Mimicry

As part of our unit on plant and animal adaptations, the kiddos needed to learn about mimicry. Mimicry is when a plant or animal has similar features to another species that help it survive. One of the best examples of this is the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies:

Long story short, the Monarch butterfly tastes bitter so predators aren't as likely to eat it. The Viceroy butterfly has similar markings to the Monarch, so predators avoid it, too, because they think it will taste bitter like that Monarch. Soooo to demonstrate this concept for the kiddos, I created the following experiment.

I started by filling cups with different types of soda. Cup A was filled about half way with Sprite:

Cup B was filled about half way with Seltzer water:

Cup C was filled half way with more Seltzer water and Cup D was filled half way with Diet Coke (any dark soda would work):

 

I started by giving each student one Cup A and one Cup B.

 They worked in groups to record observations about each cup. We then listed the following observations on the board. 

Cup A

• liquid
• has gas/bubbles
• clear

Cup B

• looks the same as Cup A
• liquid
• has gas/bubbles
• clear

I then told the students that the cups represented two different butterflies and that they were going to pretend to be a predator that wants to eat the butterflies. They were then allowed to "eat" butterfly A (the Sprite). I asked them how butterfly tasted and they all agreed that it was good! 

They then predicted that butterfly B (the Seltzer water) would taste good, too, because it looked just like butterfly A. They were allowed to taste it.....

...and all began yelling "EWWWW THAT'S NASTY!!!!!!" and "THAT MADE ME SICK, MISS HUNT!!" Next we discussed the difference between looking the same and tasting the same. The students quickly made the connection that the Sprite mimicked the Seltzer water like the Viceroy mimics the Monarch. 

I then took the experiment one step farther. I showed them Cup C (Seltzer water) and Cup D (Diet Coke). I told them that it was the next day and they were hungry and looking for a meal again. I held up the cups and told them that they saw two butterflies go by...one that looked the same as the two that ate yesterday and one that looked completely different. I asked them if they would take a chance on the clear "butterfly" knowing that there was a 50% chance it would be a nasty one or if they would choose the brown "butterfly". All but one kiddo yelled "THE BROWN ONE". My one defiant little guy said "Well I would still take the clear one 'cause I bet it would be the good tastin' one." I handed him the clear cup and let him taste that it was the Seltzer water again. He changed his mind in a heartbeat and said "I WAS WRONG! I WANT THE BROWN ONE!!!" 

All in all, the experiment was a huge success! The students were talking about mimicry for the rest of the day!

~Miss Hunt

THIRD GRADE!!!!

Hi everyone! I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted, but things have been such a whirlwind since summer! I am now in my first year of teaching! I have 15 amazing third graders that I love spending time with every day! I will do my best to document our adventures this year when I have free time (what is free time??).

~Miss Hunt

Classroom Library Book Labels

I finally graduated in May with my Masters of Art in Teaching and received my teaching license early in July! I am now officially certified to teach pre-k through sixth grade! :-) Its been a hectic summer of applying for teaching positions and going to interviews. I am still waiting for that right position to come along, but until then I have started preparing for having my very own classroom!

 The first item on my agenda was to sort through my CRAZILY MASSIVE perfectly reasonable collection of children's books. As I pulled out the books that I want to include in my classroom library, I started thinking about how to keep them from getting lost. I definitely didn't want to hand-write my name in every book, so I came up with a wonderful new plan!

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart, I had just what I needed - Avery's sticky name badge/label thingys. I dowloaded the customizable template from their website and designed my own book labels. It was super easy and  I LOVED being able to stick one in the front of each book and be done!!

They say "Please read and return to Miss Hunt's classroom library!" (I couldn't resist adding the cutie poodles! :-)  )

I think they turned out great!I have a ton left, so as I add a new book, it's just  peel, stick, done!

~Miss Hunt

Flashback to Third - Is this Fair?

When I was student teaching in third grade, there was a major epidemic of claiming that things in the class weren't "fair". As any of you who are teachers or have kids of your own know, the kiddos think that it's just not fair if they don't get the best of everything! I saw this idea in various posts on Pinterest and decided to try it out! I had the students sit in a circle on the rug, close their eyes, and imagine that they had an injury somewhere on their body. I received several "but why?"s and curious glances, but they were good sports and went along with it. I then called each student up to the rocking chair one at a time and asked them where their pretend injury was. After each student answered, I placed a band-aid on the back of their hand without explanation. One student said she had a broken arm...and she got a band-aid on her hand. One boy said he had a "terrible horrible cut" on his leg....he got a band-aid on his hand. The kiddos all whispered to each other about what was happening, but never asked a question.

After the last student received his band-aid and sat down, a little girl said "Miss Hunt, how come I said my knee had a bruise but you didn't put the band-aid there? I wanted it on my knee! This just isn't fair!" DING DING DING! That's exactly what I was hoping for! I responded, "but why isn't it fair? Everyone got a band-aid didn't they?" A boy said, "Well YEAH, but what good is it if it's not where I needed it:?" This activity worked out so much better than I expected! We then launched into a long discussion about what fair truly means. One student summed it up best when she said "So maybe fair isn't when everyone gets the same thing...it's when everyone gets just what they need!"

Flashback to Fourth - Pollination

I will be continuing with posts from student teaching this past fall for the next few days! I wanted to highlight a lesson that I found the inspiration for here. I was covering the science SOL 4.4 and had to teach pollination. My first reaction was "how in the WORLD do you get fourth graders to understand pollination???" After some frantic googling, I came across the blog above and fell in love with the activity!!

To start, I poured Starbursts (still in their wrappers) in the bottom of a big bowl and covered them with cheese puffs. The Starbursts represented the nectar found in the "flower" and the cheese puffs were the stamen covered in cheesy "pollen". I then invited my little pollinators up to the table one at a time to root through the stamen to get their nectar. 

