It has been so long since I blogged, the look of blogger changed and I had to figure out what to click to start composing a post.
Even though I am mostly doing the Common Core Connections, I still looked at the exercises in the Advanced version. Because I have a 4th grader, I decided to look through the "Science Projects" section in World Book Kids thinking that everyone seems to do volcanoes, but there must be something different.
I got some great ideas, especially those under the 'science you can use' section. I wouldn't mind trying the popcorn one or the battery one. However, I have a very "green" spouse, so I can just see him freaking out about wasting batteries in the name of science.
Since I am trying to really learn as much as I can about the Common Core, I am focusing on that part of the challenge. Already I am being forced (which is why I signed up) to look at the standards and pages of the SDSL site and DOE site which will help me to understand and find resources about CC.
The standard I chose is Reading Standards for Informational Text Grade K-5. Or, more specifically, SD 4.R, 4.W, and 4 LVS. For Grade 4 students, they should now be reading and trying to understand text as well as be able to explain what the story or article is about to another person (student, parent, etc). If they don't know the meaning of something, they should know how to look up the word (WB makes this easy). Since my son has just begun to study South Dakota, I would use the South Dakota section of WB. As I read through the standards, hoping I understand them correctly as I am not a classroom teacher, I envision a project where students in a 4th grade class team up, and choose a certain aspect of SD to study using the information in WB. Since WB links to other sources (magazine articles, books to read, websites, etc) this offers students the opportunity to read and compare. The final project (helping develop their skills in working with other students) will be to use WB Timeline and create their own timeline of their SD topic, using words, visuals, etc and present and explain that to the class.
