Nov 2- Election Day NO SCHOOL

Nov 7- "Fall Back" Don't for get to set your clock back one hour

Nov 11- Veteran’s Day NO SCHOOL

Nov 24- NO Students

Nov 25 and 26- Thanksgiving Holiday

Shared by Ms. Weibel

Though the term "autism" first appeared around 1911, very little was known or medically researched about autism spectrum disorder until the late 20th century. New discoveries and advancements continue to be made today to help individuals on the spectrum achieve their full potential.

15 Facts about Autism

1. Autism spectrum disorder now affects 1 in 68 children. Boys are nearly 5 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ASD.

2. Autism spectrum disorder is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the United States. ASD is more common than childhood cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.

3. The term stems from the Greek word autos meaning “self”, autism literally means “alone”.

4. Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3.

5. The earlier autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed and treated, the better. Outcomes for children's lives are significantly improved with early diagnosis and treatment.

6. Early behavior-based interventions have positive effects on some children with autism spectrum disorder and less note-worthy effects on other children. Early services need to be based on individual children's needs and learning styles. Services for adults with ASD must be carefully individualized.

7. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder have communication deficits. It is important to distinguish between spoken language and social communication deficits.

8. Autism spectrum disorder is not degenerative. Individuals with ASD can continuously improve. They are most likely to improve with specialized, individualized services and opportunities for supported inclusion.

9. Being nonverbal at age 4 does not mean children with autism spectrum disorder will never speak. Research shows that most will learn to use words and nearly half will learn to speak fluently.

10. Co-morbid medical conditions in autism spectrum disorder are common and may include: allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, feeding disorders, sleeping disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, cognitive impairments and other medical disorders.

11. Each child with autism spectrum disorder is a unique individual; people with ASD differ as much from one another as do all people. Children and adults with ASD may speak or interact with others. They may have good eye contact. They may be verbal or non-verbal. They may be very bright, of average intelligence or have cognitive deficits.

12. Hyperlexia, the ability to read above one’s age or grade level in school, commonly accompanies autism spectrum disorder.

13. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder may be very creative and find a passion and talent for music, theater, art, dance and singing quite easily.

14. It is widely speculated that Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Andy Warhol and Bill Gates are on the autism spectrum.

15. Researchers and clinicians hypothesize that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in males and females may differ, leading many females to not be diagnosed in a timely manner.

Cross- curricular & hands-on learning can strengthen content knowledge, understanding, and retention of concepts. In 1048, inspired by our study of the changes happening during fall, we’re studying pumpkins more closely from many angles!

First we read and compared these great fiction and non-fiction books to get our ideas flowing about pumpkins! Each of the books showed the life cycle of a pumpkin in different ways.

Using matching cards, we sequenced the life cycle, then cut and pasted to show our new knowledge and created our accordion fold pumpkins. One clever scientist observed that this model can show how the future pumpkins exist inside each mature pumpkin – inside of the seeds!

One afternoon, we examined and observed our real life class pumpkins and described them using as many adjectives as we could. We made some great observations! My favorite is “spiky” – one student noticed the tiny stiff hairs on the pumpkin rind!

Our curiosity led us to open up our real pumpkins and check out the “guts”. We learned that the inside is actually made of the seeds and fibrous strands within the pulp! We labeled the parts as a class, then got to use the real seeds to create our own scientific diagrams which will be completed with labels and a descriptive paragraph.

Finally, we made our own Pumpkin Jack, so we can watch him pass through all of the stages of decay this winter. Do you think he will be back in the spring? We’ll be making our hypotheses this week, and observing and journaling about our long-term experiment this year.

Reading, writing, science, and creativity – tied together with our curiosity about this seasonal vegetable!

Shared by Mrs. Wagner