Word Up!

Encourage kids to increase their vocabulary with Word Up! Have kids pull a word out of a bag. Then, have them write a word report! Have students draw a picture to represent their word. Research their word and write the definition. Then, find synonyms and antonyms of their word. Define what part of speech their word is. Finally, count the consonants and vowels in their word. Then, they write a fraction for the consonants and vowels. For example: Ecstatic - 5 consonants in an 8 letter word. The consonant fraction would be 5/8. 

Using their word report, they write a sentence on a separate sheet of paper, incorporating their word. After they've completed Word Up, have students teach their word to the rest of the class. This activity will get kids to use different words in their writing. Plus, kids love playing the role of the teacher!

Magic Numeral!

Luckeyfrog's Lilypad created Magic Number Math, different math concepts that revolve around one number! I used this activity in the classroom and it was a hit! I cut out yellow stars and wrote various numbers on each one. Then, I mixed them up in a paper lunch bag and had kids pull one star out. They used their magic number star to complete the math problems on the worksheet. Visit Luckeyfrog's Lilypad to download the  freebie featured below!

Adding Neighbors

BEAM: Be A Mathematician has lots of free maths of the month printables. It's a great resource for teachers. Activities are targeted at kids age ranging from 3-13. Left is an addition activity that teaches kids about patterns in addition: "Adding Next Door Neighbors" from BEAM.

Name Math

Practice recognizing vowels and consonants, while working on math skills! 

Restaurant Math

Delightful Distractions has this awesome restaurant menu and ticket freebie that's perfect for a money unit! Divide kids into groups of three. Then, have them choose what they want off the menu and circle the items on their ticket. After they have chosen their cuisine, have them add up the amount on their ticket. Kids can take turns being the waiter / waitress. You could even incorporate "play food" with this activity. 

To make it more of a challenge, give students a budget. Pass out play money, then have kids figure out what they can order with the amount of money they have. Visit Delightful Distractions to get a copy of the menu and ticket featured below!

- or have them purchase items independently / design receipt - rather than using the ticket provided -

kidbook

Have kids create a kidbook timeline, like facebook, all about them! They add a cover photo and profile pic. Then, they write a couple status sentences. Afterwards, they fill out the "about" section. Kids draw three of their favorite books, movies, and musicians / bands (write the names underneath their images). They fill out "basic info" and draw or add a small pic of the members of their family. Finally, for the "wall photos" page, they paste pics of themselves doing something fun with friends and family!

If I Was An Astronaut!

Take a photographic trip through our space. Jump over Jupiter. Eat macaroni on Mars. An entertaining and educational look at our solar system.

After reading the book If I Was An Astronaut, have kids write about what they would do on each planet, for a creative writing prompt! Preview the book here!












As a class, role play a trip to the moon! First, gear up in the appropriate attire. Buckle up for a rocky lift off! Then, explore the moon, MOONWALK! Ride around in your Lunar Rover! Ask students what they see. Remind them that there is no wrong answer when you're using your imagination! After exploring the moon, head back to the rocket and loose the space boots and helmet! It's time to float! Let kids have fun pretending there is no gravity. Then, take a break for a pretend space snack, that they must slurp through a straw! As you're riding in your rocket, what do you see in space? 

Kids Go Green!

1. One little person can make a huge impact on our planet. Encourage kids to be greener! For Earth Day, calculate your students' carbon footprints at Zero Footprint, a carbon footprint calculator for kids and schools around the world!

2. Make an Earth Day circle map to get them inspired to go green for Earth Day! Earth image via coloring pages 7

3. Encourage kids to do one green activity each day, during the week of Earth Day. Have them draw a picture or take a photograph. Then, write down what they did that was green under their picture in their Go Green Journal. 

What Can I Do? Examples:

1. 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

2. Walk or ride a bike or bus.

3. Turn the light, television, video game, computer, or any other device off when not in use.

4. Don't leave the water running when brushing your teeth.

5. Use florescent light bulbs.

6. Plant a seed!

7. Make a compost bin.

8. Pick up trash.

9. Don't leave the fridge door open.

10. Work together! Start a Green Team or join in on Nickelodeon's Big Help!

For the last page in their Go Green Journal, have the kids make something out of recycled goods, turn trash into treasure! They can create an artistic sculpture, a bird feeder, anything they'd like! After they make it, they record it in their journal and bring it into class to share. Tell them to get creative!

