Making Oobleck, Earth Day, and More...

Welcome back!  We finished our science unit on matter by reading Dr. Suess' Bartholomew and the Oobleck.  Afterwards, we made the oobleck from the book and discussed which type of matter it was:  liquid, solid, or gas.  We came to the conclusion that oobleck is a solid when it is being moved/rolled and it is a liquid when it is sitting still.  The students ~loved~ this experiment!  We got plenty messy and had a ton of fun.  It was totally worth the huge mess it left behind in my classroom.  Each child got to take a little bit of the oobleck home (I hope they asked an adult before they let it out of the bag).

This past week we celebrated Earth Day.  We read the books The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry and The Lorax by Dr. Suess.  When reading these books, we reviewed our reading strategies that we have learned this year.  Students were asked to predict, question, clarify, and summarize.  We discussed the theme of each story and the author's purpose.  After reading both of these books, the students were asked to write about how they can help take care of the Earth.  We used green and blue paint and created a marble painted Earth.

Here are the pictures I took of the students creating their marble painting of the Earth.  They loved this activity.  They turned out so cute and we are currently displaying them out in the hallway with our Lorax pictures attached them.

Here are the pictures I took of each of the students for their "If I was the Lorax I would help the Earth by..." writing.  Each student made their Lorax mustache and then we took pictures of them out in the hallway.  They of course thought this was hilarious and spent the afternoon with their mustaches on while they worked.  :)

I can't even believe that we are nearing the end of the year.  We will be celebrating our successes in first grade with a 10 day countdown to summer and second grade!  Be on the lookout this week for a note coming home explaining all of the fun activities we will be doing during our 10 day countdown.  We will be walking to Sonic and Woodplace Public Library therefore a permission slip will be attached to the 10 day countdown newsletter.  Please be aware that the permission slips must be signed in order for your child to attend those activities.  In addition, your child will need $1 for an ice cream cone at Sonic.  Please bring their dollar in a marked envelope with their name and teacher's name on the outside.  This will help ensure that if your child misplaces their money before arriving to our classroom that we will be able to find where the money needs to go.  I'm looking forward to celebrating the end of the year with your child.  They have worked so hard all year long and I know they will be ready for second grade.

Learning about Matter

Our firsties have been learning about matter and they are LOVIN' it.  This is the perfect unit to bring in some experiments and provide the students with a hands on inquiry approach to learning.  We learned that matter is anything that takes up space.  We also learned that there are three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.  Once we came back from spring break, I wanted to review what we had learned about matter in a fun way.  I blew up a regular balloon, put water in one balloon, and then put water in a balloon and froze it.  I brought these balloons with me and pulled them out of my bag during science class.  The students used the graphic organizer I created to record their observations and learning.

This was such a simple, yet fun way to review the different states of matter.  With your help (thank you for all your generous donations), we have since been able to conduct a few more experiments as well.  Last Friday, we conducted the Root Beer Float Experiment.  The students were given root beer and ice cream.  They discovered the fizzing bubbles (gas) and were in amazement to see what could happen when you combine a solid and a liquid together.  We discussed which items in the float was a solid, liquid, and gas.  Some of the students learned that they really did like root beer floats and they enjoyed a nice little treat that afternoon after we talked about the experiment.  I love days like these.  The root beer float experiment was a cute little packet from Class of Kinders.  You can visit her store by clicking on the picture below.

The posters about matter are also a great addition to our classroom walls as we are learning about matter.

 Today, the students had their third matter experiment.  We did an "oldie but a goodie!!!  MENTOS and DIET COKE!!!!  Well, I'm sure you know the result there!  The kids had a blast and thought it was the coolest experiment yet. Before we conducted the experiment the students used the graphic organizer I created to record their observations.  I didn't have time to "fancy" it up as we say...but it worked out great and they did a wonderful job of recording their observations like "real" scientists do.

 I took video of the class conducting the experiment and you can watch it below.  As you can see, they were very excited.  Once again....learning at its best!  Thank you to everyone who has donated items for these class experiments.  I hope they are coming home with tons to talk about.  One of the girls today said she was going to go home and conduct the experiment on her deck!!!!  Generating this love for learning is why I do what I do.  I love their expressions and reactions when they discover something new.  Science is such a fun thing to teach and our firsties really are enjoying it too.

Tomorrow....we will be reading Dr. Suess' Bartholomew and the Oobleck  and then Wednesday it's another day of experiements....this one might be the best yet. We'll be starting our unit on "Me on the Map" this week.  If you can, please send in a picture of your child that is safe to cut up and glue onto our map project.  Come back and see us soon for more classroom updates!!!  Thanks for stopping by!