What are we learning?

Many times I will get questions about what we are doing in class. "GREAT question," is usually my response. I often say ask your child first. Let them explain to you what we are doing and what concepts they are HOPEFULLY grasping on to. Then, I challenge you to ask them more questions to make them think deeper. If you're not sure what to ask, use my blog to help formulate questions and to get a better understanding of what we are doing. I encourage you to check on a regular basis. Trust me when I say that your kids know whether or not you are checking it consistently. They love telling me when you don't. :) 

On Monday, we finished designing and creating our worm composting bins. We added newspaper, water, and soil to the bins. Unfortunately, our worms didn't arrive until Wednesday. The students were also shown an experiment where soil and water were shaken up in a water bottle. They observed the particles separate after a long period of time- Sand, Silt, Clay, and Humus. Below is a video that gives you a glimpse of the experiment. 

On Tuesday, I was at a professional development training all day dealing with coding. I can't wait to implement some great coding skills and strategies for my students. The students had counseling with Mandy Coburn, our school guidance counselor. The remaining time was used for STEMscopes as a review for soil formation. 

On Wednesday (today), we dove deeper into soil formation. We discussed the causes of weathering and the students added to our Word Wall. We also created a soil vocabulary foldable and added the worms to our bins. Their bins will be displayed next week for Open House. Come take a look. 

Below I have included some other videos that discuss some of the concepts that the students are learning in science.

New spelling words were handed out! I will pick 20 total sight words out of the entire k-3rd grade list. Spelling test is February 11th (2 weeks).