Our first week of school was fantastic! I am enjoying getting to know my students. They are going to be a FUN group. Students spent time on Wednesday looking at artifacts about me to see what they could learn about ME. I have been to the Running of the Bulls in Spain, but LOVE that they thought maybe the matador was my husband. :) On Friday it was their turn to bring artifacts that told their story. I have a lovely, talented, and athletic group. From pianists, guitarists, baseball, football, painters, etc.... We have it all in these two classes of mine. Check out some pics below from our Me Museum. We check back for and LOVE parent comments!!
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Here we are hard at work learning about matter and testing our chemicals. In LESSON ONE - students learned about the states of matter and how matter changes by making a Baking Soda Bomb and by making a balloon blow up. By combining a solid (baking soda) and a liquid (vinegar) students were able to see a gas (carbon dioxide) being created. We also discussed chemical changes in matter. It may not look like much in the picture, but it was so fun! They were particularly impressed when the baking soda bomb actually blew up all over me!! I stunk like vinegar!!!! YUCK!
LESSON TWO - Today was all about making OOBLECK. We used cornstarch and added water. This chemical also happens to be one of our unknowns (shhhhh - don't tell them!) LESSON THREE - Solubility testing today! We used several items to test their solubility with water. These included marble, salt, cornstarch, sand, sprinkles, baby powder, and koolaid powder. We then mixed salt and sand and students had to figure out a way to separate it based on their results! Ask them how we did it!! We also separated salt from water - ask them how! LESSON FOUR - Today we began discovering the properties of matter. We discovered the properties of popcorn together and then students got their hands on their 5 unknown chemicals. These are common every day powders that can be found around the house. They have to determine what they are. LESSON FIVE & SIX - During these lessons we tested our unknowns with water and vinegar. Students have determined what 3 of the 5 chemicals are. We discussed whether one of the chemicals is salt or sugar. Students discussed what happens when sugar is heated. Freddy shared a personal experience of watching his sister cook with sugar and then what happens when salt is heated. We then heated the two and determined the unknown chemical was........ask them~! In addition to these lessons we have sorted different forms of matter, written property poetry, made chemical and physical changes to paper, etc....Students have really enjoyed this science unit - who am I kidding - I HAVE really enjoyed this science unit. :) Dr. Seuss week has been a blast! Not only are we celebrating with dress up days we are getting started on our COOL science unit - Chemical Tests! Here you see Wacky Scientists, Camo Day, and Hat Day.
Is that Mrs. Reaves wearing a tutu? Why yes it is! No worries though, I'm not totally crazy. We are celebrating Wacky Wednesday during Dr. Seuss week, and exploring chemical and physical changes in matter in Science all at once by making OObleck. After a brief demonstration and discussion about the properties of oobleck, students made their own oobleck. We used cornstarch, water, and food coloring. Students were amazed by this non-newtonian matter. They were shocked that when you apply pressure it became a solid and when you released the pressure it became an oozing liquid.
What an exciting event! Today we took a trip to the Albertville Fine Arts Center to watch the Beijing Dragon Show. These amazing acrobats performed feats that made our students' squeal with delight! They were amazing to watch as they spun plated while doing back flips, rode unicycles, and an audience favorite performed with the Chinese Yo-Yo's. The masked man got a lot of ooohs and aaahs! Adyson from my homeroom and Taureuna from Mrs. Harris's homeroom were selected to come on stage and try some of the amazing stunts. They did pretty good!! Today at school we received a visit from Bob the Wild Life Guy. Today he brought with him some of his furry friends and taught us a ton of interesting facts about each. They included opossums, salamanders, bats, raccoons, and even a bobcat! I think the students would agree that the best part was watching the bobcat "attack" Bob's leg! :) Look closely at the students' faces. I love the look on Will and Canaan's face in the 11th picture!
Welcome back! To celebrate the New Year my students reflected on what a great year 2012 was. I helped students brainstorm events over the past year by having them think about major events. Some that we came up with together are that they started 3rd grade and a major thing they have learned in 3rd grade is to multiply. I then had them think about major events in their family, church, trips they have taken, etc.... They chose 4 major events, drew a picture to represent the event, and then wrote about the event on the back of the picture. These turned out so cute and students realized not only do they have a lot to look forward to in the coming year, but they also have a lot to be thankful for in the past year. Note: This activity was from www.artyowza.com Thank you to all my students and parents for a wonderful Christmas. We enjoyed the movie and "special snack." Also parents thank you for the Christmas gifts. They were so very thoughtful. It is a joy and honor to teach your children. I hope everyone is well rested. I am looking forward to being back in school and getting my students ready for 4th grade!
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