Tuesday, June 7th - We have pivoted to social studies, but some students asked about playing the Solar System Kahoot! at home... here you go... Kahoot!
The kids got a kick out of this...
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.
The kids got a kick out of this...
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.
Monday, June 6th - The kids had a great time playing Kahoot! and showed a solid understanding of solar system.
Today was also a bit of a sad day... this was the last 5th grade science class for your kids.
Today was also a bit of a sad day... this was the last 5th grade science class for your kids.
Friday, June 3rd - There is nothing left for the students to learn about the solar system, so it must be time to move on... just kidding. We dove pretty deep into the solar system and I hope that the students take away the concept of just how "yuuuuge" the solar system is and how our understanding of it is constantly improving.
The students worked in groups to build the final assessment. Over the weekend, I will put there questions in Kahoot! and we will play on Monday.
The students worked in groups to build the final assessment. Over the weekend, I will put there questions in Kahoot! and we will play on Monday.
Thursday, June 2nd - Students worked on answering the following questions...
Tomorrow, the students will work to build their end of unit assessment. They will come up with questions/answers and then turned into a Kahoot!. I am thinking of each class making at least two tests. That would give us six tests to make it pretty random (I will check the questions to make sure they are legitimate).
We also checked out a new video that NASA just uploaded from New Horizons (almost a year since it made its flyby and still sending back info)... CLICK HERE
Tomorrow, the students will work to build their end of unit assessment. They will come up with questions/answers and then turned into a Kahoot!. I am thinking of each class making at least two tests. That would give us six tests to make it pretty random (I will check the questions to make sure they are legitimate).
We also checked out a new video that NASA just uploaded from New Horizons (almost a year since it made its flyby and still sending back info)... CLICK HERE
Wednesday, June 1st - Pluto. Maybe it is not considered a "planet" anymore, but it is still inspiring. We learned about the exploration of Pluto by New Horizon. It is such an interesting story and a tremendous accomplishment. A 3 billion mile and nine year trip. I told the students that this just happened (July 2015 flyby) and changed what we know about Pluto. We finally found out what it looks like, that there must be some internal heat (previously thought that not possible), the terrain is varied, there is an atmosphere (previously thought that not possible)... the point being that there are some many discovers left to be made and they are the ones that can make them!
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This stamp was just released yesterday (5/31/16) by the United States Post Office. Talk about timing...
There was something else that happened... what was it... 5th Grade Field trip!!! |
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Tuesday, May 31st - The kids got to show off their knowledge of the solar system by writing about it. What does that mean? Great question. The students had to write about the object in the solar system that they researched and presented last week. What did they write? Another great question. Anything they wanted. They could write a poem, song, persuasive essay, play, first person, science fiction... any type of writing that used their accurate information. The students read their work at the end of class. Their work was varied and interesting. The best part was their presenting. They read the words with feeling, took their time and projected their voices. What a huge difference from the beginning of 4th grade!
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Thursday, May 26th - It was a long trip, but we made it to the end of the solar system... or what we think is the end? From the Sun to the outside edge of the Oort Cloud, we traveled 100,000 AU. AU stands for Astronomical Unit. One AU = the distance of the Earth to the Sun or roughly 98 million miles. I told you it was a long trip.
So what does that look like... prepare for you head exploding... The picture to the right shows all that we now believe is our solar system. Sun to 10 AU are all the planets (there are only 8 now). Now you may have a better idea of size of the solar system. |
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Wednesday, May 25th - The classes got through traveled through the asteroid belt and out to Neptune. Again, the students did the teaching (I may have chimed in... now and then). One of the classes seemed to be losing focus, so we did an impromptu writing assignment on what they had been taught up to that point. My heart skipped a beat when they started bringing their work. Their work was accurate and even had small tidbits of information that were thrown around the room. It worked!!!
Tuesday, May 24th - The students have taken over!!! The kids started teaching the class about the solar system.. Based on their research from yesterday, each group explained their topic. We now know all about the Sun and and inner planets. What will they teach tomorrow...
Monday, May 23rd - This week we will be researching and teaching each other about what makes up the solar system. Today the kids worked in groups to research their object. Tomorrow, they will begin teaching the rest of the class about their topic. I have an idea for an interesting writing assignment to go along with their research... stay tuned.
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Friday, May 20th - We have talked about models throughout the year and today we put it all to the test. We looked at models of the solar system. From the Ptolemy model to modern text books and posters. What did we find out... they are all bad! Today was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the students to create a good model. First we had to create the scale. 1 kilometer to 6,000,000,000 meters. Than we did the math. It was ugly, but we got there. IN the end we had a the scale diameters of the sun/planets and the distance of the bodies from the sun. We started with the sun at the end of College Ave. We next walked out the planets. 9.7 meters to Mercury. Another 8.3 meters to Venus. A short walk to Earth of 7.0 meters. Onto Mars with another 13 meters from Earth. We finished up at the Montclair State, 750 meters from the sun. We would have to go much farther to account for the Kuiper Belt (that is where Pluto lives) and Oort Cloud. They more than double what we used to consider the solar system.
In the end, the students had a better understanding of how enormous size of the solar system, how empty it is, how the sun contains 99.8% of the all the mass and why they will probably never again see an accurate model. I thought it was awesome. |
Here is Saturn and you are looking south toward Mt. Hebron. Can you see the Sun? It is the soccer ball. It is 238 meters on our model and 1,430,000,000 kilometers out there!
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Thursday, May 19th - Mr. Liddy was out! I had to go to Central Office for an ELA professional development. Don't worry 4th graders, I am still going to be your Science/Social Studies teacher next year (as far as I know.). The students took their A New Nation Test. The sub was the 4th grade student teacher (just graduated) and the kids were well behaved (not that I expected anything less).
Wednesday, May 18th - We had a surprise extra lap top day, so the students had a list of 15 solar systems questions. They needed to find the answers, but there is more to it... the kids needed to determine if the website they used was reliable. They also checked multiple sources when they found something that didn't sound correct.
