So this is officially my fourth day of summer and I have yet to do any relaxing. What is wrong with me?! I am sure I will get into total veg mode when it comes closer to August but right now I am feeling totally ready to prep for next year!
With some of my Barnes and Noble Gift Cards from my babies (tear!) I got to buying some new books for next year!
I will be using The Exceptionally Extraordinary Ordinary First Day of School to teach how setting can affect the plot. It also has some really awesome facts and vocabulary in the margins. I also love 11 Experiments that Failed, which I just received today, I will use this to introduce question, hypothesis, and developing procedures to test experiments. It is so cute and very funny!
I have also been working on some new TpT products. First, a freebie! I know many of you are already out of school but I developed these gift tags for our end of school gifts. You can get them at My TpT Store!
I have also uploaded some of my new research products. These worked so well in my class. Though they were time consuming, my students got to be very good at research. It also provided students with so much choice. All of the final products in my class were wonderful!
Well, I am going to do some summer things. Netflix marathon, anyone?
Well teachers, we have a lot to be happy about this week. First of all, Summer right around the corner. Can you believe it is already May?
Also, it is Teacher Appreciation Week! My students have brought some super sweet and thoughtful gifts this week AND my boyfriend sent me these beautiful flowers at work. I know he's he a keeper!
AND, in case I needed more happiness. TpT is having a SALE! So many wonderful things at 28% off. Hold on to your wallets!!
Also, I finished my Solar Oven Unit! My class has had so much fun working with solar energy! We enjoyed some delicious smores today!
Here are some pics of my students creating their ovens and trying them out!
Last week we had a wonderful time celebrating Earth Day! We read some wonderful stories, wrote an informational pamphlet, wrote our own story, created crafts from recycled materials and even created our own paper from recycled scraps in the classroom!
First, our favorite Earth Day books were
All three of these titles are engaging and information packed! They are great for classes both young and old.
After reading the Adventures of an Aluminum Can and Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, my students sequenced the steps it took for the bottle to turn into a (SPOILER ALERT) spacesuit, and the can to turn into (DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT) a baseball bat.
On the next day, we learned about the process of making paper from trees. We watched this video and sequenced the steps as a class. We were careful to use specific vocabulary in our sequencing.
After, we wrote our very own story: Adventures of a Sheet of Paper. We modeled this book after the Adventures of a Plastic Bottle and Adventures of an Aluminum Can. Since we have been learning about figurative language in Reading, I encouraged my students to use this in their stories. Here are some examples of the pages.
I will upload the cover and the rubric ASAP! I am so impressed with all the work my students did. Many of their books were both funny and informative!
The next day we made paper. I used a kit here at school, but all you need is a screen, a mold (cookie cutters work just fine for small pieces), a sponge, felt, a blender, water and small scraps of paper.
1. Students tore scraps of paper into small pieces. We chose to separate them by color so our paper would not be too dark, but you don't have do to this.
2. Fill the blender about 2/3 full of water. Add the scraps of paper.
3. Blend the paper until it is the consistency of oatmeal.
4. Place a piece of screen in a bucket filled with water. Pour the pulp into the mold.
5. Take the screen out of the water and let it drip dry. Remove the mold. At this point, we also added seed to make our paper plantable.
6. Place another piece of mesh on top of the paper. Press it with a sponge.
7. Remove the paper from one of the mesh screens, press down with a piece of felt, this process is called couching (KOOCHing).
8. Lay the newly formed paper on cardboard to dry over night!
Another teacher at my school, Ms. Simmons, and her class joined us for our Earth Day. She found this idea on someones blog, which I will ask her about so we can give credit! They came out so very cute!!!
We ended our Earth Week with a yummy treat- dirt pudding. I can't wait to celebrate again next year. Hopefully I will I will have all my printables up on TpT by then as well. Only a year away-- A girl can DREAM!
Spring Break is finally here! The last few weeks have flown by. We have been focusing on Science and Social Studies test prep the last few weeks as we approach the iLEAP test, which for some reason is scheduled for the week immediately following spring break.
Fingers crossed that my third graders remember what we have learned. In order to make the test prep less mundane, we have been incorporating lots of experiments and center activities. One of my student's favorites was the sound energy experiment in my Easter Experiments packet. We explored sound energy using a washer, nut, and balloon. My students were very engaged in this experiment and very few of them hypothesized correctly, or at least had the correct reason for their hypothesis, so the results were shocking and we had lots of fun! Are you smarter than a third grader? Do you know which one, the washer or the nut will make this sound and why?
In Social Studies, we did maps and diagrams around the room. This has proven to be a low area in our district, so after reviewing the parts of maps, charts, and diagrams, students used their knowledge to do some practice. For Maps Around the Room, my students were shown four maps of Louisiana, an Interstate Map, an Agricultural Map, a Parish Map, and a Population Map. Each map was presented and then placed in a corner of the room. The students were given a recording sheet with 16 premade multiple choice questions and one create your own question for each map. My students had to use the title of the map to figure out which map to use to answer the questions. They would then go to that map and answer the question. This kept my students on their toes. I also created the question to scaffold other Social Studies topics we have covered.
