Workshop Wednesday...Science edition

Well hello there, Wednesday!

You are a welcome sight!

Today I'm linkin' up with one of my BBB's Jivey

from Ideas by Jivey

for Workshop Wednesday.

This week's topic is Science.

I'm gonna kick you back to a post I wrote recently about

how I teach Science in my classroom and integrate it
into my Reading block.
I don't have a separate time set aside for
Science or Social Studies.
They go where Reading goes.

Post #1:

This is long...I'm sorry!

Here in Florida...we are beginnin' to talk about "the test"

that should not be named...

FCAT.

3rd grade takes Reading and Math in April.

4th grade does Writing in February. Reading and Math in April.

5th grade takes Reading, Math, and Science in April.

As many of you know, I'm a loopin' teacher.

I had my lil' rockstars in fourth grade last year.

One of the major benefits of this is...

I know what they learned last year.

I know which areas I need to hit hard with them

and what concepts they instantly grasped 

and need just a little bit of review on.

Since Science is such a big deal in 5th grade,

I try to incorporate as many resources as possible to 

reinforce the different standards we are coverin'

and integrate this in my Literacy block...

not just the textbook.  

Here are some of the things I've tried:

#1: Science Saurus: A Student Handbook

These were purchased by my district to go with our 

Science series, Science Fusion. 

When plannin'...I will pull out the Science Saurus

and pair it with the text and vocabulary from our Science textbook.

I like that Science Saurus has the book pieced 

together by different categories.

Doing Science, Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, 

Natural Resources and the Environment, Science, Technology,

and Society, Almanac, Famous Scientists and Inventors.

#2: Bill Nye Videos

Many years ago, a 5th grade teacher

ordered Bill Nye videos to match our standards.

She pulled out the questions that go with the videos 

and designed a Science video notebook.

For nine weeks, the 5th graders watch

three videos a week and take notes while tryin' to answer

a few questions that go with the video.

On Fridays, they take a Science video test

with the same questions from their note-takin'.

This week our videos are 

1. Earthquakes, 2. Erosion, 3. Rivers and Streams.

To help my students organize their notes,

I have them color code the titles on their papers

with the same color for one week.

This helps them visually know which video notes to study.

Week one: red

Week two: orange

Week three: green

etc.

After the video I put up my color-coded notes on the board to see if they 

wrote down the important points.  

They copy my notes into their binder.

If a student misses a video, I search my friend YouTube

and link the video to our Edmodo Science library folder

for them to watch at home.

#3: Study Jams

Study Jams is somethin' else I use...a lot.

They have just about every topic in Science.

This summer I found a list of StudyJams videos

on TpT for Science and Math.

I printed this list and paired the titles with the units in 

our Science textbook.

#4: Symbaloo Science boards

 I have a classroom website geared towards upper elementary.

I have added over a thousand links to my site 

in the past few years.

In Science, I had over 250+ links.

They were a little overwhelmin'.

I condensed them to several Symabloo boards to make

it easier for the kids to search for the site they want to use.

Class website

Example of the Solar System Symbaloo board

#5: Science Leveled Readers & Digital Lessons
We use Houghton Mifflin Harcourt-Science Fusion
We are fortunate to have a digital version of our textbook with
virtual labs, lessons, and leveled readers.
The students are able to access this at home and school.
We also have a consumable textbook and leveled readers
that match each unit. We do complete a lot of
graphic organizers and extension activities to go with the leveled readers.

I really like the virtual labs because sometimes we might not
have all of the materials for an experiment in the class.
Students are able to self-quiz themselves also...
which is an added bonus.
It took me well over a year after our Science adoption to
realize the potential of some of the resources included
and which ones were just fluff.
There is NO possible way to be able to utilize every resource.
We'd be here on the weekends too if so.
Science links to accompany units in 4th Grade Science Fusion &
5th Grade Science Fusion.

#6: Science Vocabulary Word Wall Words and Definition Cards
We use these for word wall words and Science games.