 
As they did,  their hands quickly became covered in "pollen". They then had to pick up more nectar from the next flower (cut out of a paper towel) and saw how the "pollen" rubbed off as they did.

 The kids were so excited and one boy shouted "I did it Miss Hunt! I pollinated that flower! I'm a rockin' bee!" I let the students eat their Starburst, but after the lesson, a girl said "Could we help you eat the stamen now??" I even had a parent send a note the next day saying that her child couldn't stop talking about the lesson! A memorable lesson AND a snack? Score! :-)
 

Flashback to Fourth/Third - The Naked Egg

I just wanted to highlight a science experiment that my third and fourth graders thought was the coolest thing ever back in fall! If you soak an egg  in vinegar for a day or two, the shell dissolves. The kiddos had the best time poking the "gooey, bouncy, squishy" egg and then popping the membrane when we were through!

Scrambled States of America game!

After making the Even Steven Odd Todd game (which you can check out here),  I decided to create a series of games based on children's books as a project for my Literacy class. The first game I made is based on The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller

The game asks students to identify where various states are on a map of the United States. You can download the game cards, rules, and game board for FREE here and here. Enjoy!

The First Mr. President

I recently taught my first graders a lesson about George Washington. For this lesson, I created a George Washington Fact Book and a fun review activity. You can download the book  and activity for free by following the links.

The activity involved creating a 3-d model of the Washington Monument. The kiddos had a blast cutting, folding, and most importantly playing with it!

We included two sentences on the sheet that (after filling in the blanks) says "The Washington Monument is named after George Washington. He was the first president of the United States." '

I hope this book and activity are helpful! Let me know if you're able to use it! :-)

1st Grade Proverbs

Today I gave my first graders the beginning of a popular proverb or saying and asked them to finish the sentence. The results are hilarious!!

A bird in the hand….

• ·         can’t fly in the rain.
• ·         is pecking the person.
• ·         is in the palm.
• ·         means a cat in the hand too.
• ·         Is trying to fly away!

Strike while…

• ·         the bike is riding.
• ·         the fairy is flying.
• ·         the ball is flying.
• ·         the cat runs.

Cleanliness is next to…

• ·         the mop.
• ·         the bathtub.
• ·         happiness.
• ·         the pig.
• ·         being shiny.

• ·         a tractor.

Curiosity killed…

• ·         a deer.
• ·         a pig.
• ·         a person.
• ·         an elephant.
• ·         a dog.

You can lead a horse to water…

• ·         or you can give him a bucket of water.
• ·         while he’s walking.
• ·         by sitting on him and kicking him.
• ·         and giddy-up
• ·         and he’ll drink it.
• ·        and you can lead it to food, too.
• ·        and you can lead a hound dog to water too! 

Birds of a feather…

• ·         use their feathers.
• ·         are friends.
• ·         are soft.
• ·         can fly!

It’s better to give than…

• ·         eat food.
• ·         to cry.
• ·         share.
• ·         take.
• ·         to keep it if you don’t like it.

You can’t have your cake….

• ·         and your dog.
• ·         and ice cream too.
• ·         at lunch.
• ·         after a bath.
• ·         in the car.
• ·         until you get presents.

Love is…

• ·         families.
• ·         giving somebody a hug.
• ·         kisses.
• ·         respect.
• ·         happiness.
• ·         in your heart.
• ·         for sharing!
• ·         my mom and a dog.

A penny saved is…

•  one cent.
•   money!
•   in a piggy bank.
•   on Abraham Lincoln.

What’s good for the goose is…

•  a chicken.
• pizza.

All’s fair in…

• ·        basketball.
• ·        July.
• ·        a birdhouse.
• ·        the office!
• ·        times when you don’t got nothing.

Do unto others as…

• ·        you help them.
• ·        you’re walking.
• ·        sharing.
• ·        you play.

What goes up…

• ·        is a bird and a plane.
• ·        is a balloon.
• ·        goes down!

What you see is…

• ·        a bird.
• ·        a dog.
• ·        pigeons.

The best things in life…

• ·        you can hug.
• ·        is animals.
• ·        is flying a kite.
• ·        is eating!
• ·        is Superman!
• ·        is a tractor and a dog.

An apple a day…

• ·         is one whole apple.
• ·         it helps you.
• ·         fell off of a tree.
• ·         is too many apples!
• ·         and a banana at night!

What creative little minds they have! What's your favorite?

Even Steven and Odd Todd

I will be teaching my kiddos about even and odd numbers tomorrow! As part of the lesson, I will read the book Even Steven and Odd Todd.

To go with it, I created a dice game! The game is for two students. One will be Even Steven and one will be Odd Todd. The kids take turns rolling a die and moving that number of spaces around the board. Even Steven may only move if he or she rolls an even number and Odd Todd may only move if he or she rolls an odd number.

For a FREE download of this game, go here. Enjoy! 

First Grade and Flippers

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post! Things have been a bit hectic as I transitioned from student teaching in a third grade class to practicum in a first grade class. I love my new group of kiddos! We are currently learning about penguins in science, and I wanted to share two live penguin webcams that the little ones LOVED watching!!

California Academy of Sciences Penguin Cam

Monterey Bay Aquarium Penguin Cam

The kiddos love listening to stories about penguins and drawing pictures of them, but there's just something unique about watching real penguins waddle and slide! One little boy was so glued to the screen that he just didn't want to stop watching! "But we have to keep watching! I mean LOOK! They're CLEANING THE ROCKS....and wait! That one's about to jump in!!" The enthusiasm of this age group has been so contagious already! I can't wait to see how the rest of the semester plays out!

Fun fact of the day: Young penguins hang out in groups called Kindergartens! 

~Miss Hunt