Scientist of the Week

I love this quote by Wendell Phillips: "Seldom was any knowledge given to keep, but to impart...". In the profession of teaching, as cliche as it may sound, I am a teacher and a learner every day. My students' creativity, ideas, and inquiry open my mind in new ways. To support this notion that students are also teachers, we have officially begun Scientist of the Week in Room 9! Each Friday, one scientist is chosen. He or she takes home the Scientist bag complete with the Scientist's journal, a lab coat, safety goggles, a magnifying glass, and an experiments book. 

This person has one full week to choose an experiment (from the book/websites provided, or an idea of your own), practice the experiment at home, and complete a lab report. On Friday, the student performs their experiment for the class! "Assistants" are welcome to attend the experiment, but the student must do the experiment from start to finish without any help. After the experiment is performed, another scientist is chosen!

Our very first scientist showed us an exciting experiment using electricity! By connecting wires and batteries, she made a fan fly across the classroom - it was awesome. Bravo!!

Our second scientist used the electricity from a wire and a large battery to pick up paperclips. I've never seen this experiment done before - very cool!

Our next scientist made a tornado using two connected water bottles. This one is fun to try at home!

This next scientist used household items to create a catapult! She brought a few items to launch. We had a great time at the end of the day exploring the catapult further!

This week's scientist used a yard stick, washers, some cool neon paint, and a black light to show us how the length of the different strings, when pulled at the same time, can make a moving "S" shape. We loved the extra colorful touch!

This scientist showed us how water can travel down a string from one cup to another without dripping. We learned that only thick string will work for this experiment! Thin thread, she told us, doesn't make the water stick.

This scientist showed us how our brain perceives fast-moving images. The two images, when spun between her hands, were viewed by us as one single image. Very interesting!!

In keeping with brain experiments, this scientist showed us how our brain can play tricks on us! When helpers watched the spinning CD for 30 seconds and then looked at a blank wall, their eyes still saw a spinning circle! We even got a chance to use these at the end of the day!

This scientist showed us how the properties of milk and soap combine to produce swirly effects. When dropping small amounts of soap into a container filled with milk, and droplets of food coloring, the results are beautiful! This experiment is a fun one to try at home.

This scientist used static to show us how to move objects across a table! By rubbing a balloon on his head, he created static, which he then used to "push" the aluminum can across the table. We had some very messy-haired, true "mad scientists" when we tried this afterwards!

This week's scientist showed us how air forces can make a balloon fly! We even answered a few questions in the moment by changing the direction of the string.

 This scientist used a laser beam to show us how light travels through water AND plastic! We discovered that some of the light curves with both water and plastic, following their paths. 

This scientist showed us how air pressure inside basketballs changes how high the ball will bounce. Using tape to mark the peak of the bounce, he showed us that the bounces were pretty close in height depending on the amount of air pressure!

This week's scientist used simple ingredients - water, eggs, and salt - to show us how salt can float an egg in a cup of water! We all were wondering just how much or how little salt is needed to float an egg. We hope you try this one at home!  

MMES Gardens

We had some very special guests visit us last week to talk about the gardens around our school!  First, we checked out three different types of soil with our eyes and hands, and brainstormed adjectives to describe them. Two of the soils were dry, sandy, and scratchy, while the other one was moist, cold, and dark.

Next, we worked together to solve a carrot life-cycle puzzle. We talked about what kind of soil we think would be a good home for a seed to grow, and filled three cups with each type of soil and an arugula seed.  Ask your child which cup has sprouted! You might be surprised :)

After, we talked about how we can be supporters of our garden. We brainstormed vegetables we might like to have, and talked about helping out in the gardens when the weather is nicer. Although the greenhouse is finally standing, we are currently only using the gardens at the front of the building.  Greenhouse planting coming soon!

What's New in Math?

Math Workshop has been an exciting time in Room 9 lately - today was our very first exposure to division! By using foundational subtraction skills, we practiced dividing large numbers of game chips among index cards, and discussing what was left over. Try this at home!! 

Pick a number between 8 and 32, and set aside that many game chips/pennies/marshmallows/etc.

Roll a die, or pick a number between 2 and 6. Lay out that many index cards/post-it notes/paper scraps.

Can the chips can be distributed evenly among the cards? What is left over? Turn that into a subtraction fact.

Although we are only using manipulative materials to guide our discovery of division, this first exposure is crucial to a child's understanding of how division works.

In other math news, we've been working on new strategies to solve large subtraction problems. Many students find that using base 10 blocks to physically subtract one number from another is a helpful visual. Once students are comfortable with this method, pencil and paper strategies become easier.

Anti-Bullying Program

This year, MERSD's K-5 classrooms will be piloting a new unit centered around anti-bullying. Not only is this curriculum highly valuable to students as they learn social-emotional skills to support them throughout school, but all teachers and staff members will become familiar with the same language in order to recognize and respond to bullying situations. In our first lesson today we revisited our Class Promise. We began by talking about some of the reasons why we have a Class Promise. Here is our brainstorm:

After brainstorming, we came up with "I can__ by__" statements. We each chose a part of our Class Promise, and wrote down a specific way we can show that each and every day in our classroom, out on the playground, and at home with our friends and families. 

Here are are sharing our thoughts with each other!

Together, we will continue to learn and practice being kind citizens!