Creating Polymers

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Creating polymers was simple and extremely entertaining.  I practiced the recipe (below) with my own kids before working with the 3rd graders in Brittney Royal’s class.  The reason for completing this recipe in class was to have the kids learn the importance of the procedure in the Scientific Method.  We put out the materials, posted the procedure on the web, and the groups were in charge of completing the experiment on their own.

Once the polymers were created a couple of questions were asked of the class:

  • Is your “Flubber” a solid? Why?
  • Is your “Flubber” a liquid?  Why?

These questions caused silence to fall over the class.  Because we created a polymer the students could see answers for both.  The looks on their faces (as they were moving their “Flubber” in their hands) were priceless.  Real critical thinking was taking place.  After class, the students were asked to research and define polymers and give two characteristics of their “Flubber” that led them to the conclusion that they had created a polymer.  They had to enter their answers onto our blog for this project.

Below are pictures from the project as well as the recipe we used.  The recipe produced enough for 5 students to go home with a handful of polymer.

Materials

  • Elmer’s Glue® (4 oz bottle of Elmer’s Glue-All)
  • Borax (a powdered soap found in the grocery store)
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Plastic cup (8 oz size works well)
  • Spoon
  • Measuring cup
  • Food coloring
  • Water
  • Clean up materials (paper towels, wet wipes, etc.)
  • Zipper-lock bag to store final product

Experiment 3- Procedure

 

1. This recipe is based on using a brand new 4 ounce bottle of Elmer’s Glue. Empty the entire bottle of glue into a plastic cup. Fill the empty bottle with warm water and shake (put the lid on first and then shake). Pour the glue-water mixture from the glue bottle into the cup and use the spoon to mix well.
2. Go ahead… add a drop or two of food coloring.
3. Measure 1/2 cup of warm water into the plastic bowl and add a teaspoon of Borax powder to the water. Stir the solution – don’t worry if all of the powder dissolves.
4. Carefully pour your glue and water solution into the plastic bowl. Be sure to watch the bowl as you are doing this. Once your entire cup has been emptied into the bowl, put your hands in the bowl and take some of the material out.  Be sure to leave enough for each of your group members.
5. Store the final product in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  Do not leave the material on tables, floors, or clothing.  The food coloring that was used may leave a stain. Be sure to WASH YOUR HANDS!

Differentiation Using Keynote

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One of my Kindergarten teachers, Vicky Rauchle, used Keynote to help differentiate writing instruction in her classroom.  The idea is very simple and it won’t take long for you to replicate this idea for your students.  Vicky found a variety of images online and created 3 different Keynote templates consisting of a “title” slide and 10 slides for writing.

Here is how her templates were broken down:

  • Each slide contains one picture and a text box that is used by the students to fill in with their text.
  • Depending on student ability the students will have to……
    • Write 1-2 sentences with no additional prompts from the teacher or template.
    • Write 1-2 sentences with additional prompts from the teacher and template.  The picture may be labeled to help get the students started.
    • Fill in the blanks that are found on the template.  The sentence that is started directly relates to the picture that is on the slide.
  • Each template has 11 slides.  Day one’s goal was to finish the title slide and 5 of the slides that required writing.

Thank you Vicky for sharing this great lesson idea!

Below are screenshots of the title slides and one of the “writing” slides.  The templates can also be downloaded by using the link below.

Click here to download the Keynote templates.

 

Don’t believe in the power of mobile devices……

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If you don’t believe that mobile devices are very powerful, this entire post (including videos) was done without the use of a traditional computer. The video was filmed on my iPhone4. I edited the movie using the iMovie App for the iPhone. The iMovie app lets you edit and splice pictures and video together. You can even add titles, a voice over, a soundtrack, and transitions. I then ran the video through the Film Director app to give it the silent movie/ 1960′s movie treatment. Below is the final product of our first snow day this year.

Start practicing your thumb typing!
http://vimeo.com/37133096


 

Method27- Week 2

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This is what learning is supposed to look like!

The third graders completed their first experiment during my time in Brittney Royal’s class last week.  The students completed a simple experiment that used the old school combination of vinegar and baking soda.  We followed the basic recipe found at eHow.com. However, we increased the amount of each ingredient to cause a larger and more dramatic reaction.

To make this simple experiment more “21st Century” we did the following:

  • The students worked with their teammates to record their hypothesis and conclusions using a GoogleDoc.
  • After the experiments were conducted the students had to use internet resources to research the reaction that they just witnessed.  The students had to enter their individual answers on to the Method27 blog.
  • The students were also challenged with an additional question.  The question would lead them to discover the teams endothermic and exothermic reactions.  Both of which are not covered in the current 3rd Grade curriculum.