Film Canister Rocket Experiment

We did this experiment during our chemical reaction unit. My kids loved it! I saw this experiment in one form or another all over the Internet. The difficult part was trying to find film canisters in our digital age. This is how I came across Science Bob's website. He has a lot of great ideas and sells film canisters!

What You Will Need:

• film canister (35mm, the white canisters work better than the black canisters with the grey lids)
• effervescent tablet (Alka-Seltzer)
• water
• plastic teaspoon
• safety goggles

What You Will Do:

You will want to do this outside. The canister lids can launch pretty high and fast!

1. Break an antacid tablet in half
2. Remove the lid from the film canister and put one teaspoon of water in the canister
3. Drop half the tablet inside the canister and quickly snap the lid back on
4. Quickly place the canister on the ground cap side down and step back...far back
5. About 10 seconds later you will hear a pop and see the canister fly into the air

If the canister does not launch in the air, wait an additional 30 seconds before examining the canister. The lid may have not been put on tightly and gas may have leaked out thus resulting in a longer wait time until the canister is launched into the air.

I had my students work in groups and they took their science notebooks outside. They were to record their observations. After they all did the initial experiment with the half tablet of Alka-Seltzer and one teaspoon of water, I asked my the following questions (I got them from the Science Bob website):

1. How much water will give the quickest launch?
2. How much water in the canister will give the highest launch?
3. Does the size of the Alka-Seltzer tablet affect how long it takes for the canister to launch?
4. Does water temperature affect how fast the rocket launches?

 

In their groups they came up with a hypothesis and went to work. It was great seeing them try out different things and making connections to what we were learning in class. As I roamed around the discussions I heard were awesome!

 

The Science:
As the antacid tablet fizzes, carbon dioxide is released inside the canister. Pressure from the gas builds and eventually pops the lid off. The thrust, or push, of your rocket is related to how much pressure built up inside the canister before the top popped off.

Check out this GREAT video where Science Bob and Jimmey Kimmel launch over 1,000 film canisters!

         

   

 

What I've Read This Summer!

I've been reading A LOT this summer and I'm loving it! I wish I had more time to do so during the school year. I've been reading for personal enjoyment, but also some chapter books I think my 5th graders may enjoy reading. I want to be able to give some great book commercials (if you haven't read Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild-what are you waiting for?!?! Pick it up now! She discusses this in her book). Here are my reviews from last weeks great books.

 

The Fault in our Stars, By John Green Synopsis

The Fault In Our Stars is a fabulous book about a young teenage girl who has been diagnosed with lung cancer and attends a cancer support group. Hazel is 16 and is reluctant to go to the support group, but she soon realises that it was a good idea. Hazel meets a young boy named Augustus Waters. He is charming and witty. Augustus has had osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, but has recently had the all clear. Hazel and Augustus embark on a roller coaster ride of emotions, including love, sadness and romance, while searching for the author of their favourite book. They travel to Amsterdam in search of Peter Van Houten the author of An Imperial Affliction. While on their trip Augustus breaks some heartbreaking news to Hazel and both of their worlds fall apart around them. If you enjoy young adult books, full of witty humour and heartbreaking events, this book is perfect for you. Expect to laugh, cry and smile throughout this novel. (The Gaurdian)

 

My Thoughts on the Book

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was witty and has an unflinching look at mortality. It was an easy read and at times difficult to put down. This is definitely a book for high school aged students (in my opinion). There are some topics that deal with sexuality and I wouldn't feel comfortable with a student in my class reading this or even in middle school/jr. high. I haven't seen the movie yet, but will once it comes out. I'm always curious to what is better the book or the movie and more often than not the book is way better.

 

 

 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, By Ransom Riggs Synopsis

 Jacob has listened to his grandfather’s mysterious and fanciful tales about his childhood all his life, but he always assumed they were exaggerations.  That is, until one day, when sixteen-year-old Jacob finds his grandfather dying after some sort of vicious attack and sees the monster that murdered him, something right out of his grandfather’s stories.  Desperate to understand what has happened, Jacob travels to a small island off the coast of Wales in order to find the truth about his grandfather’s past. (S. Krishna's Books)

My Thoughts on the Book

This book started off with a bang! It was so suspenseful and I was hooked right from the beginning, but midway through the book my interest started to fizzle, just a bit. I do like the vintage photos that were used throughout the novel. They added to the mystique of the story line. It was definitely an interesting and unique book. The cover does give the book a creepy feel, but it isn't as scary as it may seem. There are some frightening elements, but it is more of a fantasy than anything else.