4. Pass out Go Green buttons for the kids in the class! Pin them on with a safety pin.

My Pet Pal

Have students bring in a pet stuffed animal. Then, have them do a little math and writing with their pet pal!

1. Measure your pet. Check out the book Measuring Penny.

2. Weigh your pet.

3. Find two friends and create a fraction (Ex: 2 out of 3 are dogs - 2/3 are dogs).

4. Partner up with a friend and write the similarities and differences of your pets on a venn diagram.

5. Describe your pet (create a bubble map with adjectives).

6. Write a story about your pet.

Hershey Fractions

Make fractions sweet with Hershey's chocolate. Split children up into groups and have each group come up with some fractions using their chocolate bar. Have the groups of students draw their fractions with a brown crayon or marker on a sheet of paper. For more Hershey fraction fun, check out the book The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Fraction Book.

Red Bull and Milk Reaction

Did you know if you mix milk with Red Bull, the milk will curdle? Pour milk (whole milk works best) into a glass. Then, pour Red Bull on top. Let the solution sit for five minutes. The acid in the Red Bull causes the protein (casein) in the milk to separate. This is a great experiment to do with a states of matter unit. When the milk curdles, a chemical reaction takes place, resulting in a precipitate. 

Below, Mr. Mishler's second grade class tested Red Bull on five types of milk.

100 Legos: Invention

This activity was inspired by Mrs. Rojas. To put a twist on it, I had kids invent something and build it out of Legos. This gets kids to really think out of the box. 

Give students 100 Legos. Then, have them construct a unique invention. It could be a gadget that magically cleans their room with the press of a button. Or maybe, a machine that shoots out ice cream sundaes! Let their creativity run wild! After they construct their creation, take a picture of it. Then, have kids write about what they built. What does their Lego invention do?

Shop Til You Drop! Math

Who doesn't love to shop? Make math fun with a pretend shopping spree! Kids win a pretend lottery. Then, they use their math skills to buy items of their choice.

1. First, make lottery scratch off tickets for each student (see recipe below). They all win! Underneath the scratch off, award them with a certain amount of money. (Younger kids- $100, older kids- $1,000)

2. Art - Give kids an index card to decorate to look like a pretend credit card. (This could be optional, just to add a little role play).

3. Pass out magazines (toy, clothing, etc.) or set up a store with prices. Kids choose what they want to buy.

4. Younger kids simply add up their items and stay within their budget. You could have them find the exact price or round up the prices of their products.

For older kids, have them buy more than one of each item. For example, Converse sneakers in three different colors. Older kids multiply to find the price of multiple items.

5. Kids record their product item and price on their spending spree sheet.

Recipe for DIY scratch off tickets:

Make a ticket with a prize on card stock. Cover the price area with a piece of contact paper. Then, mix acrylic paint with a squirt of dish washing liquid. Paint over the contact paper. Let dry, and they're ready to go!

Lego Fractions

After doing Lego Geometry with kids, I thought why not fractions? Make fractions fun with colorful legos! Give kids legos in various colors, then have them write a fraction for each color.

Bounce!

To help kids understand energy transfer, conduct this simple experiment that demonstrates potential energy (stored) and kinetic energy (moving). Also, talk about momentum, speed, and mass.

1. Bounce a basketball and observe how high it bounced.
2. Drop a tennis ball, taking note of its bounce.
3. Now, hold the tennis ball on top of the basketball and drop them at the same time.

You will notice that the tennis ball bounced much higher than before. The basketball on the other hand, didn't bounce as high. "Momentum / energy from the basketball transferred to the tennis ball." -  Physics.org. The basketball lost energy. The tennis ball gained energy, causing it to bounce much higher.

Try holding the basket ball on top of the tennis ball. Does weight make a difference? Record your findings.

Jelly Bean Science and Math

Fun with Little Learners conducted a colorful experiment that demonstrates the effects of carbonated soda on jelly beans. An experiment you can taste! Click here to see the full tutorial!

After experimenting with jelly beans, do a little math! 

Peep Science

Toad Haven had fun playing with peeps! Left are some of the experiments they conducted. 

Visit Toad Haven for more peep fun!

