Bringing on the Heat, with Hallie Heat!

So for me, blogging and preparing for the holidays are not tremendously compatible. It has been hard to keep up with out blog the past two weeks. Hopefully things will settle down after break.

This past week, the students finished their snowman cards and wrote the final draft of their winter poems. They made a second copy of their poem for you. I will send them home right before winter break. Today, each student made a micro-podcast of their poem that you will find in the previous post. They did a great job on their poems and their first audio presentation!

While each student recorded their audio files, the other students were continuing their individual work in the TOPS Math program.

At recess today, I introduced the students to the game, Blokus.  It is a strategy board game that challenges spatial thinking and it a lot of fun for all ages.   If your family likes board games, it is a great one!

In the afternoon, the students were introduced to our newest Quirkle, Hallie Heat.  In our experiment, we learned the warmer water (and air) rise, while colder water (and air) sink.  Your child has their experiment log to share their hypothesis, observations and results with you.



All of our cards were mailed out last week. We ended up making and mailing 62 cards. Thank you so much for your donations of stamps to assist us with the postage costs. We have received 47 cards so far. 

Today, we opened some of the cards we have received from other schools including ones in North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Virginia.  We used a map of North America to locate the states and their relative direction and distance from Kansas City.   

We discussed the grade levels, number of students in each class and the average high temperature for December 15th in each town/city.   A couple of weeks ago, in the computer lab, the students were introduced to Google Earth and the features that allow us to zoom into a map to the point of virtually standing in front of the schools.  They were very observant and noted differences and similarities in each town/cities geographical location, proximity to the ocean, lakes or rivers, rural and urban areas, the physical size of the schools and even surrounding plant life.  As we were discussing the average high temperatures today, by looking at the map of North America, the students realized the colder temperatures were to the north while the southern locations were warmer.  

There is no SAGE class next week, December 21st as it is a half day.  I will look forward to seeing them all again on our next SAGE day, January 9th.  That is also our first day of Spanish.  Each week, Senora Gates will teach a 30 minute Spanish lesson.  I know they will be excited to start our Spanish language lessons.

I hope your child and your family enjoy our winter holiday break! 

Our WInter Poems

Looks Can Be Deceiving! :-)

The students worked really hard today!  This morning, we met our newest Quirkle, Gilbert Gas.

We explored carbon dioxide is both gas and solid forms.  The students wrote their hypothesis and recorded their observations as we added salt to a bottle of soda pop with a balloon covering the top of the bottle.  Ask your child to show you their science log sheet to find out their conclusion.

 Next, we explored carbon dioxide in solid form, dry ice.  There are few things that are quite as exciting as dry ice....

except maybe, dry ice and dish soap...

Bubbles and strange, cold gas.... does it get any better than this?

Next, we worked on our math problem solving skills in the TOPS Math and Math Rules programs.  

This afternoon, we finished our snowman cards by writing the final draft of our winter poems.  The students made a second copy of their poem for you.  I will send them home right before winter break.

Next we opened some of the cards we have received from other schools including ones in Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Florida and Ontario, Canada.  We used a USA atlas and located the states on the map of North America.  Many more will arrive in the days ahead.

We had a busy day!  I think this looks a bit more like my hard working, E day students!

Wishing You Wet, Wonderful Snowman Snow!

Experimenting with Friction

This week, the students were introduced to our newest Quirkle scientist, Friction Fred.  In our lesson, the students learned about friction and how this resistance helps us to keep our footing on slick ground.  The students also conducted an experiment with friction.  After recording their hypothesis, they cleaned the tip of their nose with a paper towel, breathed on the bowl of a spoon, rubbed the spoon on their nose and let go of it.  Check out your child's science log sheet to read their observations and conclusion.

Next, they began writing the rough draft of their winter poem that will be included in their snowman cards.  A second copy will also be made for them to bring home.  The students were given a choice of the style of the poem they wrote- acrostic, cinquain or free verse.   Next week, they will write the final draft of their winter poem and finish up their card.  We need to mail them by December 9th.  So far, we have received five cards from other schools.  We will display them on the bulletin board in our classroom and plot the locations on our map.  You are welcome to stop by and see the cards.

The students also worked at their Exploratory centers.   The newer students selected their first center, filled out their contract and started the Knowledge level task.  The rest of the students continued their individualized tasks.  Ask your child about their center choice and/or current task.