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So today, we moved from simple grams to an actual kilo-gram.  This is one of my favorite FOSS lessons because it is actually building a kilogram unit using rocks!  The students will work as a team to create 10 bags with 100 grams of rocks in each bag.  I have five science groups, therefore each team is responsible for creating two bags filled with 100 grams of rocks.


As each team filled the bags with rocks, they were able to put gram stackers on the other side of the balance scale to equal 100 grams.  The kids really enjoyed this because they had to be precise in their measurements.

Next, we put all ten bags together into one gallon sized bag. I also had a kilogram weight that we passed around so that the kids could feel the weight of a kg vs. the weight of a gram.

It was a good connection to count each bag by 100's until we had all 10 bags which equaled 1,000.   I think having this visual model is important because mass is one of those units that can be hard to visualize - you can&…

Our measurement unit continues and this week we are on to mass.  We started with the gram unit and used our gram stackers to measure three small units - a wood chip, a washer and a tile.  At first, we felt the mass in our hands and tried to put them in order from heaviest to lightest.  This lesson comes from Measuring Matter the newest FOSS kit.



Then we actually weighed them and recorded the mass in our notebook. It's a simple way to start, but sometimes that is the best way to make sense of mass.


You can see the set up of our science notebook really well in this entry:

Focus Question:
Data - trial one and trial two
Conclusion








Next, we were able to put the steps in order to show how to measure mass using a balance scale.

I think these lessons are simple in nature and therefore make an impact on our students.  When you teach measurement, it is so easy to teach it through worksheets and center games.  Don't forget to actually get out there and measure real objects!!!  Just saying.....

Boy...are our standards confusing!  My team and I have spent quite a bit of time gathering activities that are hands-on, content rich and cover the standards for Virginia.  Are you as frustrated as we are about the multitude of measurement info that we bombard our students with?   We have been working on length and need our students to understand....Metric units (mm, cm, m and km) as well as their relationship to US Standard Units (1/2, 1/4, 1/8 of an inch, foot, yard, mile).  Phew it is confusing!

This week we did several activities...including the setting the need for a standard with different sized straws as well as measuring things around the room with centimeters.  Both of these activities are from FOSS's Measurement kit and the new 3rd edition Measurement and Matter kit.

I love the meter stick that we make with this unit.  You can find it for FREE here... along with all the other worksheets for the unit!



The kids can each make their own and it is easy to use in the classroom, …

Boy, the blogs have been a-buzz with all types of measurement activities! Have you noticed?  Several years ago, we decided to teach our measurement standards through science.  We take our math standards and match them to our science inquiry standards and create a measurement unit. 

Of course, being the FOSS lover that I am, we use the Measurement kit. I love this kit because it provides hands-on explorations using the metric system in length, mass, capacity and temperature.  We start with a discrepant event - measuring desks using different sized straws to determine why we all need a standard unit of measurement.

Here are some FREE resources that you can use:


Two interactive "activities" - one called Freefrom measurement and one called Travel Games.  These are great to use on the smart board or at the computer lab.
Under the section labeled Teachers and Parents you will find quite a few free goodies.  Now that it is spring, and the weather is nicer, it is the perfect time to …

Yesterday I talked about how we practiced writing up an investigation.  Today I am going to tell you how we did it for "real."
I started by telling the children that today's work was something I was going to count for a grade.  I explained to them that we have been working on guided investigations for a while and now was the time for them to create their own investigation.  I posted the rules on the whiteboard:
You will need to have 1. a question to test 2.  a prediction 3. a plan 4. some written data 5. a conclusion such as "Today I learned...."

       I told the students that they would be working in their science groups on this task.  Each child would be expected to work together, but each notebook would be graded individually.  They are pretty familiar with the Science Notebook Rubric that I have and so they were well aware of my expectations. Before we started I helped them brainstorm some ideas to test with their electromagnets - changing the way we wind the coi…

FOSS Magnetism and Electricity Kit

We have had a blast finding insulators and conductors, lighting light bulbs and powering motors through circuits, and lately learning the difference between parallel and series circuits.  Take peak into my classroom to see the many kinesthetic and visual components provided by FOSS...




 We have made electromagnets using the wonderful circuit board provided by FOSS.  Our challenge was to see how many washers we could pick up with the electromagnet.  We found that the more winds we used the more strength it had.  We also found out that if we used two batteries, we were able to pick up even more!
         This is part of a PowerPoint I made to help focus our thinking and show some examples to create the best electromagnet.  I also supplemented the power point with a video of electromagnets that I found on United Streaming.  This visual element helped them understand the process a little better.




 We determined that distance between magnets made the attractio…

As midyear assessments roll around, we have been talking a lot about math and reading.  Are we making growth? Yes!  Will they all pass the state assessment?  Hmmmm....In Virginia we are up to needed 90% of our students to pass the state assessments in math and reading in order to make AYP. 
My school just had our annual review of our School Improvement Team and we realized that we need more time for intervention groups.  Should we take time away from social studies and science to ensure that they are ready to pass the tests??? This is a BIG QUESTION on a lot of teacher's minds.  No one wants to do this...but let's face it, many are.

I want to share some knowledge that I have about why it is important NOT to take away science education.  Research at the Lawrence Hall of Science has shown an increase in reading scores for students using effective science programs - such as FOSS, Seeds of Science, or STC. 

But my own research shows the same results.  When I first came to fourth gr…

Ah...the dredded prep work....

What makes a science lesson run smoothly or go over like a lead balloon? Whether or not the teacher has her/his materials prepped and ready for the lesson. 

I know some teachers  complain about the time it takes to get materials ready.  I know we are all fried at the end of the day...But if you simply spend 15 minutes making sure you are good to go the next day, the lesson will run 100% smoother.  And if the lesson runs smoothly, the kids will learn more. 

So let me share a few of my tips and what works for me!

First, I make sure that I have a consistent materials spot.  I have two desks pushed together and covered with a vinyl tablecloth (to hide the crap   educational materials underneath.)  

Second, you need each group to have materials easily accessible. As you see with this unit, I put each groups materials on a tray.  Then when I ask the Getters to go get the materials, they simply get their trays and any additional materials.

Sometimes you need to p…

Science Groups 

It is time for a repost...I can not stress enough how important it is to have science groups set up for hands-on exploration.  Each child NEEDS a job and a responsibility.  It makes the lesson run so smoothly....  Take a peek into my Science jobs the FOSS way!

For more information about the curriculum I use, check out www.fossweb.com


1.  GROUPING:  FOSS recommends you have your students into groups of 4.  I usually group them this way - one high student, one lower student and two average students.  I also pay special mind to personalities as well - sensitive, high energy, etc... Laura Candler has a really good resource for cooperative learning where you make cards to help you keep record of who is grouped with who.  I recommend you go to her website: www.lauracandler.com and search for more resources under cooperative learning.

2. POSTER WITH NAMES:  Once I determine who is in the group, I make a poster that shows the students names and group number.  Each ch…