As you probably guessed... we started out unit on the Solar System. This is a topic that the students got very excited about and I can see why. It is big, weird, unimaginable and still has discovers that are waiting to be made!
As you probably guessed... we started out unit on the Solar System. This is a topic that the students got very excited about and I can see why. It is big, weird, unimaginable and still has discovers that are waiting to be made!
Friday, April 22nd - If it is April 22nd, than it must be... Earth Day!!! We had short classes today, but we had a nice lesson/talk about Earth Day (it all started back in 1970...). It has taken on many forms over the last 46 years, but the idea has always been about protecting the Earth. Hopefully, your kids have a little more info and will be better stewards of the Earth!
Thursday, April 21th - All done with PARCC ELA. I heard some of the students saying that today was a little harder, but they liked all the stories that read. Tomorrow will be the first of two days of math.
The students received a few hints about the hum-dinger and went back to work. I would say about 3/4 of the groups built a model that "hummed" and "dinged". A few groups that built a working model yesterday, reworked their design with the new information. Others groups that finished their models went around to offer help where needed (and wanted). The kids did a great job with this project... it was not easy! Here are videos of some of the finished pieces...
The students received a few hints about the hum-dinger and went back to work. I would say about 3/4 of the groups built a model that "hummed" and "dinged". A few groups that built a working model yesterday, reworked their design with the new information. Others groups that finished their models went around to offer help where needed (and wanted). The kids did a great job with this project... it was not easy! Here are videos of some of the finished pieces...
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Monday and Tuesday, April 18th and 19th - Seems like everyone had a great break and was super duper excited about coming back to PARCC. We had two days of PARCC and I haven't seen any anxiety from the students. That is a good thing.
The most amazing part of Monday... students brought back items, videos, pictures and created PowerPoints of places they went and explained how they were connected to a topic we covered in class. It was AWESOME!!!
We still have classes each day, but they are shorter. The kids have been working on a new "black box"... it is a hum-dinger (pull the string and the bag "hums"... let go of the string and a bell "dings")...
The most amazing part of Monday... students brought back items, videos, pictures and created PowerPoints of places they went and explained how they were connected to a topic we covered in class. It was AWESOME!!!
We still have classes each day, but they are shorter. The kids have been working on a new "black box"... it is a hum-dinger (pull the string and the bag "hums"... let go of the string and a bell "dings")...
Friday, April 8th - I didn't forget to write and we did "science" on Friday. After I left school on Friday, my family got in the car and started driving to the Great Smokey Mountains (Tennessee). We arrived at 5:00 PM on Saturday (we stopped overnight on the way) and what is the first thing to do after unpacking the car... update the website.
The students had won 4 "Waste Free Lunches" and each one comes with 10 minutes of extra recess time. Since some students started their break early (absent) and some left early, we shortened our classes and used the extra time and their extra gym to go to Mountainside Park in the afternoon.
What did we do in class on Friday? We created another model of a black box. Although the box was brown that housed the mystery, it is still called a black box. I told the students that if any group could come up with a model that matched the black box, I would open it and let them see inside. Some got very close and with a little support, each class was able to figure it out. The best part... some groups came up with amazing models that would work. The basic idea inside the box was siphoning, but your kids can explain it better. Here are picture of their models... (no one believed that the black box was "magic". One group couldn't agree on a model and I wrote "magic", because it was blank).
The students had won 4 "Waste Free Lunches" and each one comes with 10 minutes of extra recess time. Since some students started their break early (absent) and some left early, we shortened our classes and used the extra time and their extra gym to go to Mountainside Park in the afternoon.
What did we do in class on Friday? We created another model of a black box. Although the box was brown that housed the mystery, it is still called a black box. I told the students that if any group could come up with a model that matched the black box, I would open it and let them see inside. Some got very close and with a little support, each class was able to figure it out. The best part... some groups came up with amazing models that would work. The basic idea inside the box was siphoning, but your kids can explain it better. Here are picture of their models... (no one believed that the black box was "magic". One group couldn't agree on a model and I wrote "magic", because it was blank).
Thursday, April 7th - It is a 3D revolution and your kids are part of it! Our trip to MSU was fantastic. The students loved seeing what the college kids are doing with 3D design. Even better... your kid's behavior was perfect... I was invited back next year.
The first two classes made it up and back... nice and dry. That was good, because we had about 4 or 5 kids that didn't bring a rain jacket or umbrella. The class after lunch made it up to the lab without rain, but the weather finally caught up to us. Again, we had a handful of students without umbrellas or rain jackets, so they were going to get wet. The wind wreacked havoc on several umbrellas, so what happens next? All the kids want to get rained on. At least It was the end of the day.
The first two classes made it up and back... nice and dry. That was good, because we had about 4 or 5 kids that didn't bring a rain jacket or umbrella. The class after lunch made it up to the lab without rain, but the weather finally caught up to us. Again, we had a handful of students without umbrellas or rain jackets, so they were going to get wet. The wind wreacked havoc on several umbrellas, so what happens next? All the kids want to get rained on. At least It was the end of the day.
Wednesday, April 6th - Our scientists gathered more information about the contents of the black boxes. The students were given parts (may or may not be in their black box) and a box. With this in mind, they created a physical model. The pairs put a drawing of their new model on the board and collaborated with other groups. If they reached a consensus, they added that to the board. The kids still didn't get to open their black box, but they felt like they were getting closer to knowing what was inside. Here are the results...
5 - Spicer
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5 - Finnerty
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5 - Liddy
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Rain or shine (it will be rain) we will be walking up to Montclair State University tomorrow to visit their 3D lab and see how the college students are using the 3D design. BRING AN UMBRELLA OR RAIN JACKET... OR BOTH!!!
