THE 100th DAY OF SCHOOL! MY STUDENTS ARE 100 DAYS SMARTER!

100 Googly eyed aliens!  Yes, the one on the right is my son!  Couldn't help it!

Students were divided into three groups and asked to work together and build something with 100 pattern blocks.  It was truly amazing to watch them work together, listen to each other, and collaboratively come up with a beautiful creation!

The 100 snowballs game on one of our favorite websites.  At least we can have a snowball fight on the computer!

How many times would we have to roll the die to get to 100?  It ended up being around 14 times.  The students made predictions as to how many rolls they thought it would be.  Most said, "100" or "45".  As we rolled along, they could "change their thinking" if they started to see that it was not going to be that many rolls. 

Into a first grade classroom to see their 100 day projects!

Visiting Mrs. Johnson's kindergarten to see their 100 day projects!

100 piece puzzle!

Yes, we do feed the kids from time to time...they don't always have to eat their projects.  I have heard of the dog eating your homework...

And last, my 100th day project.  I truly enjoyed doing this because I got to see pictures throughout this wonderful year and how much the students have grown.  It honestly brought tears to my eyes!  What a lovely bunch of children!

RECORDING OUR MATTER FINDINGS. IS IT A LIQUID OR A SOLID?

Another Matter project we worked on was sorting items into liquid and solid groups.  The students discussed what the items were and whether or not they had the attributes of a liquid or a solid.  After the discussion we sorted them physically and then recorded our information on a "T chart" in our science notebooks. 

Gluing down photos of liquids and solids on a "T chart" in our science notebooks. 

LEARNING ABOUT MATTER: LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS!

It all started with a container of ice!  Solid!  And from there we turned solid into liquid!  How did we do this you might ask?  With just one or two rolls of a die.  Confused?  Read on....The kids each took an ice cube and placed it in front of them.  Their goal was to be the first one to melt the ice cube completely (or scientifically speaking; turn a solid into a liquid).  With each turn, the students would roll a die and identify the number they rolled.  On the sheet I am holding below, there were directions depending on their number.  One was "hold it for a count of ten", another was "drop it down your shirt"!  The children had a great time melting their ice and the best part was that everyone cheered for the winner! 

Can you tell that he rolled the "drop it down your shirt"?