Scientists in Action!

An Important Note From the Students:

Thursday was an amazing day!  It all started when we received a letter from one of our favorite authors, Mo Willems.  We studied Mo Willems a long time ago and sent him letters.  He not only sent us a letter, but also sent us a poster and activities. 

(Each student has a copied packet from Mo Willems to take home.)

   

We have been very excited about the live insects in our classroom for our insect research.  Today 2 friends were at the water fountain and all of the sudden they heard a sound.  Guess what? It was the Luna Moth emerging from her cocoon! We had to be flexible and stop everything we were doing to observe the Luna Moth.  Ms. Carey is a “Luna Moth expert” so she came down to our classroom to talk to us about the Luna Moth.  We spent time observing the moth and drawing diagrams.  We named her Luna, which means moon in Spanish. We know that Luna is a female because of the way her antennas look.  Isabella was able to tell us that Luna Moths do not have mouths; we researched and confirmed that this is true.  We were disappointed to learn that a Luna Moth only lives for a week, but Ms. Carey explained to us that it is part of nature and our Luna Moth will be very happy when she can fly free.  By the end of the day, Luna’s wings expanded and she looks like a beautiful green color.  She won’t be able to use her wings until tomorrow.  Ms. Schlank said we don’t need to put her in a cage, but we were worried about her escaping tonight so we put her in a cage anyways.  What an exciting day!

Insect Research:

We kicked off our insect unit by exploring informational texts and determining their text features.  Being able to utilize and access information in texts is crucial so students will be able to gain new content related information.  Students examined text features in non-fiction texts about a variety of topics.

As a class, we are researching butterflies.  Students each received their very own caterpillar so they can observe the life cycle over time.  The caterpillars arrived on Wednesday and are very small.  In a butterfly observation notebook each child is able to observe and measure his/her caterpillar.  Aligning with our current math unit of measurement, students have been able to integrate their knowledge of measuring with units to measure their caterpillars.  The research and note taking process is being modeled through the butterfly research and students are collaborating to contribute to our new learning.  Ask your child what they named their caterpillar!

Students are working in research groups to study an insect of choice.  Now that they are experts on using the text features of informational texts, they are able to gain new information from their books.  We began the unit by activating our schema and recording information that we think we know about butterflies and their insect of choice.  It is crucial that students understand this is information that they think they know and that we are working to confirm if it is true or to find out it is a misconception.  Students have worked so hard studying their insects.  It is truly amazing how diligent, enthusiastic and capable the students have been!

Outdoor Classroom:

Finally, spring weather has arrived.  Students worked as scientists and mathematicians to explore nature.  As scientists, they observed and recorded descriptions of objects in nature.  As mathematicians, they measured and compared the sizes of the objects.

Measurement:

Measurement provides a real-world context for students. While learning about different units of measurement (i.e. foot steps, cubes, yarn) students are exploring and discovering the relationship between the size of a unit and the number of units required to measure an object.  Students used a new term “estimate” which we like to call a “smart guess”.  Using nonstandard units such as cubes and paperclips is providing students with the opportunity to focus on the measurement process.  As students develop an understanding of length, selecting appropriate nonstandard units, and the ability to compare objects it will allow them the foundations to eventually measure in standard units in future grades. 

Science Discovery Visit:

A visitor from the Science Discovery Museum did an interactive presentation about air and weather.  Students made their own clouds using shaving cream.  They were fascinated learning about dry ice! 

Visit http://tinyurl.com/TSWactivity to find more ideas for exploring science with fun, at-home science activities.  You will also receive a FREE admission pass to visit The Discovery Museum.

Fundations

For Fundations we have focused on the syllables in words, compound words and contractions.  Students have participated in hands-on activities and games to practice these skills.

Persuasive Writing

Having an opinion, having reasons to back up your opinion, and being able to politely disagree with someone are important life skills.  Students determined that a common form of persuasive writing that we see often are advertisements.

For persuasive writing in particular, being aware of your audience is crucial. Students enjoyed watching commercials and looking at real advertisements as we carefully analyzed who the audience the advertisement was trying to sell to was (ex. Rainbow Loom Commercials were trying to sell to kids and parents by including different information).  Students then worked on advertising teams for “Schlank “N” Stein Advertising Agency” to sell their ice cream.  While more than one group may have had the same flavor, each group had a different audience (parents, kids, or Winn Brook Cafeteria Workers).  Students worked very hard to formulate their opinions, state their reasons with examples while keeping their audience in mind to create advertisements with writing and drawing.  Through collaboration and discussion, the outcomes were incredible.  Students will share their work with you at the Author’s Tea in June!

We also integrated persuasive writing into the Mother's Day projects.  I hope the mothers enjoyed why you should be on the cover of People Magazine as Mother of the Year!

American Symbol Museum

Providing students with an authentic audience for writing increases engagement and effort.  Before the students’ American Symbol Brochures were displayed in the library, Ms. Keough’s class came in to visit our “Museum”. With guided questions in hand, Ms. Keough’s class traveled around and asked room 101 historians different questions about their American Symbol.  Students used their brochures and knowledge to teach Ms. Keough’s class.  We then visited Ms. Keough’s class’ museum to see their How To posters.

Mystery Reader

Author's Chair