Family Matters: Science Experiments to Celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day

I'm squuueeeezzzing this one in right under the wire - a matter resource designed to help your kids understand how matter (solid, liquid and gas) changes AND give you some usable gifts for Mother's Day or Father's Day (or just Loved One's Day!). :) 

One of my favorite experiments is this liquid viscosity experiment (which ties in to a "breakfast in bed" motif).

I designed this experiment knowing that one of the toughest things to understand about solids is that things like salt, sugar and flour are all solids - they're just verrrrrryyy small pieces - they don't "flow" like liquid, they tumble!

Kids will explore gas properties by blowing bubbles ...

And learn about melting solids by making a crayon sun catcher! 

Just a little taste of what's inside (you can see the table of contents above!) - pop on over to my store if you're interested in seeing more! 

Force and Motion + Teacher Clothes: Black and White Striped Dress

Now that MAP is over, we're back to full-force science time! We're working on forces and motion, and today we spent some time studying Newton's second law  ... {that's the one that says extra force means extra motion}. What better way to study small vs. big forces than use Pop pom Poppers?! 

This was the simplest thing to set up - I used red Dixie cups (other kinds weren't sturdy enough), cut the ends off balloons, and put the balloons over the top of the cup. Then I cut out the bottoms. We pulled back just a bit for a "small" force and more for a "big" force. Then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... LAUNCH!  

We (of course) measured and record our Pom pom "pops" ... and it was a great time to work in some non-standard vs. standard measurement. 

Tomorrow we're headed out on a SKATING field trip to learn about friction ... #mybootywillbesore #hashtags4life 

While I'm updating ... teacher clothes! I'm determined that after two off weeks, I'm going to get up in time to actually feel GREAT about my teacher clothes this week. I kicked off Ms. BBZ 2.0 with this new Target maxi {#loveamaxi} and a sock bun {whoop whoop!}. I have a serious black and white obsession. 

Since it's SUPER rare for me to show my face, I decided to keep it classy for ya and leave off the arrows and sources. The dress is from Target and the cardi is from LOFT. The necklace is a Chan Luu necklace that Mr. BBZ bought me for Christmas ... #lovehim. 

We have to talk about that sock bun though ... I'm seriously channeling a little Library Dragon, don't you think? 

Not gonna lie ... I love children's literature. Okay, that's probably enough geekery for tonight. Don't forget about the sweet sale over at my store {and many others} on TpT and our last day of the MEGA giveaway! 

Thanks Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs for the graphic! 

ENERGY! Kinetic. Potential. Light. Heat. Motion ... And Beyond!

WHEW! We have finished our big energy unit, and I'm delighted with how it turned out {and it's up on TpT for you to use, if you're looking for some energy fun!}. The kids really got into sources of energy, types of energy - and we had some fun integrating reading and writing all the way through.

We started with hula-hooping, of course. {way back when I had the old header, remember?}  - We talked about kinetic and potential energy, and how we transferred energy from our bodies to the hoop!

We learned about several different types of energy, like light, heat, motion, gravitational, electric and chemical, and searched through several magazines to find different types of energy. We even discovered that energy can take multiple forms!

Soon we took things up a notch by learning about the Law of Conservation of Energy. We read a non-fiction passage {included in the unit on TpT} and made a quick anchor chart ...

Then began crafting our energy chains, to show the transfer of energy from one thing to another!

Then we started wondering ... how do we even know energy is out there? We can't see or feel it, most of the time. Enter ... ENERGY DETECTIVES! 

 I gave the kids bags with several items that related to one another (i.e. a sleepover). The kids had to use their inferencing skills to figure out a) what activity was being described, and b) why those items proved the existence of different kinds of energy. The kids had a blast, and then they created their own energy mystery bags! :)

Finally {we actually completed this project throughout the energy unit, but I think it'd be a great culminating activity}, we worked on some problem-based learning projects to sum-up what we know about energy. There were two different (differentiated) problems. First, the President of the Energy committee contacted our class with a unique problem ... 

What should we do? Create public service announcements, of course! The kids had to read a non-fiction passage {included in the unit}, and persuade their peers that kinetic (moving) energy is better for their bodies than potential {stored} energy.

It was a great way for them to practice more persuasive writing, AND they had the choice of how to do it. Several kids chose to write a script for a commercial, but many chose a poster. Here are a couple examples of their adorable work ...

The other group had a slightly more complex task - they were contacted by the President of the Energy Committee about the problems we're having with energy sources that pollute the earth. They were asked to pick an energy source, read a non-fiction passage {included}, complete a Web Quest, and design a persuasive PSA recommending more or less use of that particular energy source. They were also given choices of their presentation style. Here are two excerpts from their PowerPoint and cartoon presentations.

They did a great job, and I'm so proud! We had a GREAT time learning about energy, and integrating several other reading and writing skills into our work as well!

If you're interested in purchasing this unit, you can pick up the bundled resources here. The resources for this unit, sold separately, include:

• Energy Posters
• Energy Projects (together) AND separately - Kinetic vs. Potential and Energy Sources WebQuest
• Energy Unit 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Choose Your 'Tude: Neutral or Happy

As I've shared when I introduced my "hook" for motivating boys with "Motivation Madness," character education is on my mind as we roll into the end-of-year festivities.

I wanted to share two things I use that work pretty well for me. First, "neutral or happy." This is a fairly simple concept, but it really cuts down on something that all second graders need help overcoming: the pout. You know ... the bottom lip pokes out, the nose wrinkles, eyebrows lower ... feet stomp, shoulders slump ... etc. I help my kids understand this with a simple phrase - "neutral or happy." 

