My goal is to make interactive science notebooks engaging for 5th grade and middle school science students while improving science test scores. NGSS expert, teacher, tpt author, mom, & widow

Halloween Science & Art Combined

I love Halloween! Paper bats are flying around on my walls and spiders big and small are decorating my classroom. It's science! I love the Mystery Science skeleton hand activity.

Today with 4th grade we made our skeleton hands as we study the internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. See NGSS 4-LS1-1. Today during our 1 hour science lab we...

  • Watched Brainpop: Eyes
  • Labeled the parts of the eye and wrote about how light enters the eye through the cornea, then through the pupil, lens, retina, and then the optic nerve sends the message to the brain.
  • Brainstormed internal and external structures in plants and animals and made a poster
  • Watched Brainpop: Skeleton
  • Did the Mystery Science Skeleton Hand art activity (We skipped the part where you add oil.)
  • Demo of Steve Spangler's Boo Bubbles and related it to how our hand senses cold and neurons carry the message to the brain

I picked up 2.5 lbs. of dry ice from the sea food counter on the way to work. Dry ice demos are such a hit this time of year. Steve Spangler is my go to guy for these demos. I use a large plastic pretzel container for my Boo Bubbles and have attached rubber tubing. I will try to take pictures of my lovely Boo Bubble maker. It is a must have contraption for any elementary science teacher!