We used a similar process for charts, graphs, and diagrams. My students were able to answer the questions and argue their answer. They also created some great questions of their own that I was able to use as bell ringers.
On Wednesday, we had out Beat the Leap Pep Rally. My class did our cheer to Uptown Funk. We used Kelli Hauser's lyrics with a few edits. This teacher is awesome! She really went for it in her video. Here is our version:
Hope you are having a wonderful Spring Break or week back at school and good luck to you and your class on Spring Testing!
Today, as my Instagram followers know, we had a fun day of peep science! We are currently in test prep mode (we have Spring Break next week and then the state science and social studies)- and test prep can be sooooo boring!
So we are using our test prep books in an exciting way! Today we read about the scientific method, and started some peep experiments. I am trying to up the element of choice in my classroom and trying to incorporate it in everything we do, so rather than have every group do the same experiment, I let them choose what solutions they wanted to dissolve peeps.
Next, students measured 200 mL of each liquid using either a measuring cup or graduated cylinder and poured it into the test cups.
The 7 Up was a hot commodity in our classroom. All the students thought the bubbling would really help with dissolving the peep. After filling up the cups, we added in the peeps.
From left to right, the peeps in this group were soaked in bleach, vegetable oil, and 7 Up. (Note: Just so it is clear, I was the only one to handle the bleach so no extreme disasters happened!)
I also set up my own peeps using all of the materials, since no one chose to do water. (Surprise! Surprise!)
We discovered that the bleach caused the peeps to dissolve the fastest and the 7 Up actually caused the peep to inflate slightly! Can't wait to check on our peeps tomorrow to see what has changed.
For the full version of this product with 4 Experiments, Answer Keys, and directions click here!
For more Easter fun, check out my Easter Math Centers!
Happy St. Patty's Day!! Are you wearing your green?! With all the testing madness going on at my school we didn't get too much to celebrate, however we did have an awesome day in Social Studies.
Every year, we have done a scarcity simulation in my class. This activity requires students to use trade to make up for scarcity and abundance in their group. Students try to complete tasks on a task list, however they may not have the necessary supplies needed. To complete tasks, students need scissors, construction paper, and tape, however they are distributed among groups. Students need to trade to get the supplies they needed.
Not only do students learn the economic concepts, they also need to work and communicate in groups. This is a valuable resource as they grow up. One of my groups even got the idea to rent out their scissors for 3 minutes for a fee of construction paper. I thought this was great because they got the supply back. I have uploaded this activity with all recording sheets, jobs for students in groups, and teacher directions in my Abundance, Scarcity, and Trade Simulation Activity.
My groups were much more creative this year than in the past, racking up lots of bonus points for their groups. My future fashion designer created the clothing on the left. Another student thought outside the box to color his pages since his group only had one color construction paper. (I am gushing at the outside the box thinking I saw today!!)
Another thing my students turned in this week was their Planet Real Estate Project (a editable freebie at my TpT store)! Some of the projects were adorable, and I was proud that many of my students did it ALL BY THEMSELVES. This is my one hesitation when sending home projects. I always have to stress to students I want their work, even if it is not perfect. I thought I would highlight two projects I was really proud to display in my halls. Both these guys worked very hard and I can tell from the writing they THEY did it!
I am just loving this fall weather in South Louisiana! It has finally cooled down and although this has been a very rough football weekend for LSU fans I enjoyed tailgating in the cooler weather.
October was a very busy month for our class. We completed a nocturnal animals unit where we learned about Owls, Bats, Opossums, and Wolves. My students loved exploring these new animals. I also enjoyed using these narrative nonfiction texts by Nicola Davies. They have some awesome text features that can foster conversation between students. Additionally, the pictures are wonderful!
We also discussed descriptions of these animals in the text. We even got to make our own owls by using descriptions and then wrote to explain how the features on our owl matched the description. This was a fun hands on way for the kids to really use and benefit from the vivid descriptions.
We also had lots of fun with our pumpkin unit! We read about pumpkins, experimented with pumpkins, and did some engaging pumpkin math.
I love to see my students 100% involved and learning as they are investigating topics. I have uploaded my unit to tpt. This is my third year doing this unit and this year I finally got out all the kinks! I have added some new literature to our unit which really made the connection to the pumpkin arrays.
Some of my students arrays ended up HUGE and took lots of time, but it was totally worth it! They loved finding out the biggest pumpkin actually did not have the most seeds and now can predict the seeds better based on the looks of the pumpkin!
I have also uploaded my Multiplication Properties Show What You Know Book. My class this year has been great about learning and showing they know the properties. I have seen how much this has helped them solve higher multiplication problems and think that it standard OA 3.5 should be stressed when teaching multiplication.
Now that things are starting to slow down I am hoping to get more products and ideas up in the next few weeks! I hope you all are enjoying the fall weather!
