Peek At My Week

Day one is upon us. I have way to much going on, but I am excited about the lessons that I have this week. Let's take a peek at my week...

Kinders- I found this amazing book called Animal Homes that is a pop up book. It is an National Geographic book. We first start with discussing the  new NGSS standard...Plants and animals can change the environment to meet their needs. We discuss what a habitat is and that animals, plants, and humans need habitats to survive. They also need food, water, shelter, and space which makes up their habitat. We also shared how habitats can change due to weather...we have a storm right now and our garden is getting flooded. Perfect time to share what could happen to plants and seeds.

We read the story and then I used the free clip art to show the habitat of the 6 animals shown. Monster Wrangler Mike's Mother's Day Clip art was a great way for the students to have the picture there and to draw the habitat around it. I am making a book with their sheets. We finished up with this fun song:

First graders:
We are learning about insects. Today, we are meeting our next guests...the painted lady larvae. We first review what we know about meal worms, then we take a test from my Life Cycle of the Butterfly and Insect Connections Pack to review what they know. We used sheets for life cycles and observations from my pack, too. I start by showing the FOSS posters of the life cycles of our insects so far. We then read the book From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman.


We then observe our larva recording on a chart our observations. We measure how big they are and record from each days' class the changes. When we were done we viewed this nice video that shows the metamorphosis of the butterfly.

We observed the caterpillar then and recorded what we saw on our FOSS sheets. We drew a butterfly in our notebook and recorded observations. We noticed in our first group that they move slow and fast. They crawl on the side of the cup, they eat a lot. They are now about 1-2 cm long. They have bristles and small antennas.

2nd graders-
Our second graders are learning about plants. We reviewed for a test on seed parts, plant parts, and how seeds travel. We then listened to the story First Peas to the Table which I shared my lesson ideas in the last post. Check out our competition.

3rd Graders-
They were introduced to our homework assignment...make an instrument for our rock band. Our own little school of rock. We gave examples of homemade instruments. We discussed the parts of the ear again and I gave them a picture and labeling sheet for them to do so they understand the three parts as well as the little parts that help us hear: outer, middle, inner ear and eardrum, stirrup, anvil, hammer, Eustachian tube.  We then read a sound book that I was going to read last week...and discussed our big question for the day...What evidence is there that ocean mammals are good communicators. We watched two videos to help in our gathering of evidence.

The first video is linked by a website with great information to share...Whale songs...the second is a quick echolocation snippet. This was a great way for our kiddos to use science and writing. Our kiddos bombed an assessment and so we are working together to find any way to add writing to all of our curriculum.

4th graders-
Our fourth graders are taking a quiz to see what they know about the sun, moon, and Earth. We then have a scavenger hunt in the room based on the game scoot. They have an answer sheet to fill in as they move around the room to find the answers to the questions. I got the idea off of super teachers. The scavenger hunt is free!  You can find it here! Solar System Scavenger Hunt. I mounted the yellow cards on black paper with a cut out star next to each. Easy to see and find. I placed two sets in my tiny room. They loved it. Our 4th graders struggle reading for meaning and this was a great way to help them read and find the correct answer to a question.

5th graders-
I gave them a study guide for simple machines. They could use their notes to find the answers and fill in their study guide. When time was up, we went over the answers and then finished Lever activity 2 for FOSS. We shared results and then time was up.

Busy week...but fun stuff to be learned!

First Peas to The Table

How lucky is it to work at a school called Thomas Jefferson, when you are going to plant peas? Well... let me tell you! There is an awesome book that I came across last year, as I was planning for our first school garden. It is:


It is based on Thomas Jefferson's own contest he had with his neighbors to see who could win a pea growing contest. Jefferson knew that healthy soil was key to healthy plants...especially his peas for the competition. He also worked with composting and finding ways for his plants to be resistant to insects.

Use your school garden with this book to teach the scientific process through testing different pea seeds and different soils to plant them in. Compost vs. potting soil for example. Here are some great resources to add to this lesson:
First Peas To the Table activity pack  and some great illustrations I use for my kiddos to see the life cycle for my plant sheets in my plant packet. You can find them at: First Peas to the Table Coloring Sheets.

You don't have to work at a school called Thomas Jefferson to inspire your students to this fun growing competition...just like one of our founding fathers.  For more competition ideas, graphs, and certificates check out...first peas to the table graph and certificates and more.

Here are some pictures to inspire you!

Beans...and peas growing 

peppers, too

Family Garden Day...picking peas and more!

Getting everyone involved...gardens do that! Can't wait to compete in our pea competition at Thomas Jefferson!

Teacher Appreciation Sale

Don't you love a good sale? Well, I sure do. I also love being appreciated, I bet you do too. So...happy teacher appreciation week! We are all working so hard to make a difference in the lives of our kiddos. Thank you! Did you know that Teachers Pay Teachers wants to appreciate you, too?

I am throwing a sale in honor of teacher appreciation week. Stop on by and check out my TPT store for 20% off of all of my products May 6th and 7th. Here, is a sneak peak of some you will find...

My Butterfly unit that I start next week...painted ladies are on their way!

Roller Coaster Science...great for the end of the year!

Who doesn't love a good life cycle unit!

Reviewing Variable has never been so fun! Check this out!


Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Remember...what you do does matter even if you don't hear it that often! 

Currently May!

Today, May 2nd is my son's birthday. My baby is 12. TWELVE. That is crazy. I want to thank Farley over at Oh, Boy 3rd Grade for hosting the Currently linky. I love checking out the blogs that appear each month. What inspirational teachers out there. It is quiet right now. My husband has a baseball game...as a head coach in a state that has had snow until April and rain once the snow melted, it is hard to get the games in. So, a dryer field was available so off his team went to play their game at 7 o'clock tonight. Then, our daughter at noon was told, get your uniform, we are playing a softball game tonight as well. Yikes. Two gone. Now, for our third daughter, she is babysitting. So, now I have one left and it is the birthday boy. I love how kind he is to the boys in his grade. He invited some friends over that he knew couldn't bring gifts. He wanted me to get some special gifts for his friends instead. They were so excited. After a night of nerf gun wars, hot tubbing, and legos, it is now quiet and the boys are settling down.

Tomorrow, when Matt's other family members are around...we are off to go fishing. It is opening day and I can't wait to get outside. It has rained ALL week. Let's check out what is happening Currently...

Check out her blog at  Mrs. Laffin's Laughings.

I got the TV tonight. So, it was DVR time. HGTV it was. I agree with Farley...I am good with being me at this time in my life. I feel very lucky to have my family...even if at times we don't understand each other...I am working on that...I love teaching science...I feel so lucky to go to school and feel proud of what I am accomplishing to help kids be inspired. I can't wait until all of my children are under one roof. Preparing for a new apartment for our daughter will be a fun project for us to work on together. I can't wait to see us all slow down a bit when summer approaches. I can't wait until we can plant plants in the ground and start our own family garden now that I see how amazing gardening can be! Happy May! 6 more weeks and summer break!

Sounds Good!

I like FOSS and all, but the sound kit needed to be consolidated and added to a bit. I wanted to add some writing, vocabulary activities, and STEM. A conference I went to with other elementary science teachers and loved the engineering activity that our teacher had us do, so I tweaked it and I had my students engineer a communication tool as if they were grounded from all electronics and their best friend...who is their neighbor need to "talk" without getting caught. It was great.Forgot my camera at school, soooooo...I can post pics tomorrow. Hope this sounds good!

Sound Unit

Peek At My Week

Time to link up with other bloggers and take a peek at my week. Not only can you link up with Mrs. Laffin's Laughings but you can also link up with Mrs. Will's Kindergarten.

Tuesday...prep day...first day of my new lessons...here we go. At our last in service we took a peek at our writing scores and oh man...we need to rock and roll in science. My goal is to really work the reflection and writing component in each grade level. I have worked hard on the vocabulary piece, but one thing we discussed for our olders is to continue to use our science reflection questions as great short answers. For our littles, we must continue to ask them to use their writing to show what they know. Any great writing ideas for a science classroom teachers that only see kids one hour a week?

Kinders-
This week, we will be learning about what can hurt and help plants. We will be using The Tiny Seed as our book focus...we will use our writing to answer the question "what helps plants...what helps you?"


Here is the sheet to go with it...

                               The Tiny Seed is Hurt or Helped

Firsties-
Our first graders will be focusing on life cycles and mealworms. We will read a quick book on mealworms...not before we take a quick quiz. We will use our observation and writing skills to show what we know.

Seconds-
We will be focusing on Wisconsin fast seeds and our kindergarten pumpkins. We will watch time lapse photography and writing about the similarities and differences between fast plants and annuals.
                                       Wisconsin Fast Plants

                       Versus.... typical annuals... like the pumpkin...

Thirds-
We will be using an engineering activity to help us understand how to send sound through a solid. They will be using an engineering lesson based on "telephone" which I am adding to my new packet on sound ready by the end of the week...I need it by the end of the week, so I guess I need it done. (procrastinator, oops). We will be using other sheets to review the process we take to figure out how to communicate with our best friend next door, after being grounded, with no electronics...problem solving 101.

Fourths-
We will be working on understanding the solar system along with the planets. We will be reading Postcards From Pluto. Each person will be picking out of the hat to determine what planet they need to write a postcard about and then that will turn into their group for planet research and presentations. We will have a cloze reading lesson and then each group will get books to help them create their own postcard to share next week.


Fifths-
We will continue the lever lessons from FOSS. We are working on setting up an experiment and following directions. Side note... I am giving them a rubric and reflection sheet to fill out on our cardboard arcade. They will self assess and then share with their groups what they think they should get. We will also be using an activity out of my packet that has students picking a card with a major invention. They must illustrate and explain that invention as it was in the past, how it is now, and what it could look like in the future.

Have a great week!

Our Butterflies and Mealworms Are On Their Way!

Well, it is that time of year when the sun is suppose to be out and insects are flying about. Well, it has to stop raining and be warmer than 45 degrees. Brrrrrr. The cold won't stop us though. The insects are on there way. So, I am getting ready by making a TPT resource for myself, my classroom teachers , and you my friends. If you,  as followers, would like a free copy...leave me a comment with your email... Or email me...at k5sciencegal@gmail.com,  and I will send you a free download of my Life Cycle of the Butterfly and Insect Connections. Check out what you could get.

Life Cycle of the Butterfly and Insect Connections