Biography Book Reports

We had a lot of fun presenting our biography book reports and most of the students got really into their character!

Watch the video clip below to see exactly who we had in our classroom!

Science Champions!

Our #1 Scorer!
Back in March, my class competed in the World Education Games.  This annual competition is a Global Online Event open to all schools and students around the world.Today we received official word and a beautiful country that we scored 7th in the world in the World Science Day competition for our age division. Over 1.5 million students competed in the World Education Games this year!

The students in my class all participated during the school day and many also continued competing at home that evening. Everyone did very well and we had a lot of fun! It's pretty amazing that the students are actually competing against other students close to their age in real time, all over the world. 

We actually finished in second place in our age division in the United States! Congratulations students, on this incredible victory! 

New Promethean Board

A few weeks ago I was presenting "Putting the 'You' in YouTube" at a national ed tech conference, when I went to reach into my purse. Much to my surprise, I almost grabbed a scorpion! Yikes!

Despite Being Slightly Panicked, I Managed To Snap A Photo

I carefully whisked it out the door and two women who happened to be standing by the doorway kindly helped me dispose of it. About ten minutes later I realized I should probably go apologize to those women since I had never even bet them, went charging at them with a scorpion and then disappeared. So I introduced myself, apologized, thanked them and chatted for a few minutes. It turns out they were vendors at the conference, and urged me to send them my contact information. Long story short, after answering some questions and sending them links to some of my presos, my blog and my YouTube channel they said they were eager to help me with technology in the classroom. I have since met with them a couple times and today our Promethean Board was delivered! 

In their words a Promethean Board is similar to a Smart Board but MUCH better! So far, I have to agree and I love the built in projector on top so our shadows don't block the board. Someone from the company is coming to do a few lessons with us next week and I can't wait to learn more about it! The students were VERY excited about this new classroom addition!

Gak Attack!

After a week of serious, heavy duty testing, what better way to celebrate and relax than to get involved in a messy, sticky, hands on science experiment like making Gak?

Why does this reaction occur? In the simplest terms possible, the mixture of glue with Borax and water produces a putty-like material called a polymer, which is a long chain of molecules. Glue is an adhesive polymer made of polyvinyl acetate, which can be modified by a chemical process called cross linking. The Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate) can be used as the cross linking agent. Properties of long chain molecules change when they are cross-linked. The glue changed into slimy glob. That process is known as vulcanization. Watch the students react to the Gak in the video clip below!

Bucket Poster Contest Winners

Congratulations On Your Award Winning Posters!

Much earlier this school year, the school hosted a "Bucket Poster" contest and students were encouraged to create a poster to demonstrate "bucket filling", based on the book by Carol McCloud. Bucket filling is all about saying nice things, being a good friend and being a kind person. On the flip side, bucket dippers, say hurtful things and make others feel bad about themselves.

We had three winners in this contest, and their posters have been reproduced on this beautiful plaques which are currently hanging in the front lobby of the school. Nice job, students! 

We Made It!

We made it through three days of Stanford 10 Testing. Hooray! The students took the tests very seriously and managed to sit quietly at their desks for the majority of the past three days. I know they were bored and found the test easy, but they did a great job and we are excited to be FINISHED! The results will be mailed to your home during the summer. 

Our Class "Pets"

Have you heard the exciting news? The mealworms we have been observing have started metamorphosizing into darkling beetles!

The students have been very interested and excited to watch their mealworms go through the life cycle and undergo such dramatic changes right before their eyes. 

We have learned some excellent vocabulary during this unit like larva, pupa, metamorphosis and exoskeleton. We did a few simple (and harmless) experiments with the mealworms and students have been recording their observations daily.