We're still working hard creating our three act task and it's quite a challenge. Right now we have to work backwards since we are the creators and not the solvers...but there are still plenty of hurdles to solve along the way. Today we split up into groups to tackle the tasks. We had to decide as a group how we wanted to do it, what the exact problem was, and how to create our hook or our video so that other kids would be as excited about math as we are. Check out our awesome ideas and conversations. Look at that team work! First graders are the best!
We are beyond excited to be creating our own three act task. We're putting together a set of problems that we will share with other grades to solve in their classrooms. Turns out we have ideas big enough for even fourth graders to solve! Today we started by decorating some wrapping paper. Tomorrow we'll continue wrapping, hide some gifts in the boxes, and then start to video tape our our "hooks" to get other kids excited about doing some math. Stay tuned!
We always love a visit from our favorite scientist and today was no exception!
Thank you for sharing Mystery Ink with us Mr. G.
Problem: What happens to golden-rod paper when you draw on it with baking soda and water?
Materials: Q-tip, water, baking soda, vinegar, cup, golden-rod paper, stir stick, teaspoon
Procedure: Get a piece of golden-rod paper and place it on a dry desk. Fill a small cup half way with water. Dip in a Q-tip and then touch it to a corner of the golden-rod paper. Now add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the water and stir. Dip the Q-tip into this mixture and then write the first letter of your name on the golden-rod paper with the Q-tip. What happens?
If you have more time...get another small cup. Fill it half way with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar and stir. Dip the Q-tip and trace over your letter with it. What happens?
A. The letter you wrote will glow in the dark. (5)
B. The letter will change color to a bright orange. (2)
C. The mixture will make a crackling noise on the paper. (3)
D. The mixture will burn a hole in the paper in the shape of the letter you wrote. (7)
Conclusion: The letter will change color to a bright orange.
Vinegar and baking soda are opposite chemicals. Vinegar is an acidic chemical. Baking soda is a basic chemical. Golden-rod paper is an acid-base indicator. The paper reacts to the base baking soda and turns a bright orange. When you mix baking soda and vinegar they cancel each other out; they become neutral like water. When we traced over the letter with the vinegar the base becomes neutralized and the the writing is erased by the vinegar! So cool!
What a great day to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving. Thank you all for joining us for lunch!
And finally in our busy day, we made corn bread and celebrated team work with our friends!
We talked about how the pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians used to grind corn for corn bread and corn stew. It was fun, and delicious, to do a traditional Thanksgiving activity.
Have a wonderful and restful holiday. Can't wait to see you all in a week!
Our scientist of the week, Mr. Carter, shared a fascinating experiment with us. We pondered possible ways to inflate a balloon without using our mouths. We came up with some clever ideas including: a pump, a fan, another balloon, and water. However, Carter showed us that we can use the chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda to inflate a balloon!
When baking soda and vinegar mix, they carbon dioxide gas. This inflates the balloon without ever having to use your lungs or your mouth. So cool Carter! Thank you for sharing.
In first grade there is always more than one way to solve a problem. It's fun to see how many different ways we can arrive at the same answer. Kids are so clever!
That helps! Check out the ways we solved what looks like just a subtraction problem.
These are all methods REALLY used by first graders in solving this problem. So cool!
(now we're working on handwriting and organizing our work so it's legible enough to share...hehe)
This morning we took a break from the routine and worked with pattern blocks. We're building up our spacial relations as we try to make pictures with blocks. It gets tricky when two shapes are put together to make another shape.
Then we "painted" some pretty crazy self portraits. We can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving, the idea just makes our hair stand on end!
We also started a crazy art project. It involved some sunlight, some tracing, and soon some water color. Stay tuned for what these are going to turn into tomorrow!
(for the Gratitude Project)
Amazon Gift Cards
(for classroom and art supplies)