What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class?
  • Parent (Current Newsletter)
    • Additional Parent Resources >
      • Homework Guidance for Parents
      • WEX - Writer's Express
      • Our Classroom YouTube Page
      • Should I grade homework?
      • Articles that Explain my Philosophy of Teaching
      • Parents Supporting 21st Century Learning
    • Daily Photo Journal >
      • 2014-2015 DaIly Photo Journal
      • 2013-2014 Daily Photo Journal
      • 2012-2013 Daily Photo Journal
    • Tentative Schedule this Week
    • Parent-Teacher Conference Schedule
    • Monitoring Your Child's Progress in Spelling
    • Calendar
    • Printables
    • 21st Century Skills
    • Westgate Social Work
    • Bessie's Table Soup Kitchen
  • Students
    • Overflow Roll-Out >
      • Contests You Can Enter!
      • Student Quotes
      • Websites to Visit for Homework!
      • REARJMCL
    • Calendar
    • Mini-Lessons
    • I Never Knew That!
    • History Alive! >
      • Sign-In Page
      • Online Tutorial
      • History Alive 10 Quiz
    • Spelling
  • Educators
    • Mr. Solarz' ePortfolio >
      • Teacher Evaluation
      • Domain3
      • Domain4
      • My Digital Scrapbook
      • Finland
    • Workshops I've Led >
      • How to Set Up and Run a Mystery Skype Session
      • Creating Your 21st Century Classroom
      • Twitter for Educators
      • Leading Children to Pursue their Passions
      • Becoming a Global Classroom Through Mystery Skypes
      • Enriched Learning Projects
      • Developing Units with 21st Century Skills in Mind
      • Who Owns the Learning? Examples of 5th Graders Running the Show
      • A Brief Introduction to China (for 2nd Graders)
    • 21st Century Learning >
      • Resources for Teachers >
        • 21st Century Skills
        • The 21st Century Skill Series of Videos
      • Examples of 21st Century Education in Action >
        • Self-Directed Students
      • 21st Century Assessment
      • Web 2.0 Tools Used in Our Classroom
      • Articles for 21st Century Teaching (Updated Daily)
      • Motivational Speakers
    • Curricular Units >
      • Social Studies Units >
        • The 2012 Presidential Election
        • The Revolutionary War
        • U.S. Constitution and Government
        • Westward Movement
      • Science Units >
        • Energy
        • Science Fair
        • Human Body Systems in Motion
        • Human Body Systems in Motion
        • Watery Earth
    • EdChat Archives >
      • #TLAP
      • #5thchat
      • #21stedchat
    • My Philosophy of Education
    • Tips and Tricks for the Elementary Classroom
    • China (Photos)
  • Past
    • 2013-2014 >
      • Year-Long Activities >
        • Passion Time >
          • Passion Projects >
            • 2013-2014 Passion Projects >
              • Passion Projects 10/11/13
              • Passion Projects 11/22/13
              • Passion Projects 12/20/13
              • Passion Projects 2/12/14
              • Passion Projects 3/21/14
              • Passion Projects 5/2/14
              • Passion Projects 6/2/14
            • 2012-2013 Passion Projects >
              • Passion Projects 1
              • Passion Projects 2
          • Guidelines for Creating Your Final Product
        • New Assignments
        • Mystery Skype
        • Literature Circles >
          • Discussions & Signposts
          • Book Talks >
            • Submit Your YouTube URL Here
      • Spring Trimester >
        • Our Learning Experiences
        • Westward Expansion >
          • Oregon Trail Pastimes
          • VoiceThread Blog
          • Pinterest
          • VoiceThread
          • Timeline
          • Diigo
          • Google Presentation
          • Photo Stories
          • Tableaux Vivants
          • Daily Travel Log
          • Fictional Travel Log
          • Video Journal
        • WEX - Fictional Narratives
        • 21st Century Skills
        • Motivational Posters
        • Watery Earth >
          • Bodies of Water
        • Colonize Mars! >
          • Claiming Mars For Ourselves
      • Winter Trimester >
