Smart Chick Teacher's Blog

Who doesn’t love bigfoot?  My kids can’t get enough of this legendary creature!  So I tapped into this high interest topic and got them doing some math!  Students were first asked to create a bigfoot track on a sheet of bulletin board paper with a partner.   We then compared the tracks they made with a tracing from an “actual” bigfoot track.  I have a plaster cast of a bigfoot track taken during the infamous Patterson footage (I got it on ebay).

Some groups were way off.

 

Other groups were much closer.

 

We decided to calculate how tall the bigfoot that belonged to each footprint would be by multiplying the length of the foot by the number 6.  We got some surprising results.  The kids have a great time, even if their bigfoot was 18 feet tall!

Here is our hallway display!  Click here for a link to the Bigfoot Packet on TPT!   Is it time for your class to go squatching?

We just finished reading the book, “Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me”, by Nan Marino.  The kids loved it!  We read it during our Space unit.  It is historical fiction and one of the most unique features of this novel is that the main character is a bully.  It gives kids a lot to think about and discuss.  I have created a FREE unit for the book, click here to get a copy.

We completed a lot of different projects and activities for the book, but this one was one of my favorites.  Students had to research TV dinners using four different sources.  They had to create posters with the information they found.   Students also had to evaluate each source for its credibility and reliability.

 

Students worked in pairs to complete the challenge.  They worked hard to make their  presentations interactive and engaging.

Here are the different sources we found and evaluated.  Which one is the best source, in your opinion?   Students had to answer this question with evidence to back their opinion.

 

This activity provoked a lot of debate and discussion!

 

Have you ever heard of tobacco hornworms?  These guys are incredible!

We got our Tobacco Hornworms from Carolina Biological!  They are amazing!  When they arrived, they were about an inch long.  After just a few days, they look like this!  We got the kit, so it came with everything we needed to take care of them until they become moths.

Once they get large enough, it is time to prepare the chamber for the caterpillar to pupate.  These guys usually pupate underground, so we had to fill the container halfway full with wood shavings and cover it with dark paper.

After a week, the pupa is formed and it can be transferred into the net cage.  The moths will emerge in 3-5 days.  These moths are supposed to be the size of hummingbirds!  We can’t wait to see them!

Here are the pupas.  They are so incredible!

 

We are anxiously waiting to see the moths hatch!

We spent some time designing and engineering Snowball Catapults.  What else can we do when winter seems to be never-ending?  The kids came up with some great ideas and they were able to launch their “snowballs” quite a distance!  Check out some of their design ideas…

 

We used indoor snowballs that I got from Amazon!  The kids thought they were so much fun!

Why not try some engineering with your kids?  I promise you they will love it (and learn a lot)…

 

We just ordered a Grow a Frog kit for the classroom and the kids are so excited! These kits are so cool! I can’t wait for it to arrive…will post pics soon!

 

If you are interested in getting a Grow a Frog Kit of your own, click here!  There are quite a few different options.  I am working on developing some labs to go with the kit!  Stay tuned!

 

How cool are these kits?

 

 

They range in price from $32 to $50 and come with everything you need, including the tadpoles!

 

We are working on Greek Mythology in social studies and Space in science right now and the kids are so excited! We have been doing many different hands-on science labs about the planets, but this one may be their favorite so far! None of my students had ever tried Astronaut Food before, so this was quite an experience for them!

I got a Mission Pack from Amazon and then a few additional packs of strawberries and Neapolitan ice cream. Each table group had a selection of the different astronaut foods to sample.

I created a lab pack to go with this lesson. It has a non-fiction reading selection about astronaut food with questions, as well as three different labs.

If you are teaching a unit on space, you may want to consider letting your kids try astronaut food, it was an experience they are sure not going to forget!  Click on the Lab #1 picture (above) and download the PREVIEW file to receive this lab sheet for FREE!

I am very lucky to be in a school district that has a department that will set-up and pay for video conferences in the classroom. The students just LOVE doing video conferences, it gives them an opportunity to experience things that are nowhere near our urban school location.

We have done 6 video conferences so far this year, with about 4-6 more to go! They last about an hour and they are really inexpensive (sometimes they are free). For many of the video conferences, they send you the materials you need for the video conference as well.

We just did a video conference with the Alaska SeaLife Center and it was AMAZING! The students got to dissect squids! They went crazy for this one. We also added octopus and cuttlefish in order to do a comparative analysis of cephalopods.

 

The SeaLife Center sent us the squids, but you can find all three (octopus, cuttlefish, and squid) at most Asian markets.  Just look in the frozen section!   We thawed them all out in tubs of cold water.

Students learned a lot and they will never forget the experience!

I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for Currently in January!  Love doing these and I need to try to remember to link up every month this year!  We are still enjoying our last days of Winter Break, but not really enjoying the 5 inches of snow that fell today!  UGH!  So sick of this winter weather already!

My 6 year old daughter and I LOVE to dance and Applause by Lady Gaga is one of our favorites right now!  You can’t help but start dancing when you hear that song!

I have three kiddos of my own and it is always fun to slow down and hang out with them!

I am getting excited about our next units…Solar System and Greek Mythology here we come!  We will be reading “The Lightning Thief”, by Rick Riordan, and it is one of my FAVORITE books!  I already ordered personalized pencils from Oriental Trading Company to go with the book.   The pencils have sayings like: “Property of Camp Half Blood” and “Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium”.  The kids can earn the pencils by doing a great job on the comprehension questions and other activities I have planned.  I am working on a HUGE unit right now for the book!  Stay tuned!

I really want to work at least one day in my classroom (tomorrow is my last chance), but we just got hit with a ton of snow, high winds and freezing temperatures!  Yikes!

As always, I NEED to get about a million (well maybe not quite that many) papers graded!  I will be starting on those as soon as I finish this post!

One of my favorite traditions is when all the ladies (and little girls) in our family get together for cookie baking!  YUM!

Happy New Year to all!

Tracey

I don’t know about you, but I am a Pinterest junkie! I am on there at least once a day and I am regularly inspired by what I see on the numerous pins I see!  Because of this Pinterest-Addiction, I have decided to join a great link up with Stephanie from Principal Principles (it is great to see administrators with blogs, by the way).

 

I went over to my Pinterest boards  (click here and follow me if you like what you see) and here is what I found:

#5  STEM Home Challenges (with 89 repins)

 

#4 Card Bridges STEM Challenge (with 104 repins)

 

Pin #3 Paper Clip Chain STEM Challenge (with 127 repins)

 

Pin #2 STEM Challenge Ten Pack #6 (with 141 repins)

 

Pin #1 Sugar Cube Arches STEM Challenge (with 184 repins)

 

Obviously, STEM activities are HUGE now!  I am currently in my second year at a STEM school and I love it.  I am surprised that these have gotten so many repins, and many others have a ton of repins as well!   AMAZING!  I cannot wait to see what 2014 with bring!

Looking to get started in STEM?  Here is the link to a great STEM Freebie!  These are student role sheets that are great to use when doing STEM engineering challenges!

Happy Pinning and Happy New Year to ALL!

Every year, my classroom participates in the Monster Exchange Writing Project!  It is a FREE program that you can find here: www.monsterexchange.org  

Students first draw and color a monster.

Once the monster is drawn and colored, students must create a set of directions for someone else to use in order to draw their monster.  They are surprised to realize that this is a lot harder said than done!

Your classroom is paired up with another classroom and your kids have to draw their monsters while they draw your monsters.

Why not try this amazing program with your kids today???  I promise, they will love it! , even your reluctant writers If you need a cheap packet to help you through the process, you can click here!

Enjoy!