Our Eggs Survived!!

Today, both classes participated in an egg drop. Mrs. Kirton's class put their egg in a peanut butter jar and padded the box with foil and cotton balls. Mrs. Thomas' homeroom put cotton balls and kleenex in their box. They wrapped their egg in foil and made a pedestal out of it. They then wrapped the lower half of the egg in clay. After that, they suspended the egg in the air with rubber bands.

Explain

In our Science workshop, we follow the 5 E's: Engage, Explain, Explore, Extend, Evaluate. Our kids love the Engage, Explore, and Extend. We used to explain on the carpet and I would ask questions and they would answer. Well, the kids were bored and so was I. So I decided to take my knowledge of all the workshops I have been to and put it to good use. I now print the questions I would normally ask and glue them onto chart paper. The students are given 2 minutes to read the questions and then 3 minutes to answer them. They then switch and do it all over again. They love this!! It also gets all of the students involved.

How does the amount of force affect the motion of an object?

Today we did an exploration on how force can affect the motion of an object. Students were given a supply bag with a golf ball, tennis ball, ping pong ball, 2 measuring tapes, and 2 plastic rulers. They set up the exploration to where they placed the ball at the beginning of the ruler and then pulled back the ruler to 1 cm. The force of the ruler caused the ball to move. They did this 3 times and then pulled the ruler back to 2 cm., 3 cm., 4 cm., and then 5 cm. They did 3 trials for every distance they pulled the ruler back. They did awesome!! As I went around and discussed what was going on in their exploration, most students told me that the greater the force they applied, the farther the ball went. I also questioned on why they chose the ping pong ball (most of them did :)). They told me since it had less mass, then it would go farther!

After every exploration, we discuss the independent variable (what we changed), the dependent variable (what we measured, depends on independent variable), and what remained constant. This is part of our scientific thinking.

I am so amazed at my students!! They have become quite the scientists. They do the explorations and I can see how much fun they are having while they are learning! Makes me smile :)

The girls setting up their exploration.

Nora, Emma-Lee, and Andrea seeing how force can affect the motion of an object.

Thomas recording his data.

How can we determine the area of a trapezoid?

Today we were exploring the area of trapezoids. I let the students explore this concept for awhile, but we struggled today, as this is a very hard shape to determine area for. With minimal guidance, we did it together.

We know that last week we worked with parallelograms and that the formula for area of that was base x height. From there, we were able to see that we could make a parallelogram from 2 trapezoids. Then we could use the formula base x height, but this time we had 2 bases to add. So the formula starts with (B1 + B2) x height. Then I had a few friends say, we need to divide by 2. I asked why, they told me because we are finding the area of 1 trapezoid, not 2. So even though I helped a little, once they got started...they couldn't be stopped!!

Our finished area chart!!

Journal Entry

Here is our journal entry for one of our days in math. We were working on determining the area of a parallelogram.

How does friction affect the motion of an object?

Yesterday, we did an exploration on how friction effected the motion of an object. They used different surfaces to see how friction effected the motion of the marble. They came up with that friction is a force that works against motion and it can speed up or slow down an object.

Every exploration we do, we discuss the independent variable (what changes in our experiment), what remains constant, why we do repeated trials, and we analyze the class data. We do this so we can become better scientists!!

Boosterthon!!

Today was the Boosterthon Fun Run!! The kids did great! Ms. Kirton and I had a blast marking off their laps!!

Thomas and David

Sylvie, Isabelle, Kristina, and Elizabeth (the only girls in my homeroom!!)

FCAT Night January 31!

Thanks to ALL of my parents for coming out tonight! Together we can do great things!!

Next Thursday, Waterleaf is having FCAT night for grades 3-5. I will be going more in depth about the FCAT Math (which will be taken online). Let's have another great turnout!!!

How can we find the area of a parallelogram?

We have been working on this Essential Question all week and our kids our becoming experts on determining area for a given shape! Last week, we worked on area of triangles. This week we have been working on finding the area of parallelograms. A parallelogram has two pairs of parallel sides. I let students explore to see if they could determine the area of a parallelogram given their knowledge of the area of a rectangle. They were able to come up with this: they took one of the triangles on the left side and moved it to the right side to create a rectangle. They were then able to use the formula base x height. So, we determined to find the area of a parallelogram, we need to create a rectangle and then use the formula base x height.

Our Strategy Chart

Our exit ticket for the day

How does the height of a ramp effect the distance a marble travels?

We are now in our Force and Motion unit. We did an exploration where we tested to see if the height of a ramp would effect the distance a marble traveled. We made a ramp out of books and a ruler. Our first trial, the ramp was on 1 book, then 2 books, and then 3 books. We analyzed our data today and can make the statement that the higher the ramp, the farther the marble traveled.

We also discussed the force that was acting on the marble as it went down the ramp. Gravity was pulling the marble down.

Jeffrey and his group recording their data.

Spencer watching the marble roll down the ramp.

Boosterthon Fun Run!!

The Boosterthon Fun Run is this Friday! Make your pledges!

Become a Follower!

I have had several parents ask me how to become a "follower" of my blog. See the link below. Hope this helps!

http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=104226

Success!!

I held Data Date Night last night for my homeroom and it was a HUGE success!! Thank you to all of the parents and students who came. I am so proud to be your child's teacher. If we work together, then the sky is the limit!!

Yummy treats that everyone ate up!!

More Area of Triangles!!

We will be continuing to work on area of triangles for the rest of this week. Next week, we will be getting into parallelograms!! I love Geometry!!!

