Julia Greeley's First Annual Science Fair was a blast.  I was so proud to see the hard work that so many students put into their projects and how well many followed the scientific method.  I was also pleased to see/hear what the kids learned.  Lastly, I was very pleased with the number of parents/grandparents who attended the fair and supported our students.  It was a great experience for all.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a great Pi Day Celebration with pi-shaped cookies as well as pies donated by the Brooks family.   Thank you to the parents who helped out that morning.  

The Science Fair projects, worth 40 points, were awarded point based on the following criteria:
10 points for at least partially completing a project (I know, very lenient for our very first fair!)
10 points for science fair presentation
10 points for background research
10 points for following the scientific method (purpose/question, hypothesis, procedure, control variable, materials, data/results, conclusion, reflection, report/journal, and independence-clearly student work).

Note a few students were awarded one bonus point for exceptional background research and/or for exceptional reports.  Also, note, due to their age, kindergarten and first grade students were automatically given five points for following the scientific method.  I did not award a full ten points since I wanted to encourage the primary grades to follow the scientific method as well despite being young.  Because so many students in all grades did well, we had many ties.

Science Fair Results:

Kindergarten Class

First Place:  (41 points)

Second Place: (35.5 points)

First Grade Class

First Place: (41 points)

Second Place: (36 points)

Second/Third Grades Class

First Place:  (41 points)

Second Place: (39 points)

Fourth/Fifth Grade Class

First Place:  (40.5 points)

Second Place:  (39 points)

Pi Day Celebration!

It is no mistake that we will conduct our 1st annual science fair on Pi Day, 3-14. Come and view the science fair projects of the students on this day. 

GEOLOGY

After fine tuning up science fair projects and focusing on make-up work for the last two weeks, STEM class has transitioned to reviewing fractions and starting a new science unit - geology.

This past week, kindergarteners and first graders did some hands on activities to help them visualize fractions and how to find fractions of groups.  They learned that "fract" represents break or division.  They also got to explore many rock samples and will get to explore more of them next week.

2nd - 5th graders also explored rock samples and had to identify three main types of rocks- igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.  On a side note, the 2nd and 3rd graders came into the room excelling and identifying different rocky types.  I am so proud of you guys!  After exploring rocks and discussing the rock cycle, we worked on landform vocabulary.  Students will study the various landforms for their quiz next week.  :)

 Click here for an interactive resource for kids to learn/review lessons on rocks.

Rock Classification Steps