Click here to see pictures from this awesome experience!
A couple of weeks ago, Mrs. Martell treated Room 221 scientists to Makey Makeys. The children used the kits and their bodies to create a complete circuit. They connected the circuit to their online character "Scratch." Next, they put different materials in the middle of their circuit to test whether or not they were conductors. If the material was a conductor, they could make Scratch follow a command. If the material was not a conductor, Snitch would not follow a command.
Click here to see pictures from this awesome experience!
0 Comments
Throughout our electricity unit third grade scientists have asked thoughtful questions. Recently, we sorted our questions into two groups. Some of the questions were "testable." That means third grade scientists could safely find the answers by using scientific equipment.
Third grade scientists worked in groups to answer some of those questions. They listed the materials they needed to use. They described the set up and wrote the directions so that any other scientist would be able to repeat the investigation. Yesterday, they gave it a try. Third grade scientists used many different size batteries, different kinds of wire, light bulbs, motors, and switches to answer their questions. They were truly collaborating as they problem solved and probed deeper to ask more questions. Ask your third grader: What question did you investigate? What problems happened along the way? What did you do to solve those problems? What did you learn from the results? What other questions did you have as a result of your investigation? John Eliot School honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a wonderful assembly Friday afternoon. Mrs. Martell shared this link so you can enjoy parts of it. Kudos to our very own Marlee who read her inspiring paragraph for the entire school. She should be proud!
In the morning, Room 221 watched a video to learn more about this important man. In addition, we read parts of his "I Have a Dream" speech and discussed its meaning. I wished our community members a wonderful day off, but I also encouraged them to take some time to think about MLK during the day. If your family is available, check out the wonderful event that's happening tomorrow in Needham: Museum of Science
Thanks so much to David's mom, Ollie's mom, Myles' dad,and Ori's dad for accompanying us on our field trip Friday! We couldn't have done it without them. The kids had a blast and learned so much! Ask your children about the Electricity Demonstration, the dinosaur exhibit, the "scientific" playground, or the opossum we saw. I challenged them to tell you at least one thing that they learned. Click here to see photographs from our trip. :o)Melanie Mrs. Vargas visited our community today to teach us about series and parallel circuits! (She misses teaching electricity in third grade, and I'm always happy to have an amazing teacher join us in Room 221. :o) She taught Room 221 scientists to create a series circuit using 2 batteries and 1 lightbulb. The students were impressed with the brightness of the lightbulb when it received energy from two batteries. Next, Mrs. Vargas showed Room 221 scientists how to create a parallel circuit. The students noticed that the lightbulb wasn't as bright in a parallel circuit. Ask your third grade scientist:
Why did the lightbulb become brighter with the series circuit, but not the parallel circuit? What happens when you disconnect 1 wire in a series circuit? What happens when you disconnect 1 wire in a parallel circuit? What does a series circuit have to do with older sets of holiday lights? What does a parallel circuit have to do with newer sets of holiday lights? This afternoon, Mrs. Martell came to our classroom to teach us about cyber-bulllying and being good digital citizens.
Ask your third grade technology user: What should they NOT include in a username? (Children should not include any personal information - name, age, town, etc…) With whom should third graders share their passwords? (Third graders should only share their passwords with their parents.) With whom should third graders NOT share their password? (Third grader should not share their password with anybody other than their parents.) How many seconds should it take them to click off an inappropriate image they accidentally find online? (It should take children 2 seconds to back-click off anything inappropriate they might find.) What should they do if somebody is mean to them online? (If a child is cyber-bullied, they should not respond. They should tell a parent or teacher right away.) Thanks for helping to keep your child safe online! :o)Melanie |
AuthorMrs. Sullivan wants you to feel informed! Check out this blog to learn about what's happening in Room 221. Feel free to leave a comment. Let us know what you think or ask a question. Archives
June 2018
Categories |