We are Stuck on Magnets! We started our magnet unit today with predicting and testing what magnets are and are not attracted to. We learned that they are not attracted to all metals. We also tested where a magnet works. Does it work through paper, wood, plastic, glass, water? Ask your child to find out. We also did experiments with the North and South poles of the magnets to see the magnets attract and repel each other. We finished the day with presenting our Pony Express Reader's Theaters.
2/6/17
Today, we wrapped up our unit on Big Cats! Students put the finishing touches on their reports and masks. Then, students read their reports aloud. In a couple weeks, we will be visiting Catty Shack Ranch Big Cat Rescue to our reports come alive! We also began work on our Pony Express Skits.
12/12/16
11/28/16
We had our second Apple S.T.E.M. Challenge today called Apples Afar. Students were asked to construct a cantilever that could support an apple. We documented the S.T.E.M. cycle in our journals again. Check it out below! We finished our Apple Sewing.
11/21/16
We continued our Love those Apples Unit today! First, we did our first Apple S.T.E.M. Challenge- Apples Aloft. We had to build the tallest tower that could support an apple on top using the materials in our building kit. Our tallest tower was 15 inches, but did not support the apple. Our tallest tower that could support the apple was 10 1/2 inches tall. As scientists, we documented each step of the S.T.E.M. cycle (Brainstorm, Plan, Create, Improve). We also completed our Apple Antonyms and Apple Word search activities. After lunch, we made Apple Fizz Art and observed chemical reactions between acids and bases. Lastly, we started our Apple Sewing Project. It was an applicious day!
10/31/16
Today was our Fall S.T.E.A.M day! We started by reading Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White. We completed our Determining Importance Sequence of Events. We also worked in small groups to present a Reader's Theater for Too Many Pumpkins. Next, we built a Spider Web Bridge using yarn, cups, and tape. Check them out below! The strongest bridge held 33 cubes. Lastly, we had our first sewing lesson where we made Jack-O-Lanterns. Many of us are still getting the hang of sewing and will bring them home in the next couple of weeks!
10/24/16
Today, we had a ice cream party because we did all 50 states for our Great States Challenge.We also were leaf explorers! We also watched a video about the important job of leaves! We did a leaf scavenger hunt around our school. Then, we came back and looked at veins and the leaf shape through our hand lens. We had so much fun! We wrote abut are 2 favorite leafs that we found by measuring their size and describing their shapes. We also did a book of leaf rubbings. Lastly, we also made wreathes out of brown paper bags and paper leafs to decorate our house for fall.
10/17/16
We had a blast at the Corn Maze on Friday! The kids picked the difficult maze and they answered trivia questions to get us through the maze. Check out the pictures below! Today, we wrapped up our Popcorn Unit today! We wrote a Popcorn Acrostic Poem. We had more science labs with Science is Popping Day 2. We completed our Dud Buster lab and the Air Popper Pie Chart lab. Lastly, we dyed popcorn with kool-aid and then made flowers with the popcorn.
10/03/16
Fun's a popping continued today! We started with our waker upper and Great States Challenge. Our logic problem was called "At the Movies." Based on clues, we had to determine who in the audience matched the clue. A friend brought in real Iowa dent corn and pictures of her grandpa's farm. We explored popcorn some more with "Thoughts about Popcorn." Then, we had a Popcorn Taste Test! We tasted 5 different types of popcorn and used our 5 senses to describe each. The Big Cheez won the taste test. Then, we graphed our class favorite flavor choices. After lunch, we wrote a paragraph about eating popcorn including each of the 5 senses. We also created our own new popcorn flavor with a slogan and box design. Ask me about my new flavor! Lastly, we worked in two groups to "act out" the process of popcorn popping. Check out the pictures below. Remember: we will not have class on Monday, October 10th due to our field trip on Friday, October 14th. See you then!
09/26/16
Fun's a Popping in Gifted! Today, we used grid coordinates to build our own corn maze and then solve it! We researched the History of Popcorn and read The Popcorn Book to learn more about popcorn. Then we completed our Discovering Popcorn with 20 questions. After that, we had a brainstorm activity with the words Popcorn Kernel. Next, we made new inventions by adding popcorn to items like gum. At recess, we held a popcorn ball race just like kids in colonial times. After lunch, we had our Science is popping day 1 labs. They were: Popcorn sink or float, Popcorn Throw Measuring, Popcorn Push Ups, and Kernel Diagram. We have to wait until tomorrow to see the results of our Popcorn Push Ups!
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| Popcorn Ball Races |
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| Popcorn Throw |
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| Sink or Float |
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| Popcorn Push Ups |
09/19/16
Today, we learned a lot about corn! We also did the test for the midwest region for the Great States Challenge. First, we did are waker-upper and logic. Next, we did chess with knights corners. We put them in 4 by 4 square style with a partner and only used the knights. After chess, we read some articles about corn and completed a Corn 3-2-1 chart. Next, we watched a video on the life cycle of corn and made a corn life cycle in our "Fun's A Popping" unit. Also, we looked at ingredients lists on food items to see what corn products they had in them. Then, we did are word scramble with some pretty weird words to unscramble for types of corn. Later, we did are corn man glyph all of them looked super funny and different because we answered questions to make him. Then we did something really cool and we stuck are hands in it and some other stuff it was a fun science experiment. We had to decide if the mixture was a solid or a liquid. Check us out below!
09/12/16
Today we celebrated International Dot Day! We read The Dot by Peter Reynolds and learned how to make our mark! We had a dot sign in and completed Thoughts about Dots. We went on Adventures with Dot and drew our own. We went on a Dot Scavenger Hunt around the school and discovered dots are everywhere! Then, we did the Great Skittle Experiment and learned about the solubility of sugar and colors. We used Morse Code to figure our a message. Lastly, we learned about the famous Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and created our own masterpieces just like Vashiti in The Dot. Celebrate Dot Day in your home!
08/29/16
We started with our Art Poem Waker Upper. We used sketches to tell a poem. Then, we completed our Logic problem. This one had multiple correct answers. Then, we read Q is for Duck: The Alphabet Guessing Game. We discovered the pattern and made our own class book!
Come check it out at Open House next week! Next, we had an Olympics Track and Field STEM Challenge. We used socks, an apple, and foil ball as shot puts and measured which one traveled the farthest. For two groups the foil (lightest) traveled the farthest and for one group the apple (heaviest) traveled the farthest. We decided that this is because we changed which person threw which made a variable in our experiment. Variable is our science vocabulary word. Check out the pictures below!
Lastly, we practiced for our Great States Challenge in our stations. The Southeast Challenge is the next time 9/12. Keep Practicing!! We will not have class next week due to the Labor Day holiday. Thank you to all of you who have sent in classroom supplies!
08/22/16
We had a great day today! We started our day off with a Who Asked Waker Upper. We learned how to use a table to find a pattern in order to solve our Logic. Then, we played pawn wars Chess. After that, we had a State research report. We researched online facts about our chosen state and then made a "State Plate" for our class map! Check it out! Lastly, we visited stations to practice learning our state locations for the Great States Challenge. We are bringing home a map with the Southern states labeled to practice at home.
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