Coding, DNA, Moon Experiments!

The past two weeks have been busy in our class.  We have been learning to code, extracting DNA, and learning about the Moon.  It has been very exciting for all of us!

The Hour of Code is an easy way for students to learn the basics of coding with drag and drop programming.  This is a game-like self directed tutorial using games to help students learn coding.  This is a great way to get students, especially girls, interested in coding. Here are some pictures of our class coding last week.

We also extracted Strawberry and Lima bean DNA.  That was also quite interesting!  Here are the pictures showing your children hard at work thinking like scientists.

The students also learned the Phases of the Moon. Below are some pictures of our day with Mrs. Aldridge.

Now that the students are familiar with with the Phases of the Moon, they will begin the month long project observing the Moon. Each night the students will need to observe and record the phase of the Moon. At the end of the week they will need to summarize their weekly observations. This project will continue for 29 days, enough time for the students to observe one complete rotation of the Moon. The final project will be due on March 4. Complete instructions will be given to your child, but if they need a refresher or lose their packet, another packet can be printed in the handout section.

Strawberry DNA and Picture Permission Slips

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!

I am still missing some permission slips to post student pictures on my blog. Once I get all of the permission slips back, I can start posting some pictures of some recent activities.  Last week we had two enrichment lessons with Mrs. Aldridge and learned about Astronomy.  I have some great pictures I'm hoping to post very soon, but I'm waiting on a few more permission slips.

This week we will be extracting strawberry and Lima bean DNA.  This hands on lesson should be very interesting and exciting for the students.  I'd love to post some pictures of the students working so if you haven't sent back your permission slips to post pictures on our blog, please send it soon!

We will also be wrapping up our science unit on Heredity this week as well.  I hope to test Friday, January 17 on Heredity. If I feel the students aren't ready, the test will be on Wednesday, January 22nd. The students should be studying each night this week for homework.

The students have also been working on their 31 Days of Random Acts of Kindness.  Our bulletin board is growing with anonymous acts of kindness each day.  If you are in the school, stop by and check out the board outside our classroom.  They are also spending 10 minutes each day writing 3 gratitude's.  At first the students found it a bit difficult to write three things they were thankful for, but now they remind me that we need to write our gratitude's each day!  I am grateful to have a class of 22 very thankful and appreciative students!

Check back often for updates!