Social Studies...Meet Readers' Theater

Recently in social studies, we have been studying the Great Depression. This was a period of extreme suffering in the United States. Many Americans lost their jobs and savings and were forced to live in small shantytowns often referred to as "Hoovervilles." It wasn't until FDR became president and put into place his New Deal, that the fortunes of the American people began to change. Our class recently acted out a scene from their social studies text in which citizens discuss the pros and cons of the New Deal. From struggling mothers to small business owners, opinions differed on the benefits of government involvement and regulations. What do you think of the new Deal? Are there any specific programs you think were especially beneficial?

Grid Race!

Coordinate grids can be tricky, but we are getting pretty confident in class! Here's some extra practice if you're interested). Remember, you have to go into the building (walk or moonwalk) before you ride the elevator (up or down)! Happy gridding! Also, check out Coordinate Grids under the Math is Cool sidebar!

The Science of a Dynamic Duo

This blog is primarily about math and science topics, but as a lifelong reader I felt it necessary to press pause and celebrate the recent visit of Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole. This author/illustrator team have worked together to create fabulous stories such as The Worrywarts and Clara Caterpillar.



Take a look at the slideshow below, marking their fabulous day here at Chets Creek! They were truly a hilarious duo, one it would be impossible to forget!

We've Got Those Good Vibrations!!!

We are in the midst of our unit on SOUND!!! Take a look at us here, as our lovely singing voices cause salt to bounce on the lid of this Pringles can. Why is this happening? Does the pitch or loudness of our voice change the way the salt reacts? This is an awesome experiment to try again at home! Little brothers and sisters are sure to enjoy!
If you want to learn more about sound click here, or on the link Sources of Sound under Science Rocks!

"Cell"ebrating Science!

We are wrapping up our unit of study on plant and animal cells. Since we can't create an actual cell in class, we created cell cookie models! Not only was this a highly enjoyable and informative activity...it was also delicious. We constructed our cells while completing a labeled diagram of the different parts of cells. We never thought we would have so much fun talking about cytoplasm and chloroplasts! If you would like to recreate this activity at home the list of supplies needed are:

1 sugar cookie (animal cell)
1 pop tart (plant cell)
frosting (cytoplasm)
Pull-n-Peel Twizzlers (cell membrane)
green M&Ms (chloroplasts)
Raisinets (nucleus)
pretzel rods (cell wall)
Hot Tamales (other organelles)

Can you remember which parts are only present in plant cells? Check out the "Cells Alive" link under Science Rocks! for more fun with cells!

Money, Money, Money, Money...Money!

We are really getting the hang of working with money! Check us out doing all sorts of activities with change. We will no longer be confused by decimals! We were given $100 to buy as many books as possible for a classroom...no problem. We purchased items from a classroom grocery store and had to provide accurate change for one another...piece of cake. We played a card game coming up with various combinations of change totaling $1.oo...child's play! Ask us to help you estimate your grocery bill at the store or total at a restaurant! Decimals, beware...we are masters of money! Check out the money games in the Math is Cool sidebar for extra practice.

Mighty Magnets!!!

How can we learn about the strength of our magnets by dipping them into a pile of paper clips? That was the question we asked ourselves prior to our lab. The general concensus seemed to be that the more paper clips a magnet picked up the stronger the magnet. We dove right in with our experiment and boy, did we enjoy ourselves! Who knew picking up paper clips could be so much fun!?!
Students conducted ten trials and then determined the mode of their data. Then we compared our results as a class. Some of us had magnets that could pick up ten more paper clips then our classmates' magnet. We talked about why our magnets, which are all the same size and brand, may have differing strengths. Some of had very worn and battered magnets which may have been dropped a lot, causing them to weaken, we also aren't sure that the magnets were purchased at the exact same time and some may have been used more than others. At the end of the day, we figured out which magnets from our class set were the strongest and which were the weakest! Well done scientists!