omg...a blog on Friday?!

Happy weekend!  We are plugging right along...this is going to be short and sweet!!

In Science this week we did a filtration investigation with our five mystery powders. The kids got to see which process was needed to separate the water mixtures of each powder. Some filters had almost all of the powder left in them and they had empty petri dishes...filtration separated those two materials. However some filters were empty, and those dishes had a substance in them. Those materials needed evaporation in order to separate.  Some of the petri dishes had crystals in them. This allowed the kids to make connections to the article they read earlier in the week.  They know that salt and sugar are crystals, so now they are analyzing their data and drawing some conclusions!  We will continue more tests this week.

In my last magnet teachers' meeting, I was trained on a strategy called the "Q Focus".  It is a questioning technique and I used it to introduce our novel this week.  I had the kids reflect on the activity after, and they shared that they loved "letting questions flow out of their brains"!  Today we started the novel, The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois.  I am excited to read, discuss, and analyze the work of this Newberry author with the kids!

MSA testing for 3rd graders will occur on Monday and Tuesday, March 4th and 5th AND Thursday and Friday, March 7th and 8th.  Testing will be in the mornings.

You can help your child by making sure your child gets a good night's sleep the evening before the tests.  Also, make sure your child has a good breakfast each morning.  Expect your child to be overly tired...they work hard and the tests are long.  They will not have any homework that week other than their Science Fair project.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

Speaking of the Science Fair...the deadlines I have made for your child are intended to help them manage their time.  It is ok to be a little late...for instance, I read seven "hypothesis, purpose, materials, and procedures" today.  I would like the rest of the class to show me their plans within the next couple days, so that there is plenty of time to experiment and collect data.

Classroom needs:
Clorox wipes
Hand sanitizer
Post-it Notes (brand name, please)

Any donations of these supplies is greatly appreciated.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!