#7: Science passages from ReadWorks

If you are a K-8 teacher and don't already know about 

the benefits of ReadWorks, 

be sure to check out their website.

Good stuff!

Recently I received an email about STEM passages.

Of course I can't locate it now.

The sample below shows one student's color coded answers

 and highlightin' of where she

found her evidence in the passage.

She came up with his method on her own!

#8: FCAT Explorer Science

This program is designed for Florida students in the areas of 

Reading, Math, & Science.

This is presented to us to use by the Florida Department of Education.

If you teach in Florida in upper elementary and middle schools,

but don't have this program...ask your Media 

or Technology Specialist.   

#9: I check out tons of books from the school library and Public library
to go with whatever units we are workin' on...or I let the kids go
check them out.

I'm sure after I post this I will think of a million other things I have
tried recently in Science.

Hodge Podge...Tried it Tuesday...

I'm on a roll...I just blogged yesterday for Monday Made It!

It's Tuesday...time to link up with my super sweet BBB Holly from

Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday.

This has nothin' to do with school, but that's 

okay...sometimes I like to think about other things besides school.

Don't you?

Tried it Awesomness #1: Game of Thrones

Do you watch Game of Thrones?

One of my friends has been proddin' me to

watch this series on HBO GO for months.

This weekend I finally tried it.

I'm hooked.

The first episode I had a lil' bit of a difficult time

understandin' the characters, but you get used to the accents.

There are definitely some gory and graphic parts, 

but I'm gettin' used to that too.

I have a feelin' we are goin' to fly through this fast!

Disclaimer: NOT suitable for children or anyone

with weak stomachs.

Tried it Awesomeness #2: Metal Wire Wine Bottle Stopper

Jewelry Holder Black DIY Kit

Several Monday Made Its ago...

I made an ring and earring holder, but

I still wasn't happy with my necklace storage.

My bestie Sharon got the above mentioned holder

on Amazon and I really like the way it looks...so,

I ordered my own. 

I love you Amazon Prime.

This is a picture of Sharon's because I'm still decidin'

on my wine bottle.

My dad grows grapes for wine...so I'll probably go

with a bottle from someone he sells grapes to.

Blackstone, Bogle, Cupcake, Mark West, and Pessagno

are my options.

Tried it Awesomeness #3: SMASH Folio

I mentioned earlier this week in my post about 

my April goals

that I need to work on my Project Life binder.

My friend Courtney at Polka Dot Lesson Plans

mentioned that she makes a SMASH book.

I was intrigued.

She pointed me in the right direction to find these.

You can locate them at Walmart, Target, or Amazon

by searchin' for K & Company.

I watched this video and quickly decided I needed 

this in my life too for all the lil' pieces of things

 that I like to keep.

Again...I love you Amazon Prime.

 I'm pretty sure the glue pen is what made me decide to purchase this!

I started gluin' things hodge podges of stuff around my desk.

I can't wait to play some more with this!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I love food...Monday Made It....

YAY!  

It's time again to link up with my sweet friend, Tara,

 from 4th Grade Frolics

for Monday Made It.

This Monday Made It is about my love affair with food.

I adore food.

I love the way food smells and tastes.

I love the way it makes me feel...full.

What I don't love is the way it makes me look.

Let's face it...muffin tops are not attractive and

I've been rockin' a muffin top this year...gross!

Enough is enough.

I made a decision to make some changes.

As much as it pained me to do it...I hit the grocery store.

Monday Made It #1: Nutribullet Smoothies/Juices

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen

that I purchased a NutriBullet.

Thank you Veronica from Teaching With Giggles 

for the suggestion.

I went on Amazon and cracked up at one of

the reviews.  

After readin' it...I HAD to buy one!

I went to Walmart and forked over $89.

Not bad since it was advertised for $99.

You can pick them up at Target or on Amazon also.

I just didn't want to wait two days.

I'm impatient.

