Our adventures in Alaska started in May of 2009. To read about whale, bear, wolf and many more encounters go to http://capestjames.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Untie The Lines and Set Sail!!
Untie The Lines and Set Sail!! Friday, October 31, 2008
A World in Motion!
This program is one of the best kept secrets. Teachers this is a must for your classroom learning. Receive a free kit and start teaching now.
http://www.sae.org/exdomains/awim/
The A World in Motion® curriculum joins together teachers, students, and industry volunteers in an exploration of physical science while addressing essential mathematics and scientific concepts and skills. Industry volunteers play an essential role in motivating the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math by bringing their everyday experiences into an AWIM classroom.
Each of the AWIM activities is designed around current math, science, and technology standards. SAE International provides the AWIM curriculum and materials at no cost to classroom teachers who complete a Statement of Partnership.
The program consists of hands-on physical science curricula designed for a variety of grade levels.
Elementary (3-6) Skimmer JetToy Electricity & Electronics
http://www.sae.org/exdomains/awim/
The A World in Motion® curriculum joins together teachers, students, and industry volunteers in an exploration of physical science while addressing essential mathematics and scientific concepts and skills. Industry volunteers play an essential role in motivating the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math by bringing their everyday experiences into an AWIM classroom.
Each of the AWIM activities is designed around current math, science, and technology standards. SAE International provides the AWIM curriculum and materials at no cost to classroom teachers who complete a Statement of Partnership.
The program consists of hands-on physical science curricula designed for a variety of grade levels.
Elementary (3-6) Skimmer JetToy Electricity & Electronics
Friday, October 17, 2008
Fall
You can take the teacher out of the classroom but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher. It's fall and I miss the challenge of coming up with wonderful lessons to inspire children. So here is a science lesson that meets the needs of Halloween- which is no longer allowed in school. Enjoy
Pumpkin Science
Scientific Discovery and Investigation with Pumpkins
1. Predict how much your pumpkin weighs. Then weigh it on a bathroom scales.
2. Name the properties of the pumpkin.
3. How does the pumpkin feel?
4. How does the pumpkin smell?
5. How does the pumpkin taste?
6. What does the pumpkin look like on the inside?
7. Does the pumpkin have seeds?
8. To get inside the pumpkin, cut off the top.
9. Does a pumpkin grow underground--or on top?
10. Does a pumpkin grow on a vine, a bush, or where?
11. Are all seeds inside a pumpkin the same size?
12. Will a small pumpkin have small seeds in it as compared to a large pumpkin?
13. What could you do with the insides of a pumpkin?
14. What could you do with the seeds?
15. Predict how many seeds are in your pumpkin. Count your seeds. How close did you come?
16. Now cook your seeds. Be sure to taste the seeds before you cook them, then taste them after you cook them. Is there any difference in taste? [Cook the seeds in a popcorn popper with butter or oil.]
17. Plant your seeds. Plant some of the cooked seeds to see what will happen. Are the seeds scattered randomly within a pumpkin or arranged in some sort of pattern?
18. Do big pumpkins have larger seeds than small pumpkins?
19. Is there anything in a pumpkin which lines up with the creases on the outside?
20. What does a pumpkin seed weigh?
21. How many seeds does a pumpkin contain?
22. Do all pumpkins have the same number of seeds?
23. Can you tell which side of a pumpkin was against the ground? How? Does the stem help you figure it out?
24. Will pumpkins float in water? If they do, do they float stem up, stem down, or stem sideways?
25. Can pumpkin seeds be sorted into groups?
26. How thick is the skin of a pumpkin? How far in is the meat?
27. Place an empty wastebasket in a dishpan. Fill the wastebasket to the rim with water. Place a pumpkin into the water. Measure the volume of water displaced. This will be the volume of the pumpkin. Find the volume of several pumpkins. What relationship is there between weight and volume?
28. Do birds eat pumpkin seeds?
29. Make a list of the properties of a pumpkin and give it to someone. Can they guess what the object is?
30. Will pumpkin seeds grow if planted right away?
31. What folklore can you find about pumpkins?
32. Where did pumpkins come from originally?
33. What other plants do we eat which are related to pumpkins?
34. What is a pepo?
35. If every seed in a pumpkin grew into a plant which produced one pumpkin and each of the seeds produced a plant which did the same, how many seeds would be produced?
