Chemical Reactions

We have been learning about chemical reactions and states of matter in science class! We did an experiment to see if we could blow up a balloon without using our breath. It turned out that we could! We added sodium bicarbonate to acetic acid in a plastic bottle with a balloon on top and caused a chemical reaction. 

That reaction produced Carbon Dioxide which escaped out of the plastic bottle and into the balloon. The students really enjoyed this experiment and learned quite a bit about chemical reactions, chemical symbols and gasses. Watch the video we created to see what else we learned!

Phases of The Moon

                           We have been studying phases of the moon in Science!

After a reading comprehension, a class discussion and singing a catchy song about phases of the moon, students worked with a partner or small group to replicate each phase of the moon using an Oreo cookie.

Once they had created a model of each phase, they had to put them in order and label them. We followed up with a brief post-assessment. 

Coding In The Classroom

Click here to read an article explaining how and why we will be using coding this year and how I have integrated it into the curriculum in the past. We started using Scratch a few weeks ago and will soon delve into Tynker. 

One Second Everyday

At a technology camp I attended this summer, I was introduced to an app called "1 Second Everyday" and I was very intrigued. I decided to record (at least) one second every day for the first month of school. Click below to get a glimpse into each day of our day at school during the first month. 

Mean, Median and Mode

For the past two weeks we have been learning about mean, median and mode in math class. We decided to participate in Jennifer Wagner's O.R.E.O. 2013 Project. Each student got two attempts to stack Oreo cookies and compared their results. 

We then figured out the mean, median and mode of the results of the entire class and compared this data with other classes around the country. Watch the clip below to see what we learned during this exciting project!

Celebrating Dot Day With Augmented Reality

My class is always up for a celebration, so last week we celebrated International Dot Day.

Each year on September 15 (or the 16th if the 15th happens to be on a weekend) educators worldwide celebrate Dot Day to encourage creativity and unleash potential. Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds' classic book The Dot, students are encouraged to "make their mark."

In the past my class has celebrated International Dot Day in a more traditional way, by drawing dots. This year, I stumbled upon the colAR App and decided to take our dots into the 21st century!

I simply printed out the Dot Day pages, students decorated the blank dot and with our buddy class, we used the colAr app on iPads to make our festive dots come to life!

This technology is called Augmented Reality and really needs to be experienced to be fully understood. The students enjoyed watching their creations come alive, and I am looking forward to bringing Augmented Reality into the classroom in new and innovative ways.

Thank You!

Thanks so much for all the special birthday treats! I had a wonderful day and sincerely appreciate the generosity and thoughtfulness.