So far...I'm diggin' the Nutri Bullet.

Each time I use it I get to be creative.

It's fast, it's easy and the clean up can't be beat.

This is my version of "green" that I made all by myself.

Spinach, lemon, kiwi, banana.

It was yummy!

I even made hummus in the NutriBullet!

I didn't take a picture because I didn't know 

at the time that I would be usin' the Nutribullet as my MMI.

I have even been gettin' up earlier in the mornin' to 

make somethin' healthy instead of just stuffin' my face

with whatever I can scrounge up at school.

Monday Made It #2: No-Bake Energy Bites

I first heard about these from 

my friend A, at The Babbling Box.

She likes to make these, so I decided I would test it out too.

No Bake?  Sign me up!

I tried to embed the pin from Pinterest, but 

it's bein' wonky and I couldn't figure it out.

Did Pinterest change somethin'?

You can go to Gimme Some Oven

and find the recipe there.

These are SO good. 

I realized after the fact that you were supposed to 

grind the flax seeds.

Next time...

Monday Made It #3: Panfried Kale

My amazin' friend Courtney from Polka Dot Lesson Plans

introduced me to a lot of new food blogs.

Thanks, Court!

Although I have watched The Pioneer Woman's show,

I had never visited her website.

Hey...

remember I love food...

that means watchin' food shows...

even if I don't love cookin'.

Now I follow The Pioneer Woman on Bloglovin' and 

keep up to date on her 

newest creations.

I made myself go in that kitchen

and make this!

(Make sure you read this recipe's write-up...funny!)

The more I eat kale, the more I like it.

This took less than 5 minutes, and was yumm-o!

I didn't start any fires in the kitchen...so I'd say

I was successful in there.

I'm worn out though.

I think maybe it's not cookin' that I don't like...

it's definitely the clean up.

I don't think I'll aspire to be a gourmet chef any time soon.

Monday Made It #4: Testin' treats

One more week until we have two weeks of state testin'.

I can do this...I can do this.

If I keep sayin' it long enough...maybe I will believe this.

I have seen some cute ideas on Pinterest

to get the students pumped for this.

I was standin' in Dollar Tree yesterday without the 

help of Pinterest and came up with two of

my own ideas for "Dots", "Duds, & "Rings".

I actually impressed myself.

Anyways...

everyone makes cute lil' print-outs

and individual bags for each child, but

I didn't want to be pickin' that stuff up

off the floor each mornin'....I already know that's

where my cute printouts with colored ink would end up.

5th graders see only one thing...candy.

So...no need for me to go fancy schmancy.

I bought a clear bowl at the Dollar Tree to fill

with a different candy for each day of testin'.

I used foam stars from there too to write on.

I know it's not as cute as all the wonderful

things out there, but I think they will 

like the concept.

Day 1: Dots

Day 2: Pop Rocks

 Day 3: Smarties

 Day 4: Milk Duds

 Day 5: Blow Pops

 Day 6: Ring Pops

Check out last month's Monday Made It to see how 

I kept my kids on track before the big "test".

Don't forget to check out the rest of the awesome 

Monday Made Its on Tara's blog.

Happy Monday, friends!

April Goals 2014 & Positive Thinking Thursday!

      I swear it feels like I just posted March goals.  

I guess I didn't realize how fast March flew by.

I'm totally okay with this though because it means

we are one month closer to summer vacation.

You know what that means for this night owl teacher.

NO bed time rules.

I'm such a rebel.

I know you just can't wait to see my April goals, but first

check out my recap of March below

to find out if I really did what I said I was goin' to do.

I'm joinin' one of my bloggin' besties, A,

from The Babbling Box for her April goals linky.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------                

    March Goals: 

1. Go to the dermatologist.

I have an appointment on March 18th, but it's at 8:00 a.m.

I have had the appointment since last month, but I'm feelin'

guilty about missin' some time from school because

I've been tellin' the kids we don't have a minute to spare.

