Pennsylvania Connection...

Recently, Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Pinchot's homerooms had the unique opportunity to "skype" with third and fourth graders in the state of Pennsylvania. Through this experience, both sides were able to ask questions in order to learn points of interest regarding connections in science (weather), social studies (relevant history, famous people), and general facts about each others' schools and academic priorities. It was a wonderful experience that the students enjoyed. You can view our 20 minute conversation below! If you do, please leave a comment sharing your thoughts. We very much appreciate Mrs. Melanie Holstman for allowing us the opportunity to do this. We hope to find a classroom to make a new connection with in Fairbanks, Alaska later this year, as we have compared and contrasted their climate and weather conditions with our own here in Jacksonville, Florida through our math workshop. :-)

Skype with PA from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Ice Cream Cooler

Hey there, Mad Scientists! Here is an at-home experiment you might really enjoy! To make ice cream "feel colder" while you eat it, you will need: 2 bowls, ice cream, milk, a spoon. Put a couple of spoons of ice cream into each bowl. Taste a bite of ice cream from the first bowl. Notice how it feels, as well as how it tastes. Yes, I know that it is cold, but pay attention to how cold. Pour a couple of spoons of milk over the ice cream in the second bowl. Take a spoon of this ice cream, making sure that the surface of the ice cream has a coating of milk. As you eat this spoonful, again notice the temperature. It should feel colder. Just to be sure you notice the difference, alternate bites between the regular ice cream and the ice cream with milk until you are sure of the difference. This may take several bowls of ice cream.

Now think about this: Why would adding milk make the ice cream seem colder? It has to do with the transfer of heat. The ice cream feels cold because it has less heat than your mouth does. As heat moves from your mouth to the ice cream, you feel the cold. The faster the heat moves away from your mouth, the colder the ice cream feels.

Why would adding milk let the heat move faster? To see that, put a spoon of ice cream in a bowl and let it melt. I know that it may seem like a waste of good ice cream, but it is necessary. You can also use a very small spoonful, as we only need a little. Compare the melted ice cream with the milk.

What is the difference? The ice cream is much thicker. This thick mixture contains many tiny bubbles. These bubbles give ice cream its pleasing texture, but they also act as insulation, just like the tiny bubbles in Styrofoam and many other types of insulation. The milk does not have the bubbles and so it makes a much better pathway for the heat. The coating of milk on the ice cream carries the heat quickly from your mouth to the ice cream and you get a colder sensation.

Pretty neat! Leave a comment if you try this to let the class know your thoughts.

Be My Valentine!

Sharing Brownies

Our class has been studying fractions for the last two weeks and one of our big focuses has been finding fair shares of paper brownies. As a performance assessment recently, students were given a task of cutting a given number of brownies and showing how to equally share them among a

given number of people. Some big ideas that we have been learning in this first fraction investigation are:

1) The numerator identifies the number of given parts
2) The denominator tells the number of equal-sized parts to make up the "whole"
3) Fractions can be read as ratios (relating the part to the whole) in order to better understand the fraction (ex. the fraction "one-third" can also be read as
"one out of three" equal parts to combine to make one whole

Alhambra

Our visit to the Alhambra and park was so much fun this past Friday.

While at the play, students learned more about Speaking, Listening, and Viewing Standards. As an audience member, students practiced being an engaged listener, soaking in all of the visual and auditory details of the presentation. They also saw firsthand how important it is for speakers (actors) to really embrace their roles- voice projection, body language, facial expressions, costumes, and props. This will be so important when they perform their own play in May of this year!!

While at the park, the students just enjoyed being kids and having fun! What a treat to visit Jax. Golf Park, which offered so many options of things to do! Our kids played soccer, kickball, ran the track, climbed the jungle gym, and went down slides. Swinging on the swings was a popular attraction too. The day turned out to be beautiful, despite the possibility of our fun getting rained out. It could not have been nicer!

Thank you to all of our awesome parent chaperones who accompanied this trip with us also- it was so nice spending this quality time together with you.

Enjoy the slideshow of our trip!

Show Me What You Know About WATER!

Hey kiddos!

I have missed you all so much and I am excited to be returning to school from maternity leave in just 9 short days! I know that you had a Water Cycle Quiz today in Science and I found a fun website to "quiz" you on many of the water and water cycle facts that you have learned while I have been out (you may not know them ALL but you probably know MANY)! Take this quiz and leave me a comment on how you liked it (you can even share the number of points that you earn taking the quiz if you wish). Can't wait to see you all!

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_qagame.html

Love,
Mrs. Phillips :-)

Learn and Earn (behavior bucks)

Want to brush up on some Reading Skills over the break , have fun, and earn BEHAVIOR BUCKS? You have come to the right place. Work on Destination Success or FCAT Explorer over the break.

Community Contributions

Our third grade students in the 4-corners classes sure have caught the spirit of giving. Each day in all four classes, students have been bringing in canned, bagged, and boxed non-perishable food for the needy. They have also been bringing in pet bedding, blankets, cages, and treats for our homeless furry friends at the Humane Society. Here's how it happened: After brainstorming with our students about what we could do to help others and give back to the community, they came up with these two service projects. They wanted to collect as much food as they could for the hungry to brighten up their holidays and fill their stomachs. They also wanted to provide homeless dogs and cats with a more comfortable environment while they are patiently waiting to be adopted. Because of the kindness and empathy of our students, these two projects came to fruition. We are collecting for those less fortunate until this Friday, December 11th. Stay tuned to a future blog which will let you know how much we collected. Our students are so excited to experience the kind and simple act of giving. They realize that when we reach out and give to others, we touch lives, and really can make a difference in this world.