Tuesday, April 5th - And done!!! The Science Fair Projects are finished and ready for the world to see. The gym/lunch room/auditorium has been set up with the whole schools projects. I will be taking the 5th grade classes down tomorrow. Don't worry... you can see all the projects also. The Science Fair will be open tomorrow (4/6)... k-2 - 6:30-7:30 and 3-5 7:30-8:30. In case you can't make it... here are pictures of the projects...
Monday, April 4th - We discussed the questions on the tests and why the answers were the answers. Overall, the classes did well. 85, 86 and 90 were the class averages.
More science fair presentations and we will finish that tomorrow.
*** Thursday is our walk up to MSU for the 3D lab tour. It is going to rain, but we are walking... bring an umbrella or a rain jacket.
*** Wednesday night is the Science Fair... 6:30 to 8:30 (book fair at the same time).
More science fair presentations and we will finish that tomorrow.
*** Thursday is our walk up to MSU for the 3D lab tour. It is going to rain, but we are walking... bring an umbrella or a rain jacket.
*** Wednesday night is the Science Fair... 6:30 to 8:30 (book fair at the same time).
Friday, April 1st - The Revolutionary War may have ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed, but for us it ended today... with our end of unit test. I will post over in Social Studies more about the test by Monday.
After the test, we started the presentations of the science fair projects....
After the test, we started the presentations of the science fair projects....
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Thursday, March 31st - Back in the science saddle. The class made a model. Sounds straight forward enough, but we took it to another level of thinking. They created a black box model... a system that cannot be directly observed and easily understood. Each group of two received a box (there were four different versions). They couldn't open the box, but they had to create a model that would explain what they could not see. Each group created a model in their notebook and drew it on the board. We discussed as a class and proceed to gather all the groups wit that had the same designated box to collaborate... that is what scientists do with journals and conferences. The idea here is to get the students thinking about how and why models are used (atoms, solar systems, cross section of the Earth...).
Wednesday, March 2nd - I was a little nervous when I sat down with the students assessments last night and wouldn't you know... they rose to the occasion. I was blown away by their work. I didn't finish grading all the papers (I will be done tonight), but did let the students know how proud I was of their work.
Time to move over to the Social Studies tab. See you there.
Time to move over to the Social Studies tab. See you there.
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Tuesday, March 1st - Earth Systems assessment day! Ask you child if this assessment was different from the last or any other one they ever took. There were no multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer... This assessment gave them the ability to show what they know by writing. They were given prompts and used their notebooks to fully explain their assertions. I will let you know the students feedback tomorrow. I know my feedback is... a whole lot of reading for me!
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We also had an assemble this morning. The writers of the Shiver books came in to talk about the next book in the series. The books came from the imagination of a former Bradford student. His aunt and her friend are the writers. Ask you child about the presentation. One of the presenters was memorable.
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Monday, February 29th - Today we are going to review for the Earth Systems assessment tomorrow by trying something different... https://kahoot.it/#/ The kids had a really good time with Kahoot. I can see this becoming an ongoing tool to use in class. This is pretty easy to set up and can be played with any device that can access the website (computer, smart phone, iPad, iPod...).
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Friday, February 26th - We completed our topic about the ocean and will review on Monday. We are going to try something new... kahoot.it. I will let you know how that goes. Tuesday will be the students end of unit assessment. They should be familiar with their notebooks, but do not need to memorize anything. The notebooks will be used for the assessment.
One of the students (AC) was in Florida last week and mailed the class a letter. This letter was a little different than others sent... it is a sea grape leaf and is acceptable by the Post Office. |
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Thursday, February 25th - Why is the ocean salty? Was it always salty? Will the level of salt increase in the future? All great questions and ones that your child can answer (fingers crossed). How about having them explain what is going on with the soil and green water in the picture below? Next Tuesday we will have an assessment on the Earth systems unit. The kids don't have to memorize anything and they will use their notebook. They should be familiar with the material and their notebook. Click on "Dynamic Earth" to get to the website we looked at in class.
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Wednesday, February 24th - Distribution of water on Earth. The students had some background of how our water is distributed, but now they have a "clear" understanding. We got to use our new scales. It was a great way for the students to get comfortable and they were surprised by the accuracy. One group couldn't figure out why their scale kept changing a few tenths of a gram... I worked with them until they came up with... the window. Yes, the force of the breeze was being picked up... awesome!!! Ask your kid if they can re-explain what the cups and bottles represent.
Tuesday, February 23rd - Bonus computer day! Since we had the laptops today (unexpected), one of the students (SW) asked if we could research Plate Tectonics. Sounded like a good idea, so the students worked in groups of two and researched their randomly given plate. The students focused on using multiple and reliable sources.
Info on school tours was posted today and virtual tours will follow soon... SCHEDULE
Info on school tours was posted today and virtual tours will follow soon... SCHEDULE
Monday, February 22nd - Design and engineering is a part of the science curriculum and what says design and engineering more than 3D design? The students got the opportunity to use the software. I showed the tools on the board and the students followed along. Questions were asked and I think I was able to answer all of them. Overall, the students took it like a fish to water. Be prepared for your kid to ask you about getting the software. On that front... the software is free, but you need to have an iTunes account to download the app. Check out the "3D" tab for more info.
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Friday, February 19th - The students finished their overview of Africa with a speedy research project on the African kingdoms. We talked about the Egyptian Empire and then the kids received a slip with a kingdom to research and report to the class (no PowerPoint, just presented with written notes). They had about 50 minutes... 16 out of 18 groups completed the project and the other two were just about done. Ask you kid if they can tell you about their kingdom (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Benin, Great Zimbabwe or Kush "Nubia").
Thursday, February, 18th - we completed our tour of the physical features of Africa by looking at the hydrosphere. The students have a much better understanding of Africa and were able to apply the Earth systems to their explanations.
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Wednesday, February 17th - Ask your child if they think Africa is is hot, dry, sandy and Egyptian (they should tell you that it is diverse and maybe have examples). We used our understanding of the Earth's systems to explain the geography of Africa. They should all now know that Africa is not a country. How about this map to give you an idea of the size of Africa...