I'm thinkin' the dermatologist is goin' to win.

You just can't be too careful...especially this

Florida girl.

I did it! 
They said it looks like I've been coverin' up in the sun.

They only chopped off one piece off my back.

I haven't heard from them, so I'm assumin'

it's okay.
Put your sunscreen on people. 
Trust me.
It's no fun tryin' to put a band-aid on your back
while lookin' in the mirror.
Try it...
I guarantee you will put your sunscreen on
after attemptin' this.

2. Find two dresses for a weddin'.

I'm goin' to a weddin' in Georgia at the end of the month.

I need a dress for the rehearsal dinner and the ceremony.

Maybe I need to head to Dillard's and spend my gift card.

I wonder when they are havin' their big sale?

I didn't end up findin' any dresses, but I did 

buy a new bling bling watch instead with my gift card.
I wore some dressy palazzo pants and tunics.
I went for comfort and class.

3. Enjoy a boat day.

Saturday would be ideal, but the high is 68.

That's still a little chilly for me to be on a boat.

The fishies are callin' my name though.

My pink light-up fishin' pole misses me.

It might have to wait for Spring Break.

I accomplished this.  I have been fishin' twice.

I caught an Oyster Toad that I stayed far away from.
Those things can crush your fingers with their jaw.
Yeah...no thanks. 
I also caught some other creepy lookin' fish 

that nobody on the boat recognized.

Looked like a cross between a catfish and an eel.
Back to the water they went.
Buh-bye fishies.

4. Make Behavior Beads for St. Patrick's Day & Easter.

This IS goin' to happen.

Be on the lookout.

This did NOT happen.

Miss Nelson made the beads instead.

You can scoop them up in her Spring Edition.

5. Cut down my afternoon naps.

I nap almost every day durin' the week.

I can't help it.

I'm tired...probably because I'm a night owl.

I was one of those kids that never fought a nap.

I never grew out of it apparently.

I'm not sure how this one is goin' to go over.

I did REALLY awesome with this until this week.

I didn't take one nap over Spring Break, but the 

first day returnin' to school I had to sleep for THREE hours.
It was the best nap EVER!
-------------------------------------------------------

April Goals: 

1. Get my fishin' license renewed.

It expires in two days.

Last time I went fishin' (see above)

I got checked by F.W.C.

I don't know what the penalty is if you don't have one,

but I don't want to find out.

I don't think I'd like the smell of fishy jail.

2. Juice at least three out of five work mornin's.

The stress of state testin' made me start 

shovelin' junk back into my mouth.

I didn't even feel bad about it.

I bought a Nutri Bullet last night.

It's time to get back on track.
Just found out tonight that my dad may have
Type 2 Diabetes.
That can be genetic.
I don't want that.

3. Get more Google Friend Connect followers.
I have 112 followers on there, but 400+ on Bloglovin'.
My Type-A personality is gettin' the best of me on this.
It truly bugs me.
It needs to match better.
Anyone want to be my friend?
Pretty please with cherries on top?!
LOL!
If so, click the blue "Join this Site" button
on the right side of my blog.
It looks like this...

4. Keep workin' on my Project Life binder.

Last month I bought one of these and I LOVE it.

I had so many pictures waitin' to be thrown in an album

and more that needed to be printed.

I just love the simplicity and uniqueness of this

form of scrapbookin'/journalin'.

I used a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby to get the 

Midnight Edition of cards and a 40% off coupon at Michael's to 

get pages and the binder.

Then...I went back to get some pens and the punch to round

the edges of my pictures.

So far, my Project Life binder  is a hodge podge

of the past four years of my life.

Pictures are in...now I need to go back and write on the cards.

Thank you to Kelly at A View Into My Classroom

for bein' my inspiration for this.

5. Stay positive in the upcomin' weeks.

Do not let the stress overtake me.

With that bein' said...I'm also linkin' up with

Jennifer from Mrs. Laffin's Laughings for her

Positive Thinking Thursday.

