Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites Chapter 7: Manipulatives, Experiments, Labs & Models

It is time for Chapter 7 of the book study. I'm linking up today with Deanna Jump to talk about the use of manipulatives, experiments, labs & models. 

Using manipulatives in math is as familiar as breathing for me. We do tons of things with them. From explorations at the start of the year...

To using them to play math games...

To using them to create questions for worksheets...like Domino Addition (wish I had a photo!) where they pull a domino to created the question to complete. 

I use manipulatives a lot in math and I am very comfortable doing so. I wouldn't teach math any other way. Besides the benefits to using manipulatives, doing strictly pencil and paper work would be way too b.o.r.i.n.g!!!!

But, I have to be honest here. I do not do nearly enough of the other parts of this stragtegy. I do not comfortably lean towards the experiments, labs and models part of this strategy. The subject that should naturally lead to these strategies is science and, I have got to say that, science is not my forte. Plus, when it comes to our Science curriculum, it seems that some units lend themselves more to experiments than others. 

For example, we are currently studying the seasons. I am sure that there are some experiments I could come up with but I don't know what they are! We will be integrating art into this unit and I suppose I could try to have them create a model. But, to be honest, it would be a huge stretch for me to figure out how to do that and, with time constraints already on me to complete the unit, it probably won't happen. Who am I kidding? It won't happen!!!!

Whereas, our last unit on Force & Motion just naturally lent itself to doing experiments. I wish I had some photos to show you but we did all sorts of ramps and made things slide down them. We added friction to see what would happen. We made predictions and then, after the experiments, we observed what happened. I wished I had gotten more photos but I was too busy running around trying to help 48 students do experiments at one time. Yep! I was teaching both classes AT THE SAME TIME!!! (Note to self: never try to do that unit with 48 kids at the same time again!!!!!)

So, I definitely have room for improvement in this strategy. I'll keep you posted if I try something new and let you know how it goes!

Cheers!

Olwyn

Cowabunga!!!!

We had a visit from the dairy farm yesterday. It is a program done by BC Dairy. Gotta love a field trip that comes right to you, teaches you new things and is over in 45 minutes!!!!

Seeing as how we are currently studying the ocean and dolphins, I really wasn't sure how this completely unrelated event would go over. But I am happy to say that the class seemed to really enjoy it and had good questions to ask to boot! (The cuteness of the calf didn't hurt in holding their interest either!!)

Some random facts we learned: 
- there are over 700 kinds of cows
- it takes 20 minutes to milk a cow and they need to be milked 2-3 times a day (hence the invention of the milking machine!)
- cows make up to 8 milk jugs worth of milk a day (the 4 litre ones!)
- a calf can walk as soon as it is born
- the cow they used to milk is named Pearl and she is a twin
- cows like molasses
- calves drink milk until they are 4 months old
- cows have their first babies when they are 2 years old
- milk in Canada can not have any antibiotics or hormones in it
- cows sleep 8 hours a day, eat 8 hours a day and chew their cud 8 hours a day
- cows have 4 stomachs
- cows drink a bathtub full of water each day. Unless it is really hot and then they drink more!
- cows eat the equivalent of something like 1,200 bowls of cereal a day!!!!

And here are some photos of the 2 year old cow (a smallish one at something like 1,400 pounds!) and the 2 week old calf. 

Cheers!

Olwyn

Owls, Owls, Owls...(And a Merlin!)

We have been wrapping up our unit on owls this past week. First we had an in-school field trip from OWL Rehabilitation Society who came to teach us more about how we can help birds when they get hurt. OWL works exclusively with raptors and we got to learn some really interesting facts.

Then, we got to meet two of the rescued birds! These two had injuries that kept them from being rehabilitated into the wild. So, they have been glove trained to help spread the word about taking care of our wildlife.

First we met, Tyra. She is a Merlin (which is a kind of falcon). She had a broken wing when she was found and it didn't grow back properly. As a result, one wing is shorter than the other. Here she is with the OWL worker.

Then we met Alba, a barn owl, who also had a broken wing. She was hurt when she fell from the rafters of a barn all the way to floor. She is unable to fly more than a foot or so.

Meeting the two birds was really cool. But, it was really hard for the 50 kids to be as still and quiet as they needed to be in order to not frighten the birds. What can I say? It's not like I haven't mentioned the chattiness of my group before!

Our final owl activity (before the assessment quiz, that is!) was to dissect owl pellets. We did that today. It was at times very cool (and, at other times, not so much!). Students worked in partners to take apart the pellets (using rubber gloves and toothpicks) and try to figure out what kind of animal the owl had eaten. Some pellets had tons of bones while others not so much. I was amazed at how small the skulls found in the pellets were. And some of the bones were no more than a half a centimetre in length. Wow!

Anywho, here are a few photos. It was really hard to get up close pictures of the bones since they were so, so, so small. But you can see a pile of them on the plate. And one of the girls is holding a rodent skull in her hand. The last photo shows the bone guide we gave the students. Some got really into it and started to sort the bones onto the paper. It was really great to see a few partnerships so involved and interested in learning about the pellets. Scientists in the making!

And, that's all for me tonight. I'm still really tired (after being sick last week) and even though it is only 7:30 it is off to the bath and then bed for me!!!!

Cheers!

Ms. Hughes

Look Whooo's Learning About Owls!

Check out these cute, cute owls that the grade 1's made for our Owl study covers! 

In Science, we're currently learning about owls. Three times a week I work with the K/1 teacher and take all of the grade 1's in our community and hers.

Yep.

You heard me right. 

All of the grade 1's. That would be something like 54 kids at the same time.

I am not going to lie.

Some days it isn't pretty.

They talk. A LOT!!! 

They have a lot of energy (that is an understatement!)

They do not all stay on task (bless those little ones who get right down to work!)

A few of them have been known to roll around on the floor instead of working. 

But...

Even with all of that, they are a fun bunch to teach. 

I just keep reminding myself that being 5 & 6 years old is not easy. We expect so much from them and, face it, some days they just can't do it. 

Heck, some days I can't do what is expected of me!!!!

Like today for instance.

After having a headache for 24 hours, I decided to not do what was expected of me (that would be teaching!) and stayed home for the day.

I slept and slept and slept. And then slept some more.

I am happy to say that I am now headache-free and ready to once more do what is expected of me. Teach!!!!

I'm glad because I really like me job and spending my days with all of my little lovelies fills my heart (even when they talk constantly and roll around on the floor!)

Cheers!

Ms. Hughes

Is It a Full Moon?

Oh my goodness, can I say chatter boxes?!?!

I don't know if they are talking more than usual and it is driving me crazy or if they are talking the same amount and I just need my patience well refilled. Either way, the last two days have been loooong!

So, since I prefer to be a glass half full kind of person as much as possible, I am going to make myself share three things that went well today.

1. We started our non-fiction writing on whales. This is really a chance for students to show what they have learned studying whales with Mrs.V. while learning about elements in non-fiction writing. So far, I am pleased with what they have retained from her lessons.


2. We started a Valentine's pop art project based on the art of Jim Dine. I have wanted to do this since I first discovered his art and I just know that these projects are going to be AMAZING!!! Want to get it framed and hang it on your living room wall amazing!

The project is based on his pop art hearts.

Four Hearts 1969

heart painting

One of my favourite things about this project is it is impossible to do it wrong. Anything goes! We are using crayons, paint and oil pastels and will end up with something like this:


 Jim Dine inspired hearts from here

3. It was Library day. Which means I had 45 minutes class free to work on setting up the new Deconstruction/Reconstruction centre and re-organize my levelled books. AND...it was quiet for those 45 minutes. Bliss!

Tonight I am going to promise myself I will get a good night's sleep, drink TWO cups of coffee in the morning and take lots of STAR breaths during the day. And, I know, I just know that tomorrow is going to be great!

Ms. Hughes

P.S. Have you been wondering about spelling words this week? Well, I didn't get them handed out so have decided to take the week off! I will give them out on Friday to be reviewed in class on Feb 15.

If there was some magical way to take my thoughts and send them straight to this blog, I would be posting all of the time. I will be walking the dog or waiting for the bus or whatever and think of something to share on here. Of course, by the time I get a chance to be at the computer, the thought is gone! That happened a lot this past week as I was home sick. I would think of an idea and, the next thing I knew, I would be waking up again and the idea was gone, gone, gone!

So, today will be one of those days with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. All the bits and bobs I have thought of sharing over the past couple of weeks (in between sleeping, taking sinus meds and sleeping some more!)

Grab yourself a cuppa and stay awhile!

Science first...

 

Last week the class had their first Science lesson in the new DaVinci studio. They did an experiment where they had to predict what would happen to a cork if it was on a bottle with vinegar and baking soda inside. Mrs. V. said the interesting thing about the experiment is that although each class did the experiment, they all had different predictions. Most of our class predicted correctly. The cork flew off!!!!

Holiday time...

One of our School and Staff Support Workers (SSSW's) celebrates the Hindu festival of Diwali. It translates into "Festival of Lights." Many of the teachers were wearing saris for the occasion and we all enjoyed an amazing Indian lunch in the staffroom. Yummy!

