Innovation and Invention

We are beginning our new PBL on innovation and invention.  Our driving question for this unit is "How can one idea change the world?".  We began our unit by looking at a series of quotes from some famous "curious" people such as Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison.  The kids began thinking about what it meant to be curious and was it okay to fail.  Be sure to ask your child what they have learned about these ideas.


After spending time looking at our quotes, we went on a "Wonder Walk".  The students were able to go to the Wonder Room to observe and wonder about some now common place inventions such as the light bulb and Velcro.  They were able to ask questions about these inventions and were able to observe these items using their five senses. 

Water Matters

Today we had a special visitor, Mrs. O'Hare, from the USC Upstate Watershed Ecology Center.   She taught the students about matter, its phases, changes in matter, and water pollution.  The students enjoyed becoming....

             SOLIDS

             LIQUIDS

     and GASES!

They sorted pictures into the three states of matter.

Lastly they created an oily ocean.  They experimented with feathers to see how oil spills affected ducks.   Then they tried to clean the "ocean" with a variety of tools.

Captains of Character

On the OES News show each morning, students are being recognized for having great character.   Our first two "Captains of Character" are Colin Scott and Lillian Wilson.   Way to go you two!  Keep up the great work!

        V

Totem Pole Project

Today was the due date for our Totem Pole Project!   These looked AMAZING!   I was very proud of each of the students as they presented their projects.

American Education Week

It was a great but busy week in Room 100 this week!  
It started out on Monday with cool Minecraft cupcakes for Colin's birthday.

On Tuesday, the kids experimented with their senses to see if they could determine the flavor of the pie they were tasting.   Many came away with a new appreciation for GREAT pie!

On Wednesday, we traveled back in time when butter had to be made instead of bought in a grocery store.  The students were asked...what do you think will happen to heavy whipping cream when it is put in a cold mason jar and then shaken.   Most said that they didn't think anything would happen.   They quickly discovered that their hypothesis was incorrect!

They found that it made butter!

Some LOVED IT....

 

While others didn't care for it at all!!!

On Thursday, we tested to see if our feast would float or sink.  The students predicted what they thought would float or sink from a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  We tested cranberries, corn, butter, a dinner roll, a sweet potato, a pumpkin, whipped cream, and of course, TURKEY! Be sure to ask your child about the results!

We finished out the week on Friday with a new job!  The students all became boat builders.  They were given the following items and told to create a boat that would float and carry all it needed to Include.

Our first attempts ended up like the Speedwell (be sure to ask your child about what we learned about the Speedwell ).

But after several attempts, many groups achieved success!

They worked very hard and completed their task using collaboration, creativity, and communication.

I hope they each learned a lot this past week and I can't wait for this week!

Pass the Pie

Today we completed an experiment with our senses.   The students had to try three pies without looking to see if they could guess which type of pie they were eating.   Thank you to our fabulous parents that sent in pies (Caylie's mom, Jamison's mom, and Bailey's mom), our napkins (Lillian's mom), and our silverware (Benjamin's mom).   The kids really enjoyed this experiment and some have found a new love of pies!  Below you will find a few pictures of the kids tasting their pies....most ate them so quick that I couldn't get pictures 😃!

Dads and Doughnuts

We had a great time this morning at Dads and Doughnuts.  It was nice to see so many dads being able to enjoy time with their children.

The kids also were able to write about their dads as they shared breakfast together.