Thursday, October 18, 2012

Tower of Babel

One of my favorite bible stories is the Tower of Babel.  After reading it and answering questions in religion, my students worked in groups to build their own tower using pretzel sticks and marshmallows.  The group with the tallest tower won.

They did an awesome job!



Can someone tell me why this picture is upside down?  I can't fix it!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Plants

So, I just survived my first week of school.  Yay me!

We are starting our plant unit, which ties in with the food chain and ecosystems.

The first thing I did (and didn't get pictures of) was to soak lima beans and have the kids take them apart.  They drew what they saw and labeled each part (covering, stored food, embryo).  The kids were super excited to see where the plant comes from.

Next we took a lima bean and wrapped it in wet paper towels.  That was placed in a baggie, sealed, and taped to the windows of the lab.  We will continue to watch it for growth.

Finally we took a lily apart, and put each piece under the correct label on a chart.  Teaching reproductive parts of a flower to 3rd graders is not an easy task, but they did a really nice job.  This is a smart class!






Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Stay tuned

The new school year is almost here and I've been working REALLY hard this summer finding new and exciting activities for my students.  I also have a student teacher again.  This one requested this placement, so that makes me even more nervous!


Saturday, April 21, 2012

A TpT Giveaway!!!

I love, love, love TpT...  there are just so many creative teachers out there!  Sprinkle Teaching Magic is giving away a $50 TpT certificate!  Yes FIFTY dollars!!!!!

Found out how to enter here:

http://sprinkleteachingmagic.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-did-you-say-50-gift-card-to-tpt.html?showComment=1335031555265#c5685546336289132109

Friday, March 2, 2012

Volcanoes!!!

Part of our rock unit covers volcanoes.  I have found this model to be something fun to have, but not needed.  You can always draw a volcano on large chart paper and do a cutaway to show the inside.

I also have this book.  If you teach about volcanoes, you should really get this book.  It has amazing illustrations and it's well written.  The children love it!

This week we'll be making a paper volcano model and will use model magic to make the magma and lava.  I'll post pics and directions next week!

Types of Rocks

We are wrapping up a unit on rocks and minerals in my classroom.  We had some really fun lab days when learning about the different types of rocks and how they are formed.

For sedimentary rocks we took different crayons shavings and placed them on pieces of foil.  Then we folded the foil over and used our palms to apply pressure.

For metamorphic rocks we used peanut butter (no peanut allergies), chocolate chips, and marshmallows.  We chopped everything up and mixed in the peanut butter.  We then made balls out of it, placed them in cupcake liners and microwaved them.

For igneous we took a melted mixture and let it cool.

We have these awesome rock and mineral collection at school.  They really help with learning about rocks and minerals.  If you are going to start a rock/mineral unit, you should have a set of your own.

TpT-My new obsession

Ever since I discovered Teachers Pay Teachers, I am obsessed!

There is a particular seller on there who has amazing products.  I have used a lot of her task cards already and they are a great way to review concepts already taught.

If you get a chance, check her out!  I promise you will be very happy with her products!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rachel-Lynette