Scientific Saturdays: Donors Choose

A big thank you goes out to Horace Mann Insurance Company, in Massachusetts for supporting my "Sciencesaurus" Project with DonorsChoose.org.  I have applied twice for projects and never had any luck getting them fully funded.  This summer I was fortunate to get supporters for two! 

 Here is the stack of books that I received.  They are the best resources for fourth and fifth graders.  They cover every science topic and have great non-fiction text features and information.

One of my students reading up on the water cycle while putting finishing touches on her water cycle poster project.  I plan on using the books for every science unit in fifth grade.  If the curriculum changes, the book covers everything!

Mathematical Mondays: Tool for Multiplying Decimals By Powers of Ten

I created a tool that the children can use to concretely see that when you multiply decimals by powers of ten that you are moving the digits to the left or right of the decimal.  I have many inclusion and some non-inclusion students who needed a more hands-on approach.  I have many different approaches to help them learn and understand this standard.

I used a piece of oak tag and made slits to weave a sentence strip, cut in half horizontally.  The kids move the digits right or left to see the pattern.