36. What other pumpkin investigations can you think up?
Physical science: Investigation and experimentation: sink/float, color, shapes, sizes, textures, # seeds, line up with ribs?, and much more
Sink or Float: Divide students into small groups. Provide a water-filled container large enough to hold pumpkins, a pumpkin or the students’ individual pumpkins, paper towels, crayons or markers, and pencils. Ask students to turn to a blank page in their pumpkin journals and answer the following questions: Do you think a pumpkin will sink or float in water? Why? Next have them rest their pumpkins on top of the water while holding onto the stems. On the count of 3, have them release their pumpkins. Discuss the results of the experiment as a class. Then ask each student to remove his/her pumpkin from the water and dry it off. Then have each child summarize and illustrate the activity in the remaining space on his/her journal page.
Pumpkin Science
Scientific Discovery and Investigation with Pumpkins
1. Predict how much your pumpkin weighs. Then weigh it on a bathroom scales.
2. Name the properties of the pumpkin.
3. How does the pumpkin feel?
4. How does the pumpkin smell?
5. How does the pumpkin taste?
6. What does the pumpkin look like on the inside?
7. Does the pumpkin have seeds?
8. To get inside the pumpkin, cut off the top.
9. Does a pumpkin grow underground--or on top?
10. Does a pumpkin grow on a vine, a bush, or where?
11. Are all seeds inside a pumpkin the same size?
12. Will a small pumpkin have small seeds in it as compared to a large pumpkin?
13. What could you do with the insides of a pumpkin?
14. What could you do with the seeds?
15. Predict how many seeds are in your pumpkin. Count your seeds. How close did you come?
16. Now cook your seeds. Be sure to taste the seeds before you cook them, then taste them after you cook them. Is there any difference in taste? [Cook the seeds in a popcorn popper with butter or oil.]
17. Plant your seeds. Plant some of the cooked seeds to see what will happen. Are the seeds scattered randomly within a pumpkin or arranged in some sort of pattern?
18. Do big pumpkins have larger seeds than small pumpkins?
19. Is there anything in a pumpkin which lines up with the creases on the outside?
20. What does a pumpkin seed weigh?
21. How many seeds does a pumpkin contain?
22. Do all pumpkins have the same number of seeds?
23. Can you tell which side of a pumpkin was against the ground? How? Does the stem help you figure it out?
24. Will pumpkins float in water? If they do, do they float stem up, stem down, or stem sideways?
25. Can pumpkin seeds be sorted into groups?
26. How thick is the skin of a pumpkin? How far in is the meat?
27. Place an empty wastebasket in a dishpan. Fill the wastebasket to the rim with water. Place a pumpkin into the water. Measure the volume of water displaced. This will be the volume of the pumpkin. Find the volume of several pumpkins. What relationship is there between weight and volume?
28. Do birds eat pumpkin seeds?
29. Make a list of the properties of a pumpkin and give it to someone. Can they guess what the object is?
30. Will pumpkin seeds grow if planted right away?
31. What folklore can you find about pumpkins?
32. Where did pumpkins come from originally?
33. What other plants do we eat which are related to pumpkins?
34. What is a pepo?
35. If every seed in a pumpkin grew into a plant which produced one pumpkin and each of the seeds produced a plant which did the same, how many seeds would be produced?
36. What other pumpkin investigations can you think up?
Physical science: Investigation and experimentation: sink/float, color, shapes, sizes, textures, # seeds, line up with ribs?, and much more
Sink or Float: Divide students into small groups. Provide a water-filled container large enough to hold pumpkins, a pumpkin or the students’ individual pumpkins, paper towels, crayons or markers, and pencils. Ask students to turn to a blank page in their pumpkin journals and answer the following questions: Do you think a pumpkin will sink or float in water? Why? Next have them rest their pumpkins on top of the water while holding onto the stems. On the count of 3, have them release their pumpkins. Discuss the results of the experiment as a class. Then ask each student to remove his/her pumpkin from the water and dry it off. Then have each child summarize and illustrate the activity in the remaining space on his/her journal page.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Great Resources!!
Welcome to Maps4Kids.com! - a fun and free educational site. NEW for 2008-2009! Maps4Kids en Español. Also, we continue to add content like Seven Wonders and Outline Maps.
Many pages are now GoogleMaps enabled to add another dimension to Maps4Kids.
