al-mofhariz

When I was a little girl, I loved raccoons.  They seemed so cute and cuddly!  As an adult, I know now that they are quite the opposite - they are actually pretty pesky!  They often get into trash in suburban neighborhoods and carry many diseases. 

As a science teacher, I try to compile activities that are science in nature...not artsy!  I hope these suggestions will help you in your classroom.

Websites:

National Geographic Kids has a great website with a video clip, map showing locations and printable fact cards for kids who love to to collect cards.

Animal Tracking this PDF is a great idea for a science center where you can have students guess which footprint matches which animal.


Raccoon Diagram from Enchanted Learning.  This site has a lot of information, coloring diagrams and crafty ideas.


Children's Literature:




Exploring the World Of Raccoons by Tracy C. Read



Raccoon on His Own by Jim Arnosky

Today I am recommending another resource that you might want to suggest to parents of your students. This resource was designed to help our parents help our students at home.  I think it would be especially good if you have school wide science fairs. 


It helps parents understand exactly what their children will be studying in each grade level. It teaches parents how to develop in their children an interest and involvement in science depending on the grade level.It explains, in plain English, specific topics that children will be tackling depending on their grade level.It gives easy and fun experiments that parents and children can do together and learn from.And, it helps create a special bond between child and parent by bringing them together through fun scientific activities!

It helps parents understand exactly what their children will be studying in each grade level. It teaches parents how to develop in their children an interest and involvement in science depending on th…

I don't know about you...but I am always looking for a GREAT resource. I have found it! Laura Candler's new bookGraphic Organizers for Reading. This books is amazing! Even though this is mainly a science blog, I wanted to share this book with you as a GREAT resource for reading across the content area.


Here are a few of my favorite parts of the book:

First - Most graphic organizer books just give you the worksheets. Not this one...she explains HOW to use them using the "I do....We do...You do..." teaching method. She explains how to model correct usuage of the worksheet with sample lessons - all aligned to the Common Core standards for grades 2-6.

Another feature that I LOVE is that the graphic organizers are divided into two main sections: Multi-purpose and Information Text & Literature.

Wth the Multi-Purpose section she includes HOW to teach kids to choose the BEST graphic organizer, ways to introduce them in "FUN" catchy ways, sample lessons a…

We had our last day of school on Friday....it was bittersweet as always.  I had a AMAZING group of students who loved to learn, a terrific group of parents who helped them learn and a fantastic group of team members who I truly love working with.  My wonderful principal is retiring...another sad moment.  She has created a school where the students come first, the teachers like each other (shocker!) and have become a professional learning community, and hard work is actually appreciated.  As we wait for the new leader to be announced, I consider myself blessed to have worked for Cathy Walker for 22 years.  I hope the next 10 or so years will be as wonderful as the first 22!  We will see...

So what are my plans this summer????

I am contemplating writing a book...I am definitely reading some professional books..and I plan to play a bit, too. One of the books that I plan to blog about (it seems like everyone is doing a book study this summer) is  Writing in Science in Action by Betsy Rupp F…

Thomas Edison is another famous scientist that we teach about in Fourth Grade.  I like him, too...for different reasons than Ben Franklin. For one, did you know he was probably either ADHD or on the Autism Spectrum? He also had a hearing disabililty. He did not speak until age 4 and was not liked by his teachers.  Why?  All he wanted to do was ask questions and take things apart!  He would fit in nicely with today's children.  Luckily, Thomas Edison had good parents who supported him at home.  They helped him get plenty of books to read and he was allowed to take things apart. When I teach about him, I make sure that I mention his less than perfect start.  All kids need to see role models, and he has some great qualities to introduce to our kids. The other thing I like about him is his spirit of invention! 

I usually use a picture book to introduce Thomas Edison. However, this year I am using a new source that I love!  Delta Education sells this graphic novel for the computer for $…