Friday, February 12th - Two interesting (good) things about today...
The students presented their biome research. They were by far the best I have seen in the last year and a half. The students had one class period to complete the project. I think the limited time forced them to take more notes and less typing into the slides. 90% of the kids presented to the class. What does that mean... they faced the class and not the SmartBoard. Trust me, this was a big step.
I invited students that were interested in 3D design to have lunch in my room. While they ate, I run through the software and explained the different tools and movements. Make sure you check out the 3D tab for more info on this topic. Over the next couple of days, try to design something... start simple. Enjoy the time off!!!
The students presented their biome research. They were by far the best I have seen in the last year and a half. The students had one class period to complete the project. I think the limited time forced them to take more notes and less typing into the slides. 90% of the kids presented to the class. What does that mean... they faced the class and not the SmartBoard. Trust me, this was a big step.
I invited students that were interested in 3D design to have lunch in my room. While they ate, I run through the software and explained the different tools and movements. Make sure you check out the 3D tab for more info on this topic. Over the next couple of days, try to design something... start simple. Enjoy the time off!!!
Thursday, February 11th - How each sphere interacts with the water cycle was the main theme today. True, we did spend some time discussing my 3D training and what it means for the students (check out the new tab up top for more info) and reviewing student work that was done in my absence. I am pleased to report that I heard nothing, but good things from the substitute and paraprofessionals.
Tuesday (2/9) and Wednesday (2/10) - 3D Training has come to an end... for now. I have a few more days of training out at the Picatinny Arsenal, but that won't be for another month or so. The students had a capable sub the last two days and they were working. Overall, they are good kids and their "extra gym" was a carrot for good behavior.
No one seems entirely sure about how 3D printing will be worked into the elementary schools. It seems like that is something that the schools will work on this year and be ready next year. I know what you are thinking... "What good does that do my kid? They are leaving Bradford". The middle schools and high school have programs in place, so they will have access to 3D printing for the rest of their Montclair school career. I will figure something out for the students to work on this year. This may change, but it may probably need to be a mix of school time, at Bradford after school and home. As it comes together, I will keep the students updated and post new information.
No one seems entirely sure about how 3D printing will be worked into the elementary schools. It seems like that is something that the schools will work on this year and be ready next year. I know what you are thinking... "What good does that do my kid? They are leaving Bradford". The middle schools and high school have programs in place, so they will have access to 3D printing for the rest of their Montclair school career. I will figure something out for the students to work on this year. This may change, but it may probably need to be a mix of school time, at Bradford after school and home. As it comes together, I will keep the students updated and post new information.
Monday, February 8th - Rock Cycle. The students got a refresher on the rock cycle and a little deeper understanding. However, if you ask your kids what they did today... they will probably talk about 3D printing. I have been designing on my own and will have training the next two days (I would rather do this outside of school time, but that is not up to me). Here are a bunch of pieces I printed this weekend.
Also, 5L made Chinese food with their little buddies...
Also, 5L made Chinese food with their little buddies...
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Friday, February 5th - I did not see that snow coming! The delayed opening shorted up the classes, but we finished up our research/model of Plate Tectonics.
I will be out next Tuesday (2/9) and Wednesday (2/10) for 3D printer training (I don't love the idea of being out, but it is not up to me when the training is given). We will have a good sub, so i am 90% confident that learning will be taking place in my absence. Have a great weekend and enjoy what is left of the snow. Thursday, February 4th - We spent a few minutes at the beginning of class and finished the biosphere biomes. We followed that up with a good discussion about what it all means. Next, we moved on to Plate Tectonics. It seemed like this was new territory for most of the students. I think the topic is fascinating and the students seemed to be there with me. We covered the history of the topic and looked into 2 of the 3 movements of the plates... Divergent Boundary (thank you book by that name, because the students had an idea of what the word meant) and Convergent Boundary.
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Wednesday, February 3rd - We are making good progress. We have a little more work on the biome map and than off to plate tectonics. Some of the students watched the videos of plate tectonics (under videos) and are super excited! Update on the 3D printer... it is broken! I have been on the phone with Makerbot (couldn't be more helpful - I am being serious) and there is a little tiny tab on the ribbon that holds the print head... that is broken. It must be a $0.10 piece. A replacement is on the way and I believe I am up for the surgery.
Tuesday, February 2nd - Biomes of the Biosphere. We started a new lesson diving deeper into the biosphere. The students are doing a great job coming up with interesting questions and answers. Fingers crossed... we will finish filling in the map tomorrow. Ask your kid if they can explain a biome to you (we only built the map and discussed a desert biome). Hands down favorite video (also located under the video tab) they have seen recently... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIy0ZlyPPDg
Monday, February 1st - Where to start... The 3D Printer (see picture below) is here and will be ready to print tomorrow. I spent six hours designing the paperweight (see picture below). Our new awesome scales arrived this afternoon (see picture below). What could make a Monday even better... That's right, discussing the Earth's systems.
We finished our work on the four spheres and the students did a great job coming up with the information to add to their notebooks (look like the picture below). How about this for one more win... two days of using pens... none missing and none chewed on!
We finished our work on the four spheres and the students did a great job coming up with the information to add to their notebooks (look like the picture below). How about this for one more win... two days of using pens... none missing and none chewed on!
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Friday, January 29th - We began our unit on the Earth Systems.. four main systems... hydrosphere (water), biosphere (life), geosphere (rock) and atmosphere (air). Today's goal: I can develop a model to describe Earth's four major systems. How did we do... not to bad. We got through the background and two systems. We will finish the other two on Monday. The students have the same picture in their notebooks and are adding notes and finding examples. I guide the students, but the information we write down comes from them. We also watched a short, but good video to start the day (the video can be found on the video tab).
The really big news... we used pens! I know that for those of you older than 11, that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to the under 11 crowd. I picked up a bunch of different color pens for our first project... each system will be a different color (matches the picture below). The students were engaged, so I count today as win.
