Staying Alive and Staying Safe; The Power of Pollen, Seeds, and Spores; The Cells are Organized

This week the spectacular scientists sought answers to the following questions:

Third Grade: What Are Structural Adaptations?
Fourth Grade: How Do Plants Reproduce?
Fifth Grade: How Do Cells Work Together?

The third grade scientists defined and explained the terms adaptation, camouflage, and mimicry. We explained how adaptations help animals survive in their environment.  Some adaptations help animals stay alive. Horses have flat teeth to help them grind their food.  Tigers have sharp teeth to help them tear their food.  Arctic hares have  small, short ears to hold in heat.  Jackrabbits have large, long ears to release heat.  Some adaptations help animals stay safe.  Porcupines have quills.  Skunks emit a terrible smell.  Some caterpillars eat foods that make them taste bad to predators.  We had a great discussion about how these adaptations help animals survive.   In addition to studying animal adaptations, we created a long-term science investigation.  The students planted Lima bean seeds.  They made predictions for the date the seeds will germinate.  We are making daily observations, recording data, and hope to have many thriving Lima bean plants by Pesach.

The fourth grade scientists described the role of pollination in the reproduction of seed plants, described ways that plants are pollinated, described reproduction in seedless plants, explained how seeds travel, and compared the growth cycle of ferns and other spore producing plants to that of seed bearing plants. We are also learning how to take notes, highlight important information, and create clear, concise outlines of information.  We are eager to put our knowledge of flowering plants to use!  Next week we will dissect flowers and seeds.

The fifth grade scientists have been busy creating detailed models of plant and animal cells.  Each cell model contains the basic parts of plant or animal cells.  The students have used various materials to represent the cell parts.  These magnificent cell models will soon be on display in room 8.  In addition to creating cell models, we have started to study how cells work together.  The students described the relationship between organs, organ systems, and organisms, and identified different types of tissue and organs.  We are also practicing our note taking skills.  We are reviewing how to highlight important information and create clear, concise notes and summaries. 

In other news...  Flu season has descended upon us like a blizzard of angry little germ-flakes.  We have discussed the following "sick prevention" skills:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Eat healthy foods.
3. Get enough sleep.
4. Listen to your body - respect how it feels.
5. Don't sneeze or cough on people.
6. Wipe your nose on tissues - not on sleeves, hands, coats, books, people...

I hope that we all are able to develop and maintain super-fighter white blood cells and ninja-like immune systems. 

Circles of Life, Plant Parts, and Swell Cells

The spectacular 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade scientists have been learning lots about life!  We've identified, described, and sequenced plant and animal life cycles.  We've defined and identified plant parts and learned how flowering plants and cone bearing plants produce seeds.  We've identified, defined, compared and contrasted parts of plant and animal cells.  We've learned how to use microscopes and viewed several different plant and animal cells. We are eager to put our new knowledge to use next week as we begin new investigations and projects.

The third grade scientists studied animal life cycles.  We defined "life cycle" and explained that all life cycles include birth or hatching, growth and development, maturity, and reproduction.  We learned that different animal have different life cycles.  We described the difference between complete and incomplete metamorphosis.  We learned that reproduction results in diversity in a species: offspring often look like their parents, but do not look exactly the same.  We used our knowledge of animal life cycles,  and complete and incomplete metamorphosis to create colorful, beautiful, and detailed illustrations of ladybug, grasshopper, and frog life cycles.  Our work will be displayed on the Spectacular Science bulletin board.  We have set up a new investigation: growing lima beans!  We will plant the seeds on Monday and will record observations and data as the seeds germinate and grow.

The fourth grade scientists studied plant parts and plant reproduction.  We learned that all seed-plant life cycles include germination, maturity, reproduction, and death.  We identified the stages in the life cycle of a flowering plant.  We identified the stages in the life cycle of a nonflowering, seed-bearing plant, such as conifers.  We described the role of pollination in the sexual reproduction of seed plants.  We discussed the important role bees and other insects have in plant pollination.  This lead to an exciting discussion about the mysterious decline of honeybees and the invention of robotic bees.  We identified the reproductive structures of flowering and nonflowering plants.  We will use this knowledge next week, as we will dissect different types of flowers. 

The fifth grade scientists are studying plant and animal cells.  We've explained cell theory, described how cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living things, and identified the parts of plant and animal cells.  We learned that body cells reproduce through mitosis.  Mitosis has 5 steps that occur in the nucleus. A sixth step - that is not part of mitosis - takes place outside the nucleus.  In that sixth step, the cytoplasm divides and 2 new cells are formed. Mitosis results in new cells that have the same number of chromosomes as the starting cell. We learned that meiosis forms egg and sperm cells.  Egg and sperm cells contain only half as many chromosomes as a body cell.  When egg and sperm cells join, the new cell has a full set of chromosomes.  We discussed inherited traits,  dominant and recessive traits, and identified which eye color and hair color traits are dominant and which are recessive.  We traveled to the upper school science lab to learn how to use microscopes.  We viewed onion skin cells, amoebas, capillaries, veins, arteries, lung cells, adipose tissue cells, and bacteria.  It was fascinating!  We will use this knowledge next week, as we construct models of plant and animal cells. 

New Year! New Science Topics!

Biology: the study of living things.  Here are the "Big Ideas" and "Essential Questions" we are pondering and answering.

Third Grade - Plants and Animals:

Big Idea: All living things go through a cycle of growth.  Living things have adaptations that help them survive in their environments.

Essential Questions:
1. What are some plant life cycles?
2. What are some animal life cycles?
3. How do living things change?
4. What are structural adaptations?
5. How can we model a physical adaptation?
6. What are behavioral adaptations?


Fourth Grade - Plants and Animals:

Big Idea: Living things are adapted for survival in their environment.

Essential Questions:
1. What are some plant structures?
2. How do plants reproduce?
3. How can we observe a plant's life cycle?
4. How do animals reproduce?
5. How are living things adapted to their environment?
6. Why do bird beaks differ?


Fifth Grade -Cells to Body Systems:

Big Idea: All living things are made up of cells.  Cells work together to make up tissues, organs, and organ systems.

Essential Questions:
1. What are cells?
2. How can we observe cells?
3. How do cells work together?
4. How do bodies move, breathe, and circulate blood?
5. How do our bodies digest food, remove wastes, and send messages?
6. How does the body stay cool?


This week each grade has pondered their big idea and found answers to their first essential question.  We have gathered lots of facts and information.  We have drawn conclusions, made inferences, and compared and contrasted facts and information.  We are ready to put this knowledge to use by creating a few amazing projects!  Tune in next week to read all about it!