Creature Clay Creations

The kids worked really hard to prepare for our Math TAKS test and I decided they needed a little "brain break". The kids created animals out of clay and enjoyed every minute of it!

Are you a rectangle or a square?

We measured our heights and our "wingspans" and compared the lengths to determine what shape we most resemble. We never thought of ourselves as squares and rectangles! The kids worked in teams to measure each other and record the data. When each child had been measured in centimeters, they worked together to decide if they were a square (wingspan = height), a wide rectangle (wingspan is greater than height) or a tall rectangle (height is greater than wingspan). We had fun using tape measures and working together!

We created a class book after measuring each other. Each student created a page that described their "shape" and drew themselves in proportion to their measurements. We hope you can see it sometime when you come to visit our classroom!

Measure Up!

As we were reviewing for our upcoming math TAKS test, I noticed that the kids were having a really hard time understanding the different units of measurement. How long is a yard? Is that longer or shorter than a meter? How does an inch compare with a centimeter? I can understand their confusion - these units are familiar to me as an adult because I have references that help me think about each in a specific context. For example, when I think of a kilometer, I remember the time I studied abroad in Europe and had to translate the speed limit signs from miles per hour to kilometers per hour. I know how long a meter is because I ran the 100 meter hurdles at track meets as a high schooler. Our students aren't born with these frames of reference - we must teach them! I made up hand motions and words to help the kids remember each unit of measurement.

I taught the class each motion and phrase:

• Meter - arms stretched as wide as possible (like you're seeing a long lost friend or relative and you're going to "meet her" with a hug!) The kids say "Hi grandma!"
• Yard - Kids extend their arms straight out, then bend arms at the elbows, like a robot. Kids say (in a monotone "robot" voice) "I have a robot in my yard" * I realize that this measure isn't exactly a yard, however, I want the kids to understand that a yard and a meter are similar in length and a meter is longer. Hopefully this motion will help!
• Foot - Kids show their bicep muscle and say "touchdown". (The distance from your shoulder blade to your elbow is about a foot) They are supposed to think of a strong football player showing his muscles. : )
• Inch - Kids curl their index finger like a hook. "They say "ARRRG - Captain Inch!" (The top of a curled index finger is roughly an inch)
• Centimeter - Kids hold up their pinky finger and say in a high-pitch voice "Itty-bitty-centimeter". (The width of your pinky is about a centimeter)

You may be thinking... What about a kilometer, a mile, a decimeter, a millimeter? I know, there are many units of measurement we didn't cover in this game. My purpose was to help the kids with the units of measurement they most often confuse and also those most likely to appear on a TAKS test. We will have to add more motions for the other units later!

After we learned the motions as a class and played a little bit of "Bates Says", they were ready for face-offs! I showed a card naming a unit of measurement and the pair of kids dueled to find out who could remember the motion and phrase the quickest.

Foot - Touchdown!

Itty - Bitty - Centimeter

Captain Inch - ARRGH!

I have a robot in my yard!

After the kids became familiar with each unit of measurement, we played a sorting game as a class. Using pictures of familiar objects, we decided which unit of measurement we might use to measure that object.Would you measure a basketball goal in meters, yards or feet? This activity sparked interesting discussion about units of measurement and allowed the kids to really compare them and use them in real life situations. I hope that this activity will give them an experience to use as they learn more about measurement.

Expert Projects

Our class is fortunate to have three girls who participate in Hargrave's GATE Program (Gifted And Talented Education) Their independent study project was to become an expert about the history of an interesting subject. Each created an amazing diaplay to show their research about their selected topic. The "experts" presented their projects at the school-wide "Night of the Experts" as well as in our classroom.

The History of the Clothes Dryer
The History of Robots
She even made a robot to share with the class!
The History of Military Uniforms
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, girls!

Take a Bite Out of TAKS!