The really big news... we used pens! I know that for those of you older than 11, that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to the under 11 crowd. I picked up a bunch of different color pens for our first project... each system will be a different color (matches the picture below). The students were engaged, so I count today as win.
Monday, January 4th - New year... new topic. Click over to Social Studies to see what we did today.
Tuesday, December 22nd - The students finished their cars, timed them at different angles and graphed the results. We used the students 20 degree times to create brackets for the elimination race. Everyone did a fantastic job... even a few groups that didn't have working vehicle. We talked about failure in design as different than failure on a test. A bad design still has something to offer and with more time, they could have made working cars.
Side note... my phone went bad (not battery dead, just wouldn't turn on) for most of the first class (Spicer), so there are no pictures. The winning car was "MLG Flash".
Side note... my phone went bad (not battery dead, just wouldn't turn on) for most of the first class (Spicer), so there are no pictures. The winning car was "MLG Flash".
Monday, December 21st - The students got a chance to see what coding is all about. This link will take you to the page the students used to learn how to code (using blocks). I have also attached links of the work that some of the students uploaded. Your child will have to explain the rules of their game, because they made up everything about the game.
https://code.org/learn
https://code.org/learn
Learn an hour of code... https://code.org/learn
Friday, December 18th - Almost all of the groups began testing their cars on the track. A few even started to run their cars at the different angles and record their times. Next week, we will all finish are timed runs and than look at changing other variables... add weight, add ramps to measure distance of jumps. If we have time, we will have an elimination race to see which car is the fastest and a contest to determine which car is the class favorite.
Thursday, December 17th - The kids performances were awesome. I was proud of all the work they put into the songs and guts to sing and play instruments in front of 100's of people.
In class, we started an engineering project... build a car. We discussed what it takes to make a car efficient and why it matters. The students broke up into groups of two or three and began the design process. They have a budget to buy parts and we built a track that will be used for testing and time trials (graphing times at different angles and races... if we have time). Here are the parts available... ask the kids about costs... I am making a fortune!
In class, we started an engineering project... build a car. We discussed what it takes to make a car efficient and why it matters. The students broke up into groups of two or three and began the design process. They have a budget to buy parts and we built a track that will be used for testing and time trials (graphing times at different angles and races... if we have time). Here are the parts available... ask the kids about costs... I am making a fortune!
Wednesday, December 16th - The students had rehearsals in front the lower grades. The 5th graders are excited and ready for big performance tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 15th - The students learned a few name scientific terms and had to use them in their essay to explain how energy flows through food chain. Tomorrow is the kids last rehearsal for the winter concert. Parents and family are invited of the main event this Thursday (12/17).
Here are a couple of Symbiotic Relationship projects...
Here are a couple of Symbiotic Relationship projects...
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Monday, December 14th - Most of the students completed their symbiotic relationship research project. I will add examples soon...
Friday, December 11th - The students are so excited and counting down the days... 7 days until Star Wars!
The students started a research project on symbiotic relationships. Yes, your kids thought some of them are gross... Liver Tape Worm. This is an independent project. Each student randomly received a biome (tundra, desert, grasslands, aquatic or forest) and needs to find examples of the three types of symbiotic relationships... mutualism, commensalism and parasitism. They will create a one page PowerPoint that has pictures and descriptions. It will be shared with the other students and your child will answer any questions that come from class. By the end of class on Monday, your child will be an expert.
The students started a research project on symbiotic relationships. Yes, your kids thought some of them are gross... Liver Tape Worm. This is an independent project. Each student randomly received a biome (tundra, desert, grasslands, aquatic or forest) and needs to find examples of the three types of symbiotic relationships... mutualism, commensalism and parasitism. They will create a one page PowerPoint that has pictures and descriptions. It will be shared with the other students and your child will answer any questions that come from class. By the end of class on Monday, your child will be an expert.
Thursday, December 10th - How does energy move through a food web? What happens when a food web is out of balance? All that and more was on the agenda. The students had researched different arctic species to find out what they eat and what eats them. Today, they put that to use by making a food chains and food pyramids... and of course showing me how energy is moving. We finished the class by giving each student a species. We started with the producers and students added themselves if they were a primary consumer (with a piece of yarn). Next came the secondary and tertiary, but it is not a straight line. We ended up with a really complicated web. I asked the students what would happen if I moved up to the arctic and started building homes, roads, gas stations, Targets... They told me that the first to go would be the large predators, because they would be dangerous to the people. So they dropped their strings and left the web. From there we looked at what those changes would do to the web and so on. In the end, the were very few species and strings.
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Wednesday, December 9th - Short classes, but we still did some great work. The kids are starting to understand the concept of how energy flows through a food chain.
Tuesday, December 8th - The Flow of Energy was todays topic. We began by looking at the Law of Conservation of Energy... Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be transferred from one form to another.
We looked at food chains and webs to get an idea of how energy moves and how that affects organisms as you go up the energy pyramid... Only about 10% of the available energy is passed to the next level.
We looked at food chains and webs to get an idea of how energy moves and how that affects organisms as you go up the energy pyramid... Only about 10% of the available energy is passed to the next level.
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Monday, December 7th - I read an interesting article in the Sunday NY Post. It tied perfectly into our last social studies unit. Check out the link and see if your kids can explain to you the rest of the story... click here_
But wait, there is more...The Today Show, this morning, had a story about a Spanish treasure ship San Jose found off the coast of Columbia...click here_
We also looked at a brief documentary from the Military Channel about Pearl Harbor... click here_
And we had class... we used the laptops to research arctic species. Each group received 30 cards (each had a picture and name of a species) and they had to find thier prey/diet and predators. We will use this information and have each group build a food web and... if all goes well... we will build a web that will use the entire class.
