Inferencing Bottles

We talk a lot about making inferences in second grade so I decided to make some inference bottles.  I spray painted glass lemonade bottles black and spray painted the lids gold and then used a sharpie to write the numbers 1-4 on the top.  I put different things in each bottle.  In one I put paper clips, in another I put pens, in the third I put water and in the last one I put plastic coins (all things found in my classroom). 

We talked about what an inference is and about how we don't just make a random guess but we use the information and clues we have to make a decision about something. 

I gave each table a recording sheet where they had to write down each bottle number, their inference of what was in the bottle, and three reasons for their inference.  I started each table with a bottle and then when they had made their inferences we rotated the bottles so that each table go to make an inference for each bottle. 

They did surprisingly well!  And they came up with great reasons for the inference they had made!

The students loved this activity and it was a great way to reinforce that we can't make random guesses, that we have to have reasons when we are making an inference. 

Here are some pictures of the before and after of the bottles:

 

Bucket Filling Display

It has been WAY too long since I have blogged!  Planning a wedding and teaching has proved to keep me rather busy, much more busy than I would like to be.  I'm so excited to be marrying my best friend in December though!

This year our school theme is "bucket filling".  We love that it focuses so much on the positive!  Kids are trying to be bucket fillers instead of bucket dippers.  We have little pieces of paper that we give them with drops on them that they earn when they are being a bucket filler.  There are then bucket fillers from each class recognized weekly. 

We have our class bucket (courtesy of the principal) hanging on the wall in our classroom.  This is where they put all the drops they earn.  At the beginning on the year when I introduced the theme I had the students write on their own bucket what they would do to be a bucket filler this year and then sign it.  I hung those up around the bucket that they put their drops in.  It makes for a cute display.