! March 2014 - Primary Teachspiration
Hey, everyone!  I'm so ready for spring!  How about you?  I'm excited for it to officially begin tomorrow!  I've been out of town for the past week and a half.  But I'm back and ready to continue with my series on teaching the "Structure and Properties of Matter" as presented in my recently completed unit.

If you remember, on Day 1, we began the preparation of the interactive notebook by gluing down the front cover and the back pocket (see here).

Day 2 is a continuation of preparing the notebook, as we skip the first page entirely and begin with the Table of Contents.  Students are given two options for the Table of Contents page.  They can either glue down the pre-made Table of Contents or just the heading under which they will need to write the content titles as they are taught.  Here are pictures of both options:



After a brief discussion on matter and that there are many words related to the study of matter, the students prepare a "Matter Vocabulary" page using the provided flappable.  They also glue down a vocabulary pocket to hold the definitions.  Each word is discussed in depth and its definition is glued under the correct flap as the unit progresses.  See the picture below:
On Day 3, your students will begin the exploration of matter.  Stay tuned for a synopsis of that lesson!







Woo hoo!  I got my "Structure and Properties of Matter" unit finished just in time for the big 3 Million Teachers Strong Sale!  It has taken me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to complete it, but it is already paying off!  Just as a reminder, this is the unit.


This 160 page unit is designed to be used as an interactive notebook.  The cool thing is that it provides detailed lesson plans and is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.  You can refer to my previous post about the Next Generation Science Standards here.  Since this is one of the first of its kind, I decided I would do a series of blog posts on how this unit could be taught.  

So, without further ado, today I will discuss Day 1 of the 22 Lessons of  "Structure and Properties of Matter."  (Days 23 and 24 are review and assessment, respectively.)

Day 1 is about introducing the unit and preparing the notebook.  I inform the students that they will be building their own book on the "Structure and Properties of Matter."  I tell them they will glue information they are taught and pages they create to demonstrate what they learn from the lessons and investigations.

Students are provided with a 9 x 6-inch clasp Manila envelope to glue to the inside back cover of their notebook.  But, before doing so, we discuss and I demonstrate the proper way to apply the glue.  Only use Elmer's glue, no stick glue, and no wavy lines, just dots about an inch apart.  They will know that this will be the only way to glue throughout the entire notebook. 

After gluing the Manila envelope in the back of the notebook, I will hand out the student copies of the notebook cover for them to cut out and glue on the front.  Here is how our notebooks will look so far.



Before putting them away for the day, we will discuss the importance of taking proper care of the notebooks so they will continue to look good by the end of the unit and beyond.

Be watching for Day 2 in the series, coming your way soon!






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