Bean Dissection

Today we did a seed dissection.  I had never done this and found it quite fascinating!  First, I soaked lima beans in water, overnight and during the school day.  We observed dry lima beans and recorded our observations.

Then we got a lima bean that had been soaking in water and observed.  The seed coat slides of and then the seed opens up.  This was a bit tricky for lots of us, but we did get a few steady hands successfully open the seed up.

 We used a folded 3x5 card to record observations.  The outside was for the dry lima bean.

 The inside was for the soaked and dissected lima bean.

Happy Tuesday,

How Duct Tape is Keeping Me Sane

Giant class size is a huge problem in Oregon...add some high maintenance behaviors and it just compounds the classroom management issues.  What I really wanted to do looked something like this-

but I didn't think it would go over too well:-) although some of my students would actually enjoy it.

So most of my class does a great job all working together....but a few need a more individualized plan.  Each morning they grab a "cube chart".  They are two sided, one - and one +.  Their goal is to have more on the plus side than the minus.  

 They take them home, get them signed, and bring them back....here is my giant collection.

Well this plan is still not making a great dent in classroom behavior, although I do appreciate the communication it provides to parents.  My three lovelies, can NOT keep themselves out of other people's space.  They ruin supplies, bother peers, are constantly into things, purposely aggravate peers.  They are ExHAuStInG!  No turning away for a second!  Duct tape to the rescue.

Their body, their chair, and their desk must remain in the square.  And they have their own WBT rule, "Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat."   I also got them two pencils each, added a d duct tape flag, and wrote their name on it.  If they want to destroy their own pencils, they will have to figure out what will happen if that is the choice they make.  I love each of these kiddos individually, but they are impacting the work the rest of us are able to do! 

Also, check this out--my alarm clock has rejected snoozing and daylight savings time!

Happy Sunday,

Read Across America Finale....Potato Parade

Dress up a potato to disguise it as a book character--

Happy Finally Friday!!!!