Jennifer Van Blair is a current third grade teacher. She has taught 3 - 5 grade for 13 years, and has experience with combination based classrooms. She has a Master's in Educational Leadership and a background in natural sciences and outdoor education.
How does the weight of matter change when it is combined? Mix up some gingerbread to explore. Begin by observing an anchoring phenomenon: ice melting and a snowflake forming. Students will then investigate matter, mass, mixtures vs. solutions, physical and chemical changes by mixing together separate ingredients to make gingerbread. As a class, they will weigh each ingredient individually and find the total sum weight of the ingredients. Then, after combining the ingredients into a mixture, they
Jennifer Van Blair is a current third grade teacher. She has taught 3 - 5 grade for 13 years, and has experience with combination based classrooms. She has a Master's in Educational Leadership and a background in natural sciences and outdoor education.
Teaching style
She enjoys using hands-on learning with regular use of manipulatives, visual learning, models, and student-led exploration. She is inspired by the work of Peter Liljedahl, Jo Boaler, and Carol Dweck.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Contributor to Byrdseed TV creating lessons for GATE classrooms.
My own education history
UC Santa Cruz - Environmental Science and Education
San Jose State - Elementary Education Credential
Upper Iowa University - Masters in Teacher Leadership