Week 31- Volume & Final Chemistry Experiment

This week we tackled volume! I found these great cubes my students cut out and folded. We taped them together and they used base 10 blocks to fill the cube. 

Want a set too? Paper Volume Cubes

Since I wanted them to understand that you can count the blocks or multiply l x w x h to calculate the volume this was a perfect activity. 

Each group worked on a set of 5 cubes and most groups asked me if they could just multiply to find out the volume. I was so happy that they came to that conclusion on their own! 

During small groups I taught the kids a new game! Each card has a topic and a list of words. The students can read the topic aloud to the group but they can't say any of the words on the card. The goal is to get your group members to guess a word on your card. They had fun playing this game!

We finished our chemistry unit this week. We have been studying physical and chemical changes so we made elephant toothpaste. 

Then they got to create a chemical change in a bag. They mixed calcium carbonate and baking soda in a large bag. 

Then each group added some phenol red in a cup and put it inside the bag. Once the bag was sealed they tipped the cup and watched what happened. 

They saw gas produced, color change, and felt heat from the bag. These are all indicators of chemical change. 

We also watched this video.

We talked about how younger students look up to them and decided to post positive notes on work displayed in the building. Each student created 2 post it notes that said things like "Great Job" or "Your work is outstanding!" 

We walked around the building and they added their positive notes on work throughout the building. 

STUDENTS: Which experiment was your favorite during our chemistry unit? Why was it your favorite?