1. Put a peep in the microwave and watch it grow! via Goons with Spoons

2. Drop a peep in a ziploc bag with baking soda and vinegar for a chemical reaction!

3. Mix two colored peeps in a bowl of water or sprite, watch the liquid change. Pink + Yellow = Orange

4. Combine hydrogen peroxide and vinegar with a peep. What happened?

5. Try dissolving a peep in baking soda and sprite. Did anything happen? Try other solutions, can you get a peep to dissolve?

6. Sink or Float? Can you make a peep sink? via Peep Research 

Scientific Egg Dye

Kids transform into mini scientists, mixing up fruit, veggie, and spice concoctions to make vibrant dye! Then, become mini naturalists, hunting for items in nature that will create beautiful prints.

Check out these awesome egg creations by 4 us to Be! Visit the site for a list of color recipes! Then, learn how to create nature prints at Family Fun!

Egg Carton Place Value

Visit education.com

Visit Third Grade Thinkers for free printables for this activity, as well as for more learning fun!

My Life as a Frog

Sub Hub created a pocket book science journal to document the stages of a frog! Visit Sub Hub to see how to construct the book and for more great science notebook ideas! After making your notebook, find a pond and use it!

Volcanic Slime

Combine the classic volcano experiment with gak to create exploding, sensorial fun! Kids can play with the gooey lava after the volcanic eruption!

materials:

1. watered down glue: 1-1/2 cups glue and 1-1/2 cups of water 

2. 1 tbsp of borax per quart of water (4 cups of water)

3. red food coloring

4. baking soda

5. vinegar 

States of Matter: Atoms / Molecules

Science Matters is an awesome blog with fun science experiments and demonstrations for kids, to keep them engaged in lessons. This demonstration on matter (atoms and molecules in the various states) using bouncy balls is simple and teaches kids about kinetic energy. Click here to view the full demonstration!

Afterwards, have kids glue Cheerios to show molecules in each state. Visit Foreman's Fourth Grade to see activities her class did, and what they included in their Cheerios and Matter foldable.

Ice Cream Fractions

Have kids create fractions with scoops of paper ice cream! They can get super creative with their flavors! First, they choose how many of each flavor they'd like for their cone (10 scoops total). Then, they stack and glue their scoops onto a paper cone. Finally, they write the fraction down for each of their flavors.

Tabletop Biosphere

A tabletop biosphere is "a fun demonstration of the ecological cycles."  Kids get to see how plants and organisms (biotic components) work together, along with abiotic components in an ecosystem. Visit CDN Makezine for the full tutorial and science behind the project!

DIY Magic Sand!

Magic Sand is sand that doesn't get wet! Regular sand absorbs water. Magic sand repels it! 
Visit Weird Science Kids for instructions and the science behind it!
Don't want to make it, you can buy magic sand at Steve Spangler Science 

Is a Green Leaf Really GREEN?

Is a green leaf really green?! "Leaves have a green pigment called chlorophyll that they use to capture sunlight. But did you know that leaves also have pigments of other colors to capture colors of light that chlorophyll misses?"  How many colors are in a green leaf?"- TLC

To find out how many colors are in a green leaf, visit TLC and Herbarium for full tutorials that explain two different ways to extract the color from a leaf!

For a step by step tutorial, check out MSI Chicago!

For more photosynthesis fun, visit the Kitchen Pantry Scientist!

______ In the World

Over the weekend, have one student take home the "class buddy." He takes several photographs of the class buddy, him, and his family doing something together. You could be at a playground, having dinner, at the zoo, or the grocery store. Next, the student writes about his adventures with buddy, explaining the photos. Then, he shares his photos and adventures with the class. All the students get a turn. The class buddy circulates throughout the school year. Name your buddy and take good care of him! Tell kids to play nice.

photos via
soap plant
apkhub
kukana-flickr
monika runs
mtv

Estimate!

Have each child in the class take turns bringing home the "class jar." Encourage the kids to be super creative. They can bring in something they're collecting, whatever they'd like! Also, tell the kids to try not to repeat what other classmates have brought in, be original! Each student brings the jar back with something inside. Then, the whole class estimates how many objects are in the jar. Keep a box next to the jar. Have each child write their estimate on a piece of paper and stick it in the box. After each child writes their estimate, count the objects in the jar as a class. The student who brought in the jar gets to lead this part! Who came the closest? For a large class, you may want to have three jars, so everyone gets a turn. Three students take the jar home and bring it back the same day.