Lab: What is Energy??

I. LOVE. TEACHING.  Love it... Love it... love it.  I can't wait for tomorrow where my students get to become a newscast in the Amazon Rainforest; however, today I had such a great time teaching them about energy.  The best is peaking their interest.   As I have said before, I use the 5 E model when teaching science.  Today was our Engage and Explore lesson on forms...

LAB: It’s a Roller Coaster kinda World …

It definitely was in my classroom today.  We built roller coasters to demonstrate our knowledge of potential and kinetic energy in science.I teach science using the 5 E's (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate)...it's perfect if I actually got to teach science each and everyday, but I don't.  I have to use an A/B schedule to teach science and social studies,...

CNN Student News= AWESOME!!!

Do you share CNN Student News with your students?  I really wouldn't recommend it for any grades younger than 5th or 6th grade, but it is my kids favorite part of the day! We start each and everyday with the news.... which is great for me because I hardly ever watch TV... much less the news.  In 6th grade, I am to teach all about world cultures- countries and their government,...

Crunch Time…. Clock Partners

Oh. My. Goodness.  Where did my summer go?  I am sitting here on the couch on my last day of summer.  Tomorrow I return for my first day of in-service.  Who starts in-service on a FRIDAY??  Who does THAT???  and more importantly... why did the school district to that to us?!?!  ugh....I know I sound like I am complaining.... well yes.... I am complaining but not...

The No Homework Binder: How to Document the Excuses!

Ahhhh  homework... the dreaded word that makes kids groan... not to mention teachers when we have to deal with the million excuses as to why the homework didn't get done the next day.  Read my post on why I think homework is necessary... but evil... here...After 5 years of teaching and having to deal with the homework issue, I have found a way to document all those times it doesn't get...

MNM: Area of Trapezoids… WHY??

WHY?!?! The most intriguing question that I ask and try to have an answer for.  So I was about to teach how to find area of a trapezoid, and I thought I could just teach them the formula and how to use it, but then the question hit me... Why??  Why is the formula like this???My students had a formula chart we refer to as the "cheat sheet" (they get to use this on their STAAR test)...

SNS: A Density Lab….Concerning the Earth

It has been really nice covering Earth Science on Earth Day....wish I had gotten the chance to do something about Earth Day.  In my 6th grade class, we are going into more depth about the layers of the Earth and starting to understand plate tectonics. This week started with me showing them a hard-boiled egg, cracking it on the table, going over the cracks with a permanent marker and...

MNM: Angle Foldables

Well hello there!!! I have been on a blog frenzy.... hopefully I can keep it going!  Only 6 more weeks of school---I can NOT believe how this year had just flown by!!!  I am hoping that I can do a lot of posts this summer about notebooking.... but as for today... we are making foldables on......ANGLES!!!You can use these foldables with anything you are teaching not just math.  Over...

SNS: Science Notebook Sunday- Picture of the Day

I've reached my goal this weekend! In fact I have done 3 posts in 3 days!! I am so proud of myself!   Since my science notebooks are set up the same way as my math ones, I wont go into detail as to how they are set up.  If you want to find out how I set them up you can read my post here, or decorating them is here, or being able to close the giant monstrosities here. I love...

MNM: Setting Up the Math Notebook

New goal.... hopefully to accomplish.... is trying to post each:Saturday or Sunday post about my Science notebooks (SNS- Science Notebook Saturday).Monday about my Math Notebooks (MNM- Math Notebook Monday) We will see how I do.  Well I guess I'll start at the beginning... that only makes sense.  Notebooks are AWESOME!! I did my first in my Algebra II class in high school back in the...