Mixing Up Something New

I hooked up with my blogger buddy over at Head Over Heels For Teaching with Spark Student Motivation!  Something that I did this week seemed to spark student motivation! I created stations for my fifth graders to help them foster independence, time management, and study skills!  This week flew by and was sooo busy I can't believe it. I really wanted to try some new things after break and so getting a great idea from Ari at the Science Penguin. She teaches science down there in Texas. Her kiddos are lucky, she is very creative. I was reading her blog and I saw that she does stations and then works with a group for direct instruction. Love that idea. Soooo, I tried it myself. I set up 5 stations for my kiddos using the FOSS bones. We defined mixtures and solutions with one of Ari's sheet I got from TPT, then we also did a QR code review practicing how we would separate ingredients. I had three stations that also had them working as a team to separate three different sets of ingredients one where they had to use magnetism and even review with qr codes...
















One, where they had to use a filter and flotation...

And one where they had to choose from a bucket and then separate it themselves using one of the six methods we studied: filter, evaporation, screen, chromatography, magnetism, and flotation.
 
If you want to take a look at the stations, I have them for you on my TPT Store with my Mixtures and Solutions Pack. Just trying to find ways for my older kiddos to self guide themselves. We did fist to five and they all seemed to love the lesson. Hope it helps their test scores next week...we shall see.

Just In Time For The Holidays!

I just finished a Holiday Themed Science Stations pack for TPT. In this pack I created activities for the FOSS mixtures and solutions unit. I included a holiday chromatography activity which separates the mixtures in a marker. I also included a Mrs. Claus mixture activity that has the kiddos figuring out what mixture is the right one for her to make cookies. Also, there is a QR code activity allowing students to use a smart device to answer questions about reindeer. Last, but not least I also included a STEM activity that has students building a sleigh for Santa. Hope you enjoy!

                       Happy Holidays!

Moving Along!

Well, it is time to come up with another activity for our little kinders and the push and pull unit. Here is what I am doing for the lesson down the slide... I am starting this lesson with having our kiddos share how we move. We are making a list on our poster.

                                    Silly Sally


Then, we read the book Silly Sally and all the ways she moves...

        Kindergarten Sliding Worksheet

We then use the ramps and items listed on the worksheet that we fill in after we do the experiment. We finish up by drawing how we move down a hill or slide...

Pebbles, sand, and Silt

So, it is that time...to have the firsties sifting. I took pictures of the different sizes of rocks and labeled them. I cover them with sticky tabs for the students to use once they match up the word cards with the picture. This helps them figure out the words and what they look like.

Pebbles, Sand, and Silt matching

We connect this activity to our Pet rock unit I posted the other day. They each get a brown piece of paper to cut. They cut a rock shape out. I give them google eyes and the following properties sheet.

                 Rocks, rock Sheet

        Check out the free pet rock activity... Pet Rocks, Rock!

It Is Currently December

I love the first of the month when we can once again add our Currently to the list of amazing blogs. I love seeing how many Currently posts already on December 2nd. What an amazing weekend. I loved the break! It couldn't have been any better! I loved seeing family I haven't seen in quite a while. It is always amazing playing catch up. I painted my childrens' bathroom, watched 19 episodes of Revenge on Couch Tuner with my oldest daughter, went to lunch with my girls, read some magazines, planned for my long list of things to do before Christmas and even found time to relax! Currently I am ...

Happy Holidays!

Surface Tension Supplements

I am always trying to find great ideas to make my FOSS lessons more exciting and fun for my students. Today, I was trying to figure out how to make the surface tension lesson a bit better. I compiled some pictures of bugs that walk on water that my students will use to create this fun art project that we will add facts to. Take a look at the plan...
Bugs That Walk On Water

This fun art project came from http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/testing-water-tension-lesson-plan/. I will be reading the story A Drop Of Water for background knowledge, too.


Now, for the fact sheet that we will add to our picture...and a quick label and definition sheet for our interactive science notebook...

                               Surface Tension Sheet

                        Hope that helps my FOSS friends.

Snowbody Knows...Snow Unit

When I was teaching 5th grade...here in Wisconsin...where there is a lot of snow in a given year...I made some snow activities for my class. Each year, I added another idea for science, reading, writing... for this unit. Now,  that I am teaching "just" science, I have used this unit in an after school class. I continue to add new ideas such as insta-snow activities, which the kids love. Take a look at my unit on TPT.

Snowbody Knows...Science Unit

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!