Science Friday: Penguin Preening

This afternoon we got a chance to feel what is like to have our skin covered in oil, similar to how the penguins preen their feathers. Each student's right hand was covered in petroleum jelly (oil) and they dipped both hands in a bucket of ice water. When they pulled their hands out, they saw how their left hand was wet while the water on their right hand rolled off. More importantly, when attempting to wash the oiled hand, they found this to be very difficult. This helped students to understand how, even though penguins are in the water a lot, the oil they place on their feathers won't rub off and will continue to keep them dry.

Penguin Reports

As our penguin study comes to a close, each student is writing a report about one of the six penguins we studied. They have been highlighting facts, taking notes and creating their first drafts this week. As students finish, they are putting all of their pieces together to create their final drafts. They are very proud of their work. I can't wait to share them at conference time.

Making Twenty

This week we played a math game, teacher vs. students. We each had a double tens-frame mat and the objective was to see who could roll to 20 first. The odds were in my favor, however, by luck of the roll, each student was able to roll and write an equation that equaled 20 before me! We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to introduce writing equations with multiple addends. 

Montshire Fun!

School Wide Reward S'mores and the 100th Day of School

Some decided to dress as if they were 100 years old!

Custom t-shirt to celebrate our 100th day!

Zones

We've been working with Mrs. Lallier the past couple of months to identify feelings and what color they are associated with. She has also taught students various strategies they can use to help themselves when feeling in the different color zones. One of the strategies we have been learning about is Using Self Talk. Here are some of the pictures we have taken so far.

Penguin Project

Making some flattened penguins in class for our bulletin board

Science Fridays: Testing The Temperature of the Water and Blubber

For the past few Fridays, we have completed different science experiments in class. On time, we made predictions about what would happen to the temperature of the water when adding snow. Students then measured the temperature change that occurred. At the end, we compared our predictions to the results of the test. The following Friday we tested our own ability to stay in ice cold water like penguins do. We recorded how long each student was able to keep their hand submerged in ice cold water as well as how long they could keep it submerged when wearing a blubber glove. It was a great opportunity for students to see just how important penguins' layer of blubber is to their survival.