Week 11- Halloween Candy and Mad Scientist Day

Are familiar with http://www.yummymath.com/? This week I used a math word problem from their site to get my students thinking about purchasing candy for Halloween. We used the data given to figure out which bag of candy was the best deal.



I had them work in groups to determine which was the best deal and which was the worst.



Some were surprised with the results. We also decided that if you like Snickers you're willing to pay a little more to get them.



Friday we had Mad Scientist Day! This is always so much fun. Every year we schedule this day around Halloween. The kids are able to dress as scientists and we do science experiments.





We did experiments like Shy Blue and Drop by Drop to explore water surface tension. In shy blue we add color to the water and then drop rubbing alcohol into the water. The water looks like it is running away from the alcohol.





Drop by drop- we drop water on waxed paper and use toothpicks to move it around.



We also made some snow with Instant Snow from Steve Spangler.



The lava lamps were a big hit! Want to make one yourself? Fill a bottle 3/4 of the way with cooking oil. Then pour in water to top off the bottle. Add 10 drops of your favorite color food coloring. Do not shake the bottle! Then use an Alka Seltzer tablet. Break it up and drop in a small piece. It creates a lava lamp. You can continue adding pieces of the tablet until it is gone. Be careful if you put a lot in at one time. Make sure to open the lid to release pressure that builds up in the bottle.



We ended the day by walking on eggs. I even gave this a try! Did you know you can walk on eggs? As you can see they had a great time doing this.





STUDENTS: What was your favorite experiment during mad scientist day? Explain what you did and why you liked it so much.

Week 11- Scientist Day

This week I taught the kids how to divide using the house method. This is a great way to divide for those students who have a hard time keeping the numbers straight as they bring them down the page. Check out Bella's video. She did a great job making a video to explain the house method.



We also added the third ring to our Daily Data board this week. The kids had to pick their favorite flavor of ice cream!



On Halloween, we had Mad Scientist Day! All the kids dressed as scientists and we did science experiments all day. Some of our experiments were Shy Blue and Drop by Drop.





I also had some "snow" that I ordered from Steve Spangler.



We made lava lamps with oil, water, food color, and alka seltzer tablets. These are always a hit!





I should probably apologize to the parents! We also made howling cups that made a lot of noise. I made sure all the cups went home and weren't left at school. :)



Because it was Mad Scientist Day we had to do something gross! The kids created a mixture by making "fake poop" and grossed everyone out by eating it. No fear, it was made with oatmeal, sugar, chocolate cake mix, and water.



STUDENTS: This week was scientist day. Tell me about your favorite experiment. Make sure to tell me why it was your favorite. Include the reasons why you liked it- don't just tell me you liked it. You'll get a bonus ticket if you use 7 up sentences!