        • 100 Word Challenge
        • Stations
        • Human Body Unit
        • Out Of My Mind
      • Fall Trimester >
        • Historical Reenactment
        • Tessellations
    • 2012-2013 >
      • April/May/June >
        • Mystery Skype
        • Colonize Mars!
        • Science Fair 2013
      • February/March >
        • ThingLink
        • Human Body
        • Revolutionary War Simulation
        • Global Literature Circles
        • ISAT Test Prep
      • January >
        • Field Museum
        • Wonder >
          • Character Analyses
          • Teacher Notes for Wonder - R.J. Palacio
        • Google Groups
      • November/December >
        • 12/12/12
        • Energy Debates >
          • Energy Debates Videos!
          • Energy Debate Blog Template
        • Presidential Elections >
          • The 2012 Presidential Election
          • Presidential Election Glogs
          • Presidential Character Traits
          • Political Parties >
            • Democratic Party
            • Republican Party
            • Green Party
            • Constitution Party
            • Libertarian Party
          • Virtual Debate >
            • Education
            • Health Care
            • Social Security
            • Immigration
          • Infographic Lessons on Prezi
          • Political Polls
          • ELECTION TIME!!!
      • October >
        • Creating Your Class Badges Account
        • Properties of Quadrilaterals
        • WEX Lesson 33 - Human Sculptures
        • Energy
        • 10-11-12 What's Special About It?
        • Mr. Badynee's 50th Birthday!
      • September >
        • Constitution Day - September 17, 2012
        • Character Traits Thesaurus
        • Mad Libs!!!
        • Grammar
    • 2011-2012 >
      • May/June >
        • Science Experiments >
          • Marble Coasters
          • Bubble Busters
          • Geodes
          • Naked Egg Drop
        • Oregon Trail >
          • Reflection Activities >
            • Pinterest
            • Voice Thread/Garage Band
            • Timeline of Events
            • Diigo
            • Google Presentation
            • Photo Album
            • Tableaux Vivants
            • Video Updates
            • Daily Travel Log
            • The "Very Unrealistic Accounts" of our trip west
          • Miscellaneous >
            • Audio ThingLink Map
            • Passtimes/Games/Songs
        • Niche Theory
        • The 5 Love Languages
        • Pool Party
        • History Alive 17
        • Field Day
      • March/April >
        • Phantom Tollbooth >
          • Homework >
            • HW Due 5/3/12 by 4:00 p.m.
            • HW Due 5/14/12 by 4:00 p.m.
            • Character Forum
            • New Characters
            • New Settings
          • Roles >
            • 1 - Detail Tracker
            • 2 - Psychologist
            • 3 - Professor
            • 4 - Philosopher
            • 5 - Cartographer
        • Human Body >
          • Human Body Posters (Pre-Assessment)
          • Human Body Lessons >
            • Heart Rate Graphs
            • Exercise Graph
            • Clothespin Lesson
            • Creating Aliens
            • Hinge Joint Videos
          • How to Write a Reflection
          • Final Assessment & Reflection
        • WEX Fictional Narratives >
          • Sticky Podcasting
          • Podcasts
          • Writing Picture Books
        • Project Citizen: Westgate Database
        • Arbor Day
        • Zero Degree Party!
        • Judge Tristano Visit
      • January/February >
        • Kate Klise Assembly
        • Lara in "Annie"
        • Glogster Project
        • Science Fair
        • Valentine's Day Party
        • Teacher Appreciation Week
      • November/December >
        • Chinese Calligraphy
        • Energy
        • Energy Debates
      • September/October >
        • Rev. War Hero Projects
        • Stations
        • Halloween Party
        • Fall Links
      • Videos
  • Present
    • Passion Time >
      • Passion Time Steps
      • Submit Your Essential Question
      • Essential Questions
