Mrs. Knight's Jar of Knowledge

One thing I have already noticed this year is my students struggle with math and science vocabulary so I came up with a few different activities to incorporate vocabulary practice without taking a ton of time away from the foundational lessons.

Jar of Knowledge
First, I made a list of math and science vocabulary words that we have already discussed in class or specific words I have noticed  my students struggle with. I also included higher level verbs that might show up in test questions.

Then I cut them up and keep them in my "Jar of Knowledge". I have not decorated my jar yet but hopefully you can see the potential! This jar can be used in a few different ways:

- Pull one word from the jar and ask the students to write a sentence using the word. You can also specify if the word has to be used at the beginning, end or in the middle of the sentence to make the assignment a little more challenging.
- Pull a word for each student and have them give you a definition of the word in their own words to check for understanding. You can also ask for synonyms/antonyms or any related words.
- Pull 3-5 words from the jar and have your students write a story using each word at least once.

Vocabulary Charts
My students needed a way to categorize our vocabulary words that we can use all the time in class. I created Vocabulary Charts for all the main topics we will discuss this year in math and science. As we discuss each topic, we write related words around the main word. I post these around the room so the students can see the words all year long and hopefully created deeper connections.

Math example:

Science example:

These can also be used for written vocabulary practice. I choose one topic every Friday, have my students brainstorm ideas for 30 seconds and then my students write about it in their journal for 2 minutes straight. Their pencils are not allowed to leave the page until my timer sounds. You will be amazed how well this works as a spiral review along with improving their writing skills.

Need Fresh Ideas!

One thing I love about blogging is it is not all about people reading your ideas - they get to share with you as well! Today in my professional development I came up with an idea to start a science club at my school. I did a research project with my class two years ago and my administration wants to take it school wide. However, as you can imagine, that is a huge take to go from two classes to a whole school. So I came up with a solution.

Our science club will meet once a month for one hour. Each week I will discuss a new step of the scientific process and then they will use that information to conduct their own experiment. By the end of the year, we will have gone through an entire investigation and they will present their findings at a Science Fair with a product they have created.

In order to have some connection between the experiments and to keep the students focused while still allowing them to be creative, I want to assign a theme for the Science Fair. I was considering "Change." They can go in a number of directions - change in temperature, change in direction, change in physical appearance.

Anyone have any other ideas for themes for a Science Fair??

Marshall's Boat Contest

When I was interning in a 4th grade classroom I wanted to create a science project that the students had never done before and hopefully one that would excited them all. I pulled it out of my old files to share with you because it ended up being a huge success!

I created Marshall's Boat Company who is in need of a new boat design. The students work in teams to design and create a boat to enter into a contest. At the end of the project, the students see how many marbles their boat can hold without sinking in a tub of water.

Materials included:

• Challenge instructions
• Mock challenge letter from boat company
• Plan of action worksheet
• Boat design worksheet
• Letter to parents
• Team score card
• Letter to the winning team
• Project reflection

This project must be used after the students have been presented with a unit on the states of  matter including topics such as mass, density, buoyancy and water displacement. I have also simplified this project by limiting the students to using only a piece of foil to build their boat. The materials you use on this project to build the boat is up to you so you can always make it more challenging! 

Science Tic Tac Toe

With nearly 30 students in one classroom all at different levels, a lot of teachers what to know what to do with the higher level students or students who finish their work early. I created a collection of Tic Tac Toe boards for our main science topics (animals, plants, solar system, weather, forces). Each board has nine extension activities that students can work on independently.

I allowed each student to choose one activity each 9 weeks from the board that was turned in for a grade. I varied the type of activities so students could choose one that interested them while still reviewing our concepts. These were also amazing products to showcase in the classroom and around the school. You will be amazed at the creativity and effort students will put into these projects! I also included the rubric I used to grade the products.

You can get this collection of Tic Tac Toe boards at Teachers Pay Teachers

TpT Science Tic Tac Toe boards