Hargrave Gators take a big bite out of the TAKS tests! Our third and fourth graders take their TAKS tests this week and the whole school is encouraging our kids to do their best! Families were invited to create a gator and write a note of inspiration to add to the display in our main hallway. Teachers and whole classes even joined the fun!

THANK YOU to all of the families, students, and staff members who have worked hard to encourage our 3rd and 4th graders. The kids have been preparing all year and they are ready to ROCK the TAKS! Go Gators!

How Do Animals Adapt To Their Environments?

In our study of biomes and animals, we investigated how animals adapt (or change) to survive in their environments. The first animals we studied were those who live in extreme heat or cold. We were fascinated by arctic animals, such as penguins, who are structurally adapted for the cold weather they live in.

Penguins have thick, heavy wings that help them propel through icy waters as they hunt for food. We demonstrated this by first dragging a thin sheet of paper through water and watching how it moved the water slowly or not at all. Then we simulated a penguin's wings by folding construction paper several times to make a more sturdy piece of paper. This time the water moved swiftly in the direction that we moved the paper. We learned that penguins are suited to swim quickly in cold water because of the way their wings are made.
Penguins also have thick, heavy bones. Why, you ask? We brainstormed why a penguin would need heavier bones than other oviparous animals. After testing our light "bone" vs. our heavy "bone" (actually toilet paper rolls filled with either kleenex or paper clips), we saw that heavy bones would allow an animal to be submerged in the water and dive beneath the surface without bobbing back to the surface.

After demonstrating a few of the ways penguins are structually adapted to cold weather, we compared them to other arctic animals using a Venn Diagram. The kids then worked with a partner from Mrs. Eldredge's class to research another animal who must adapt in order to survive in the extreme weather of its habitat.

We compared our researched animal with the arctic penguin and created a Venn Diagram to show our conclusions. The kids were asked to find at least 3 ways that their animal was similar to the penguin as well as 5 differences between the two species.

We look forward to beginning our individual animal research projects soon! Stay tuned!

BUG Multiplication Game

I am always looking for fun ways to practice math facts with my students. After a GREAT job on the math TAKS test, I thought the kids deserved a little bit of fun in our math lesson! The object of BUG is to answer to multiplication problem correctly and roll the die to draw a body part on our team's bug. There is a "key" on the board that shows which number on the die corresponds to which body part for the bug. When your team's bug is completed, you win! But beware, if you answer incorrectly, you don't get the chance to add to your bug. Turn on your brain!!

We split our class into 2 teams. One student got to be the facilitator for each round and was in charge of flipping the fact cards and verfiying that the answers were correct.

Team 2 was the winner! (Actually, I think everyone was a winner because we: 1. Worked on our math facts and showed improvement in fluency and accuracy 2. Encouraged each other and worked as a team 3. Had a blast! )
Let's play again!

Farkle!

On rainy days when we can't go outdoors for recess, I love to teach my kids games to play together. I learned the game of "farkle" when I was a camp counselor for middle schoolers and it is a crowd-pleaser for kids of all ages. The concept is the same as "rock, paper, scissors", except students used their bodies to become either a bear, a hunter, or a ninja. Students pair up and stand back to back until the count of three. Then they turn around and do the motion for either a bear, a hunter, or a ninja. Just like "rock, paper, scissors", each character beats another. The winner for 2 out of 3 rounds moves to another winning partner and so on until we find a class champion.

Caught in the midst of a "ninja" move... looks real, doesn't it! (I promise that this was a pretend kick!!)

Here is the championship battle...

And the ninja wins!!!

Games like Farkle make us wish for rainy days sometimes! : )

Wonka's Press Room

Our student teacher, Miss Ross, created "Wonka's Press Room" and asked the students to transform into one of the characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The students prepared answers for "the press", pretending to be their given character. We had a blast!

Audience members were also able to ask questions of the character. We had some awesome questions - very interesting and thought-provoking!


We had such fun - I think Miss Ross really enjoyed being the "interviewer" and holding that microphone! Maybe she's headed for a career in show business! : )