But wait, there is more...The Today Show, this morning, had a story about a Spanish treasure ship San Jose found off the coast of Columbia...click here_
We also looked at a brief documentary from the Military Channel about Pearl Harbor... click here_
And we had class... we used the laptops to research arctic species. Each group received 30 cards (each had a picture and name of a species) and they had to find thier prey/diet and predators. We will use this information and have each group build a food web and... if all goes well... we will build a web that will use the entire class.
Friday, December 4th - Ecosystems was todays topic. We are learning how matter and energy flow through an ecosystem. We had a great conversation about the importance of balance in an ecosystem and its fragility.
I have a book called... 101 Things You Should Know (it is made for your age kids). My goal is to finish the book by the end of the year. It should only take about 10 minutes. Yesterday was about evolution. Today was laughter (if your child doesn't know about this, they will find out on Monday). We watched a few minutes of a Ted Topic video that explained the science behind laughing. Some of the students wanted to watch the rest, so here is the link...
https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_laugh?language=en#t-338180
I have a book called... 101 Things You Should Know (it is made for your age kids). My goal is to finish the book by the end of the year. It should only take about 10 minutes. Yesterday was about evolution. Today was laughter (if your child doesn't know about this, they will find out on Monday). We watched a few minutes of a Ted Topic video that explained the science behind laughing. Some of the students wanted to watch the rest, so here is the link...
https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_laugh?language=en#t-338180
Thursday, December 3rd - The students learned more about photosynthesis and how it works... more than they thought was possible. The students had a basic understanding, but I wanted to help them to truly understand the process and how matter is never lost or gained. Here is the proof...
Wednesday, December 2nd - The Montclair State University students came back to work with the other classes. The Bradford students rotated through four centers...
* Science: What happens to food as it passes through our body? How do we know food give us energy?
* Technology: Explore technology to measure things related to the body.
* Engineering: How to get food from one place to another.
* Math: Food and fractions
The students from MSU did a wonderful job teaching and Bradford had a great experience... win-win! Ask your child to explain what they did in the centers.
* Science: What happens to food as it passes through our body? How do we know food give us energy?
* Technology: Explore technology to measure things related to the body.
* Engineering: How to get food from one place to another.
* Math: Food and fractions
The students from MSU did a wonderful job teaching and Bradford had a great experience... win-win! Ask your child to explain what they did in the centers.
Tuesday, December 1st - 3D printers? We spent the first part of class finishing up our introductory discussion on matter and energy in organisms and ecosystems. Yes, we did spend some time reading about 3D printers and discussing their use. We will be getting a 3D printer at some point in the new year. I have a bunch of training classes to attend and than I can work with the students and other teachers on how they can be used to extend classroom work. Ask your kid about 3D printers. They had a lot of interesting thoughts about the topic. Spicer's and Liddy's homerooms will have the MSU student run centers tomorrow.
Monday, November 30th - All the classes began a new science unit today.... matter and energy in an organism. Mrs. Spicer's class had centers about this topic that were presented by education students from Montclair State. Different students will come back this Wednesday to work with the other two classes.
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Monday, October 26th - The science unit came to an official close today. We went over the Notebook Test (nothing to study, because they used their notebooks)... every question... in detail. We also looked at what a really good notebook looks like. The tests went home and I don't need them back (I have a copy). Your child's grade for science is based on this test, their notebooks and lab/class work. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
We begin the social studies unit... Time of Encounters. Head on over to the Social Studies tab.
We begin the social studies unit... Time of Encounters. Head on over to the Social Studies tab.
Friday, October 23rd - The students had a test today. It was Notebook Test! Nothing to study, because all the answers came from the students notebooks. The students knew from the first day of this unit that their notebooks would be used for the test and they heard again just about everyday along the way. From what I saw, during the notebook test, they seemed to be doing well. We did talk about the need to think about what the questions are asking and apply their experiments to some of the questions.
Check out the Presby Iris Gardens tonight... They will have thousands of carved pumpkins from all the area high schools, activities, entertainment, and refreshments.
Check out the Presby Iris Gardens tonight... They will have thousands of carved pumpkins from all the area high schools, activities, entertainment, and refreshments.
Wednesday, October 21st - Field Day!!! The students had a great time up at MSU and the weather could not have been any better. Class time was definitely shorter today, but we did get some valuable work done. We completed our experiment of the chemical reaction of Calcium Chloride and Sodium Carbonate mixed with water. The kids collected the dried substance from their filters (from yesterday) and mixed it with white vinegar. They know that if the substance is Calcium Carbonate, there would be a bubbling/fizzing. They also looked at their evaporation dish (solution was poured in there yesterday) and found that the crystals were square with an "x". That proved that the reaction created NaCl (salt). All this helped prove that there was a chemical reaction, new products were made and the equation below is accurate. Have your child fill in the blanks to tell the whole story.
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Tuesday, October 20th - The students read about going to Mars and growing food in space. Science World had an article about the science behind the movie The Martian. Several of the kids have already seen the movie and we discussed last year in ELA (science fiction writing). We have the actual magazines in class, but if you want to check it out online... here is the link... http://scienceworld.scholastic.com/.
Then we got down to business (science business). We have been working with the idea that matter is never destroyed or created... it just changes form. The chemical equation below was shown to the students. They worked through the problem to explain how this matched their experiment yesterday and how they could prove it today. This is above their grade level, so it is ok if they cannot explain it perfectly to you. I just wanted to show them what chemistry will look like in the future and challenge some of the more inquisitive minds. With the extra time at the end of class, I showed the students a few more equations and than set them loose on worksheet full of them. Some students couldn't get enough. Other students had enough and read articles from Science World or Popular Science.
The students have homework tonight. It is not as complicated as it may first appear. If you are having a hard time with it, just initial that they gave it a try and we will go over it in class tomorrow.
Then we got down to business (science business). We have been working with the idea that matter is never destroyed or created... it just changes form. The chemical equation below was shown to the students. They worked through the problem to explain how this matched their experiment yesterday and how they could prove it today. This is above their grade level, so it is ok if they cannot explain it perfectly to you. I just wanted to show them what chemistry will look like in the future and challenge some of the more inquisitive minds. With the extra time at the end of class, I showed the students a few more equations and than set them loose on worksheet full of them. Some students couldn't get enough. Other students had enough and read articles from Science World or Popular Science.
