Failing to Plan is Planning To Fail - Creating Your Long Term Plans for the School Year

 

 

You have probably heard this adage a time or two, but have you ever followed it?  This will be the second year in a row that I am switching grades (last year I switched from 7th grade math to 3rd grade and this year I am moving up to 4th), and I don't want to feel like I don't know where I'm going.  So, I used the curriculum map we have from our school district, and added the things that aren't there (science, social studies, grammar, and writing) to create a set of Long-Term plans for the year.  Even if I don't stick to it 100%, I feel better having a plan to cover everything I need to during the year.

 

 

It didn't print out 100% perfectly, but since I' m the one who is using it, I'm ok with that.  If any of you know how to fix it, I'm all ears :)

 

I have put the plans in the back of my lesson planning notebook for future reference as I start working on individual units.  The front of my lesson plan book is for my weekly plans and monthly calendars where I will list out everything including special events, assemblies, etc.

 

I will be sharing my complete book in a little bit - I bought the Staples Circa I had my eye on and am working on customizing it to fit for me. 

 

I have uploaded the Excel version of this document so that you can edit it and use it if you would like - setting it up took forever, so I thought I would save you some time. It is a freebie, and all you have to do to get it is to like my Facebook page here.  It is in the Facebook Fan Freebie tab.

 

Do you make long term plans?



Can You Poke a Stick Through A Balloon Without Popping It? Learning About Polymers

During our morning meeting I asked my kiddos what would happen if I poked a bamboo skewer through a balloon.  Of course they said it would pop.  Are you sure? I asked them and then showed them the balloon above. Oohs and Ahhs abounded along with, "Mrs. Malloy, how did you do that?"

So... in my best teacher bribery way I told them that if they worked really hard and productively all day, I would teach them how to do it (of course I planned on teaching them how to anyway since it was in my lesson plan, but they didn't have to know that right?).

When the time for science finally came around, I told them that we were going to practice their skills of observation.  I was going to SHOW them how to do it, but I wasn't going to TELL them how.  I silently demonstrated and then handed out supplies.

Balloons were blown.

And then they attempted to poke.  A few balloons popped, but most of the students were successful on their first try.

And once they tasted success, they had to add a challenge - let's see who can poke the most sticks into the balloon without popping it!

 

Eleven was our class record!

 

 

The trick? Put vegetable oil on the stick to make it a little easier (optional) - then insert the stick at the bottom part (where the balloon is tied) and exit through the strongest part at the other end.

 



We then watched this video to learn about what polymers are:


And finished the lesson by making our own human polymer chains!

 

We will be learning about how scientists use polymers to clean up oil spills using a kit from Steve Spangler soon, but I wanted to give them a brief introduction before.  They loved it!

Researching - Learning About The Things We Are Interested In

Ever since one of my students brought in a tomato horn worm, my kiddos have been begging to do "Research" as one of their Daily 5 Choices.  I love the idea that they are self-directing their learning and that they are seeking out informational non-fiction text (you know, one of those biggies in the New Common Core Standards).

But... (and this is a big But) I am finding that a lot of my kiddos really love watching videos about their topic of choice.  I am really ok with this, but these are some of the same kiddos who really need to work on their comprehension and writing skills.

Luckily I stumbled across this 3-2-1 Reading Strategy Sheet from Teaching With Love and Laughter!


I printed a ton of these off and have placed them next to my computer station for them to complete when they conduct their research.  A win win for both teacher and student!

I will probably also use this for reading informational text later on in the year as well.