HOME, SCHOOL, & COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

The purpose of having a home, school, and community connection as part of a thematic
unit is to help students connect what they learn in school to other concepts and ideas through the
implementation of a project, investigation, or assignment they will have the opportunity to
complete independently outside of the classroom setting. Students are meant to complete the
assignment without direct teacher involvement, thus focusing on the home learning component
and understanding of the material. In our unit on the Human Body, students will be required to
complete a project where they construct a skeleton using household materials. This project will
focus on Epsteins fourth type of involvement, learning at home, as it will be completed outside
of the classroom. The assignment will be explained to the students on the first day of the unit
and they will have approximately two weeks to complete it. The students will bring in their
completed assignments to school the day prior to the last day of the unit and share what they
have produced with the class the following day.
Students representations of the skeletal system should be anatomically correct and
include the major/most important bones talked about in class. For simplistic purposes, students
may choose to glue various materials onto poster paper, thus constructing a 2D model
representation. Students have the freedom to choose whatever materials they see fit for
completing the assignment, so long as the final product resembles the shape and structure of a
human skeleton. Creativity with this assignment is highly encouraged. Students will also be

encouraged to incorporate their personality and hobbies into their skeleton models. For example,
if a student enjoys reading, they could depict the skeleton holding a book. The assignment is
designed to be fun and engaging for the students, while at the same time requiring them to draw
on knowledge and information learned in school to help them complete it. Through this tactile
project, students will have the opportunity to express themselves artistically and in a manner that
reinforces concepts taught in school. Parents/guardians may be involved in the process, helping
students gather materials, guiding them, etc., so long as the student is the one doing the work and
constructing the finished product. We will also be constructing our own skeletons to share with
the students on the last day of the unit.

November 9th, 2015

Dear Parents,
As your child may have already informed you, we started
our unit on the Human Body this week! We are looking forward
to an exciting two weeks of exploration with the skeletal and
muscular systems! In class, we will be doing a variety of
experiments to help us learn, but would also like to encourage
you to work with your children at home as well. Have them talk
to you about what they do in class, as we are hoping something
will leave an impression or spark an interest that pushes them
to investigate on their own!
As a fun project to build off of what we will be learning in class, we
would like your child to construct their own model of a skeleton using
various household materials of their choosing (ie pasta, yarn, toothpicks,
etc). Children can collect materials and glue them on to posterboard/construction paper to represent their skeleton! We encourage the use
of imagination and are leaving the assignment fairly open so students can
explore their creativity! The only limitations are that the final product should
look like a skeleton, be mostly anatomically correct, and include the major
bones we will be discussing in class, although it does not need to be labeled.
We would also like it to include something fun that represents your childs
personality and interests as well. For example, if your child plays soccer,
show your skeleton kicking a soccer ball!
Please have your child bring in their completed project on
Thursday, November 19th. We will be sharing our work with each
other in class and having a small end of unit celebration! Please let
us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing
what your child comes up with!

Thanks for your help and cooperation!

Miss Sirimis & Miss Alu
The College of New Jersey

HUMAN BODY PROJECT

Childs Name___________________________________________________
I have read and understand the guidelines for the human body
project. I understand that my child should work on this project
throughout the next two weeks and bring in their final product
on Thursday, November 19th.
Parent
Signature________________________________________________
Questions, comments, or concerns for the teachers:

HUMAN BODY PROJECT

Childs Name___________________________________________________
I have read and understand the guidelines for the human body
project. I understand that my child should work on this project

throughout the next two weeks and bring in their final product on Thursday,
November 19th.
Parent Signature________________________________________________
Questions, comments, or concerns for the teachers: