April Show and Tell Tuesday

This month's Show and Tell finds great changes in the weather- we hit a wonderful 80 degrees, yay!- and in the classroom... the year is starting to wind down. Currently, my students and I are on Easter break. When we return to classes next week, there are only six weeks left in our school year. YIKES!

Prior to our Easter break we were actively involved in tons of fun LEARNING.

For the second half of the third quarter and the fourth quarter we turn our attention to Earth Science. One of the first units of study is the structure of the Earth and its system. A fun, engaging (and tasty) activity that our text, Science Studies Weekly, suggests is entitled "Hard Boiled Earth." Students color a hard boiled egg to represent the landmasses/oceans of the Earth's surface, then peel the crust away to reveal the mantle (white), and finally cut apart the egg to locate the core (yolk). When all was completed, we enjoying eating our Earth!

For Show and Tell, I often share STEM activities that my sixth graders experience. The week before our break, my sixers and the seventh and eighth graders experienced the ultimate STEM activity of our year. United Skates of America, located about an hour away from our school, offers a day of STEM and skate, so we took them up on it! For our first hour we learned about "Motion and Rink Design," applying the laws of motion and math to determine the speed of skaters. We also attempted to design a more efficient, safe skating assistant (a support for beginning/challenged skaters). When our lesson was completed, we were treated to pizza and soda, followed by 90 mins. of skating! This was our first time with United Skates but definitely won't be our last; they offer five STEM lessons, so we can make this a yearly activity and experience a new STEM lesson each year.

On the day before our break, we did a little toaster oven science/Religion, making the Christian fish with Chi Rho pendant. We started with a white styrofoam tray and a fish pattern. After tracing the pattern onto the foam, coloring it with the Chi Rho and personal colors/designs, and cutting it out, we placed it in a warm toaster oven and watched the magic begin! First the fish swelled and puffed in the heat. Then it began to twist and curl. Finally it shrunk and layed still and flat, revealing our newly formed pendant. After cooling, we strung the fish on a length of fine yarn and modeled them for all to see.

As always, my last photo of the monthly Show and Tell is of my girls, DaisyMae and Lulubelle. They are seeking each other out more and more... to sleep together and even to play.... only took FOUR years!!!

Be sure to stop by Forever in 5th Grade to read more fun Show and Tell Tuesday posts. They are a great way to keep up with what is happening in the teacher blogging world!