Position

We began our science lesson on position and motion with a quick, fun activity. To help students use position words to locate an object,  they used a privacy divider and cubes.  One student built a building with their cubes and then used position words to describe their building.  The other student attempted to copy the building using only their partner's directions. Finally,  the divider was removed and buildings compared.

On Tuesday,  we explored speed and motion. Each group was given a tape measure,  a stopwatch, and a wind-up toy. The toys were wound up,  let go,  and observed. As the toy was moving along, groups measured time and observed its motion ( did it travel in a straight, zig zag path). When the toy stopped, time and distance traveled were recorded.

National Geographic BioBlitz

Our class was honored to be a part of National Geographic's annual BioBlitz.

"A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of volunteer scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms as possible." - National Geographic website

This year's BioBlitz was held at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. The park had two separate inventories happening. Inventory is the collecting, analyzing, and recording of specimens seen. One on land and one in the swamp. The younger grades conducted inventories on land at specified plots and the older grades conducted their inventories in the swamp from boats.

In preparation for our inventory, we discussed and looked at creatures we might encounter. We also identified creatures and plants to avoid - water moccasins, cotton mouths, wasps, bees, alligators, poison ivy. Then, I modeled for the students how the inventory was to be completed. We would collect specimens by sorting through leaf litter, swooping nets through bushes, trees, and air, and log busting.

This was a fun, learning experience that they will never forget!!

Watch the video of our day.

If you live in the San Francisco area, be on the lookout...BioBlitz is coming your way in 2014. Golden Gate National Recreation Area will host next year's event. You can email bioblitz@ngs.org to receive updates and notification when registration is open. I highly recommend this event for your students!

BioBlitz 2013 - slideshow

If you would like to read short blog posts about others' experiences, check here.

If you would like to read about the discoveries made at Jean Lafitte, check here.

Annual Egg Drop

Each year, our students participate in an egg drop. Students are given the task to find the best way to protect their egg from cracking when it is dropped from the school's roof.

Students waited while three brave teachers climbed to the top of the roof {scared of heights so you won't see me up there}

One by one, each egg was dropped.

The eggs were collected and analyzed

 

Here are the survivors!!

Happy Easter!

Circuits

To begin the discussion about open and closed circuits, the students were given wires, a battery, and a light bulb and instructed to use these materials to make the bulb shine.

Their circuits were then drawn and labeled in notebook.

Conductors and insulators were explored the following day. We discussed what is a conductor {material that allows electric current to flow} and an insulator {material that does not allow electric current to flow easily}. Using their circuits, they tested various objects to classify them as conductors or insulators.

Particles, Apple Turn-Overs, Family Night, and Pen Pals

I have a lot to share about this past week!

In Science, we discovered how particles are arranged in solids, liquids, and gases and how heat affects its movement.

Each group of students received 3 petri dishes with popcorn kernels. One  dish was completely filled (solids), one was semi-filled (liquids), and one contained a few kernels (gas). They observed the movement of kernels (particles) by gently shaking the dishes.

In Reading, we read Johnny Appleseed and watched an animated e-book that was accessed through our local library. As a class, we wrote a summary that included characters, setting, and plot. 

Here comes the fun part...the next day. Each student made an apple turn-over. 

First, the students flattened their biscuit. Then, they added butter to one side and dipped the buttered side in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Next, an apple slice was placed in the middle and the biscuit was folded over the apple slice. Finally, the turn-overs were baked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Time to enjoy! 

Upon returning to class, the students wrote about making turn-overs. We outlined our recipe by completing a Flee Map. The recipe was written as a story using the Flee Map. You can read some of their writings at our class blog. Feel free to leave a comment. Students love reading them!!!

This is the first year that my class will have pen pals! Our pen pals are 3rd graders from a school in Wisconsin. Here is a picture of the students with letters from their pen pals.

After reading their letters, the students busily began responding. They are so excited to meet someone from another state and cannot wait to hear from them!! Here is a picture with their letters to their new friends.

In addition to all the fun we were having during class, we also had fun after school. Our school held a Family Skate Night at the local skating rink.

We had a wonderful turn-out! Teachers, kids, and parents really enjoyed this evening of fun!!!

Earth Day 2012

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people brought awareness to environmental issues during a demonstration. If you would like to read more about Gaylord Nelson's accomplishments through this demonstration and how we can help our Earth, Scholastic News has great information.

Our class discussed ways we could reduce, reuse, and recycle. I was pleased to hear many students are already helping our environment by doing these things. After our discussion, they created an Earth Guy and expressed on their Earth Guy how they would help the planet.

For instructions on how to make this cute craft, check out this pin on Pinterest or this post from Fun 2B in First's blog.