Super Science

Well I don't really know where to start, but I figured it's better to just jump back in then continue procrastinating. Man it has been an extremely busy school year! Pregnancy, teaching, tutoring and running an auction has left me little time for blogging, but I promise to devote my last few weeks before my baby arrives to updating you on all the fun we've been having this year.

I've decided to go back a bit and review some of the academic highlights of the year. The next few blog posts are going to focus on the units we've studied this year with a few fun updates thrown in the mix.

So here goes... Today I'm gonna focus on our super science projects.

Our first major project was all about cells.

We kicked off science this year by learning about the amazing world of cells. 

We learned about the differences between plant and animal cells.

Thanks to some great youtube videos, my students were able to soak up all the info like sponges.

 Our favorite video was created by a teacher for her 6th grade students. Its called Cells Cells-Parts of the Cell and the rap is pretty catchy.

I have to warn you, if you click on this link the song may be stuck in your head for a good long while- consider yourself warned ;)

I introduced our cell unit with these awesome posters (TPT freebie), which helped break down the information in simple terms and gave awesome visual examples for each of the cell parts.

After our unit of study, we wrapped things up with a fun take home project and an art activity.

We used the unit: CELLS- Cell Model Project for the Middle Grades created by Tied 2 Teaching to help set the expectations for the cell projects students worked on at home. They were required to complete both a plant and animal cell model and explain 3 major differences between the two models. 

Here are a few examples of what my students came up with:

 Two of my first graders! I was so impressed that they could hold their own and complete and present this (3rd grade level) project. 

A completely edible animal cell! (It was pretty tasty) ;)

 

Each model needed to include labels for each of the required cell parts.

We used the inspiration of the photography exhibit "Life Magnified" which explored the hidden world of cells, to integrate our science unit into an amazing art project.
Can you believe how cool these are? I think my kiddos did a fantastic job! 

Animal Classification & Food Chains 

We spent some time learning how to research and classify different animals.  My kids loved using google to search their favorites!

We also learned about food chains. I absolutely loved this fun little freebie and thought it laid a great foundation to help my students understand the concept of a food chain. 

After we worked on the same project together, I gave my students the option of creating their own food chain.

First they sketched a draft in their journals, and afterwards they recreated it with construction paper.

                             

Pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

To ring in the new year, we decided to celebrate by doing a balloon activity.
I was inspired by a unit created by Jessica Hursh at The Teacher Talk. It had lots of great activities, but the one that made the biggest learning impact was the balloon rocket experiment.

 

I divided the students into groups. The groups were given the following materials: a balloon, yarn, cut straws and tape.
Their mission was to use the materials to create a balloon rocket. They had to make the balloon move from one point in the room to another by using all of the materials provided.
I gave the groups 20 minutes to brainstorm and work together. 

After the experiment, I let each group share how their experience went. I encouraged them to share what went well and what was frustrating.

After the kids shared, we discussed Newton's 2nd Law: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).

We wrapped things up by watching this video and then trying the experiment as a whole group. After we watched the video, it made a lot more sense and it was definitely easier to execute accurately.

Biomes

We had an absolute blast learning all about biomes!
Before assigning this project, I spent time delving into the differences between abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors.
Having that foundation was a great base on which to build. 

I let my students choose a biome to research and work on at home.
I found this unit created by Teaching Touchdowns which provided an awesome rubric and parent letter to send home.
I tweaked the project just a bit so it was an at home project (did not include any group work or work at school).

Here are few examples of the amazing projects they came up with:

 

Tropical Rainforest

Taiga & Arctic Tundra  

= Coral Reef

Savannah &  Grasslands













Here is the unit I created that my students used to write their reports:

Feel free to grab a copy from my TPT store.

Right now in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week everything in my shop is 20% off!!

Snag some awesome deals today and tomorrow!

Five For Friday~First Week of School!

Wow! Can you believe it's been so long since I posted anything?  Sorry to leave you hanging all summer.  I decided to go on a break and fully enjoy my vacation.  Now we are back in business and I am SO EXCITED about this new school year.
Well my first big update is that I no longer teach Kindergarten/First Grade. This year I am teaching a First, Second and Third Grade class. Yep, you read that right- 3 grades!!!!
I don't have a very large class this year so it feels like a manageable challenge.
I'm very pumped to link up for Five for Friday! It's been so long, and it feels incredible to link back up with this wonderful online community of educators.

doodlebugsteaching HERE WE GO:

First Day Selfie- #firstday

This was such a fun way to start our school year!

I was inspired by an idea I found on Pinterest. 

You're Finally Here!

This story was such a huge hit- I can't emphasize enough how much my kiddos loved it. I chose to show the youtube version of the story being read aloud by Arwen Sharp.

Some people have a serious gift for reading children's books aloud with animated expression on tone (I don't feel particularly amazing at this) and this lady is one of the best I've ever heard.