 

 The Seer of Shadows, By Avi Synopsis

Newbery Medalist Avi weaves one of his most suspenseful and scary tales—about a ghost who has to be seen to be believed and must be kept from carrying out a horrifying revenge.

The time is 1872. The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen.

Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora.

Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.

Rich in detail, full of the magic of early photography, here is a story about the shadows, visible and invisible, that are always lurking near.(Goodreads)

My Thoughts on the Book

This was another quick read, I was able to read it in a day. I enjoyed it (but I've always loved a great ghost story/suspense novel). I like the historical setting in which the book takes place. It deals with race relations during that time period and includes some historical language. This book is probably not a book for a sensitive reader since  it has some frightening elements...ghosts can be scary and death is involved in the story line. The publisher suggests the book is for children ages 9-12. I think depending upon the child, a good age would be 11 and up.

 

Saturday Snapshots:Ireland...yup...again!

Loving Run! Miss Nelson's got the Camera Saturday Snapshot Linky! It's been fun to get a glimpse into everyone's photos.

So this is it, I promise, the last photos of my Ireland trip. We saw so much while in Ireland, but I want to go back to explore the northwest corner of the island and venture out to some of the islands. The weather and waters are too rough during the winter, so they won't take you out there unless it is spring or summer. If you are interested here is my first Ireland photo post and here is my second Ireland photo post. Next week I should have some 4th of July photos!!

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

 Stunning! It is one of those places you have to see in real life. It is a five mile stretch of coastline, a World Heritage Site, famous for its basalt columns. The Giant's Causeway was formed by volcanic eruptions more than 60 million years ago. As the surface of lava flow quickly cooled, it contracted into hexagonal columns. However, if you ask the locals, the Giant's Causeway was made by a giant Ulster warrior named Finn MacCool.

Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland

Killarney National Park

This happened to be the day in which the weather was hands down crazy! A pretty violent storm was wreaking havoc on Ireland. Luckily we only encountered weather this extreme once during our trip. I'm talking wind gusts of 80mph, nonstop rain and hail, flooded roads, waterfalls created from the storm, thunder, lightening and even a power outage!! Nonetheless, we are adventurous and didn't let that stop us from having fun! Killarney National Park is beautiful and has so much to offer. 

When the weather is cooperating, you would see a view that goes on for days of crystal clear blue water and little islands dotting the lake.



The wind was unreal!

Found this castle on the side of the road. The rain was coming down so hard, there was no way to avoid the raindrops on my lens. I kinda like the effect though, it brings me back to that day.

Hiking to Torc Waterfall

Town of Killarney-Look at that traffic!

Georgia O'Keeffe Inspired Student Art

 

I love art and allowing my students to be creative and get the opportunity to become exposed to different artists and different mediums. At the end of the school year we have a little more time for studying art! This is a fun lesson I have done with my 3rd graders in the past and my 5th graders. They all enjoy learning about Georgia O'Keeffe and creating their own O'Keeffe inspired flower.

 

I created a Power Point presentation with some of O'Keeffe's background information and examples of her paintings (I included the realm of her work, not just her famous flower pieces).

 

Materials:

• 10x10 piece of white paper
• crayons
• water color paint
• construction paper, assorted colors (if you want to put a backing on the painting)

I projected a few of O'Keeffe's flower paintings for my students to reference as they created their painting.

 

First, they drew in pencil a flower (I love how some drew a more abstract close up of a flower).

 

Next, they took crayon and drew over their pencil marks.

 

Then, they started to paint.

 

I told them to leave no white on the page. Of course I had some students who had a difficult time, but I think it is due to the fact that we don't allow them opportunities to be creative. Eventually, they were able to move past their fear and create beautiful pieces of artwork.

 

 

Reading in the wild: Book Study: Self-Selecting Reading Material

Moving into week three of the Reading in the Wild book study that Catherine from The Brown Bag Teacher started. This week we are focusing on chapter 2, "Wild Readers Self-Select Reading Material" and our fabulous hosts for this section are A Teacher's Treasure and Making it as a Middle School Teacher. Head on over to their blog for some of their insight on the chapter.

