Money

1st graders were given a magnifying glass and asked to compare and contrast dimes, nickels, pennies and quarters. They played games such as “Race to a Quarter” and “The Matching Game” which gave them practice trading coins (5 pennies for 1 nickel, 2 nickels for 1 dime and so on.) In Matching Game they became quite adept at selecting a coin only be feel from the inside of a sock! Independently on their contracts they completed a work job called “Scoops of Coins.” For their final assessment students were asked to figure out how many different ways you can make 25 cents. 

The Periodic Table

The older students spent four weeks studying The Periodic Table and creating a Wanted Poster for an element of their choice. We introduced the project by listening to Tom Lehrer singing "Elements," his well known song where he rattles off all the elements of the Periodic Table. Students had to research their element and creatively include the following information on their poster - its atomic symbol, number, weight, an interesting fact, the element's uses and chemical state. On their contracts students completed a word search of all the elements, timed themselves on how long it took to put together a magnetic puzzle of the Periodic Table and completed a matching game which reviewed all the new vocabulary of the unit. During snack they watched and responded to a video "Atoms and Molecules."