Source

SEE...it says to TAKE NAPS!

If the interwebs says it...it MUST be true!

I'm sure you know I picked that one on purpose to justify

my naps!

Happy Thursday, friends!

Did you miss me?...Tried it Tuesday

Did you miss me?

Well...did you?

I didn't intend to fall off my blog...

I blame it on real-life gettin' in the way of my

awesome Spring Break.

I had to do grown-up things like get new tires,

shop for new outfits for out of town excursions,  pack, etc.

You know...stuff I loathe.
I'm slowly makin' a dent in readin' blogs...
I haven't deserted you...it will just
take me a bit to get back on track with my normal routine.

I couldn't miss Tried it Tuesday though with one of
my BBB's Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper.

Tried it Awesomeness #1:  A weddin'...

Jerm's cousin got married in the quaint lil' town of 

Brunswick, Georgia

this past weekend.  

It was about a six hour trip for us, 

but so worth the drive.

The reception was in an old courtroom.

It seriously was the neatest location ever.

Jerm baked his very first and probably last...weddin' cake.

Their grandmother used to bake weddin' cakes

for people at her church before she passed away.

Jerm used to bake with her.

I thought it was so sweet and special that his 

baby cousin asked him to do this for her day

since her grandmother was not there.

We transported the layers of this bad boy 

across state lines.
 
She wanted a cubed, textured and rustic cake
with her favorites: red-velvet and chocolate.

I think he did a pretty amazin' job for his first time.
It was ginormous!
I helped make the place cards since 

everyone knows I don't bake or cook!

Of course I did the most awesomest job bein' bossy

while directin' the bakin'.
Jerm and I actually clean up well.
I even brushed my hair for the occasion.

Tried it Awesomeness #2: Send Home Science! 

Amazing Kits to Extend Science Learning at Home

by Teach-A-Roo

I purchased this way back when...when?...

I don't remember.

I have been holdin' on to it to send home with 

my kids right before we do our state science test.

Yesterday was the day it finally went home.

I robbed sent out an email to all of my school friends

askin' for supplies I didn't already have.

I also sent the kids to our Science Lab to scavenge

for some of the items.

This is somethin' fun they can do with their families

and they were happy to get the kits.

Tried it Awesomeness #3: Group Test Prep

8 days left after today...8 days until I can stop
wantin' to rip my hair out...8 days unless you are one of my 

ten kids goin' to Junior Olympics on Friday all day.
Why didn't I get invited to vacate school for the day?

I have mentioned before that our county

switched to CCSS math books, yet we are bein'

tested on our current state standards this year.

It has been interestin' tryin' to do a blended curriculum.

We just finished 39 crosswalk math lessons in a 

two week time period.
My poor babies.
Even my brain hurts from so much math.

The crosswalk has 4 different assessments to accompany 

the end of the lessons. 

I don't want to grade 4 assessments,
 the kids don't want to DO 4 assessments

 and we are already over it before 

we have even started.

So...what did we do to make it go easier?

Day 1: Whole group 25 questions on the SMARTboard

with everyone holdin' up their white board answers.

This took a loooooong time and it gets BORIN'!
I had to do somethin' different...

Day 2: We split up in groups, each group got a paper,

worked on a sheet of problems together,

got a different set of problems, completed them

and tried to beat the other groups at finishin' 

all 25 questions.

The group that finished first and quietest got to

get a treat from the treat bucket.

It's always better when you have some
help from your friends.

We knocked out TWO assessments in the 

time it took to do ONE whole group yesterday.

Of course me bein' the MEAN teacher that I am...

told them we would do a THIRD assessment

that had 50 problems.

April Fool's on them!

Before I go...did you check out my
Tried it Tuesday last week
about Elvis and the Underdogs?
If so...be sure to check out Jennifer's review
also over at Mrs. Laffin's Laughings.
She thought the book was just as hilarious as I did.
I always love hearin' what others think!

Happy Tuesday, friends!