Our Busy Week

This week we were very busy!  As a class we discussed our "Rights" and "Responsibilities" in our classroom community.  From this discussion we wrote our classroom constitution and after promising to follow the constitution, we each signed our name to complete the promise. Ask your child about our classroom rules.

We have also been very busy "citizen's."  We learned more about citizenship through a very fun game of charades and then transferred our learning later in the week by helping the first graders accomplish a very challenging math packet.

What is a "Function Machine"......?

The "Function Machine" is coming together!  But, what is it?  And, what does it do?

Surf's Up

Question: What happens when water is mixed with oil?

Hypothesis:

A. The oil and water will mix and change color.

B. The oil and water will become cloudy.
C. The oil and water will separate.
D. The oil and water will form a solid.

Conclusion: The water and oil separate!  Why?  Oil is lighter (LESS DENSE) thans water and will not mix with it.  The water and oil will separate and when gently rocked back and forth will look like a "wave" in the jar!

The First Day of School: August 2013

First Day Breakfast!

The first day of school was full of excitement, stories, new clothes, and fun!  We got to know our classmates by playing the "Silly Name Game," we took a tour of the school to see all the new rooms/areas, and we enjoyed a snack from the School Garden!

 

We also got to do our first science experiment: "All Washed Up..."  We were trying to answer the question - What will happen to a newspaper man put in soapy water, compared to plain water?

 

 

 

While most of us predicted the newspaper man in soapy water would sink slower, when we conducted the experiment our results showed that a newspaper man put in soapy water compared to plain water actually sinks faster!

We learned about water molecules.  The detergent (soap) reduced the surface tension (made the molecules in the water spread apart) allowing the newspaper man to sink quickly!  Very Cool!

A Few More Garden Photo's to Enjoy!

The "New" North Hero School Community Garden

The School Garden is beginning to take shape!  Check out some of the photo's of our work and progress so far.  A BIG THANK YOU to my father, Marty Brooks, for making all of the lumber we needed for the raised beds and spending a few hours driving to and from the school to work with the kids to put it all together.  Come back soon for more photo's and information about how to get involved.  We will need help this summer caring for the garden and making sure we tend to the "fruits of our labor!"

We are incredibly proud of our students for their leadership roles and teamwork thus far throughout the project.  And, this is only the beginning!

 

 

Geology Presentations: Day Five

Geologists Share Their Knowledge

 

Nico sharing her rock observations!

Breanna made a scrumptious "Mock Rock" Cake!
With tiny, colored minerals and all.



Trever shared his knowledge of identifying
rocks with various tests.



Science Presentations: Day Three and Four

Geology Presentations

The Challenge: To present your project to the class in a 3 minute presentation. In those 3 minutes you will answer the following questions.

1)What were you trying to find out (your question)?

2) What materials or references did you need to do your project?

3) What procedure did you follow to complete your project?

4)What did you learn from doing this project?

 

Owen shares his knowledge of Portland
Cement.

Bridgette learned about the hardness
of different minerals and the Mohs Mineral Scale.

Jacob performed and shared his information
on the calcite test and various rocks.

Kayla traveled the states to collect her rocks
and conduct the calcite test!

Hudson shares his "sugar cookie" mock rocks!

 

Science Project Presentations: Day Two

Sharing our knowledge as Geologists

 

Lily shared her learning about the mineral
Smokey Quartz.

Hannah presents her knowledge of fossils in various
types of rocks.  Igneous, metomorphic, and Sedimentary!

Faith shares her rock samples and how she
identifies them as a geologist.



Nicole used the vinegar test to see which rocks in her collection
contained the mineral calcite.

 

Science Project Presentation: Day One

Geology Presentations

The Challenge: To present your project to the class in a 3 minute presentation.  In those 3 minutes you will answer the following questions. 

1)What were you trying to find out (your question)?

2) What materials or references did you need to do your project?

3) What procedure did you follow to complete your project?

4)What did you learn from doing this project?

Lizzy learned how caves are formed.

Garett's poster representing the Mohs Scale.
This scale deteremines the hardness or softness
of all the minerals of the world.

Garett presented his knowledge of the Mohs Scale.

Gregory learned about Portland cement and its
common uses.

Marlee made "Mock Rocks" for the class to enjoy. Delicious!

Science Updates

Our geology inquiries have led us to identifying various minerals using the "scratch test."  Each team of 3rd and 4th grade geologists used the properties of color and hardness to identify the minerals gypsum, calcite, fluorite, and quartz.

TODAY is the day!

Today (Tuesday, April 9, 2013) is finally the day that we will begin using our classroom blog regularly! We will use it as a daily classroom tool to communicate and complete assignments.  We will also use it to report out all of the wonderful things happening in our classroom.  We hope to see you visit often.

1/21/13 Ask Me About....

Martin Luther King Jr. : Today we remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. We read the story Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and learned and sang a song about freedom to the first and second grade class.

This weeks spelling list reflects the teaching of Dr. King.  We learned about contractions (the coming together of words with an apostrophe!).  

We are learning how to record our scientific investigations or experiments in the form of a laboratory or "lab" report.  The question we are addressing is: Can we make a strong magnet that can be turned on and off?  For this investigation it is important to understand the scientific process.  Do you know the steps of the Scientific Process?

We are also knee deep in mathematical problem solving.  Ask your student what this is all about!