STEM Challenge: Geodesic Domes

I purchased a STEM Engineering Challenge Project's pack on TpT forever ago with every intention of incorporating these activities into my science curriculum and then it didn't happen....

So finally during our week of PARCC testing, I decided the students would enjoy a hands-on science project. The class worked in groups to create geodesic domes. Before starting this project, we used our Chromebooks to research geodesic domes. The students had never heard of geodesic domes, but they were excited to research them and step up to the challenge of making their own!

I used the activity from Smart Chick's STEM Engineering Pack #1. 

Here are some pictures of the geodesic domes my students created! They had so much fun working on this project and the best part is that it forced them to be creative and think for themselves! It also required students to work together!

I can't wait for our next STEM challenge!

Electricity and Magnetism!

We have just started a new unit on Electricity and Magnetism. I love this unit because of the hands-on activities you can do with it! This week my students worked on making series and parallel circuits. We read about and discussed both of these circuits. We talked about the materials needed to make a complete circuit and then the students were given these materials to make their own circuits. They were not happy with me when I told them I wasn't going to tell them how to do it.
 I don't know about your students, but my students hate having to think on their own and it drives me crazy! I am trying so hard to teach them to be problem solvers. So when they were finally able to put together a circuit on their own, they were very proud of themselves! It was fun to see them try different things with the circuits like adding an extra battery to make the light shine even brighter. Below are some pictures of the circuit creations!

Today students got to make electromagnets! I love seeing students work together and get excited when they accomplish a goal!

Before we test over this chapter, we will play our favorite "I Have, Who Has" review game and do a scoot game with task cards. 

What are your favorite electricity and magnetism activities that you teach?

Educent's Marketplace!

Introducing the NEW Educents Marketplace I just received an email from the founders of Educents, Kate and Kaitlyn, with some really exciting news. Until today, Educents was a website for parents and educators to take advantage of daily deals. But those deals expired... And there were only 50 deals available at once... I wanted saving money to be even EASIER. Kate and Kaitlyn agreed. So they created the new Educents Marketplace. It’s even easier to discover affordable educational resources that make learning FUN! Thousands of new products - Educents Sellers can now offer ALL of their bestsellers on the new Educents Marketplace. There's a wide variety of worksheets, lesson plans, educational apps and toys. Shop The Young Scientists Club, Scholastic, Workman Publishing, Alpha Omega Publishing, Life of Fred books, hundreds of printable units created by educators, and more! Offers that NEVER expire - Sellers can offer our favorite educational products year-round. Once a deeply discounted Daily Deal expires, you can still find that product available on Educents at the lowest price. Discovery - It's easier to search on Educents. Search for your kiddos' interests like Minecraft or Frozen-inspired resources, and then sort by grade level, subject, brand, and more! Follow your favorite brands and Sellers - The “Follow Me” feature lets me add my favorite Sellers to a list. Click the heart on the Seller Storefront. You can also see which Sellers are the most popular with other shoppers! The Educents Marketplace is exactly what I want it to be -- the best place for parents and educators to find the resources I NEED at an affordable price.

Animal Adaptation's Foldable and "I Have, Who Has" Game

One of my favorite science units is Animal Adaptations. This year my students made a foldable that I wanted to share with you. They had to illustrate and write definitions to some important adaptation vocabulary words. I thought they turned out pretty well :)

We also played my student's favorite science review game! My students and I both love "I Have, Who Has" games!

Icy Day and PARCC Testing

School was canceled today due to the icy roads. Unfortunately, I made it almost all the way to school before I got the call :(. It made for a scary morning commute! 

I am pretty excited to have the day off though after yesterday's first day of PARCC testing. It would just be asking too much to have technology work and have everything go smoothly for the first day of testing right? Luckily, we have awesome tech people who were able to help out, because I was about to have a panic attack when 5 of my students weren't able to connect to the testing site and then one of my students wasn't even in the testing system! It was a rough start! Has anyone else started state testing yet? 

Today I am working on catching up on my list of things I have been wanting to create. I have been so busy with volleyball season, that I haven't had any extra time to work on some of the things I have been wanting to.  We are just now ready to take our multi-digit multiplication test this week, so making review task cards was my priority. I would love to know where some of you other 4th grade teachers are at in math. We have a new math series this year that we are told we have to stick to and the other 4th grade teachers at my school and I are struggling to get through it. We haven't covered long division, fractions, or geometry! And wouldn't you know it seems like the only problem types on the PARCC test are fractions and long division! 

Here are the task cards I created to review multi-digit multiplication. If you happen to have the My Math series, these follow Chapter 5. They will be half off for the next 24 hours. 

Stitch Fix #10

I haven't shared a Stitch Fix with you in a while. I always enjoy seeing what other people receive, so I thought you might want to see what I got this month!

Sorry for the awful pictures...I'm just not brave enough to actually take pictures of me wearing the clothing :/

1. Kut from The Kloth: Parcey Polka Dot Skinny Jean $48

I wasn't sure how I felt about polka dot jeans, but then I tried them on and fell in love! They are so comfy and $48 isn't bad for a pair of jeans!

Verdict: KEEP

2. Mak: Jaclynn 3/4 Sleeve Button-Up Cardigan $38

3. Gilli: Kamile Jersey Ruched Detail Dress $64

So I thought this dress was super cute, but the fabric was so thin and it was little small so it was not flattering on at all :( The cardigan was cute, but let's be honest.....I'm a teacher and I already have a cardigan in every color under the rainbow. 

Verdict: PASS, PASS

4. Romolo: Laguna Mixed Square Layering Necklace $28

5. Fun2Fun: Alfredo Crew Neck Blouse $48

I love this shirt! It has a fun pattern and is very comfy! The necklace is hard to see in the picture but I really like it too!

Verdict: KEEP, KEEP!

Is there anyone else out there that is obsessed with Stitch Fix? If there are any of you that have been wanting to try it out, I would love it if you used my referral link!

Stitch Fix

Instagram Book Project

I am home enjoying a day off a school! Happy President's Day! 

Today I want to share a great reading project my students completed after finishing up the novel No Talking by Andrew Clements. 

As soon as I told my students we were going to be working on an Instagram-type activity they were hooked! This project was not like your everyday book report. This project required higher-order thinking skills such as using text-based evidence and making inferences. 

There are two types of activities in this pack. One is a character based project and the other is plot based. We used the plot project. The plot project is created through the point of view of one of the characters. Students start by creating a character profile, then create scenes on setting, main events, problem, and resolution. Each of these sections require students to put themselves in the characters shoes and think about what that character might say and do in order to create questions and #hashtags about specific story events. 

Here are a couple pictures of a completed project so you can get a better idea.