everyone has been asking me how I am. Well, to answer that question, I am doing great!! I have been traveling the forests of Michigan, eating all the aphids I find. I have been learning new tricks from fellow ladybugs that I have been meeting along the way. I have been learning so many new things! I have learned that there are about 5,000 of us in the world, and 500 in America. We might also eat about 5,000 aphids in our lifetime. I also learned about a strange song ladybugs sing to each other for fun. I’ll show you the lyrics.

Ladybug! Ladybug!

fly away home

your house is on fire

and your children all gone.

 

All except one,

and that’s little Ann

for she crept under the frying pan.

 

That’s pretty much it! Scary I know, but it has a catchy tune.

That’s all for now! Thanks for checking in, I’m still an awesome ladybug.

P.S. Technically I am a lady beetle, not a ladybug.

 

-Do you think that song is creepy?

-Do you like pasta? If so, what is your favorite kind?

-What is the most cuddly animal in the world?

Hello, friends!

Thanks for checking in with Gordon the Great Green Stink Bug!

When I was just an itty bitty nymph, I was accidentally brought to the U.S. from Asia. I am having a great time eating up all the flowers and leaves in the family’s garden! There is a problem, though. It is getting into the fall season, and that means it’s getting colder, especially at night. Stink bugs, believe it or not, do get cold. So, I walk into the house, to get warm. When I wake in the morning, my family always tries to CATCH me!! But I always get away. I don’t know why they try to hurt me, I am just an innocent stinky bug.

Anyway, I learned a new fact today! Stink bugs only grow to be around 17 mm! and I am 17 mm!! So cool!!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks!

Wait for another post the following week!