Regurgitate

You are probably wondering why I would ever title a blog post "regurgitate." You might be wondering why I am thinking about throwing up, because, after all, throw up is not a typical or amusing topic of conversation...unless you are a third grader.

This past week, my kids learned about Barn Owls and how they swallow their prey whole and regurgitate the material (bones, teeth, fur) that they can't digest. It comes up in the form of a pellet. Cool, huh? Come on, just consider the coolness of this for one minute.

My kids worked in pairs and dissected an owl pellet to discover: a: what animal their Barn Owl ate (rodent, bird, shrew...) and b: to identify bones. They compared the bones in their pellet to human bones. Next week, they will compare them to chicken bones.

I swear...the grosser the experiment, the more 3rd graders like it! I mean, I don't blame them, really. I think I have just as much fun with this dissection as they do! Take a look at some of my kids in action. (Also, the other adult you see in these pictures is Jackie, my amazing and wonderful student teacher.)

Finally, you might be curious how I have my kids learn the main bones in the human body. See, it's very simple...through music. Be careful, though. If you click on this link, you might be singing the bone rap all day!

In case you were wondering...the pellets were sanitized prior to being delivered to the schools!

Fossils are Fun!

Last week was my school's science week. We had assemblies everyday and on Friday we had science experiment rotations. My grade level partner and I made silly putty with all of the kids. Wow! The good news was that we mastered this process by the end...which was a good thing because the first rotation was...fun...?!?! :-)

Anyway, my brain is still on science! Here are some resources I have come across recently. First, here is a demonstration on fossil formation. I like this because it uses images, words, and audio. This is especially good for independent/group work.

Here is a cute video/song about paleontologists/fossils. This could definitely be another favorite in my class.

Finally, here is Ricky the Rapping Rock. This is great fluency practice too!

On an unrelated note...when participating in a video-taped egg-drop experiment in front of the entire student body, make sure you remember to put the egg in the contraption before it is dropped.

With that---I'm out. Have a great week!

Science "Rocks"

Ok, I know my title is totally corny...but it does fit with the theme of this blog post! Last week, I came across a new favorite website dealing with The Rock Cycle. The object of the game is to rescue Taterman, who is lost in the Rock Cycle. To do this, you must answer questions and dodge the villians along the way. It is highly engaging and interactive and my kids LOVED it. It's called "Where in the Rock Cycle is Taterman?" Check it out if you teach about The Rock Cycle...or if you having a burning desire to "step" into the life of a 21st century learner. I can assure you that I did not learn this way when I was in 3rd grade!

Have a great week!

Back to the daily grind...

Well, spring break is over and boy did it fly by! I traveled to California to visit my sister/husband and friend and had a perfect vacation! Luckily, we brought the beautiful weather back to PA.

This week (actually, the next two weeks) we will be administering the PSSA's; always a nerve-racking time of year. However, I am confident that my kids are ready, so enough talk about that.

This week, I am starting the Earth Materials Science Unit. I really love teaching science. Partly because my kids are naturally interested in it, but also because it opens the door to hands-on activitites, simulations and explorations. This week my kids will have to simulate the different rock groups (sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic). I plan to give them a few web resources/videos and books and have then decide how they want to simulate how each rock forms. Constructivism at its best...hopefully it doesn't fail. :-) Here is a video to introduce the topic. I haven't used this one yet, but hopefully my kids will like it!

Happy Spring everyone! The weather is much deserved!