Doppler Tim's Science Lab

One of our wonderful meteorologists here in Cincinnati has an awesome science lab online that is full of experiments and demonstrations for the classroom.  The best part is that you can either perform the experiment yourself or show the video to your students.  Check it out!

Doppler Tim's Science Lab

I suppose it's time......let's start with a little chlorophyll!

Alright, alright, I suppose it is time to get back at it.  After a summer of building decks and fences, I think I am ready to focus on another year in the classroom.  My son went to a wonderful summer camp run by the Cincinnati Parks Department and I wanted to share one of the activities with you.

Finding the chlorophyll in a leaf

My take on this activity was that the students were identifying why leaves are green and what causes the green color to be seen in the Spring-Early Fall.  Of course, the explanation of the activity came from my 5 year old son, so I am sure I only heard a portion of the lesson.  I plan to extend this activity to include a discussion about the true color of leaves and the process of photosynthesis.

1.  Have the students gather a GREEN LEAF from outside.  Freshly picked would work the best.

2.  Have the students glue the leaf on a small piece of card stock.

3.  Cover the leaf with a small piece of cloth the same size as the card stock (this can vary, but be sure it is thin cloth).  I am guessing that even a section of white t-shirt would work well.

4.  Glue the top two corners of the cloth to the card stock, covering the leaf.

5.  Using a small rock (the camp was at the park, so they used rocks) or other hard object, have the students strike the cloth firmly where they believe the leaf is located.  Remember, the leaf will be hidden beneath the cloth.

6.  If all goes well, the green pigment (chlorophyll) should begin to appear on the cloth.  For older students, you could have the students attempt to create the entire leaf "in chlorophyll" on the cloth.

Hope you enjoy!  For those of us on summer break.......it's okay....no crying...we are looking forward to this right?????

RJ
http://hayesclass.weebly.com/

Summa Time!!!!!

Wow,

First week of summer and I can't lie......I am enjoying the heck out of it.  I am sure everyone agrees....it is NICE to not think about school for a while!  Some time off, then I plan on buckling down this summer.  I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and hopefully the pool!

-RJ

Pinocchio

Wow, it has been awhile!  With the end of the year approaching and the play Pinocchio over, I have a second to breathe and share our final sets with you.

This was the first play that I have had the honor to be associated with at our school.  I was amaze by the dedication of our our kids and the staff members that came together to work on this.  Blown away I tell you!  I enjoyed the entire process even more than I thought I would.  I was glad that I was able to lend my carpentry skills to the play because lord knows my acting skills are terrible!  We spent several nights at school until midnight making these sets out to be the best they could be.

I am a bit sad that I wasn't able to get pictures from the actual performance, but I was busy living the life of a stage crew member.  We ended up with 5-6 set changes and somehow.......despite my leadership....it all went perfectly!  I am so proud of my fifth graders and our staff for the amazing production.  My role......build the sets!

2 of the four 10' tall and 8' wide building facades.

The other two!

The overall set complete with town square (pseudo fountain in the middle)

From the top row!

My favorite prop......the hay wagon!  Had a blast building this one.  Complete with wooden wheels that I cut from a 2"X12" board.  And I made the wheels uneven and wobbly on purpose.....at least I tell myself I did! LOL.  A bit rough, but it worked perfectly.  The night of the show it was filled with hay!

One of my favorite props from the play.  Come on, it looks like an 11' birch tree right?  With the leaves, it stood about 14 feet tall!  All made from empty carpet roll tubes, a little paint and a hunting blind for leaves.  I had very little to do with this one.  Brilliant idea from our producers.  How obnoxious to say we had "producers" for a fifth grade play! HA HA!

All of these sets were very simple to build.  I seriously have given consideration to how these could be used in a classroom (on a smaller scale).  

I hope all of you have a wonderful summer!  It's winding down quickly.

Board game progress......

The science board games are progressing (see pervious post)!  Here are a few "in progress" pictures.  The fourth graders have been engaged and busting tail for three days!

Science Boards Games

As the year winds down and state testing is over, I returned to a past WINNER of a project for my fourth grade science classes.  Groups are creating a science board game based on topics that we covered in class this year.  Each group is bringing old board games from home to use in their new and exciting game.  Construction paper is being used to cover up old boards and some groups have decided to use an old pizza box as a game board (and box for the pieces).

I created a simple requirement sheet and grading rubric to lead groups through the week-long project.  I tried to keep it simple and basic.  I plan to snap some pictures over the next few days to share the progress!

Groups are required to create a game board AND complete instructions.  Once all games are completed, we will have a "GAME PLAY DAY" in order to allow them to play each other's games!

Play sets

Just sharing my excitement this week...our 5th graders have been working hard to get ready for this year's play...PINOCCHIO!  I have been given the task of using my carpentry skills to create our sets and many of the props.  Long hours in my garage, a long night or two at school, and they are coming right along!  I have loved every second of it.  Check out our progress below.  These are the basic frames of the town building facades.  Let me know if you would like some basic instructions and material lists.  They would be cool to build on a smaller scale in classrooms.  Ours measure 8 feet wide and 10 feet tall.  They are being covered with basic felt and will be painted to include windows and details.