Daisies

Dear parents,

Students have been growing daisies.  The seeds were planted and the class has been taking turns watering them.  After Thanksgiving, they came home with me.  I will put them in little cups, so your child can take one home.  A few sadly did not sprout, so I will send home more seeds in place of a cup. 

Respectfully,
Rachel Sbiick

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

Dear parents,

Students drew the life cycle of a pumpkin.  They drew the seed, the vine, the vine with a blossom, the pumpkin, and the jack-o-lantern.  The class created a book about this.   Students put their hands into the pumpkin to feel the seeds inside which will give us more pumpkins (if we plant them).  The students enjoyed making observations and conclusions. 

Respectfully,
Rachel Sibick

Hard Water vs Soft Water

Dear parents,

Michael presented an experiment to identify that tap water in some places may contain minerals and the effects of minerals.  Michael added Epsom salt to distilled water.  Next, he put distilled water into another container.  He added detergent to both of the bottles.  Students enthusiastically shook both bottles.  The bottle with the Epsom salt did not create bubbles, because of the minerals.  The bottle without the minerals created many bubbles.  Water without minerals is soft water.  Some minerals that can make water hard are calcium and magnesium.  The Epson salt contained magnesium sulfate and made the water hard.  Thanks for the fun experiment Michael. 

Respectfully,
Rachel Sibick

Glows in the Dark

Dear parents,

Angelica presented her experiment on things that glow in the dark.  Students learned about black lights and why things glow under them.  Every student got glow sticks to take home.  Thanks for the great experiment! 

Repectfully,

Rachel Sibick

Water

Dear parents,

Michael was the “Scientist of the Week.”  His experiment taught the students that soft water does not have minerals and hard water does.  Each child shook the 2 containers.  Both containers had dish soap added, but one contained hard water and the other soft.  Ask your child to describe his/her observations and conclusions. 

Respectfully,
Rachel Sibick

Nicholas Explains Miscibility

Dear parents,

Nicholas was the scientist of the week! Miscibility is a property of liquids to mix. He demonstrated how oil and water do not mix, thus they are immiscible. Then, he added several ingredients to test their viscosity (thickness). Thanks for the great experiment! 

Respectfully,

Rachel Sibick

Attract or Repel

Dear parents,

Mary Grace was the scientist of the week! She explained that magnets have a north and south pole. The opposite poles attract and the same poles repel each other.  Students watched how a metal detector worked. The class also played a "gold game," where student's fished for magnetic things. Angelica caught the most magnetic things!

Respectfully,

Rachel Sibick

In Class

Dear parents,

Students are investigating answers to our task analysis for our unit on farms. They are reading the pictures or the words to find answers to our questions. Soon, they will be working on a finished product.

Students are practicing beginning sounds and rhyming words through Clifford's interactive game on the Smartboard.

Victoria Falkowski was the scientist of the week! She made water xylophone. Each child got to come up and make their own music.

Ms. Maja read a story to the first and second graders. After the story, students wrote about the problem and solution using a semantic feature (graphic organizer).

Respectfully,

Rachel Sibick

October Trip and News

Dear parents,

Students have continued to learn about reading and math through games. In the pictures, students are learning how to make words through cubes and recording if they are real or pretend (nonsense) words. These words are CVC (consonant vowel consonant), such as mop. Other students are practicing additon through a car game or practicing the alphabet through an ice cream game.

The trip to Las Palmas Restaurant was fantastic. Students were taught how the tortillas were made and ate an authentic meal.

Victoria Puchyr was the scientist of the week. She demonstrated how flowers grow and explained what flowers need to survive.

Respectfully,

Rachel Sibick