Week 34- Civil War, Integer Battle, & Mixtures

This week we started studying about the Civil War. Each student has been assigned a different historical figure to research and present to the class. We used a little class time to get started on this assignment.

We also learned how to add integers this week. I had several games lined up for us to play but the students loved this one so much they begged to play Integer Battle every day. We divided into teams and started with the X. One team moved up & down from the selected number and the other team moved left & right from the selected number. We decided if the highest or lowest score would win the game. Then they added integers to earn their points for the team. 

There was so much discussion between teammates about strategy and planning what the other team would pick. It only took one round for them to start developing a strategy to help their team win!

Our class had our Box Top celebration party this week. We collected the most Box Tops in the school so we were rewarded with a snow cone and popcorn party. It was a beautiful day so we took advantage of it. 

We concluded our lesson about mixtures and solutions by creating our own mixtures (iron filings, salt, sand, and beads). The students had to observe the properties of each material and then mix them together. We used this TpT file- Mixtures and Solutions Interactive Notebook Bundle- to add pages in our interactive notebook (see one page pictured)

Each group developed a plan for separating the mixtures and started to work. It was great to watch them all talk about the different ideas and come together to make the plan happen.  

Have you used the Lab Team Roles by The Science Penguin? I love using these cards when students work in groups for science labs. Each card has a different role and their responsibilities. It helps with group work and makes sure everyone does their part. You should check them out!

STUDENTS: It is so hard to believe the school year is coming to a close. What is the one end-of-year activity you're looking forward to? Why?

Week 29- Area, Perimeter, & Mixtures

This week in math we learned about area and perimeter. I had a lot of fun, hands on activities planned for my students. I taped some shapes on the floor in the hallway with painters tape. I assigned each group a shape and they had to calculate the area and perimeter of their shape.

Then I found the great activity using Post-It notes: Sticky Note Area and Perimeter. I gave each group a design they had to recreate with post it notes on their chart paper. Then they had to calculate the area and perimeter of the shape on their poster. I had them rotate to each of the posters to check their work. I love that this activity taught them how to calculate area of irregular shapes. 

Then we used Cheez-Its to create shapes. I gave each student 10 Cheez-Its and they had to create as many different shapes they could and calculate the perimeter of those shapes. 

At the end of the week, my students made Area/Perimeter robots. Here is the file from TpT: Perimeter and Area Robots.They are given dimensions for each section of the robot. 

I told them the robots could reflect their interests. I was amazed with the results!

For science this week we were learning about mixtures. So we created a mixture of our own using salt, sand, iron filings, and beads. Since a mixture can be separated each group had to create a plan to separate their mixture. 

They had to write a plan and have it approved before they started working. 

I overhead several students talking about how they would have to synergize to get this done. Each group worked together to develop a plan and they used information from other things we had done this week to help them come up with their plan. 

They took the beads out with their hands, used a magnet to remove the iron filings, and then mixed the salt/sand mixture with water. They knew salt would dissolve in water so they used the water to pick up the salt. Then used a filter to filter the sand from the water. We left the cups to sit so the water will evaporate and leave the salt behind.

It was another fun week and next week is spring break! Hope all my students and followers have a great week.

STUDENTS: Which area/perimeter activity was your favorite and why?