Make-Your Own Silly Putty

Want to investigate polymers and make a silly putty polymer with your class?

Help yourself to my worksheet below.

Want to send the toy home with your students?

Print out my "Silly Putty Polymer Disclaimer" to tape to the baggies.

SILLY PUTTY INQUIRY ACTIVITY AND LABELS PRINTABLES

Want to make Glow-In-The-Dark Silly Putty "Slime"...Check out directions HERE!

diet coke and mentos super-fountains!

 I am pretty excited to do the Mentos lab today! 

Try it yourself with my 

MENTOS AND DIET COKE EXPERIMENT! 

I am using it as part of my 7th grade unit on "Physical and Chemical Changes."

I'm wishing I had bought Steve Spangler's Geyser Tube... I've read that it is difficult to drop the mentos into the soda without making a mess :/ 

I imagine our lab will go something like this (A girl can dream can't she?):

Want the Research behind this time-old experiment? Check out the Mythbusters video below.

{Post-Experiment Update: I walked into class today... to find that I had a student bring in his own steve spangler geyser tube to class... So we got to try it after all!)

Below is a video explaining the contraption:

(We did not use the geyser for the whole lab, just as a grand finale at the end!)

Any tips or different versions for mentos & coke lab?

graphing fun in the resource room!

1. Math Centers Gr. 3 − 4  = WONDERFUL, fun centers.  Colorful. Easily completed independently.
2. Using the Standards: Data & Probability Gr. 4: Good independent practice.
3. Gotta Have Graphs! Grades Gr. 1 − 6    = Great Activities.  
4. Graphing Hidden Pictures Gr. 2 − 3 = Good book.  The students really enjoyed it, but it was too easy for them.
5. Graphiti  = The newest edition to the collection...just arrived today.  I think that this book will be a nice challenge for my students.

Above is my Coordinate Graphing with Candy! Activity.

Materials: The students each get a 4 quadrant white erase board, marker, and tissues (for erasing).

Directions: I walk around with a baggie of smarties and place one Smartie (or two or three for faster-working students) on the students' board at a time.  To eat the candy, they must correctly identify the ordered pair of the Smartie.

The kids LOVE it. And it works just as well with M&M's and coordinate graphing in just Quadrant I.

I am THRILLED about the "Where's Wilson" and "Where's Wilma" Domino Games I just purchased!

Above is "Where's Wilson"....The students play the game similar to dominos.  They work in small groups to match up ordered pairs and graphs on the dominos.  Today I had the students work on  "Where's Wilson" has students work in just Quadrant I. "Where's Wilma"challenges students to work in the four Quadrants.

Overall, today was a great day of new math activities and old math activities.  Some of the old math activities included having each student have a try at a coordinate graphing game on the board using the mimeo....

**Soooo LETS HAVE A MATH-GRAPHING-GAMES-LINKY-PARTY!**

Link up your favorite interactive-graphing sites!

Note: This is my first time using inlinkz...and i cannot figure out how to get the title below to say "math." NOT "science." haha WHOOPS! Link up anyway! ;)

Picture Books In Science. (+ Freebies!)

Happy Science Week!
"MONDAY: Favorite books for science"
....here are three of my FAVES!
#1

1. Zach's Alligator by Shirley Mozelle is a cute book to introduce measurement.
Depending on the grade level, it can also be used to introduce graphing or polymers too.

It is about the adventures of a boy with a toy alligator who drinks lots of water, grows, and comes to life.

I read the book to my students, followed by a teacher demonstration in the lab on polymers (using a baby diaper as well as instant snow), before introducing my
 FREEBIE Alligator Lab.

{Polymer Alligators Available for Purchase Here}

  This is a great lab to practice measurement and graphing skillz.


Alternative (higher level) version: Similar to that found here, can be done through having the students compare the growth of the polymer alligators in salt water, tap water, and distilled water.

#2.

2. The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanne Cole is a wonderful Earth Science book.
The best part of the book is the graphics and labels.  They correlate perfectly with the upper elementary curriculums.
I scanned every page (yes, it took me a while.) so that I could make a power point to show the pages on the big screen as I did a read-aloud.

I read the book to my students to introduce the 6th Grade "Inside the Earth" Unit on the layers of the earth.
I then give the students a homework assignment to write their own story about a class trip inside the earth with my FREEBIE "Inside the Earth" Assignment.

I was proud of their end products and displayed their stories on my classroom door
(See picture below).

#3

3. Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe
This book has a lot of words for a read aloud, but because it is a picture book, I believe that it makes the story of Gregor Mendel more memorable than learning facts from the textbook.   This Life Science book would be more useful in a middle school curriculum...

Check back on Wednesday for a new science freebee to go with this book.....
"Celebrity Punnett Squares" activity and worksheets!

Check out an incredible list of fave-books HERE!

Back To School Night, First Grade Style!

Boyfriend's year has kicked off to a great start!  Above are some pics he took today as he was readying his room for back to school night!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Back to School Night. I always look forward to it!

What have I done in the past?

My first two years (when I taught 6th grade regular education science) I had the students help me create and set up stations of all the lab experiments.   The parents were able to read about and test each experiment...as well as watch a slideshow of the students doing activities.  (Seen below).  