      • How to Post Your Passion Project Online
    • 2014-2015 Miscellaneous
    • Energy
    • Wonder
    • Grammar
  • Future
    • Learning About 21st Century Skills
    • Creating Infographics
    • Utilizing the Left and Right Sides of Your Brain
    • Comments 4 Kids
    • Innovation in the Classroom
    • Online Quizzes and Polls
    • Solar Maximum
    • Vocabulary/Parts of Speech
    • The Five Things I've Learned
    • Vialogues (Video Discussions)
    • Creating Online Videos
    • Advanced Storytelling
    • Test Anxiety
    • Responding to Blog Entries
    • Writer's Workshop Blog
    • Recipe Project (Blog)
  • e-Portfolios
    • 2014-2015 Students >
      • Student ePortfolios 0-7 >
        • 1 - Michael
        • 2 - Charlie
        • 3 - Nicole
        • 4 - Stacy
        • 5 - Bela
        • 6 - Kendall
        • 7 - Demetri
      • Student ePortfolios 8-14 >
        • 8 - Emily
        • 9 - Nicky
        • 10 - Hanna
        • 11 - Payton
        • 12 - Hasanain
        • 13 - Tucker
        • 14 - Chris
      • Student ePortfolios 15-21 >
        • 15 - Madi
        • 16 - Aidan
        • 17 - Luke
        • 18 - Kaela
        • 19 - Ryan
        • 20 - Alison
        • 21 - Lucas
    • 2013-2014 Students >
      • Student ePortfolios 0-9 >
        • 0 - Mr. Solarz' Sample Portfolio
        • 1 - Anthony A.
        • 2 - Annie B.
        • 3 - Sadie D.
        • 4 - Ellie D.
        • 5 - Sam D.
        • 6 - Ed D.
        • 7 - Luke D.
        • 8 - Keegan D.
        • 9 - Sean G.
      • Student ePortfolios 10-18 >
        • 10 - David K.
        • 11 - Ethan K.
        • 12 - Sam K.
        • 13 - Abby K.
        • 14 - Justin L.
        • 15 - Jill L.
        • 16 - Giana M.
        • 17 - Charlotte O.
        • 18 - Jack S.
      • Student ePortfolios 19-27 >
        • 19 - Charlie S.
        • 20 - Drew S.
        • 21 - Michael S.
        • 22 - Stefan S.
        • 23 - Charlie S.
        • 24 - Connor W.
        • 25 - Emily W.
        • 26 - Emma W.
        • 27 - Julia Z.
    • 2012-2013 Students >
      • Student Blogs 1-9 >
        • Blog 1
        • Blog 2
        • Blog 3
        • Blog 4
        • Blog 5
        • Blog 6
        • Blog 7
        • Blog 8
        • Blog 9
      • Student Blogs 10-17 >
        • Blog 10
        • Blog 11
        • Blog 12
        • Blog 13
        • Blog 14
        • Blog 15
        • Blog 16
        • Blog 17
      • Student Blogs 18-25 >
        • Blog 18
        • Blog 19
        • Blog 20
        • Blog 21
        • Blog 22
        • Blog 23
        • Blog 24
        • Blog 25
        • Blog 0
    • 2011-2012 Students >
      • Girls from 2011-2012 >
        • Gwendolyn Bennet >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Dong Ling >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Sophia Castro >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Tristan Ely >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Christine DuPont >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Ira Matheus >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Nicoletta Innazzo >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Kade Bahari >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Hava Raya >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Kim Soo >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Nabili Ngoumba >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Britta Larson >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Kristin Gola >
          • Mars Travel Log
      • Boys from 2011-2012 >
        • Dutch Vermont >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Jose Leonardo >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Otis Marley >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Jose Rodriguez >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Peter Anderson >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Samir Bakri >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Sefu Wellingtin >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Raja Bello >
          • Mars Travel Log
        • Robert Gagne >
          • Mars Travel Log