The students have homework tonight. It is not as complicated as it may first appear. If you are having a hard time with it, just initial that they gave it a try and we will go over it in class tomorrow.
| homework - 10-20.pdf |
Here is an example of the problems that some of the students worked on...
Monday, October 19th - 28 degrees this morning was apparently too cold for the start of Field Day, so at the last minute... it was postponed. We will be going up to MSU on Wednesday (10/21) and the weather is supposed to get up to 70 degrees. We will now be back for our regular lunch time, so you don't have to worry about packing a brown bag.
Change of plans for Field Day worked out OK for science class. We had plenty of time to start our work on Chemical Reactions. It was a fizzy good time. The students began their understanding of chemical reactions and how starting substances cease to exist and new substances are formed. We completed an experiment where we used two substances mixed with water. Here is what we used...
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) & Sodium Bicarbonate (CaCO3) (also known as Baking Soda)
Calcium Chloride & Citric Acid (C6H8O7)
Sodium Bicarbonate & Citric Acid
Our new words...
Reactants - starting substances
Products - new substances that are formed
Precipitate - New substance that is formed and settles our of a liquid
Change of plans for Field Day worked out OK for science class. We had plenty of time to start our work on Chemical Reactions. It was a fizzy good time. The students began their understanding of chemical reactions and how starting substances cease to exist and new substances are formed. We completed an experiment where we used two substances mixed with water. Here is what we used...
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) & Sodium Bicarbonate (CaCO3) (also known as Baking Soda)
Calcium Chloride & Citric Acid (C6H8O7)
Sodium Bicarbonate & Citric Acid
Our new words...
Reactants - starting substances
Products - new substances that are formed
Precipitate - New substance that is formed and settles our of a liquid
Friday, October 16th - The entire class reviewed and discussed all the experiments up to this point. Good thing they have a science notebook to reference! We will have a test at the end of this unit and it will be an open notebook test. Students that needed had questions worked with me for the last 30 minutes. The rest of the students took one of the investigations we performed and created Rube Goldberg type experiment for the students next year. It was an interesting exercise. The students really enjoyed it and actually deepened their understandings.
Thursday, October 15th - I told the students that there was an unmarked substance on the shelf where I keep our supplies. What to do? I asked the students to come up with a way to find figure out the unlabeled substance. They would use past experiments and a chart that listed the mass of different substances needed to saturate 50mL of water. Each group came up with a procedure and proceeded to put it work. Most of the groups were able to determine the substance. Those that did not have results that matched the table... well, they needed to figure out what they would need to differently (most of the discrepancies were due to spilling the solution or not completely emptying their bottle when filtering). Overall, they did a great job and worked safely.
Wednesday, October 14th - Does it always take the same amount of solid materials to saturate 50mL of water? The students referred to the experiment the day before as a model, but used a different substance. They used Epsom salt and found that even thought it took about the same amount of scoops to get a saturated solution... the mass of the solution (after filtering out the Epsom salt that would not dissolve) was much greater.
Tuesday, October 13th - We began a new set of investigations about Reaching Saturation. The students already knew what would happen if they added 5mL of salt to 50mL of water. But what would happen if we added more salt. We made predictions about what would happen if we added another 5ml of salt and another and another. What would happen to our solution? The students came up with an experiment to test their hypothesis (There is a limit to the amount of salt that will dissolve in 50mL of water). After 7 scoops, the solution was saturated and the extra salt gathered on the bottom of the bottles. They did a great job with that, but I asked them if it was possible to figure out exactly how many grams of salt 50mL of water could hold before becoming saturated. The worked together to come with an experiment that could answer this question (based on earlier investigations).
Friday, October 9th - Liquid layers... Can you have four different concentrations of salt solutions and put them together without them mixing? Yes and density is why it happens. We found that salt solutions with different concentration levels have different densities. Once we understood that, we came up with an experiment to prove it. This was one of the hardest investigations we have done... we had to try different combinations, record results, make corrections and work carefully (if we didn't, the column would collapse or mix). See if your child can explain what is happening in the photos.
Thursday, October 8th - Mystery Solutions! A fitting topic with Halloween season upon us. The students had to come up with a plan on how to determine the concentration of the three mystery solutions. We couldn't use our digital scales (don't worry, they are still working), so the students had to come up with a plan, run their experiment, record data/observations and report their findings to the class. Overall, the groups had good plans and most successful ordered the mystery solutions.
Supplies for our experiment.
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Using the scales as a balance to see which solution had more mass (also more concentrated).
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How about those results! All the groups experiments gave the same results (these are correct). We followed up by finding the mass of each solution on the digital scales (that is on the bottom left).
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After many days, our salt water solution evaporated. We looked at the results with hand lens and our stereoscope. Look close... are those little squares with an "X"?
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Wednesday - October 7th - The classes had to do some heavy lifting with their brains today. We had two solutions that we had worked with yesterday...
50 mL water and 1 scoop of salt
50 mL water and 3 scoops of salt
We worked with those two solutions to help understand diluted and concentrated solutions. Today we added a third solution...
150 mL water and 3 scoops of salt
The students had to come up with a hypothesis about the third solution. Was it more concentrate, diluted or the same as solution 1? How about solution 2? We were able to prove mathematically that solution 1 and 3 have the same concentration ratio. We also came up with experiments that could prove this to be true.
The students/groups did a great job working through the problems. An important lesson... it is ok to be wrong. Some of our hypotheses were wrong, but our experiments and open minds led us to the correct answers. We also talked about Milton Bradley and how his failures led to The Game of Life and the creation of the board game industry. I think they found that story to be the most exciting part of class.
50 mL water and 1 scoop of salt
50 mL water and 3 scoops of salt
We worked with those two solutions to help understand diluted and concentrated solutions. Today we added a third solution...