Our mission is to help children gain a greater understanding of the world through maps, geographic information and geography games.
Maps4Kids.com has maps and data on all of the 50 states, as well as for over 200 countries around the world. There are map puzzles and links to quizzes to help kids learn where states and countries are, and what their capitals are.
Are your students struggling with the metric system? Our Calculator page will help them find the answer ! - and our Weather page will let them link to weather forecasts for their zip code or city.
Our latest addition is a Top 10 List page loaded with useful geo-facts, and don't miss our popular GeoNews page, which is updated daily with interesting geographic news from around the globe.
If you find this website useful, please inform your students and link to us from your classroom home page.
Regards,
Tony Kehlhoferhttp://www.maps4kids.com
Many pages are now GoogleMaps enabled to add another dimension to Maps4Kids.
Our mission is to help children gain a greater understanding of the world through maps, geographic information and geography games.
Maps4Kids.com has maps and data on all of the 50 states, as well as for over 200 countries around the world. There are map puzzles and links to quizzes to help kids learn where states and countries are, and what their capitals are.
Are your students struggling with the metric system? Our Calculator page will help them find the answer ! - and our Weather page will let them link to weather forecasts for their zip code or city.
Our latest addition is a Top 10 List page loaded with useful geo-facts, and don't miss our popular GeoNews page, which is updated daily with interesting geographic news from around the globe.
If you find this website useful, please inform your students and link to us from your classroom home page.
Regards,
Tony Kehlhoferhttp://www.maps4kids.com
Friday, September 19, 2008
PBwiki Program for Educators
Offers $25 Million in Web 2.0 Tools
PBwiki, the leading provider of business and educational wiki's, has announced that they are offering educators who sign up as part of the 2008 PBwiki Program for Educators a free premium wiki (regular price: $250/year). This program is also open to homeschool parents as well.
Setting up a PBwiki is as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! You can learn more about all the ways you can use a wiki in your classroom to enhance and support student learning over on the PBWiki Education page, or the PBwiki Educator Community. PBwiki's are 100% ad-free and totally private.
Educators can also use PBwiki Plugins to add multimedia content with a few clicks, including spreadsheets, calendars, chat rooms, videos, maps, photo slideshows, and more. If you have other embeddable widgets (like Google Gadgets), you can also insert them in your PBwiki.
To claim your free wiki, simply sign up using the following URL where you will be automatically be guided through the process of creating your free premium educational wiki:
http://pbwiki.com/?special=87937&refwiki=wawiki
Once you create your wiki, you will also be eligible to participate in PBwiki's Back-To-School Challenge, which will offer teachers like you a chance to win free school supplies and other prizes by sharing lesson plans, blogging, and offering tips on creating a collaborative classroom or library.
PBwiki, the leading provider of business and educational wiki's, has announced that they are offering educators who sign up as part of the 2008 PBwiki Program for Educators a free premium wiki (regular price: $250/year). This program is also open to homeschool parents as well.
Setting up a PBwiki is as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! You can learn more about all the ways you can use a wiki in your classroom to enhance and support student learning over on the PBWiki Education page, or the PBwiki Educator Community. PBwiki's are 100% ad-free and totally private.
Educators can also use PBwiki Plugins to add multimedia content with a few clicks, including spreadsheets, calendars, chat rooms, videos, maps, photo slideshows, and more. If you have other embeddable widgets (like Google Gadgets), you can also insert them in your PBwiki.
To claim your free wiki, simply sign up using the following URL where you will be automatically be guided through the process of creating your free premium educational wiki:
http://pbwiki.com/?special=87937&refwiki=wawiki
Once you create your wiki, you will also be eligible to participate in PBwiki's Back-To-School Challenge, which will offer teachers like you a chance to win free school supplies and other prizes by sharing lesson plans, blogging, and offering tips on creating a collaborative classroom or library.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
WASL Scores!! 87.7%
WASL Scores are out!!!
The unofficial WASL scores have been released for the 2007-08 school year.
Once again Cedar Wood science is among the highest in the state. This year the score is 87.7% passing. Congratulations scientists of Cedar Wood. All of the students deserve kudos!!!!
The unofficial WASL scores have been released for the 2007-08 school year.
Once again Cedar Wood science is among the highest in the state. This year the score is 87.7% passing. Congratulations scientists of Cedar Wood. All of the students deserve kudos!!!!
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