50 Days Smarter

Monday was the 50th day of school!  I can't believe it!  We celebrated with all things 50s!  We had a "Boogie-Woogie" great time.  I tried to set the room up like a diner.  The students started the day by writing math equations.  They were challenged to find 50 ways to make 50.  I can really tell they are 50 days smarter.

When we came to the floor for our morning meeting, we learned the hand jive.  We also spent some time learning about the 50s.  We sorted some pictures into a Venn diagram with the 1950s and 2017.  The students were surprised to find out that Legos, CandyLand, and Hula-Hoops all went into the center of the Venn.

Later in the day we did some 50s style science.  We did an experiment called, By Golly By Gum.  We learned about mass.  Our key question was "What happens to the mass of bubble gum as it is chewed?" Most students hypothesized that the mass would increase because of the spit.  For the experiment, students measured the mass in grams.  Then, we chewed for two minutes, measured, and recorded again.  We continued the chewing and measuring for 10 total minutes.  Our 2 minute chewing sessions were great times to dance to 50s music!

The students were surprised to find that the mass decreased.  We concluded that the mass decreased because we were swallowing the sugar.  Last, we made a line graph to show the mass' change over time.  The data was glued into our science journal.

The students got to eat in the classroom 50s diner today.  It was part of the reward for reading 100 minutes on RAZ in October.  All the students made the 100 minute goal!  The other part of the reward was a dessert.  Root beer floats, of course!  It was a fantastic 50th day celebration.