Friday, December 9, 2011

Are Mittens Warm?

CLICK ON THE BOOK FOR A FREE ONLINE COPY


I love to combine science and picture books!  Here is an inquiry science experiment you can try with your intermediate students. First, read the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.  Ask the students why all the animals wanted in the mitten. Then let your students hypothesis about whether or not mittens are warm. This really makes them think. They will need to find the room, plain mitten, and hand in mitten temperatures. When they begin to look at and analyze the data be prepared for lots of questions because mittens are NOT warm. The body temperature creates the heat, and the mitten traps the heat. This will come as a surprise to most students. You should be able to find mittens at most Dollar Stores. Be sure to click on the book cover for a free online copy of The Mitten.

Click HERE for your free copy of this lesson and graphic organizer, and enjoy a little Classroom Magic! If you are not a follower I would love for you to become one. Either way I hope this post helps you create a little magic in your classroom.
YOU MUST CHECK OUT: Laura Candler's Corkboard Connections Blog! She has taken this activity and elevated it to a much higher level. It really is amazing, and she has generously included a freebie to accompany it. I can't wait to try out her ideas in my classroom!

Teaching Tip of the Week
Rachel Reyna of Fisher Reyna Education lead me to this amazing website, We Give Books. You must check it out. This website has high quality picture books available online. They even have The Hat by Jan Brett, so you could read it and compare it to The Mitten.

Anchor Chart of the Week
This anchor chart comes from Mrs. Carroll at The First Grade Parade. Hop on over an take a look at all the outstanding ideas she has for The Mitten. You could easily adapt some of them for older students.

Chuckle of the Week




27 comments:

  1. Thanks for the fabulous idea! :)

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  2. You are so welcome, Mynnette!
    If you want it to be real inquiry you could have them design the experiment. I just find my 4th graders need a little more support. Enjoy!

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  3. Thank you for sharing!! I am going to use this when we come back from Christmas break!

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  4. Fun experiment - thanks SO much! If you want to do a Double Bubble Thinking Map, check out the book Pobble's Way by Simon VanBooy. I blogged about it here:

    The Corner On Character

    Barbara

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  5. Barbara,
    Thanks for sharing, and I love your thinking map idea.

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  6. Selina, Your blog is simply awesome! I love the way you make teaching with real depth and understanding seem like so much fun!

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  7. Reyna,
    You really have no idea how much your warm words mean to me. You've made my day. Thank you for taking the time to write such kind words!

    Selina

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  8. So cute! I'll file this away for next year. I am your newest follower and would love for you to visit my blog!
    Patti :)
    aseriesof3rdgradeevents.blogspot.com

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  9. Thanks Patti, and I'm your newest follower!

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  10. Loved the idea. Where did you find the mittens for the experiment? Thanks for your help.

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  11. K,
    I found some at the Dollar Store and some at Wal-Mart. The ones I got at Wal-Mart were pretty small. You could also use gloves but of course it wouldn't go along with the book.

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  12. Love this idea and thanks for the info about We Give Books. I teach first grade but I 'm pretty sure that I can use this idea to introduce the thermometer to my children.

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  13. Thank you SO much! As a teacher new to 2nd grade (former middle school math teacher) I absolutely love this Mitten lesson!! And, thank you for sharing the free book site - I can display on my Smartboard!Love how I can integrate science!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! It's so hard to fit everything it, so it's nice to integrate now and then. First Grade Wow blog has some great mitten activities, too. You might want to check her blog out. I don't know her, but she gives a ton of great stuff away for free. Here's a link to her mitten lesson: http://firstgradewow.blogspot.com/2012/12/smitten-with-mittens.html

      Selina

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  14. Great idea but where can I purchase those thermometers!!!

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    1. I know Lakeshore has them and most science catalogs but you might be able to find them cheaper at a teacher's supply store. And here is a link to a set from Amazon ($10.55 for 10): http://www.amazon.com/School-Smart-Student-Thermometers-Pack/dp/B0006PJ0L4/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1356928312&sr=8-16&keywords=thermometer+education

      Hope that helps!

      Selina

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    2. thank you soooo much happy new year

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    3. You're Welcome! Happy New Year!

      Selina

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  15. Great science experiment! I'd have students as engaged as possible in the experimental design process as well. Wonderful inquiry, authentic data, REAL science! Check out the work my 4-5th grade math-sci students are doing at http://mwmathsci.blogspot.com/ and follow us on twitter @mwmathsci.

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  16. We Give Books site is not working.

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  17. Great idea! Do you have a vendor for the thermometers used?

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  18. Amazing post, Thank you for presenting a wide variety of information that is very interesting to see in this article

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  19. You topic is very great and useful for us…thank you
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