What does a real scientist’s journal look like?

At the beginning of the week I asked every student this question. Many students described a real scientist’s journal as a messy, well used, leather bound book that you might find in a museum. I love getting to see what student think and helping them to open their minds to what is beyond the box. This year I hope to show every student that they are each real scientists. We will be going on a journey together of inquiry and discovery. The beginning of this week we have been getting some items of business taken care of so that we can get started on our road to discovery. On Monday, we set up our science journals. We made a table of contents in the beginning so when your student needs to review their notes they will know exactly where they can find what they need to study. Then today, we discussed lab safety procedures. These procedures are all thing that I am sure your student has heard before in their other science classrooms but it is always good to start off with at the beginning of the year.


I am excited to see each student this year step into their role in discovery as a scientist.

Keep checking our blog for more updates from the purple punishers!

What does $1 million dollars look like????

Today in mathematics we looked at patterns in multiplication and found the rule for echoing numbers. Be sure to ask your kids what a four digit number looks like when it is echoed and better yet what the rule is for echoing all 4 digit numbers. We also began our first project based question for the students to collaborate and problem solve. They even had access to the net books to search for information and do mathematical conversions. I was super excited to see all the students engaged in using the technology to solve the problems. They were asked to answer 4 key questions: Can 1 million one dollar bills fit into a suitcase? How much would it weigh? (use both customary and metric measurements) How tall would it be if stacked? (again both metric and customary units) Could you pick up the suitcase with the money inside???

This open-ended project was an introduction to working in groups and using the technology to help you solve a problem. Some students just googled the questions and wrote down the answers without reasoning out mathematically if the answers were accurate. NOT GOOD. We really want the students to use technology responsibly and as a tool for figuring out the answers and ALWAYS show why they believe their answers to be accurate. Yes that means showing the math :)

This was a great project for them to work out all the kinks as a group and learn along the way. Some even told me they would bring in the one million dollars to show as an example. I'm jealous!! I look forward to seeing what the student group came up with and sharing with them a student who actually cut 1 million pretend 1 dollar bills and stacked them up and placed them in a suitcase.

Social Studies Day 1

Today I wanted to reintroduce maps and was pleasantly surprised by what the students were able to create and contribute to the class discussions. I gave my students the task of creating a map of an imaginary place, but they had to include things that are typically found on maps such as a compass, longitude and latitude lines, and legends. I was most impressed by the students' ability to work independently but still accomplish the tasks given to them in all four content areas. Many students were able to finish the majority of their map, and spend plenty of time working with their group on their math assignment. They showed great maturity  for the first day in a non-traditional setting. I can't wait to see the final products my students create and I am even more so looking forward to the rest of this year.