150 mL water and 3 scoops of salt
The students had to come up with a hypothesis about the third solution. Was it more concentrate, diluted or the same as solution 1? How about solution 2? We were able to prove mathematically that solution 1 and 3 have the same concentration ratio. We also came up with experiments that could prove this to be true.
The students/groups did a great job working through the problems. An important lesson... it is ok to be wrong. Some of our hypotheses were wrong, but our experiments and open minds led us to the correct answers. We also talked about Milton Bradley and how his failures led to The Game of Life and the creation of the board game industry. I think they found that story to be the most exciting part of class.
Tuesday, October 6th - The students all looked their best and put on their biggest smiles for picture day! If you didn't send in the form, don't worry... you can still order pictures. Every student had their individual picture taken. This doesn't mean you have to buy any and there is no cost for their picture being taken.
How can you tell if one salt solution is more concentrated or diluted than another? The students ran an experiment to do just that. Since you can't see a difference and we don't taste, they used volume and mass. We had been using the plastic balance scales, but they are less than accurate... so I bought a couple of digital scales. Our data is more accurate and it helps move the experiments along.
Here are some of the words we are using in class...
Solute - a substance that dissolves in a solvent to form a solution
Solvent - a mixture formed when one or more substances dissolve in another
Concentration - the ratio of solute to solvent in a solution
Dilute - a solution containing little solute
Concentrated - a solution containing a lot of solute
How can you tell if one salt solution is more concentrated or diluted than another? The students ran an experiment to do just that. Since you can't see a difference and we don't taste, they used volume and mass. We had been using the plastic balance scales, but they are less than accurate... so I bought a couple of digital scales. Our data is more accurate and it helps move the experiments along.
Here are some of the words we are using in class...
Solute - a substance that dissolves in a solvent to form a solution
Solvent - a mixture formed when one or more substances dissolve in another
Concentration - the ratio of solute to solvent in a solution
Dilute - a solution containing little solute
Concentrated - a solution containing a lot of solute
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Monday, October 5th - How far is far? We spent a few minutes at the beginning of class discussing measurement.
How were you measured when you were born? Inches How about now? Feet and inches How far do you live from school? 5,280 feet... no... one mile How to we work with distance on a cosmic scale? Can we use miles? That is a lot of zero's!!! How far away is the Horsehead Nebula? 1,500 light years, but what is a light year? Ask your child (5,800,000,000,000 miles - distance traveled by light in one year). We even put on our math hats and figured the distance in miles. We went one more step and talked about how you can do this math in your head!!! |
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The lesson today was an experiment to determine the concentration (the ratio of solute (solid) to solvent (liquid) in a solution) of a solution. Is it dilute (less concentrated) or more concentrated? Why does it matter? We are working on our understanding that not all solutions with the same materials are the same.
Here is the homework if you left it at school or the dog ate it...
Here is the homework if you left it at school or the dog ate it...
| 10-5_homework.pdf |
Friday, October 2nd - We made it through our first full week and closed out our first science investigation... Separating Mixtures. The students had to use the information they learned from the earlier experiments to figure out todays problem... My kids were playing with the kosher salt, powder (diatomaceous earth) and gravel and mixed them all together. I need all these separated. Can you help me?
With those orders the students were given the task to formulate a solution using any of the supplies on the center table. They needed to brainstorm and write up their own instructions. I was just there to check that they had a plan. Not if it was good or bad plan. The students went to work. At one point a group called out that they failed. Everyone stopped to look and I asked the class if that was "ok" (to fail, not yell out). Of course it is "ok" to fail with an experiment. That is what makes it an experiment. They went back to work, found their error and accomplished the goal.
Don't forget that tomorrow morning is the pancake breakfast. I hope to see everyone there (I will be in the kitchen).
With those orders the students were given the task to formulate a solution using any of the supplies on the center table. They needed to brainstorm and write up their own instructions. I was just there to check that they had a plan. Not if it was good or bad plan. The students went to work. At one point a group called out that they failed. Everyone stopped to look and I asked the class if that was "ok" (to fail, not yell out). Of course it is "ok" to fail with an experiment. That is what makes it an experiment. They went back to work, found their error and accomplished the goal.
Don't forget that tomorrow morning is the pancake breakfast. I hope to see everyone there (I will be in the kitchen).
Thursday, October 1st - The students discovered how to prove that a solid in a solution dissolves and does not disappear. We had to overcome some sketchy scales, but they did a great job.
Wednesday, September 30th - We had a full day. The whole 5th grade went to MSU for a PE program in the morning. What felt like half the class went back in the afternoon for a concert. It was a good day to reflect on the first investigation, read and discuss articles from Science World and just connecting pieces of the classes knowledge. A new investigation begins tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 29th - Today, we got started with 5th grade science!!! The students were ready and even excited to start. Mixtures and solutions is the first unit and we jumped right in...
The students spent some time getting their science notebooks to ready. This is important, because it will be where they record their experiments, thoughts, observations and conclusions.
The investigation today was really an introduction to chemistry (the study of matter and the changes or transformations that take place within those structures). Each day we will build on the discoveries we make the day before.
The students looked at creating several different mixtures and how to take them apart. We used screens and filters, but the salt water solution wouldn't separate. The students came up with an idea... evaporation. The picture shows the students pouring their solution into trays to evaporate (this weather is not going to be helpful). We will have to wait to see what happens.
The students spent some time getting their science notebooks to ready. This is important, because it will be where they record their experiments, thoughts, observations and conclusions.
The investigation today was really an introduction to chemistry (the study of matter and the changes or transformations that take place within those structures). Each day we will build on the discoveries we make the day before.
The students looked at creating several different mixtures and how to take them apart. We used screens and filters, but the salt water solution wouldn't separate. The students came up with an idea... evaporation. The picture shows the students pouring their solution into trays to evaporate (this weather is not going to be helpful). We will have to wait to see what happens.
