I accidentally put the wrong date on the Science Experiment packet.
The entire project is due on March 1st. That is the day of the science fair. I got mixed up with looking at last years’ due dates. I am soooo sorry for this mistake!
Warmly,
Ms. Bennon
Here are some notes that the students took today in class.
Purpose and Hypothesis due Friday, January 20th!
Hopothesis- What you tink will happen. Smart guess. Use complete sentences! You must include WHY you think what you think.
Good example: I think the hot water will open the capsule first, because hot water is good at cleaning and scrubbing. It will do a better job of getting the gelatin off the sponge.
Bad example: (don’t do it this way) Salt water because I think so.
Purpose: This is your real world reason your experiment is important. Use complete sentences.
Good examples: On a recent trip to Los Angelos I passed a forest of windmills. I noticed they used many different kinds of propellers. The purpose of my science experiment was to find out which kind of propeller works the best for generating electricity.
On a recent drive across town we slowed at the scene of a car accident. A car passed us playing very loud music. The purpose of this experiment is to see if music affects reaction times. This information could prevent car accidents.
Warmly,
Ms. Bennon
Over the years I have discovered that many families try to find ideas for science experiments on the Internet or from books. This often causes problems since many of the ideas out there are NOT suitable for true science experiments that follow the scientific method.
I would prefer that the students and families try to generate ideas from their life experiences and knowledge, however, if you do go seeking help, make sure that your information source has questions that are testable with scientific tools (ruler, thermometer, timer, etc.), that quantitative data can be obtained, and that the data can be charted and graphed.
In class we have read about the scientific method, particularly creating experiment questions. We have looked at different questions and decided which were good experimental questions and which were not. The students have learned that good questions must be testable by an experiment, must be measurable, must build on existing knowledge, and must have data that gets collected. The students also took notes on good examples of testable questions.
This site is a simple and clear one to back up classroom teaching.
This site helps to clarify some of the classroom instruction as well.
Students were given a folder to keep all of their science experiment information in. This folder is intended to help the students stay organized and not lose anything.
Their experiment questions are due on January 13th.
Remember- I am always available for help. Feel free to shoot me an email (ms.bennon@yahoo.com), write me a note, or set up an appointment if you want to talk!
–Ms. Bennon
Welcome back and happy new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break.
This quarter is going to be extremely busy and exciting. We are going to have our science fair in which all students are going to participate. We will read the amazing “Bambi” (an incredibly well written book) and keep a detailed literature journal using critical thinking skills. We will learn: personification, about weather and climate, the remaining parts of speech, how to outline, how to write 3-5 paragraph essays, how to do persuasive writing, how to classify living beings, and sooo much more.
It always seems as though the 3rd quarter of school flies by quickly, so put on your track shoes!
A science fair packet will be going home soon that will explain all of the nitty-gritty details. PLEASE DO NOT DO YOUR PROJECT EARLY!!!!! We will be going over things step-by-step in class and it will be good for the students to follow the time-line that will be sent home.
Again, happy new year!!!
Warmly,
Ms. Bennon
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/index.cfm
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/roofus/
http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/mainmap.htm
In today’s centers we started working on color-poems. Students had to pick a color and work at describing the color to someone who had never seen it before. To do so, students listed items that make them think of the color (example: yellow- lemon, sun, a smile). Next students took one item at a time and described it using all 5 senses. We will be using today’s notes to write a poem next week. I am excited to see the final results!
We also did some reproduction art. Students found art that they enjoyed and set out to reproduce the art using pastels.
After centers, the class got to experience a BMX bike show with the rest of the school. It was amazing to see the cyclists flying through the air. However…. I was much less excited to be one of 4 “volunteer” teachers to have a cyclist jump over us. YIKES!!!!
In math we worked on our 2 digit multiplication.
All in all it was a pretty laid-back day. I hope to see everyone at tomorrow’s fall carnival! (No costumes please.)
Warmly,
Ms. Bennon
P.S.- Don’t forget that the Natural Disaster Report notes and information are due on Monday.
This first site is kid sensitive. Children need to stay in the Kids-Area and not roam throught the rest of the poetry site which has adult content.
http://www.magneticpoetry.com/kids-area/
This second site helps teach students how to write different kinds of poems.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/poetry_engine.htm#
Warmly,
Ms. Bennon
I got so distracted with thoughts of poetry that I forgot to tell you what else we have been working on lately. Oops!
Literature
We are taking a break from analyzing literature to enjoy some Arizona based Historical Fiction. Our book, Walker of Time, is about a Hopi boy who time travels from modern day Mesa Verde National Park, to the ancient Native Americans who once lived on the land. The writing and vocabulary in this book is fabulous, and it connects perfectly to what the class is learning with Mrs. Sierra in Arizona History.
Language
We have now gone through nouns, verbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and adjectives. Pretty tough stuff. The rest of this quarter will be spent playing parts-of-speech games, color coding them on magnets for the fridge, and sentence labeling. At this pace we will have mastered all of the parts-of-speech by the third quarter.
We are also working on cause/effect, fiction/nonfiction, synonyms/antonyms, and the much loved D.L.R.
Geography
We have toured many countries around the world with the help of the fantastic “Families Around the World” movie series. With the help of these movies we are learning about cultures, traditions, climates, environments, economics, and much more. Students are journaling on the different countries that we study and coloring maps to keep track of them all.
We have also worked on map reading, chart making and reading, and recognizing different boundaries.
Reading
This quarter started with sharpening our textbook skills. We worked on using the Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index. We have also enjoyed practicing reading illustrations and graphs in textbooks. Using our Science textbook, we did some basic outlining and will move on to more serious outlining soon.
Reminders:
The fall carnival is on Saturday (the time escapes me) and should be a blast. I will be working the fishing booth, so make sure you stop by for a hello.
Please leave halloween candy at home.
Warmly,
Ms. bennon
