As our colonial unit continues on, we begin to talk about life during the mid-1700s for the colonists.  One aspect we always settle on is that much of what the people living in the colonies needed for everyday life was created by them.  And each of those things had a basis in scientific principles....specifically physical and chemical changes.  It just so happens that one of our big units in science is based around the very same topic (funny how that happens ;)) So, to peak my students' interest in this idea that the colonists used science too, I began with this lesson about how butter was made .  Be sure to read it first, then come back here.  The kids LOVED this lesson (and named me best teacher EVER ;) ) The next day, I broke the students into 5 separate groups.   In the groups, they read informational articles similar to what they read for the butter.  Again, they were looking for evidence of physical and chemical changes.  Since ......

Our first science unit focuses on The Periodic Table of Elements and we have dived right into it these past two weeks.  I wanted to share with you a few things that we did, just in case you are doing that unit too! I wrote about what we did last year, and basically, the introduction was the same.  So to spare you having to read it twice, here is the link for those of you who would like to take a gander. After the same basic intro, I wanted them to actually look at the Periodic Table itself.   We discussed a few of the elements, and I told them about how the table was grouped.  Which lead me into giving them this foldable that I made with four different sections on it.  I found some great information about each grouping from this website and the students took notes as we discussed what was happening. Then, to get them to dive into the actual table and learn a few of the elements, I had them do some Periodic Table Spelling .  Basically, they ......

We are nearing the end of our study on elements, so I wanted my students to do some sort of little project to bring home the point that everything in our universe is built from the elements we find on our periodic table. My friend Susie, The Panicked Teacher , found this awesome periodic table that had pictures of things made from each element and then words with items made from the those same elements.  I made copies of the tables for each of my students. I then asked my students to draw a "scene" in the world.  You know those pictures that can be found in Highlights magazines?  Where there is a picture of a park and some kids are playing in the sandbox, some are riding bikes on the path, others are climbing the monkey bars, and still others are having a picnic?  That was the kind of scene I wanted the kids to draw.  It could be anywhere in the world, but needed to include lots of vignettes. The kids then cut out "windows" to 10 different spots on the......

Right before Winter Break, we began to touch upon our study of the elements and the Periodic Table.  Now, in 5th grade we deal mostly with chemical equations and how reactions produce products made from the same materials that they started with.  So my students are spending a great deal of time looking at chemical reactions, writing equations, and moving molecules around. But mixed in there, the students ALSO need to learn about the elements themselves.  So, I wanted to take a little time and show you some of the stuff we have been doing in our room. First, my teammate Susie ( The Panicked Teacher. ...you must visit her site!  She has some great things there)  got me this AWESOME book for the holidays.  The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe It really is fantastic.  It shows all of the elements and the various materials that they make up.  The photos are breathtaking and it is PERFECT for a study on the eleme......

With Science Fair season just around the corner, I thought I would post about some independent activities that you can use to get your students in the "experimentation" frame of mind. Each year, my school holds NASA Night, where one scientific strand is highlighted.  This year, our theme was "Light", with my particular topic being Light Refraction (sounds fancy, huh??).  During this night, parents and students wander the school, from room to room, conducting easy, independent experiments and activities all designed to get them involved in scientific exploration. While I realize that your school probably is not holding a NASA Night, these 4 activities I am going to tell you about can be done in your own classroom in about an hours time.  If you set it up correctly, the students will be engaged and learning, working through the scientific process, and doing hands-on science, without a lot of intervention from you!  The Set Up You can see that I have four sta......