Another busy week down! At least it was a five day week and we got a lot accomplished. The biggest accomplishment was publishing our In winter...writing. To take some of the blame off ourselves, we did have many days off this winter. They turned our fabulously.
Last week we focused on social studies, so this week we will highlight our science experiment. After studying the properties of liquids, we used the scientific method to draw conclusions about the density of liquids. We were so thrilled that our students were able to use their background knowledge from our Sink and Float activity to draw a conclusion about why the liquids formed in different layers.
After the experiment we made A Big Density Column that we learned about when we took part in a Golden Apple Science workshop one hundred years ago! It's such an effective way for students to learn about how molecules are arranged in different liquids and why they have different densities.
Last week we promised to share with you a great math lesson from Aims Education. This was a free Common Core lesson plan offered through Twitter. The equation mats really helped our students understand the story problems better and recognize where the numbers should be placed on the mat. The problems that are part of this lesson are much more challenging than traditional second grade story problems because they include start unknown, change unknown, and end unknown. Here is a link to find your grade level's free lesson plan.
Here is the second thing we promised to share with you--an article that really gave us a shot in the arm during this long winter. Speaking of which, this winter has been incredibly tough on our students. Besides missing so many days of school, they are often indoors during lunch recess because of the cold weather. Cabin fever has set in. This article fell in our laps at just the right time. It was just what we needed to revitalize our teaching. You may find it useful.
Looking forward to springing ahead this weekend. Hopefully the weather will spring forward as well.
Kim and Anne
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