New Spelling Centers and Counting Change

The students did well for the past nine weeks with the current centers, but a change was needed. Ms. Gros set up the following centers:

Play-Doh: Students spell words with Play-Doh

Puff Glue: First, the words are written in marker. Then, they are traced with puff glue.

Spin-a-word: Spelling words are written on a spinner. The students spin a paper clip and write the word that is landed on. This is done 20 times. Finally, the students create a bar graph of words spun.

We began learning about money last week. 

One activity the students enjoyed was coin rubbing. I found this activity on Brain Pop Jr. The students showed amounts using coins and made an imprint by shading with colors. 

We also received letters from our pen pals yesterday!

We can't wait to catch up with them!

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!!!