Check out her rendition of this book

After listening to the story, we discussed as a class reasons it took us so long to finally arrive at school…i.e. what we did during summer vacation.

Then we did this cute little follow up craftivity to write about some things we are looking forward to this year. *when you lift the bunny, students' writing is displayed underneath.

 This is only 2 parts of an amazing unit I found on TPT created by Linda Kamp. It was the best way to start the new school year and I'm so thankful I stumbled upon it! (the night before school started, which led to me rewriting my whole weeks worth of lesson plans, but it was definitely worth it. My kids were thoroughly engaged in all the mini lessons it provided)

Check it out HERE

The Marshmallow Challenge

This was another amazing pinterest find! Seriously what did teachers do before pinterest and the internet?? I'm sure glad I can teach with the help of technology.

This FREEBIE was created by A Learning Affair was so much fun!

This activity was a great way to encourage team building and problem solving. In retrospect, I think I should have put the students into teams of four instead of groups of two.

All About Einstein

I always like to kick off science for the year by sharing an inspiring scientist with my students.

Last year I read Meet Einstein and it is one of my favorites, but this year I stumbled upon On A Beam Of Light, and I think it's even better.

It illustrates the way Einstein was different than others, but how that difference set him apart in a wonderful way. It also beautifully describes his life story and accomplishments.

My kids were mesmerized and inspired.

We then drew ourselves as scientists. I encouraged the kids to draw themselves with all the "tools" they might need and the uniform they might want to wear.

They blew me away with their creativity!

*I decided to do a directed drawing to show them what was expected, and let me tell ya- they did not disappoint! :)

Not sure if you can see that little light bulb, but it says "idea"- just way to cute, right?

And finally- Friendship Advertisements

I read this awesome post on iTeachThird featuring Jillian from the Starrspangledplanner.

She created the coolest back to school unit. The activity I implemented this week is called the Friend Wanted activity.

 After the students wrote their friendship advertisements, I typed them up and posted them on the bulletin board. As instructed, I covered each student's name with a post it and let the kids read each others ads and try and guess who wrote it.

This was a big hit!

I could keep going, but I'll just save some fun updates for next time.

Stay Tunned….


Happy Friday Everyone!

January Currently

Hey Y'all! 

So I realize January is almost over and I'm super late to the game, but better late than never right??

I'm linking up (super late) with Farely for the January Currently.

Here we go  :)

Listening

To Parks and Recreation which is in its final season. 

I can't think of a show that has made me laugh so much and I'm super bummed it's ending this year

 :(

Leslie Knope will forever be one of my favorite characters of all time! And Andy, and Ron Swanson and Ben! They are all awesome characters whom I will miss very much!

Excuse me a moment while I drift/laugh out loud down memory lane.

Aaannnnd Moving on…..
Loving Yoga! I can't believe I'm actually saying this because for years I've been a huge proponent of the cardio workout (you know the painful, make you sweat, panting for breath kinda work out?). I always thought you had to sweat and jump around for the work out to actually be effective and make you feel sore- NOPE, wrong! I tried yoga for the first time recently and I was so pleasantly surprised.  It was incredibly relaxing and I actually felt a little sore the next day, which is awesome since that means it was challenging but also lowers blood pressure. I gotta say as a teacher, I can use all the stress relievers I can get and this was a wonderful discovery.
Thinking All about science! I gotta tell ya, this year has been so fun and I'm absolutely loving all the fun and engaging science projects I've tried with my kiddos. Last week we studied phases of the moon and wrapped up our space unit. Take a look at how these projects turned out:

 

 These two videos were extremely helpful and peaked my students interest before we jumped into our project: The Lunar Cycle and Flocabulary- Moon Phases which is an awesome song to help kids learn the moon's phases. My kids loved it!
I used this space unit:

Solar System: An Interactive Notebook Unit on Astronauts and Space by Creative Classroom Core

I couldn't recommend it more highly! It was an amazing unit and my kids learned so much!!
Wanting I am wanting to purchase a whole slew of TPT units, but I'm having to restrain myself. It's….Not….Easy!!!
Needing To start compiling all of our tax documents.  Wow do I feel like a super old person right now! But alas, tis the life of an adult. Am I right?
And finally this year: I'm saying YES to contentment. I take so much for granted and with social media (Facebook, twitter etc.) it's really easy to fall into the habit of comparing your life to others and wishing things were just a bit different. This year I'm saying NO to comparison and YES to contentment. I've decided to be happy with where I am and who I am called to be. And that's good enough.
I'm thinking about MAYBE journaling on a regular basis. I'm not resolving to write every day cause I know that's not realistic, but I think it's reasonable to try and jot down mental notes at least once a week.  And finally, my wish would be to actually write a children's book. I've had a bare bones idea in the back of my mind for awhile and I think it would be pretty cool if I actually did something about it!
We shall see :)
Happy New Year people! What are you saying 'Yes' to?  What is something you 'Maybe' consider doing this year? What do you 'Wish' for this year?