Last year (6th, 7th, 8th grade math) I showcased the technology in the room and had the parents do activities with the responders, mimeo, and document camera which were all new additions to my classroom.

What will I do this year?

So far just a short short power point about the new curriculum ....speckled with pics of the students over the past 3 weeks to spice it up...

That's all I got.

I'm not trying to get crazy, but am looking to do something new.
Any fresh ideas for me???

Math & Science Journals Part IV

math journal recap.

In an effort for growth and improvement in the open-ended portion of the ASK...

One strategy I decided to implement in an effort to improve math scores was a math journal.  

math journal update.

I use this as my daily warm-up activity for math.  It provides a nice daily routine for the students to get settled in (especially important in the middle school setting where students relocate every period).

I require the students to answer each open ended question with:a number sentence, a real sentence, and a picture.As seen below, I started the year with easy questions to get the students accustomed to expressing math concepts in the journal format.

So far so good!

Concept Maps

At the end of a unit concept maps are a great way to review.

I type and cut up the key vocabulary words of the unit.

 Put them in a baggie.  

Give students the baggie, skinny expo markers, and white erase boards and challenge them to create their own concept map.

It is exciting to see many versions of concepts maps and connections kids could create using the same words!

How do YOU do concept maps?

Science Sentence Frames

Today I was thrilled to come across a great blog post that put a name to something that I love to use in my science classroom.  It was refreshing to see another teacher's philosophy on using the sentence starters in the science classroom.

She calls it "Sentence Frames".  I had always called it "Sentence Starters". 

Tomato. Tomahto.

(though i do think i like calling it "frames" better...)

Above is a picture of our recent "Gobstopper Conclusion" with sentence starters 

pasted above the paragraph...(and also written in red marker!)

Sample Conclusion Sentence Starters for Conclusion-Writing-Beginners:

The original hypothesis was  ________________

The procedures of the lab were ____________________

The data was ___________________________

The hypothesis was found to be (true OR false?) __________________because ______________

An error that may have affected our results was _____________

At the end of the lab, I learned ______________________

As a 6th grade (and even in 7th!) science teacher, I began using "sentence starters" to guide my students to write effective conclusions.  As an end result, I have found that the students' ability to communicate what they have learned has improved dramatically.  They just needed the "frame" as the guidance to show them how to think and speak about science and then they can insert their own thoughts and ideas! 

Math & Science Journals Part III

Since making journaling part of my daily routine, I needed to come up with a system to organize the commonly used materials on the students' desks. 

SO, I was very proud of myself this morning when I hot glued a little dollar store bin into a bigger dollar store bin to create the masterpiece you see above.  I made 6, one for each table.

Here are some clips from my students' 7th grade Science Journal so far. We are starting with the easy stuff....lab safety and scientific method last week through tomorrow...


Tomorrow we will be adding two more foldables (Surface Tension: Pre-Lab & Drops On A Penny Lab Report) to our notebook as we complete the Penny Lab!

I'm having fun getting creative with all the types of foldables that can be used in the interactive notebooks... stay tuned as I make my own!

A Day to Remember.

As I searched for hours (literally.) for youtube videos that may be appropriate to show to my 7th grade class, I was torn on the topic of what was appropriate for 13-year-olds.  Many of the best 9-11 videos are highly emotional.  Do I show them these more PG-13-ish videos now that they can handle it? I struggled with the idea, but decided instead to play it safe...


9/12 Lesson Plan:
1. Show the FREE BrainPop.com September 11th Video! (take advantage: this is one of the few, few times they offer free videos!)
2. Discuss the event of 9-11 and the current rebuilding 10 years later.
3. Show the New York Times  video and article featuring the ironworkers' rebuilding of "Freedom Tower".  (Special to me because my uncle is featured in the pictures! :)

Pictures of my uncle from the New York Times article on the ironworkers' rebuilding of the Freedom Tower.

Gobstopper Science

Gobstopper Lab!

I love the scientific method.  I love gobstoppers.  Put the two together, voila...you have the Gobstopper lab.  Check it out on my teachers pay teachers account!

A picture from today's investigation after 10 minutes of Gobstoppers sitting in water.

Usually I run my Gobstopper lab similar to that seen below....



Tomorrow, I am thinking of extending the lab and allowing the students to complete this lab as the control group (room temp water) and change the liquid (experimental group) to see the difference.  I am undecided whether to allow them to just use hot water or to allow them to use soda or other liquids...

How to Make Your Classroom Nerdy

I love my "Think" poster if only just for the sheer nerdiness of it.  

It uses the Periodic Table of the Elements' symbols for Thorium, Iodine,  and Potassium to create the word ThINK.

Math & Science Journals Part II

Began the math journals with my middle school resource center math class today by decorating the cover with a "Math About Us" theme.... 

I am requiring the students to make a cover that has pictures, math problems, and numbers that represent them.  

As you can see, my sample includes #'s related to: family members, age, height, number of letters in my name, favorite number, sports, instruments, pets, traveling

DIY: Unit In A Box

Here is my organizational system for my classroom materials....

