Newsletter: November 30

I'm so sorry I haven't posted any classroom updates over the past three weeks. I try to share a newsletter each and every week but sometimes time gets away from me. We've doing all sorts of really fun things together. Here is a recap of the work we've been doing in science and math...

In science we have been learning about solids, liquids, and gases. Our MAT, Mrs. Schumacher,
helped the kids define characteristics of each form of matter then let them explore the classroom
for examples of each. Other portions of this study have involved classroom demonstrations in
which I melt things on a hot plate. That was a big hit! We've also been tracking an experiment
studying rates of evaporation.

During this inquiry, the kids have learned about melting, evaporating, condensation, and
freezing. In our evaporation experiment we collected 10 ml cups of alcohol, water, corn syrup,
and hydrogen peroxide to see which would evaporate the quickest.

We labeled each and the kids graphed their daily observations.

We also put a set of these same liquids under an aquarium lamp to determine the
effect of increased heat. The temperature on the shelf was about 70 degrees while
the temperature under the lamp was closer to 100. We found out that the greater the heat,
the quicker the rate of evaporation. We also found out alcohol evaporates very quickly while
corn syrup does not evaporate at all.

This is a picture of our same liquids sealed inside freezer bags and taped to our classroom
window. We were watching the "mist" in the bag for evidence of evaporation.

This would be a lot more defined on a hot summer day! However, even in the cool fall
weather we could see evaporation taking place. As the water vapor cooled condensation
formed on the sides and bottom of the bag.

In math we are concluding our big inquiry into division. The kids spent a week choosing from
various "menu items" to demonstrate what they have learned about division. There were six items
to choose from over the course of the week and they were expected to finish at least three.

One option was to design and create a "Candy Box Family Guide" in which
they shared different candy box sizes that would allow families of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
to share candy equally.

Another option was to create a five-part story that involved division on each page. Similar
to a book we read earlier in our study, this story often involved kids sharing food or other items.

One of the games available was called "The Game of Leftovers." This is a dice game
that involves dividing blocks up evenly. Some problems involved remainders - which
served as the earned points for each player. The goal of the game was to gather the most
remainders.

This option was called "Raisins in the Big Box." People choosing to work on this menu
item were provided a one ounce box of raisins. First they estimated how many raisins they
thought were in the box. Then they opened the lid, counted how many raisins were on the top
layer, and revised their original estimate. Next they dumped out all the raisins, counted them,
sorted them into groups, and eventually worked to share them equally among a group of people.

We've also been using the canned goods from our food drive in math. In this picture
we've sorted them into groups of five and are using our knowledge of multiplication
to figure out how many cans there are in total.

After we found out how many cans we had the kids figured out how to divide them
equally among our five tables. Then each table worked to tally the total servings in their
table's cans. Because many of the serving totals included fractional parts (halves) we had
to develop strategies for adding these together. It was very tricky trying to get all
four people at each table to come to the same answer. But we persevered.

Most recently, we've been having fun solving mixed operation puzzles. The kids are given
three numbers (in this case: 3, 5, and 1) and a target number (18). They need to use the
three numbers to somehow reach the target number. 

I provided two versions of these puzzles - one a bit easier and the other more difficult. Everyone
began with the "easier" problems then moved on to tackle at least a few of the more difficult ones.
Easier is a relative term because even these can stump us for quite some time until we finally see it. and
exclaim "Oh, that was so easy!" So go puzzles!

Here is an example of some of the problems we were working to solve.

Lastly, on Thursday Mrs. Schumacher will spend her final day in our classroom. She's been a wonderful addition to our classroom community and the kids will greatly miss her. She will post a final message to everyone later in the week.