Can I learn about how the Vietnam war started and ended and about the battles in between?

4/1/2014

4 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

K

What I know is that the Vietnam War was between Northern and Southern Vietnam and America got involved.

W

What I want to know is: Why did Vietnam War start?  When did it end? What were some battles in between and what happened during them.

H

I am going to research my questions in books I own and on the computer and research any questions I get along the

L

I learned about tactics the Vietnamese and American soldiers  used in the war and about a battle in between the war.

A

I will make a Google doc and a video.

Q

I wonder what role the french played in the war because they controlled Vietnam.

Reflection:

Like everyone else I had fun with my project!  I had fun because I didn't know much about the Vietnam War and my Dad was in the Vietnam War when he was really young and lived!  So that pretty much doubled my interest in the topic!  One thing I had trouble with was finding battles in between.
4 Comments

What are the different actions between drinkers and non-drinkers

4/1/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
Visit my website at http://nodrink.weebly.com/

K

People that drink are dizzy and can't see well.

W

 What are the differences between drinkers and non-drinkers.

H

I will create a website that shows what is bad and good for alcohol.

L

I learned what are the different actions with drinkers and non-drinkers.

A

I keep researching and researching from other websites for information. 

Q

Could there be other drugs I can talk about?







    My Reflectshion: I like to give credit to Mr.Solarz, Google, The websites I visited, And All The Men And Woman Out There That DON"T TAKE DRUGS!!!! You see I never believed in drugs and stuff like that. I always see my family members smoke and drink. And I never got along with them when we talk about smoking and drinking. One time I drank a cup of beer without noticing it. Luckily I found out it had no alcohol so I was safe. Finally the world is starting to get rid of drugs but it will always be a war with me VS drugs. 


    I have learned from this passion project that sometimes drugs like alcohol can be used as medicine!!! So even all my friends are doing it It will be one answer to drugs. NO!!!    


    "Whats with the BOOM!!!" Said you. "Come on, Its just ROUND 5!!!!! 
3 Comments

What do the Symbols on Coins Mean?

3/21/2014

8 Comments

 

This is the video.

This is the docs.

This is the Trello.

Picture

K

(M)I know that coins are a form of money, and that they where used in different places at different times.

W

(M)I want to know where all the coins in the collection come from.

H

(M) I will check sites on the computers and study the coins.

L

(M) I learned what some of the symbols on some of the old coins that are not used anymore.

A

(M)I will post this blog on the site http://psolarz.weebly.com/ to show people what i learned.

Q

I still want to know where ALL of the coins come from, and what their symbols mean.

Reflections

Michael(M)

I think that this was a great passion time because, it taught me that coins don't just come in things like Drachma(Greek) and American currency, they come in all shapes and sizes! Like a decagon, or with a hole in the middle of the coin! I think it helped my 21st century skills because, it made me problem solve, collaborate, and research. And that is my reflection.

Charlie(C)

The was my favorite passion time because it helped me learn about the coolness of the foirnen coins because i never new about the coins that had that why i liked the project. It also helped me with my researching skills.
It was also fun learning about all of the coins and even learning of a new type of coin. That is the reason that this passion time was so fun.
8 Comments

Can I learn about the rule of football and exsplain to people how it works? Giana

3/21/2014

4 Comments

 
http://footballrulesinformation.weebly.com/how-football-works.html
Picture
Picture

K

I know that football is a sport. It is a pro sport.  It has a lot of rules. It involves refs and a lot of players.

W

I want to know what the rules are and how the game works.
 What the rules are?
How the ref calls the

H

Look on the internet.
Look in books.

L

I learned that there are a lot of rules. There are good reasons for those rules and that the rules are ways to keep us safe and not hurt.

A

I will show more people what the rules are and why the rules are important.

Q

The new questions that I have 9are that why do they want the game and how many player are on the field and do they have to rotate all of the people.
REFECTION:

All football player need rules to stay safe and they also need the right acquirement to stay from getting hurt. They need there sport elf-its to work so that they will not have trouble. There are ref's that are in the game  and they know all the rules so they can call the problem like if the player are fighting. The game has different amounts of player that play in the game depending on what they play. Like if they were playing a game that involves 4 n player that would be diffrent if they were playing with 16 player so there can be different amouts of player on the feild.
4 Comments

Can we Draw Disney Characters and Make a Book Teaching People How to Draw Them? Ellie and Jill

3/21/2014

14 Comments

 
Picture
Our book
Picture
Our Trello card

K

  • We know that we are going to make a book with our drawings.
  • We know that it is going to be hard to be to draw characters.
  • We know that it is going to take a while to draw characters.

W

  • We want to know how to draw characters just by looking at pictures, not videos.
  • We want to know how to draw better.
  • What kind of stuff and effort goes into drawing.

H

  • We are going to lean it by looking at pictures.
  • We will learn it by watching videos.
  • We will learn it by reading books.

