I've also decided to implement the Homework Black Book. Some of my students seem to think that I don't realize that they're not doing their homework. We're going to TRY to put a stop to that misconception. If students do not do an assignment, they are going to record their name, the date, the assignment, and the reason for not completing the assignment. THEN, they're going to do it during recess. One student said it wasn't fair, but my rebuttal was, "Is it fair that I stand up here and teach you all day, but you can't complete a homework assignment that takes 10-15 minutes?" He said, "Oh, never mind." :) I'll give an update of how it's working in a few weeks. Moving on...I'm joining Amanda's (Teaching Maddeness) Friday Flashback linky party. I'm not really sure if what I'm posting qualifies, but I figured I'd give it a shot. Today in science, we were continuing our unit on Forces and Motion. We had a whole-group experiment where the students needed to make hypotheses and observations about what they thought would happen when I let a Hot Wheels car roll down a ramp, and then what would happen when I added more weight to the car. The only problem was that our ramp had "speed bumps" and the car kept tumbling down the ramp. I got the genius idea to use a clipboard and pop-cubes to make a smooth, flat ramp. Well, at least I thought it was a genius idea! :) I love when the students are able to figure things out by experimenting and making observations instead of reading a text book. After a few "trials", most of the students were able to understand that because of the extra weight, the car gained speed going down the ramp and was able to move faster and farther. Woot! Here is a picture of my make-shift ramp:
P.S. Be sure to view yesterday's entry to watch the music video we made at my school. AND, let me know what you think!! Study Maybe!