I explain at the beginning of the year that it's totally okay if we don't feel happy all the time. In fact, *I* don't feel happy all the time! {Especially when I don't get my cup of tea in the morning ... not nearly as cool as coffee, but it's my jam, man.}

Rather than pout, I keep a neutral or happy face and voice. If I am upset and need a moment, it's okay for me to close my eyes and count to three, but then ... neutral or happy. If I'm upset with a friend, first I get to a neutral or happy place and then I can use the peace window. 

Here's a little {FREEBIE!} poster I made up for the classroom - grab it from my TpT store if you like it, and leave some feedback for me! :) 

The second thing I wanted to share - morning meeting read-aloud. Every day in morning meeting we have a different topic (math, grammar, character ed., etc.). Wednesdays are the read-aloud days, and I try to make them books with a strong theme - if I'm really on top of things, a theme we're struggling with in class. Common Core Standard RL.2? BAM. {Ha. Too much?}

This week we'll be reading Maya Was Grumpy by Courtney Pippen Mathur to discuss ... grumpiness. We all get up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. {Especially when it's light for so long and our bodies don't let us get enough sleep. ahemMs.BBZahem} This is the story of a little girl named Maya who just wants to be grumpy ... until her grandma comes up with a funny way to get her out of her funk.

The illustrations are BEAUTIFUL, and there are quite a few examples of alliteration and personification {what.do.you.know.that's.what.we're.studying.right.now} ... #integration. 

Add in a little watercolor technique and a craftivity? #doubleintegration

                  

Annyyyyway - the whole lesson plan set, art cards, templates and response sheets are up in my TpT store, so if you're so inclined - grab it! Either way, I highly recommend the book to chase away those grumpy days! :) 

The Crayon Box That Talked

On my visit to my former school, I walked through the halls and admired some of the leftover decorations from the International Festival they hold each year. Every classroom picks a country and studies it for a week (or more, depending on the teacher). On the last day, there's a big festival with food, celebrations and people from the community. Classrooms rotate around the "booths," learning about a different country every year. Among other things, last year we ate Eritrean cake, learned about steel drums from Jamaica and tried on wooden shoes in Holland.

I *love* some of the fun character and and multicultural education lessons they do as a lead-up to the festival. One great lesson is the integrated literature / character education / art lesson from the {wonderful} art teacher. First she reads The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf - it's the *cutest* poem about diversity, with the crayons all learning that they work together to create a bigger picture, and ask, "What would happen if there were only one color in the crayon box?"



Then she teaches them the basics of a self-portrait, and they draw themselves on a crayon that they add to a big crayon box she's made for the wall. The result is beautiful!

The {wonderful} art teacher also makes other beautiful displays. Check out her Pinterest account if you want to see more of her inspiration ...  Here are a few of my other favorites from around the school ...

SPRING FEVER ... An Antidote.

This is the time of year when we need a bit more motivation.

... to be nice to each other.
... to work as hard as we can.
... to not give up.
... to persist when the going gets tough.

My friend Stacey over at The Learning Lab posted her favorite quote  that she has posted in her classroom.

This reminded me of one I share with my students at the beginning of the year - from Michael Jordan's "Become Legendary" campaign.

We always watch this video (below), talk about the enormous struggle Michael Jordan went through to get where he is today, and we tie it back to our own life. 

Then we watch this video, and answer some questions and discuss...

Re-watching these videos and thinking about that quote inspired me to create a game to hook my boys and inspire my class to look out for the GOOD things about our day, rather than the bad ones. {I love our Peace Window, but I've found myself saying, "Take it to the Peace Window...." one too many times.}

Introducing .... MOTIVATIONAL MADNESS! 

Basically, it's a game that centers around kids noticing other kids using seven core values - responsibility, respect, persistence, compassion, teamwork, creativity and sustainability. There's a de-brief about the MJ videos and a chance to assess their choices (and "trash" the negative choices).

The meat of the game is that earn points which move them either a) along a bracket to a final match-up or b) earn points for their team once they're out of the bracket. How do they earn points? By noticing others use their core values, of course! It's a new twist on "bucket filling."

If you're interested in using this in your own class - head on over to my TpT store. There's a FREEBIE for de-briefing the MJ videos - just download the preview and it's right at the end. Enjoy! 

Energy Kickoff!

We started our energy, forces and motion unit about a week ago, and kicked it off with a special visitor - my friend Ms. HB , who's a HOOPER {on the side}. Have you ever "hooped" with an adult hoop or seen someone do it artistically? It is SO SO SO fun. 

Soooo, Ms. HB kindly took a morning off from her real job and brought us HOOPS! She's super gifted with the hoop, but even those of use who aren't quite as coordinated enjoyed it ... :) {Oh look ... there's my outfit from that day!}

We talked about potential and kinetic energy (the hoop doesn't have any potential energy when it's on the ground, but when you pick it up, that movement gives it energy that is stored to turn into kinetic energy!). We tied in pushes and pulls (moving forward with your body to make the hoop go). We talked about the three types of energy that our state wants kids to know about at this age (light, heat and motion). {Although I'll probably introduce chemical, gravitational, and nuclear} We even tied in Netwon's three laws of motion - by talking about inertia that makes the hoop keep moving and gravity that pulls it down, and how we have to push hard to make the hoop move faster! 

As I first started looking at these standards when I came back to Georgia to teach, I was a *little* confused about why we focus on light, heat and motion ... but in all my preparation I found there are MANY more kinds of energy - sources, types ...  where do kinetic and potential energies fit in? I also had a rough time finding resources that explained energy types in kid-friendly language.  I found this book, and of COURSE the BrainPop videos (that are awesome), but not a lot of other resources that weren't too hard or too easy. 

         

So, I made these little posters to help my kids {and me!} sort out types of energy in kid-friendly language. If you think they'd help you, they're available from my TpT store, and will be part of my upcoming energy unit {hoping to get that posted this weekend}!