Science Investigations

We began a new unit on Air and Weather in Science this week. The children have been having tons of fun  with the different activities we've done to learn more about air. Here, the children are experimenting with different objects to see how they move and react with air.

Next, we investigated what would happen when we submerged a vial underwater. We discovered that the air gets trapped in the vial, and it can even keep paper towel dry underwater!

We also constructed parachutes to see how they moved through the air. We learned about air resistance, and discovered that the air pushing on the parachute slows it down as it falls.

We used syringes to compress air in a barrel and observe what would happen to another syringe connected on the other side. We had fun "air wrestling" and popping the plunger off the other side!



Measurement Mania!

We have been learning about the many different ways we can measure something in math. Last week we practiced using our rulers to find things around the classroom that matched a given length. 

Happy Earth Day!

We did many fun things to celebrate Earth Day today! We read a short story called The Circles of the Earth. We learned that air, water, soil, plants, sun, day, and night all make up our Earth. In the story, we discovered how each of these components go through cycles (circles) to contribute to a healthy planet. To continue with the circle theme, we made circular bracelets with circular beads to represent each of the "Circles of the Earth". Thank you to my teaching partner for sharing this fun activity with us!

 We also decorated grocery bags to deliver to our local grocery store. Our goal is to make them so beautiful that the consumer will want to use them over and over again!

 We read the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, and made text-to-world connections with the theme of Earth Day. We also practiced using comprehension strategies like questioning, connecting, inferring, and visualizing. For example, one student connected to the Barbaloots being hungry because there was a time when they were out of food and she felt the same way. One student visualized what the Once-Ler looked like because he was never pictured in the story. We inferred what a Thneed was, and questioned who the Lorax was and why he was "lifted". The children tallied each time they used a strategy throughout the book, and we stopped periodically to share our thinking.

Author's Purpose

In reading this week we learned how to identify the Author's Purpose as we read. We discovered that authors usually write to inform, persuade, or entertain. We made an anchor chart to help us look for clues about each purpose in our own books.

After some guided practice in selecting a purpose for books we had previously read as a class, the children had a chance to practice independently. They each brought a book from their book boxes and briefly shared what they thought the author's purpose was for writing that book. They also had to prove it to us by finding evidence in their book. We discovered that sometimes author's have more than one purpose, and that sometimes we predict the purpose before we read, and then change our minds during the story.

Geometry Geoboards

We have been learning about geometry in math. As a way to conclude the unit, the children practiced making shapes and finding lines of symmetry using geoboards. We even experimented with making some letters!



Box Top Winners!

Our class won first place in the Box Top Competition during the 3rd Quarter! We collected the most Box Tops in our school, and were treated to an ice cream sandwich for our reward. Mmmmmm. Thank you PTO!

Visualizing

Today the students were introduced to our 4th Quarter Comprehension Strategy: Visualizing. We learned that visualizing means using our senses to experience what we are reading in our minds. We read a passage describing a special place.  

 The children visualized what they would see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and feel if they were really at this place, and sketched their visualizations on their Think Sheets.

Then we shared our thoughts and compared our visualizations. It's safe to say that afterwards we were all starving for McDonalds!!