Five for Friday and a Friday Freebie

Happy Friday!  We are linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Friday linky of five random things that happened Friday or during the week. 

We are going to share 5 random things that happened this wacky week at school.  We'll save the best for last.  NOPE!! Don't do it!  Don't skip down to the end.  Wait for it.  It'll be worth it!  :O)

1)  I FINALLY used the pencil sharpener I had ordered.  Well, I used it a few times and then my students were dying to try it so I handed it over.  They were amazed that the pencils came out so pointy (hmmm, that may be dangerous).  They said that it had a long lead and it wasn't even "wiggly".  Then they tried it out to see if it would break right away, and it didn't.  It's quieter than an electric pencil sharpener but you can still hear it.  But, the quality of sharpening makes me happy so far.  We shall see how it holds up!

2)  We've been learning about light this week and we did some experiments with flashlights to see if they were opaque, transparent, or translucent.  Here they are experimenting with different materials:

 
3)  We had a Living American History presentation from the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution since we are starting our unit on the American Revolution.  They brought all kinds artifacts to share with us.  One of the facts shared that stuck out was that they made toothbrushes from hog hair.  I'm thinking my teeth wouldn't feel so clean after using a hog hair toothbrush, but maybe I'm wrong...What do you think?

4)  Plus, we had the science fair this week where we got to learn about osmosis and what happens when you mix Mentos with diet coke.  I'll just say, you probably shouldn't eat Mentos and then drink a Diet Coke!!

5)  Finally, we had a nice guy from the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center come out to share some animals with our students.  We got to see an alligator, an indigo snake (I am NOT a snake person- they give me the heebie geebies!!), and a bald eagle.  The best part of THAT presentation was when the bald eagle PROJECTILE pooped (that's really what it's called) all over the floor in front of the students!  My advice to you- if you ever see a bald eagle, cover your head and pray for no projectile poop because that stuff is NASTY!!

I'd say we had a pretty entertaining week!!

NOW- onto our freebie!!

Our schoolwide policy is for students in all grade levels to read 20 minutes each night as part of their homework.  Parents are supposed to sign a reading log or at least encourage this.  Some students love to read, some don't.  We've been brainstorming ways that we can hold our 4th graders accountable for reading at night, because, simply said, practice makes perfect (well, maybe not perfect, but at least better).  So, this is one of our winter reading response sheets. We are hoping this will keep them reading and writing!!  :O)

Click the picture to download.

Here are the directions on how to use these (they are also in the download):

Give students a copy (front and back) of the 2 sheets. They should choose one prompt from the head, one prompt from the middle, and one prompt from the bottom to respond to on the snowman. They write their responses on the snowman. Then, they can decorate their snowman (as long as you can still read their writing!). Use this over and over for a variety of books! It can be used as morning work, homework, or during reading workshop. 

If you teach lower grades, you could use the same idea, just different questions.  :O)

If you download it, please let us know what you think by commenting!!  :O)  We'd love to get feedback!!

Check out this giveaway that we donated to!  It looks awesome!  You can win a flashdrive full of goodies for your grade level!!
*Amanda*