Air Underwater and Battle Ship

Today we did another science experiment.  We used vials, water and paper towel to learn about air.

First, we practiced trapping air in the vial when we put it in the water.  This was harder than we thought.  We had to be very careful to  not tip the vial because that would let air out (bubbles) and water into the vial.

Then the challenge was to put a small piece of paper towel in the vial and keep it dry while submerging it in the water.  Ask your child if he/she was able to complete the challenge (most did) and how he/she did it.  It was a group effort in some cases with kids sharing ideas and strategies.  

We als talked about how we could do this in a sink or bathtub with a plastic cup and paper towel.  

This afternoon we had Phy. Ed. with Mr. DePrez.  We got to play an all time favorite game:  Battle Ship!  Ask your child about how the game works.  The goal of the game is to keep all of the pins up and knock down the pins or other ships.   It is a lot of fun and work!

Busy Day

We have had some very busy days this week!  Here is a brief review of our time!

We earned extra recess because of excellent behavior in Music class.  We worked so hard and cooperated with Ms. Liadova!

All Smiles!

Happy Girls!

We made Good Luck postcards for our 5th grade buddies.  They were in the Cross Country Meet today!  They LOVED getting our cards!

We got to go outside and watch some of the kids run.  It was fun!  We were very loud and excited!  The older kids appreciated having us cheer!

This afternoon we continued our science unit and learned about air pressure.  Ask your child what he/she did with these materials and what he/she learned.

Air is There!

Today we did our first experiment with Air!  We used some common object to learn about the properties of air.

We had a feather, ball, cotton ball, straw, paper and balloon.  We tried many different things with these objects.  We used air to stick things together, move things, fill a space and expand something.  It was lots of fun.

We learned:
    Air is a form of matter.  It is a gas and is all around us.
    Air is invisible and takes up space, such as in the empty plastic bag.
    Air interacts with objects and can be used to move them.

Friday!

This morning we had a special visitor!  Mrs. Bidne came to tell us about the Brimhall Cookbook coloring contest!  She invited students to draw, using bright colors, their favorite food and be entered into a contest.  There will be many drawings used in the Brimhall Cookbook!  Your child brought home an entry form today.  This is optional, although it seemed as though many students were very excited!

They are still accepting submission for the cookbook.  Find your favorite family recipe, write it down in detail and send it in with your child.  They are looking to gather as many recipes as possible.

This afternoon we talked about being a Bucket Filler!  We are starting to dive into talking more about kindness and empathy.  Ask you child what it means to be a Bucket Filler!

Here are some examples of our visualizing activity from the other day.  

Visualizing

Today we did an activity to practice our Visualizing skills.  As good readers, we know it is important to visualize as we read to better understand the story.  This skill is especially important as we are moving into reading books with not pictures.

I read  The Salamander Room  by Anne Mazer.  After establishing what a salamander is, I simply read the story and did not show the students the pictures.  I stopped after each page and asked them to draw or add to their drawing what was happening in the story.  It was very fun and interesting to see what each child drew and visualized.  Ask you child what the story is about and how the author described the Salamander Room.

Monsters and Billy Miller

Today we continued working on our Monster creations!  We are inventing monsters of all kinds!  We will write a description of our monsters after we draw them and his/her habitat.    Look for the finished project at conferences!

Today we started The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes.  We have been reading his books for the past two weeks.  He writes all types of books including chapter books.  This book is very special because it is about a boy in 2nd Grade!  We are so excited!

There is no homework this weekend!  Please read and play outside!

Band Aid Lesson

Today we did a lesson using band aids as a way to talk about fair.

I asked the students to think about a time they got hurt, such as a scrape, bump or even a broken arm.  Each student had a chance to tell the class about his/her injury.  After hearing their story, I gave each student a band aid and placed it on the back of his/her hand.  At first, they thought this was great!  After I had given out half of the band aids, the kids started to question why I was putting it on his/her hand even though the injury might have been on the knee or elbow.  Some students couldn't think of an injury, but they got a band aid anyway.

Once everyone had a band aid, I asked if everyone had a band aid.  They replied yes!  I asked if it was/would help their injury.  Some students thought yes, but a few said not really.  One student said her scrape was much bigger than the band aid and another said a band aid doesn't really help a sprained ankle at all.    

Then we talked about fair and equal.  Yes, it was equal that everyone had a band aid and it was in the same spot, but it wasn't what some students needed at all or helpful.  We talked about how this is like our classroom.  Students will get what they need to be successful, it may not be exactly equal.  Yes, there are times it will be equal such as with a treat like a sticker or snack.  There will be other times that some students will get more time, more/less work etc. because it is what they need to learn.   It could also mean students get a special spot to work and others work at their desk,  As a teacher, it does not mean I like one student more/less than another, I am trying to help all students learn and be successful.    

Fair is not everyone getting the same thing.   Fair is everyone getting what they need.