I spent forever and a day searching for one of my stories on Diwali to no avail. One of the things I hate about moving is not being able to put my hands on things again right away. So, I borrowed a book from another teacher and told the class a little bit about Diwali. Then, we made our own candle holders in honour of the occasion. 

We started playing with mixing glitter into the play dough. It was so much fun and the results are so wonderful. See?

 

And some up close...

 

 

 

Aren't they pretty?

I have to say that the invention of plasticine and play dough may just be what gets me through the rough patches this year. The class loved it! I mean loved, loved, loved it!!!! They were on task and happy as clams for almost an hour. It was a miracle!

Stay tuned for more plasticine/salt clay creations. Now that I know how much this class loves to work in this medium I am all over coming up with new ideas!

We are B.U.I.L.D.ing Mathematicians...

This past month we have begun using math stations during our math time. They are called B.U.I.L.D. stations with the letters standing for different activities. I love teaching this way because I am able to group the students in many different ways. One week the groups might be based on needs. Another week I can group randomly. The groups are fluid and constantly shifting. Students get to work with all of their classmates over time but I am also able to separate students who need a break from each other for awhile.

B is for Buddy Games where the students practice addition, subtraction, regrouping etc by playing games (they think it is just playing but we all know that they are learning while they play!)

U is for Using Math Tubs. Some days this is free exploration of the variety of manipulatives in the tubs but, most of the time, there is a specific task attached to the math tubs. One week, we might be building (no pun intended!) addition sentences with dominoes and another week we might be solving puzzles with 2-D shapes.

I is for Independent Reading. At this station, students read books about math. They can use the story to solve a math problem using pictures, numbers and words.

L is for Learning About Math. This allows me to give students either extra practice on certain skills or extra challenges where needed.

D is for Doing Math with the Teacher. Here I work with small groups on reviewing skills or teaching new skills. Some days this means working in our JUMP math books. Other days it may mean teaching a new game or activity using the Math Tubs.

A new fun way to do our DPA (Daily Physical Activity)...

The class has been loving the new brain break video I found on youtube via pinterest. I have to admit that I have a lot of fun doing it, too! Check it out!

I am sure that as soon as I post this I will think of a bunch of other things to share but I'm going to call it a day on this post. Thanks for visiting. So glad to be able to say that I am back in the classroom as of this Monday. I hate being sick!

Ms. Hughes

Sunday Odds & Sods

It has been a busy weekend for me. We have a new family member as of yesterday at around 2pm. We drove out to Surrey (yes, Surrey. Seems like here in town we get our cats fixed more often or something because there was not a kitten close by to be found!) to pick up a kitten for our daughter. Yes, you heard me right! A kitten! Meet Simon...

He weighs next to nothing and I think was the runt of his litter as he was by far the smallest kitten there. Having Simon join our family was a very long journey which involved having a so called friend of my daughter's giving away the kitten that had been promised to her for the past 6 weeks (with friends like that who needs enemies, right?), a lot of tears and then hours of kijiji hunting to find a likely replacement candidate. When we first got a look at this little feller, we were sold! Luckily he is as sweet in temperament as he is cute. Ostensibly he belongs to our teenage daughter but we all know that I will end up doing some of the care. But I'm okay with that so long as he keeps curling up on me and purring like a lawnmower!!!!

As to school, the year is winding down. Only 19 more teaching days and still so much to get done. Yikes! Last week we had a couple of pop quizzes in math, worked on our plant projects and went on a fieldtrip to the Children's Festival that was a lot of fun (but exhausting...)

In class we have been working on our plant study. Each of the students has diligently done observations of their bean seeds on the windows (see last post). Only...not much has happened.  A couple have sprouted but most have stayed the same. I am not sure what is up with it. I have done this exact same project on the exact same windows at the exact same time of year for 4 years and it always, always works. All I can think is that it hasn't been warm enough - we did have pretty crap weather in May - and so they just never got started. Anywho, as any scientist knows, not all experiments turn out how we expect. That is part of the fun of science! So, tomorrow we are going to start again. This time we will try putting the bean seeds in a small cup filled with soil. Fingers crossed that it works this time!

In Health & Career Education we have been working on Self Esteem projects. The students have had to identify 20 character traits or skills that they like about themselves. I have learned a lot about the kids through this project. Here are a few of the ones that I hung up in the hall.

