The Scoop on Soil

I LOVE science.

I also love math. And phonics. And reading and writing. Okay, okay, I love everything! It's all fun to teach!

I just finished working on a product that I have used in my own classroom for two years. Before we get into plants, we spend a week or two specifically studying soil and its properties and use. We learn how to identify types of soil and then describe them and compare them to other types of soil.

Here are several great books we read/use during the unit: 

We also use these two wonderful resources to learn more about soil:

And what better way to document our learning than with an itty bitty journal?!

If you are a Facebook follower and was on Facebook last night around 9:30 then you probably got to snag this product as a 15-minute Flash Freebie! If you don't already, follow my Facebook page so you don't miss out in the future! :)

Check out the journal pack in my store. It comes with the 9-page journal, rubric for grading, and explanation (for the teacher) of each page.

Have a marvelous Monday!

More Technology Camp + an Updated Freebie!

Remember this product? I posted about it 2 summers ago.

My "Science Sentence Starter" freebie is one of my most downloaded products. Wellllllll, since it is so popular, I decided that it deserved a facelift and an update! (And don't worry, it is still free!) Here it is:

At least the cover is much cuter, right?? ;)

I updated the fonts and even added a little bonus activity.

Whenever I teach Technology Camp, I want the kids to have fun but I also want them to learn and have a great educational experience. On the first day, we discuss how we are all scientists and talk a lot about what scientists do. We also discuss how scientists share their findings with others. To introduce how scientists can speak with others, I use one of my favorite things--QR CODES!!

I made each sentence starter a QR code. The students use an iPad to scan each code and then record the sentence (if you use the recording sheet on the left) or a missing word from the sentence (if you use the recording sheet on the right).

(This also introduces the kids to using QR codes because most of them have not had experience with them before they come to camp.) They always LOVE this activity and it is WAY more fun that just reading the sentences together, one by one. After everyone has had a chance to scan and record, we then discuss each sentence starter and when/how we can use them. I print and laminate a copy of the sentence starters and display them for the rest of the week. We use the sentence starters in our discussions about our experiments/investigations and in our class discussions. Love them. Here are two examples of how students use them in their camp science journal:

Don't you just love "a little less than medium"??! Lol. Anywho, the sentences can really help scaffold their thinking and explain just what they are trying to say. Click below to download your free copy: 

ENJOY!!

More Technology Camp Activities and Another Freebie

I talked about Technology Camp a few weeks ago and mentioned that I would revisit it. Check it out here, in case you missed it (and the bird poop painting!).

Anyway, we did lots of projects throughout the week and acted like the true scientists that we are! In addition to the bird poop painting, some other activities we did were a moldy potato experiment, kept a science journal, played a few games, explored germs and the importance of proper hand washing, tested diaper capacity and a few others! At the beginning of the week we went over how to hold a scientific discussion and respond in a science journal. The kids really soaked this up and did such a great job with it! We held some GREAT discussions--they sounded like little professionals!! To help scaffold their thinking and organize their thoughts, I wrote a few sentence starters on a chart (pictured below; sorry, I did not spend the time to make these charts as cute as they deserve to be--I'm a little embarrassed!):

I typed up these sentence starters on cards (so they can be displayed in a classroom) and even added a few more starters. The cards can be displayed on a bulletin board. I also made a reference sheet for students to put in science journals. Take a peek below--if you like it, click on it get your own free copy!

Foldables Week: Science

The Foldables party continues--today is science! I used to have my kids make lapbooks to go along with each science unit we had. The lapbooks included games, resources, vocabulary cards and (of course) foldables. I haven't made any this year though, so most of the pictures show foldables from then. 

Math/Science Notebooking: Part 2

In case you haven't noticed, I went ahead and added science to the Notebooking series. (I also use notebooks for science so I thought I would give tips for those too.)

When introducing and setting up the notebooks, I always go over and have students sign a list of guidelines.  (You can check it out below, two for science and one for math.) The students then glue them to the inside cover of the notebook.

I hope you find these useful!

Math Journal Guidelines

Safety Sense Contract

Science Journal Guidelines

Math/Science Notebooking: Part 1

Due to the number of responses I received on my math notebook post I have decided to start a mathand science notebooking series. (By the way, I was NOT prepared to receive such an amazing response to my journal example, but very excited that so many of you are interested in them!!) So, without further ado, here is part 1:


When creating math and science notebooks with your students there are 5 things (among many) I think are necessary to consider from the get-go:

At my school 4th grade is departmentalized so I keep a notebook for each of my math classes (so I have a total of three). I fill in my notebook at the same time as my students, modeling how I want students to fill it in. It is also useful in case students are absent, though I normally have another student fill in an absent student's notebook. Just in case I forget...

Color--why not??! You want the students to take ownership of their notebooks so let them personalize it by using color! (And, yes, they have the potential to go a little crazy get carried away with color.) If you are able to, print charts, graphic organizers, notes pages, etc. on color. Color is a powerful stimulus for the brain!!!! It helps them learn!!

This WILL help. Students WILL appreciate it, YOU will appreciate it. The table of contents in my notebooks include the date, entry title and page number. Each actual entry is dated, the title is written at the top and the page number written at the bottom.

Foldables and minibooks are a super way to reinforce concepts. My students' faces always light up when they see that they get to make some sort of foldable or minibook. I try to be creative and use different kinds each time. Dinah Zike has a few excellent books on foldables.

It's great to have students take notes in your journal, but to step it even more and increase interest/learning, add interactive activities. It can even be as simple as a concentration game in a pocket. My students (in the past) enjoy taking the activities home and using them with parents or siblings.

I hope you enjoyed this post!! Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow, the Student Contract! (freebie included!) :D