Pizza Party & 100 Marble Celebration

The students are very excited as they have earned 100 marbles for the whole class working quietly. They wanted to combine the marble celebration with the Pizza Party on Tuesday, March 1st. The students voted and they want to wear pajamas, bring a stuffed animal and watch a movie during the pizza party next Tuesday. It should be a fun filled day! 

Math and Science Review and Test Information

The students have enjoyed all the activities in the chapter on Energy, Force, and Motion. We will be reviewing our Science chapter on Monday and Tuesday. I'll send home the book on Monday so your child can review at home too. The test on Chapter 9 will be on Wednesday, March 2nd. 

In Math, the students are working hard as they've been learning to count money. Today, there will be some problem solving with money and next week they'll learn to count groups of coins up to $1.00. We will review on Tuesday and Wednesday and the money test will be on Thursday, March 3rd. 

Writing Celebration

We have finished up our Information Writing Unit on Lab Reports and Science Books. The students loved writing about science when we were writing about procedures and experiments. They loved making ramps and catapults and trying put their hypotheses. After that, the students used what they learned about Forces and Motions and wrote Information Books. Most students wrote about a sport or activity that they were good at and taught others about their expertise. The students worked very hard as they were teaching about football, soccer, swimming, skating, gymnastics or dance. They've added fun facts, glossaries, and illustrations that teach. Tomorrow we will celebrate with time to share our booklets with the class as we eat popcorn!

Learning About Gravity

The students learned more about gravity today. Our first activity was exploring if heavier objects fall faster. Many students wanted to believe that the heavier book would hit the floor faster than the smaller book. After many trials, the students noticed that both books hit the floor at the same time. Our second activity was how high a ball will bounce. We taped a meter stick to the door. We dropped the ball from 50 cm and recorded how high it bounced. Then we dropped the ball from 100 cm and recorded how high it bounced. The students noticed that the greater the height the ball was dropped from, the higher it bounced. 

Learning About Magnets!

The students had fun today as we explored what a magnet can pull through. The students learned that they can pull through solids, liquids, and a gas. They had fun trying to make the paper clip "dance" through the paper. They also had fun watching the magnets attract and repel. They learned that the same poles repel and opposite poles attract. 

Force and Motion

The students learned more about force and motion. We talked about pushes and pulls. They built a structure to show how a golf ball can move. Most students created a ramp and tried it out. Some students used force to make it move and change directions. 

Learning About Pitch

The students learned that pitch is how high or low a sound is so we did a little activity to hear pitch. The 4 jars were filled with different amounts of water. The students used the spoon to tap on the jars to see how high or low it sounded.  Ask your child which jar made the highest sound and which jar made the lowest sound.

Learning About Sound

The students have learned that a sound is made when an object vibrates. We also talked about pitch and volume. We used a ruler to make sound and we watched it vibrate.  The students tried making the ruler vibrate with just a little sticking out over the edge and a lot sticking out over the edge.  Ask your child what he/she noticed during this activity.

Money, Money, Money

The students are learning to count money with quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. This is tricky skill for some. You can help your child at home by counting groups of coins for a few minutes in the evening. I taught them how to play The Trading Game which is a lot of fun!

Energy, Force and Motion

We are learning about energy, force and motion in Science. Yesterday we talked about all the different things we use each day that uses electricity. Wow! It was quite a list! The students learned that light is a source of energy. The students explored what light can shine through. We talked about transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective objects. 

Math Review and Test

The students have been working hard as they've been learning to subtract 3-digit numbers. It's a difficult concept and I've been reviewing with the students since last week. Some students have a difficult time when they have to regroup(borrow) across all three digits. I have been working in small groups with those struggling students. The students who understand the concept with very few errors are getting more challenging practice. I have sent home either a math review sheet or a math challenge sheet for homework tonight so your child can review with you for the test tomorrow.

Thanks for your help and support at home.

Science Review & Test

We finished Chapter 8 on Matter last week and we started reviewing on Wednesday. Several students were absent on Thursday and Friday so we didn't review those days. We reviewed Chapter 8 again today and I sent home the science books to review at home. You can review the vocabulary words on pages 301 & 303. Go over the study guide on pages 305-307. The science test will be Tuesday, February 9th. 

Three Digit Subtraction

The students are working hard as they learn to subtract 3-digit numbers. Most students are doing great! A few students are struggling when they have to regroup or borrow twice to solve the problem. Also, subtracting across zeros is tricky too. We took an extra day to review today. We will continue to review next week and the Chapter 7 Math Test will be on Wednesday, February 10th. 

Science Writing

The students have learned a lot about writing like a scientist and we're off on our next experiment. Using a catapult we make, which will go farther, the ping pong ball or the cotton ball. The students wrote the question, hypothesis and procedure yesterday. They recorded their results and today they'll be writing their conclusion and thinking like a scientist to explain the results. After that, they will get to change one variable and try a new question and hypothesis.

The students love this unit!

Matter Changes - Part 2

The students enjoyed learning how matter changes. We started out with a powdered muffin mix and added water. It was now a liquid with solid pieces of chocolate chips. We put the muffin mix into little muffin cups and again, the liquid shape changed because liquids take the shape of their containers. We baked them and now the dough has changed size, color and shape. They were delicious too!