There have been students who quickly whipped down a list of 20 things and others who struggled and struggled to come up with things. One because he didn't want to seem like he was bragging - how sweet is that? But others really could not think of anything that they like about themselves. Or, at least, couldn't seem to find the words. I hate that there are 7 and 8 year olds who already see their faults more easily than their skills and talents. It makes my heart hurt. I look at each of them and see so much to like (way more than 20 things per kid! And yes...that does include the ones that drive me crazy on a consistent basis with their behaviour choices!) and, yet, their focus is on what they don't do good enough.

When you are a kid you are supposed to believe that you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, conquer the world and be anything, anything at all, that you want to be. At least, when you are as little as the kids in my class are. My daughter didn't start to really find fault until she hit those terrible pre-teen years. And while it was difficult to get through, it was at least developmentally normal (if you can really call what our society does to young girls and their self image normal. Ooh! Don't get me started. That is a whole nother post.) It just feels so wrong that a child in grade 1 or 2 can easily tell me all of their faults but not one strength. Even when I pointed out some of the amazing talents and skills that I see in this child, they still didn't believe me. That is just wrong. Break my heart wrong.

We finished off our 3 Little Pigs study today with a glyph about all the stories we read. Amazingly enough we got this completed in 45 minutes. Last time we did a glyph it took almost an hour and a half!!!! It wouldn't take us 45 minutes either if the class would listen half as much as they talk!

Each part of the pig tells information about the creator. Eyes, type of ears, colour of pig, each thing means something. Didn't they turn out cute? One of my favourite things about directed activities like glyphs is that each student hears the same instructions and, yet, each creation turns out to be as unique as their creator.

Last week we did a character analysis of the wolf. We wrote down all of the character traits we could think of to describe the wolf as he is in the stories we have read. Then I read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs to them and we wrote down all of the characteristics that described the wolf now that we had heard his side of the story. I found this activity at TeachersPayTeachers. Haven't heard of it? Well, click that there link and head on over. You will be amazed!

We are done with the in depth book studies. We did Cinderella, Goldilocks and The Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs. With only 3 main stories, we managed to read over 20 versions!  I plan to read a few other fairy tales like The Emperor's New Clothes, Rapunzel and The Princess and the Pea. I am toying with the idea of having the students write their own fairy tales but am not sure yet. Not all of the students could do it independently and I have to think about how to support those students who won't be able to write it on their own.

 In Science these days we are working on plants. We have started a lap book on plants. It looks like this.

Isn't this one great? The student turned all the letters into little people holding gardening tools. So creative! Inside we are putting all of our work. Like this,

So far we have done the parts of a bean and a few pages in the Lima Bean book. Last Thursday, we put lima beans into makeshift greenhouses using plastic bags and wet paper towels.

Then we did a scientific observation. We will do these every couple of days. Today was day 5 and not much has happened yet. A couple of the kids have beans beginning to sprout but the rest are taking it very slowly. Hopefully, everyone will have at least one bean sprout.
On Friday we planted grass seeds. Eventually we will have some very hairy grassy friends! We will be measuring the grass as it grows and using a graph in our Plant Study lapbook to record the data. Nothing had started to grow today. Check out the little grass guy on the left below. He is wearing a jet pack! And, yes, they do all have jingle bell noses. I am determined to use up as much of my stuff as possible before the end of June so that I don't have to pack it when we move into our new school in the fall. The noses are a little silly but the kids liked them. Hopefully, we will see some hair growing soon!

 Today we started the life cycle of a plant booklet. Tomorrow we will be cutting out the pages, sequencing them and then adding the book to our lapbooks.

It is starting to feel like there is not enough time in the day to get everything done that still needs doing. Yikes! Only 5 weeks left of school. I am starting to think about report cards and class placement for next year. June is such a crazy, busy month and I just want to slow down and savour these last few weeks with my class in this classroom, in my Turtlepond. I will get a few weeks in the classroom in the Fall before we move into the new building but this is the last June I will have there. And, the last year for Turtlepond. I won't be working in my own classroom the same way next year and can't expect my colleagues to like having a gazillion turtles around all of the time. Plus, I am ready to move on. The turtles have been with me for over 10 years and I am ready for a fresh start.

It is crazy to think that by this time next year, the building will be gone and a parking lot and playground area will have taken its place. Change is inevitable and I am super excited about the new building but, must admit, I will miss the brick facade of our current building. It represents a bygone era. But I think it is important to remember... 

and our new school will reflect this. We will no longer have to try to make a space work for how we teach. Instead, the space will have been built with how we teach in mind and we can put our creativity and energy into the teaching and not into trying to force a space to work in ways it was never intened to work. And the building will be earthquake safe. It is a win-win as far as I am concerned!