                                                                

Donalyn Miller discusses the importance of teachers recognizing that students must learn how to choose books for themselves. In doing so, it fosters engagement and increases their reading motivation  and interest. Miller suggests a few different types of community conversations (read alouds, creating a book buzz, abandoning books, guess my lexile, the mature shelf, selection reflection, preview stacks, and keeping track of reading life) that can help with students learning how to self-select their reading material.

Community Conversations (pages 47-78)

Read Alouds

I will tell you first hand that 5th graders (any upper grade students) still love and enjoy read alouds! Each trimester, I choose a read aloud that goes well with our theme and during my ELA block, I fit in 10 minutes for a read aloud. More often than not, my students are begging me to continue on with the reading. It is so awesome! I also strategically choose read alouds that are part of a series. I figure if the read aloud gets the students interested, they will more likely want to pick up the sequel or any other book by the same author.

Miller states the following benefits of read alouds (page 49-50):

• They build community.
• They expose our children to books, authors, or genres they might not discover on their own.
• They provide prime opportunities to introduce students to genres they often avoid, like poetry, biographies, and nonfiction.
• They support developing readers.
• They reinforce that reading is enjoyable.

Miller suggests the following in regards to selecting read alouds (pages 50-52)

• Choose books from authors who will lead your students to more books.
• Share a variety of texts, including nonfiction, poetry, and online articles.
• Consider time constraints and book length.
• Decide how students will view illustrations.
• Read books that you enjoy.
• Ditch the read aloud if it doesn't work.

Miller has some great reading community suggestions that I will be putting into play this year. I can see how it engages the students and gets them excited about reading and want to implement more of them this school year.

Millers reading community suggestions (53-56):

• Invite students to share their favorite read aloud.
• When you have a guest teacher, leave a read aloud different from the one you are already reading to the class.
• Participate in World Read Aloud Day.
• Invite students to select your next read aloud.
• Post a lists of the texts you have shared.
• Ask students to sign their favorite read aloud selections for the year.

Creating Book Buzz (56-58)
I love, love, love Miller's book buzz! She uses this as a way to introduce new books to students...books they may have not been interested in without some sort of endorsement. First she presents a book commercial in which she shares a short preview of the book, her personal thoughts on the book, etc. Students then add the book title to their Books to Read List and enter a drawing to read it. I think The Brown Bag Teacher has posts about doing book raffles in her classroom.

Abandoning Books (58-62)
Now this is something I have a hard time doing. I always tough it out, even if the book has lost its spark for me. I like how Miller suggests that it is ok to abandon a book that is boring, confusing, or poorly written. I think it is also important to let the students know that it is ok. I can see where sticking with a boring book can result in the student losing the joy in reading. I like that she gives a goal of abandoning it after reading 50 pages if it is uninteresting.

Guess My Lexile  (62-63)
I agree with Miller, that assessing students' reading levels is helpful when determining reading ability and what books might fit them. But it is also important to let students choose books freely...they may have certain interests, preferences, background knowledge, or purpose for reading. I feel that if they choose a book that is beyond their ability, they will abandon the book and no harm was done.

The Mature Shelf  (64-66)
Miller's mature shelf is genius! I am going to implement that in my classroom this year too. It is a shelf for students who read above grade level to choose books that will challenge and engage them.

Selection Reflections (66-70)
In this section, Miller shared her My Selection Reflection form that she has her students use to reflect upon the books they have selected and why.

Preview Stacks (71-74)
Another awesome idea that Miller has! She builds preview stacks for her students to help reinforce and support their self-selection efforts while tapping into your knowledge as a teacher of their reading interests. She has some great questions that she asks her students in order for her to build the preview stack: What genre do you want to read? What have you already looked at today? What was the last book you finished that you really liked? What sort of book are you thinking about? She then places a stack of books on that students desk.

Keeping Track of Your Reading Life (74-78)
Miller has her students keep track of their reading by documenting every book they read (she has a reading list form they fill out). I've done this in the past and it worked out really well. It is a great reflection piece for the student and it helps you as the teacher understand what their interests and struggles are.

WOW!! That was a lot of information! I know I bulleted a lot of the information, I really suggest that you purchase this book and her other book The Book Whisperer. These books have opened my eyes up to a lot of wonderful things!