We have been working on engineering and simple machines in science. I am of the mindset that if we are going to be doing something awesome/fun in one subject- we better try connecting it across the curriculum.
So here is how our Friday went---
First thing this morning kids made catapults using Popsicle sticks. Check out THIS website for detailed instructions on how to make the catapult. We tried different amounts of Popsicle sticks but found that having about 8 in the middle works best for getting distance. :)
I arranged the desk in a large rectangle and I marked the space in one foot increments in the open space using green frog tape.
After students made their catapults I had 4 students line up on opposite sides of our "field" (8 total). Each student had 3 trials to flip their pom poms the farthest. Students filled out THIS RESPONSE sheet which includes numerous math operations and questioning- regrouping, measurement, comparing numbers.
Here's the kids using the catapults!
Students had to measure their distance and figure out how many inches it was total.
During literacy we read about the Vikings and watched how people use catapults today.
During science we watched some of the Punkin Chunkin' videos and decided to have our own in class using the pom poms :)
We flung a few with our catapults... and then decided that using our simple machine levers... aka our arms might be a bit more fun.
Needless to say the kids loved it! After it dried we voted on a motto-- which was pretty much unanimous and painted it on our art work. We were inspired by Oliver Jeffers as our mentor illustrator :)
My goal is to encourage the kids and make sure that they know.... it doesn't matter if they have flops... those flops leads to successes. Success has flops-but you have to DO SOMETHING! We use this motto all day and it helps relieve the anxiety of not doing something perfect... they just have to DO SOMETHING. This now proudly hangs in our classroom. My question to you is what do you need to do? What scares the bejesus out of you or makes you anxious that you need to try or move in that direction? I have 3 big ones on my list that I am actively trying to DO SOMETHING in.... what are yours?!?
I apologize... but don't really mean it for the length and lovely information you are getting in this stellar post. :)
All year we have been gathering pieces for their writing portfolios. I didn't have students put in every piece of writing they did, rather they chose what pieces they liked and showed their growth. I had students reflect upon their growth using this form and then put it near the beginning of their portfolio. It is so powerful for them to reflect and put academic vocabulary to their growth.
We created 3 anchor charts
1. At the beginning of the year...... I did/did not...
2. Now at the end of the year I....
3. In the future I would like to....
For the cover of their portfolios I cut out 4x6 watercolor paper. I like using watercolor paper because it does not pill or get misshapen like other thicker papers do. It also allows the water to not run as much.
I taped around the edges on the desk using my favorite froggie green painters tape to make a frame. I then gave students masking tape attached to a piece of wax paper with the bottom of the tape hanging off of it. They chose 1 simple shape that reflected them---sun, heart, star, initials, sport, etc. drew it and cut it off. Having the tape on the wax paper allowed me to do it whole group and also made it so that they didn't ruin their design because the tape was sticking to their scissors, desks, hair, faces, somebody else, etc. etc. etc. :)
On my back table I let them use "fancy watercolors" from the tube. Whole group I showed them different strategies to use--- wet, dry, salt, saran wrap, etc. It is amazing the textures you can get really easily.
salt
rubbing alcohol
plastic wrap
With me we taped their paper down, cut out their shape, and I let them begin to paint. I thought this was going to be an absolute disaster and chaos... and it couldn't have worked better. One of the 1st grade teachers is a professional artist and when I told her what I was going to let 7-8 year olds do she thought I was mental (which is partially true). When I told them that "Mrs. Moore thinks I am crazy for letting 2nd graders use fancy water color and no lines" it fueled them to be that more intentional. I didn't have a single student need to redo one--- which is nothing short of a diving miracle. After their first coat dried, we peeled back their cut out and painted inside of that.
I was blown away at what these little artists produced. Start to finish it took about 2 hours to finish everybody with 3 working one the table at a time.
They signed their names in the corners like an artist and then we mounted them on black construction paper. These became the covers of their portfolios. I bought clear plastic covers from office depot. Originally we were going to do binders, but there is something about having it bound together that just finishes it off (though binding them about finished me:)).
On the last day of school they collected them with their parents along with a little goody bag that had a summer review pack, sunglasses, and a sweet treat in them. I also included all of the book trailers they had made throughout the year into the portfolio as well as a copy of our year end video.
Also, during the last week, I had the students write letters to the upcoming 2nd graders. These letters will be placed on their desks on the first day of school. As a class, we made a huge graphic organizer of all they had learned throughout the year- academic, social, technology, fun activities, etc.
From there we brainstormed some sentence starters and I wrote an example in front of them. They wrote rough drafts, editing with a peer, and then me. They then taped a pencil to the top of the paper and wrote a little note.
We even created one last book trailer as a class from our read aloud...The Invention of Hugo Cabret
It is amazing how fast a school year can fly. I am so fortunate to work with the group of kids, parents, and teachers. My parents even made me moose cupcakes and painted my new reader's theater a mustard yellow :)
I miss my kids dearly... but I am glad to be on vacation!!! I am taking the next month to be out West--- hike, bike, chill, and eat.
Here is a video I captured the other day at Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It is crazy how clear the water is
Top of the Colorado Rockies--- we got thirsty and would fill up our water bottles straight from water coming out of the mountains.
I am in my last semester of grad school (ENTER PRAISE BREAK HERE) for my literacy degree. I am currently in a class for curriculum integration and our assignment this week was to find an instructional strategy-- demonstrate it in class and then brainstorm the ways it could be used to integrate multiple subjects. We picked strategies from beesburg.com-- which has more strategies than pages in the Bible--- don't hold me to that estimation though, because math is not my strongest subject. I chose sculpture--simply because I had never done it and it looked fun.
I chose An Island Grows as my anchor text. The story is about the birth of an island, from the first red-hot glow of magma at the bottom of the ocean, to the flowing lava that hardens and builds up higher and higher until, finally, it breaks through the water′s surface. It has beautiful language and poses as a circular story.
After I read the text, I passed out a piece of foil to every person in the class. I asked them, "If you were on an island, what is the one thing you would want to have." I gave them approximately 5 minutes to form their creations. When finished they shared them and we sorted them into what were needs/wants. We had a wide array from chapstick to fire, boats to an iPhone, and of course no island experience is complete without wine.
I am going to use this strategy with my students because it's interactive, they connect to it, it's not messy, it's cheap, and could be used to respond to a wide variety of texts and purposes. Here's some ideas of how to use tin foil sculptures: - visual open/closed sorts - scale and proportions - measurement (addition/subtraction/estimation) - one word summary - land forms - building/structure - art gallery with description - response to reading (sketch to stretch but 3d) - shapes (2 and 3 d) The book is a great spring board for volcanoes poetry and quintuplets fluency/expression one word summary circular stories island culture need/wants habitat land forms rock formations states of matter geography of islands ocean earth core/layers I'm sure there are more but that is all this hat rack can come up with rigt now! Happy Sculpting!!!