Our completed area chart for triangles.

Journal Entry- Area of Triangles

Almost everyday we work in our math journals. This is a place where we write strategies down, take notes, and practice what we are doing in class. Sometimes I make pre-made strategy sheets and other times the students takes note during our math launch. Below is the journal entry for today on area of triangles.

Area of Triangles

Today we started our new benchmark, MA.5.G.5.4- derive and apply formulas of area for parallelograms, trapezoids, and triangles from the area of a rectangle. Yesterday, we did a review on how to determine the area of a rectangle or square. The formula for area of a rectangle is  a= b x h.

A= area, b= base, h=height

Today we used our knowledge of the area of a rectangle to determine the area of a triangle. Since we know a triangle is half of a rectangle, we can use the formula (b x h)/2 to find the area of a triangle. There are a couple of ways to write the area of triangle formula: a= 1/2b x h     and    (b x h)/2.

Area chart for rectangles and triangles.

Formula chart for area.

Jeffrey's journal entry for area of triangles.

Determining area of a triangle.

Speeding Up and Slowing Down the Dissolving Process

Today we did another exploration where we were determining how to speed up or slow down the dissolving process. Yesterday, we determined that shaking and stirring the mixture helped it dissolve faster. Today we set up 3 cups; filled cup A with 100 ml of cold water, filled cup B with 100 ml of room temperature water, and cup C with 100 ml of hot water. Students then recorded the temperature of each cup and made predictions on how long they thought it would take for the salt to dissolve. They then put 1 teaspoon of salt into each cup and then stirred each mixture 5 times. They were then to wait and observe. As I walked around, students were amazed that the hot water mixture dissolved the quickest. They were even more amazed that the cold water mixture took longer to dissolve, but eventually it did. We made a connection to the hot water speeding up the dissolving process when we make jello (boil water and add to Jello mix.) We leaned today that heat speeds up the dissolving process.

Dissolving can be sped up in several ways. The normal ways are:
                          1. To crush the solid into a powder.
                          2. To stir the solid with the water.
                          3. To warm the water and the solid.

To slow down the dissolving process, you can leave it alone (not stir), do not break into smaller parts, and use cold water.

How can we speed up the process of dissolving?

Today in science, we discussed how we can speed up the dissolving process. First, I gave a pair of students a water bottle and a fruit punch mix. I asked them to make my favorite drink. I asked none of them to shake it and they all did!! Lol. They told me that shaking the mixture would help the mix dissolve!! So smart!! We also did another exploration where the had four cups, put salt into 2 and then sand into the other 2. They then stirred 1 salt cup and 1 sand cup and made observations. They are so smart!! They are becoming quite the scientists!!

We also discussed what remained constant in our exploration...amount of water, amount of salt and sand, and six of cups.

Isabelle pouring the mix into the water.

Isabelle speeding up the process by shaking the mixture.

Kristina observing the properties of salt and sand.

Justin adding the water.

Spencer and Jeffrey working together.

Justin, Micah, and RJ recording their data.

Data Date Night!!

My homeroom's data date night (Ms. Kirton's homeroom is next Thursday) is this Thursday!!! Parents, this is a GREAT opportunity for you to see how you student is doing in math and science!! There will be cookies and drinks!!! Extra credit will be offered to those who come!! Also as an added bonus...the class with the most participation will win an ice cream party!!!

Boosterthon is back!!

It's that time of year again! For students and parents who weren't here last year, it is a great program where we learn lessons about life while getting pledges for how many laps you can run during the Fun Run. More information will come home soon! Be on the lookout :)

Separating Mixtures

Today we looked at different kinds of mixtures and how we could separate them. We looked at chex mix, skittles, and some different office supplies. Students were able to separate the mixtures by properties. We used color, shape, size, density, texture, and type. Students also came up with a definition for what mixtures are: different materials mixed together, but each material keeps it's own property.

Students separated the chex mix into my favorite kinds using the properties of color and shape.

Students sorted Skittles into my favorite color red by using the property of color.

More separating.

Students had to record how they separated their mixtures.

Data Date Night!!

Save the date parents!! We have a date night!!I am inviting parents to come and learn about all the data we use in the classroom. Students will be sharing their individual data with you to show where they excel and where they may need extra support. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Extra credit will be given to those students who come!! It will be January 17th in room 168 for Mrs. Thomas' homeroom and January 24th in room 168 for Mrs. Kirton's homeroom. Can't wait to see you!!

Student's individual data notebook

Justin working on his data.

Spencer working on his data.

Properties of Solids and Liquids

We observed some of the properties of solids and liquids today. We looked at: fruit punch powerade, grape powerade, water, cotton balls, puffs, and graham crackers. The properties we were discussing today were volume, color, texture, shape, and temperature. The students were to organize their data into a table, observe the different properties, and record their data. They did great! They made the connection that both solids and liquids can have a color, but they differ in the fact that solids have a definite shape and liquids don't.

David and Delali recording the volume of a liquid.

Micah determining the temperature of a liquid.

David's data chart that he created! LOVE it!!

What's the matter?

We started our new science unit, Matter. We started out by reviewing what solids, liquids, and gases were. We then went into discussing the properties of matter (mass, volume, color, texture). Yesterday, we did an experiment comparing the temperature of water in the solid (ice), liquid, and gas (water vapor). The kids really enjoyed it!!

Stephanie and Eric

Julian recording his data in his journal.

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and New Year!! Wishing everyone and their family a happy and healthy New Year!! I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow and get started on what we will be the best year yet!!