Art Tuesday: Leaf Rubbings

In an earlier post, I mentioned that my 4th graders made calendars with pieces of art based on Alaska. I saw that Mel at Frog Spot has an art link up. I thought it would be fun to show a few of the calendar pieces we do. I will share one today and another on a different Tuesday! (I need to have something to blog about throughout the summer!) 

September here in Alaska is way different from the lower 48! I remember growing up in Eastern Oregon and then spending time in Cache Valley, Utah for college. The fall was lit up in color! Here in AK, we mainly get yellow/green in the fall. It is also very quick! Once the leaves turn, it is only a week or two before they fall. My school is named after a creek, which is named after a common tree up here, cottonwoods. We try to get all the kids to do a rubbing of a cottonwood tree for the calendar, but it doesn't always happen. This is usually the first calendar page we do. 

We take the kids out and let them find a few leaves from the ground. After they all have their leaves,  they practice leaf rubbings on a blank paper before they do it on their classifying worksheet. Once they have their rubbings, they identify the shape, the vein pattern, and the type of edge. After all of that, they are usually able to get a great rubbing for their calendar! They also get creative and start mixing colors. 

To do a leaf rubbing there are a few key steps. 

First, have a fresh leaf. If the leaf is old, the veins aren't as plump and won't show up in the rubbing as well. 

Second, use a crayon that doesn't have any paper on it and hold it horizontal. 

Three, hold the paper with the non-crayon hand so that it doesn't slip around. If it slips, your rubbing will become all smudged and not as clear.

Four, if needed, lift the crayon and carefully push away from you on areas that are not being cooperative. 

Practice makes perfect!

How do you integrate art and/or science into your day?

*Steph*

Are We Crazy? Overnight Field Trip

The rite of passage activity for the 4th graders at my school is an overnight field trip to Seward, AK. It takes A LOT to get organized. There are arrangements with places to be made, permission slips and money to collect, food to buy and prepare to serve, and then actually be willing to spend almost 36 hours straight with our students. CRAZY! The days before the field trip are busy, busy and the kids are super excited. There are a few times that I think "I'm crazy. I can't do this." but it always works out well and everyone has a lifetime experience! That is why we do it. That is why we stress ourselves out and even corner some parents to get them to sign the permission slip. For some of these kids, this the only time they will ever be able to experience anything like this. 

Our first stop is the playground/pavilion. The kids get to run around after being on the bus for 3 1/2 hours. This year, they actually were on a bus longer because their first bus started overheating so they had to get a new one. (I drove my own car because my little family was able to come with. You'll also see my daughter in some pictures instead of students because I don't have to blur out her face.)

They were able to see a sea otter and a couple of sea lions from the shore by the playground!

Our next stop was the Alaska Sea Life Center. It is a great place that focuses on Alaska marine animals. It is also a rehabilitation center for some animals. The kids were divided into small groups and sent with a chaperone and a scavenger hunt. This was a must. If the students don't have something specific to be looking at/for, they tend to just wander through without paying much attention to the information. 

Enjoying the Touch Tank!

Sugar, the female sea lion, putting on a show for they kids. Woody, the male sea lion, was in a back area. He is huge though! He weights 1,700 lbs!

We walked past this little cafe and one of my students pointed out that if they took out the Z then it would be my cafe. I couldn't resist a picture after that.

Playing a little bit of football with an awesome dad! 

We stayed the night in the gym of the local elementary school. The next morning we were up and at 'em and headed to the boat. We participated in the Kenai Fjord Marine Science Workshops.

Heading out into Resurrection Bay

Kids pulling in some plankton to look at under microscopes. They had to identify zooplankton and phytoplankton.

Checking out animals that are decomposers, consumers, and scavengers after a prevention from a park ranger.

Pulling in some water to determine the salinity. 

Sea lions! They did have a class on marine mammals and sea birds and their adaptations for the arctic.

We were able to see many different animals. On the shore, we saw mountain goats and sea lions. Out in the water, we saw a North Pacific Humpback whale, Dall's porpoise, many sea birds, sea otter, and a small pod of orcas!

One even decided to come check out our boat! That was really exciting!

The field trip wouldn't be the same without an awesome team that coordinates their jackets without talking!

A Book A Day {Day 7}

Hosted by Confessions of a Teaching Junkie

On to Day 7! 

Earlier I posted about how one can become feeling secluded while living in Alaska. One great thing, literature-wise, is that authors who live here, write about here! There are actually quite a few Alaska based picture books that you can pick up almost anywhere. There are also a lot of "Alaskan style" fairy tales. It is awesome to have so many choices to read about your home state!

One book we use as a grade level is Alaska's Three Bears by Shelley Gill. Alaska is the only place, besides maybe some parts of Canada, that all three kinds of bear live. This is a fun story about how the bears got to where they live. There are also facts about each kind of bear as a secondary way to read the book.

We create a small desktop calendar as a Christmas present. Each month is dedicated to something about Alaska. February is bears. We read the book and talk about how each bear is different in its looks and habitats. We teachers make color copies of some of our favorites to have as examples for the future years.

It ends up being a great way to incorporate state history, art and a project that the kids get to give to their parent/guardian!

Do you have access to great books about your state?

Salmon Dissections

4th grade is generally state history. In Alaska, we study the life cycle of salmon because it is very important to our state livelihood. We are able to invite the Alaska Fish and Game to come and lead a salmon dissection for our grade level. 

We rotate each class through one room, so we only stink up one. A lot of the kids start out kind of timid but eventually most of them at least touch the fish once. They review the external anatomy. Our students aren't allowed any sharp tools, everything is done with their hands. The Fish and Game specialist cuts open the fish and then the students get to determine if they have a male or female. They also learn the internal organs of the salmon. It is a great activity that the kids talk about for a long time! 

We also raise little salmon fry from eggs to be released at the end of the year. We've had bad luck the last couple of years, but its looking good for this year! I will post about that activity at the end of May!

Do you do any dissections in your classroom or grade level?