L

  • We will learn how to draw better.
  • We will learn to start with simple shapes.
  • We will learn how to draw lightly.

A

  • Make a book to help people learn.
  • Make videos telling people how to draw to help them draw better.

Q

  • How did the people that made the characters get the sketches planed out?
  • Does looking at a picture help you draw better?

Refection:

Ellie's reflection
     I am really glad that Jill and I chose to do this because it was really fun and all of our drawings look really good. Even know that this project was hard I still had a really fun time doing it with Jill.


Jill's reflection
    This passion time was one of the most time consuming and challenging projects I have done but it was still a fun learning experience. It was hart because unless you like to go fast art and drawing take some time so we were working to the last second. I think that doing as much drawing as we did in only a few weeks made Ellie and I better artists and drawers. There was a lot of working together in this project and I am glad I was working with Ellie.
14 Comments

Can we research the history of slot machine and build one?

3/19/2014

10 Comments

 
Picture

K

Slot machines are electronic gambling devices. And you can win or lose LOTS of money or cash.

W

I want to know what makes gambling so popular. And why do some people do it too much or abuse gambling.

H

I will use online resources such as google, and other cites. Also offline such as books and mags.

L

A slot machine consists of a axle 3 spinning wheels and s stopper that you pull to stop the wheels and try to win.

A

We built a makeshift slot machine. Plus a slideshow with facts.
Click Here For It

Q

How much do they sell for, and how long does it take to build a real one.
Justin's reflection:  I think at first it was hard because we had to buy all of our materials and go back and fourth our local ACE hardware store. And also we had to find out what box to use but in the end it all payed off because it was a very interesting  slot machine and I was very happy with it. I also think ours was very unique because there was where if you got a certain pattern twice you got to take a certain amount of coins out and use them again to play more.
Jack’s Reflection: I think that this was a challenging experience because me and my partner Justin were both running back and fourth from the hardware store getting very specific pieces for our project. Our Slot machine is also somewhat unique because we have only TWO spinny thingymabobbers not 3. Also there are usually 3 on a normal slot machine in Las Vegas, or any other town were betting and gambling are allowed. We also had to take pictures of our pictures for our slots with our ipads then printed them. This was a very challenging experience, headache, and a BIG pain in the butt, but it was good so we could test our abilities to the Maximum capacity. This was a fun project with my good buddy Justin.
10 Comments

Can We Learn About What is Going on in the Brain When we feel a "Sixth Sense" and how to Control It?-Abby K. and Julia Z.

3/14/2014

8 Comments

 

Our Final Product

Picture

Our Final Product Video

Our Trello Card

Picture
K
Abby- I don't really know anything about this except that it is a feeling.
Julia- I know that the sixth sense is a feeling you can't really explain.



W
Abby- I want to know how to explain this feeling, and if you can control it and use it.
Julia- I want to know what the brain does when you feel it and how to realistically control it.
H     (click on image above to make bigger)
Abby- We will get this information from the internet.
Julia- We will research to find information (internet).
L
Abby- We learned that the sixth sense is a feeling that people have, and it can save lives.
Julia-I can't find many hard scientific facts about ESP, but I learned about the things people have done to test if ESP exists.
A
Abby- We made a website with all of the information we learned about the 6th sense.
Julia- We will publish our video on YouTube and try to get our website on Google.
Q
Abby- My questions are how many people have ESP? Does everyone have it? Do you have to work to get it or does it come eaisily?
Julia - Does anyone know the brain's scientific reaction to ESP? Are there any other names for it? How many everyday feelings and tests are associated with this?

Julia's Reflection:
    This was really fun. Our original question could not be answered (what happens in the brain hasn't yet been published online anywhere we looked), but the overall process was pretty cool. I especially liked learning about the kinds of ESP, or the sixth sense. I highly recommend looking at the website, or video at least. It was a challenge to mold something like this, an unanswerable topic, into a decent final project. I originally planned to do this alone, but I'm glad I had Abby's help. Some parts of the website were entirely her idea. My own personal website would have been much more boring.
Abby's Reflection
This was a fun passion time, because I didn't even know what the 6th sense was until we started our project, so I learned a lot about it. The only problem was that there wasn't a lot of good and trustworthy websites on the sixth sense because a lot of people didn't believe in it. I had fun working with Julia, and I got to know her better through this round of passion time. I think I learned a lot from this round.
8 Comments

what pets are most popular?

