Electricity and Magnets Unit and a Friday Flash Freebie (It's a Big One!)

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My 4th graders are wrapping up a quarter long unit on Electricity and Magnets!  They have spent weeks creating circuits, breaking circuits, creating magnets, finding conductors, and learning TONS!

We learned about Static Electricity!

What is attracted to balloons that are full of static electricity?

Our hair...

feathers...

tissue paper... 

index cards...

and ourselves!

We learned about making and breaking circuits!

We learned about conductors and insulators!

We learned about series circuits and parallel circuits!

And then we learned about magnets!

We learned what is attracted to magnets...

And how the magnetic field strongest at the poles...

And how to make our own paperclip magnet!

Download the whole unit for FREE as part of this week's Friday Flash Freebie!

Study Buddy and Friday Flash Freebie

Do your students know how to study for tests?  Sure, they know they have a test and they may look over their notes and they may even have a parent quiz them, but do they REALLY know how to study?

This is the question I have been asking myself for the past few months.  How do we expect our students to study for tests if we have never actually TAUGHT them how to study?!?!?

So, that is something my 4th graders have been working on...studying how to study!

We have been doing different activities such as flash cards, acronyms, games, etc that can help them study for tests (and maybe even have a little fun while doing so...who would have thought!  Studying can be fun?!?!?)

I also started using the STUDY BUDDY.  

The kids attach their Study Buddy (printed on bright paper so as not to be missed in the backpack!) to their study guide or review sheet.  They use the techniques we have learned in class and mark off what they did.  If they bring their Study Buddy back on the day of the test with a parent signature, I add 5 extra credit points on to their test grade.

This seems to be working well for my class, but you could be creative and change it up to do what works for you!

This is also this week's Friday Flash Freebie!  

Enjoy!