• I treat each unit as a "Unit Plan in a Box" (sweater boxes from ContainerStore  $10.99 each) that match up with a "Unit Binder" filled with lesson plans and unit plans. Color coded by subject.

• As I teach each unit...I take out materials as I need them and organize them into my "Daily Lesson Bins"(Dollar Store!!)

Lab Safety

Is anyone else bored with their school's 1970's lab safety video and classic tour-of-the-science-lab routine?  I know I am. 

Here's a few of my lab-safety faves:

1. Make a Lab Safety Poster

CHECK OUT THE PROJECT HERE.

Student pairs are given a lab rule and make a poster. Graded with a rubric (and students self-assess).
I love it for a great way to have student work collaboratively early in the year, which is a skill they will need for the science lab.  it is also a great way to decorate the classroom with student work early in the year!

Here is a sample of a student's project hanging in my classroom.  It isn't an example of an A+ project (the project lacked strong communication of the rule verbally...) but it is a great example of creativity with materials and showing the rule visually!

2. Matching Activity

.

Here's a picture of the baggies I pass out to the small groups.

3. Sponge Bob Lab Safety 

Students read the story and list as many broken lab rules as they can can find.  In the end, they should find about 20 broken lab rules.

4. Tell What Rule Was Broken

 Cartoon &  Cartoon Video ...I just use both as warm-up activities during the first week and give the students a written question, such as: "List 3 lab rules that were broken." or "List 3 lab rules that were followed."

5. Interactive Practice Quizzes

Students must pass with 90% to be allowed in the lab.  An example of interactive practices quizzes can be found online here.

6. Fun Lab Safety Videos

Much more entertaining than than the classic lab-safety-videos.

As Ready As It's Gonna Get.

Well here's a glimpse at the finished almost finished room. 

contact paper on desk/letters (made from paint color samples) = home depot.  posters on walls = lakeshore.  string to hang student work = joanne fabrics.  large white erase calendar = container store.  picture frames for student pics = beckers (vintage: 5 years ago!) paper to make spaceship = lakeshore and joanne fabrics.  desk accessories=joanne fabrics.  bins for weekly plans = dollar store.  internet cord= amazon 


It may not look like much....but it's come a loooong way.


Baby steps....

Classroom Quiet Signal

Back-to-school means back-to-routines.  As per usual, I will be using the "clap three times" signal to get my middle school science classes quiet and attentive:

I clap three times slowly. They stop talking and clap three times back and listen.  They are like robots.  (If needed, I repeat.)

....I know what you're thinking.  Isn't that a little elementary school of you? 

NOPE! It's just plain awesome.  It just works for the science setting! My favorite things about the three-clap?  I am constantly using hands-on activities and labs and the three-clap signal means the students need to immediately take their hands off their materials to clap and then silently listen for directions.  So in the end, its more like a quiet and hands-off-materials signal.  Perfection.

Whats yours? I guess I never stopped to think...do many middle school teachers even have one? Head on over here for more ideas on classroom-quiet-signals and to link-up to share your own!

Physical Science Videos

I also have started working on my Physical Science UBD. (Disclaimer: That is a rough rough copy of my daily plans...as I said, I'm just now muddling my way though it since I've never taught it before!)

SO...I am giving myself the challenge of exactly ONE HOUR to find, watch, and list as many resources as possible to consider adding into my unit: 

Annnnnnd GO: 

Fun/Informative on Vocab:

Brain Pop Video on States of Matter

Brain Pop Video on Matter Changing States

Brain Pop Video on Atoms

Brain Pop Video on the Atomic Model

Brain Pop Video on Acids and Bases

Brain Pop Video on pH Scale

Brain Pop on the Periodic Table of Elements

(some other videos on Brainpop like measuring, body chemistry, water, salt..might be good for using before labs but I didn't link up to them.)

Kinda Really Really Really Boring:

United Streaming Video Clip: Chemical Changes vs Physical Changes

United Streaming Video Clip: Boiling, Melting, Freezing, and Sublimation

You Tube (My school blocks YouTube so we have to use KickYouTube to download.):

Physical and Chemical Change Song

The Elements Animation Song

Spongebob Sings the Elements Song

Daniel Radcliff Sings the Elements Song

Ph Scale (Student Made)

Just for Fun:

clip from the middle of the Magic School Bus episode: "MSB Meets MollyCule" (get it, MollyCule...molecule. bahaha) the gang discovers what a molecule looks like.

clip from the end of The Magic School Bus "The Magic School Bus: Meets Molly Cule"  addressing the idea that molecules are the smallest "bit" that give something it's characteristics.

Here's my favorite video of all.  Thanks, Harry Potter. You just make Chemistry a little bit cooler.

That's all folks.

PS- I also like a bunch of physical science activities found here!

First Week's Unit Plan

 I've never taught physical science before so it took me a while to really think through the units and make a pacing guide for myself.


View the finished product here: 7th Grade Science Pacing Guide. (Note: Our district is in block scheduling so students only have science for half a year...)

3. The first unit was originally a 2 week unit...now consolidated to 4 days.  Here is the finished product: Think Like A Scientist UBD .