Five for Friday

It’s Friday, and I am actually linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday on a Friday.  It was a long, hot week, so this weekend is well

Last week we marked the end of our first theme (Getting to Know You) with a publishing celebration.  Parents were invited to come hear the class share their writing. 

My students were able to select from two writings: The Story of My Name and My Family is Special.  I had 15 out of 26 families show up and bring food that represented their culture.  It was a memorable day!

We have been busy little scientists this week.  We started our second theme (Thinking Like a Scientist) and have been learning about the three states of matter.  My students are loving all of the hands-on experiments.  The mini explosions (from Kristen Smith’s A Science Unit on Making Predictions) were a huge hit!  

The kids were amazed to see that gas was created when the vinegar hit the baking soda.  This was a great demonstration of a chemical change.

We started off the week with The Great Ice Race (from Rachel Lamb’s Marvelous Matter Activities for Little Scientists).  On Monday, the students were trying to get their ice to melt the fastest.  

Then we discussed which methods were effective and which were not.  On Tuesday, they were trying to keep their ice solid the longest.  It was adorable to see some of their methods.  The winning duo just put their ice on the desk, sat back, and read books.

We created a Matter Museum (also from Rachel's unit) in our classroom. My students were given a ziploc bag to take home and fill with a solid, liquid, or gas.  

There was lots of water and rocks in our museum along with ice cream, milk, masa, a fork, plastic jewels, a piece of paper, and soda. After my students shared their item, we classified each item and described its characteristics. 

Guided reading rotations are finally in full swing.  I was at school until after 6 pm tonight making copies of Reading A-Z books for each of my 5 groups.  I still need to finish the lesson plans for each group.  I can’t wait to see the progress my kiddos make after a few more weeks of our rotations.  I love seeing my students reading with our reading buddies.