3/14/2014

1 Comment

 

what do I Know

I know that the most likely pets to be popular is either the cat, dog, guinea pig or a parrot ( I like cats the most ).

What do I want to know

which pets are most popular and why are they popular

How will I find the information

by finding information of a site that is a reliable source   

what have I Learned?

dogs are most popular in the class>

what Action will I take

I interviewed people of what their favorite pet was

what Questions do I have

what pet where most popular in history


my reflection 

Stefan: this was a interesting round because I have always wanted to know which pet is most popular or what are the top five pets and this round of passion time helped me figure out which pet is most popular. the most popular pet that I found out after some research is : 1. dog. 2. but I said to myself "A website is not enough, if i'm going to get a accurate answer I should probably survey the class". When I was finished with the survey 
1 Comment

Can we show the Value of 21st Century Learning in a video from the Kids who have it? - Charlotte and Sadie

3/14/2014

10 Comments

 

Our Video

Our final product

Picture
Our video, thanks to everyone who partcipated

Trello

Picture
Our Trello card. It rocks!

K- What we Know

We know that 21st Century learning is very important to us and we want to teach people what is is in our class room.

W- What we want to know

We want to know what other people like about 21st Century leaning and what they think it is.

H- How are we going to do it

We are going to make a video on people about 21st Century.

L- What we Learned

I know I learned a lot about 21 century. We also learned that before the challange Sadie gave everyone said colabortion which means helping others so we found out that is what most people said helping others. I learned that people said it is fun.

A- Action I will take

We will try to promote 21st century learning around the world.
Also we will keep showing how we do 21 century.

Q- Questions that we still have

We have a lot of questions still some are what do teachers that don't teach 21 century learning think of it also what do teachers that do teach 21 century learning I wonder what they think is good about it and why they teach like that.
Charlotte Reflection: This was a fun project! I loved to learn what other people think about 21 century learning it was really great. I was suprised by some of the answers that they gave. I think that you should really watch it. I know that when I watched it, it really brought me thinking what dose 21 century learning mean to me. Also I found out that most people said it was colaboration. All in all this was a very fun project I hope you learned a lot.


Sadies Awesome Reflection
I really liked this project because it was fun to see what everyone says 21st century learning is. This project was a little rocky at the start but I think we pulled it off okay. The challenges were fun because everyone wanted to say collaboration. I think this project could have done better, but I liked it.

Comment on this blog on what you think 21st century learning is!

10 Comments

Can we make a model of the the planets and show how and why they orbit the sun?-Emma W. & Drew S.

3/14/2014

11 Comments

 

Our Picture

Picture

Our Videos

Trello

Picture

K

We know that there are 8 planets and that each one orbits the sun. We also know that each planet is different from another one.

W

What we want to know is how all of the planets orbit the sun. We also want to know why the planets orbit the sun in the first place.

H

What we are going to do is research how and why the planets orbit the sun and then make a model of them doing so.

L

We are learning how to work together better and why and how the planets orbit the sun. We are also learning responsibility.

A

We are going to teach people about the planets by making a video about it.

Q

What made the Big Bang happen?

How had the planets not formed earlier, right after the Big Bang?

Will any more planets be created?

Our Reflection:

Drew: I am very proud of the model that me and Emma made. I think that we learned a lot about working together and sometimes having to switch to do something that you don't want to do. It was very fun! Anybody that is a teacher that is looking at this please try and work on doing passion time. Its a great way of learning while you get to do what you want to do.


Emma: I had a great time doing this Passion Time Project. It was fun because before I did this, I didn't know much about the Solar System or the planets. Now, I think I know more than I ever have about it. It was fun to to work with Drew, and I definitely thought that this was a fun passion time project.

11 Comments
<<Previous

    Round 5

    This round, students were asked to consider doing a project that involved helping others or the arts if they had not done so already this year.

    Archives

    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All
    Brain
    Education

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.