How does Earth's surface change quickly? What is conservation of mass? What are the states of water? What are Newton's Laws?
The Spectacular Scientists can answer these questions!
Third Grade:
The third grade scientists studied quick changes to Earth's surface: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and mudslides. They explained how fires, landslides, and floods affect living things, described how volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and landslides can affect Earth's surface, explained what causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and created emergency/disaster relief lists and kits. They researched "superlative disasters": the worst floods, fires, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions on record and found that "worst disaster ever" can be determined by destruction to land and property or by human injuries and fatalities. The third grade scientists agree that any dramatic, catastrophic event is "the worst ever" as each event causes damage and loss. We discussed earthquake, volcano, landslide, and fire safety procedures and designed emergency lists and kits. The students completed the end-of-unit review and evaluations. Next week will be a very busy week! We will complete landform projects, conduct a plate tectonic investigation, and set up displays for our Spectacular Science 3-4-5 Museum.
Fourth Grade:
The fourth grade scientists used pan balances to illustrate the law of conservation of mass: Matter cannot be created or destroyed. Matter can be changed into a new form; the new form will have the same amount of mass as the old form. The students measured the mass of 4 Lego blocks, then separated the blocks into groups of 3 and 1, 2 and 2, and as individual blocks. The students compared the total mass of each new combination: 3 and 1, 2 and 2, and 4 individual blocks, to the mass of the 4 linked blocks. According to the law of conservation of mass, the 3 and 1, 2 and 2, and 4 individual block masses should be the same as the 4 linked blocks. Some groups had different findings. We discussed our results and discovered that discrepancies occurred due to errors made measuring mass and calculating total mass. The students also studied states of water and states of matter. They described the 3 states of water and 3 states of matter, explained how heating and cooling change the states of matter, and explained how matter isn't lost or gained as it changes states. The students completed their end-of-unit review and evaluations. Next week will be a very busy week! We will complete properties of matter projects, conduct a physical change vs. chemical change experiment, and set up displays for our Spectacular Science 3-4-5 Museum.
Fifth Grade:
The fifth grade scientists studied Newton's laws of motion. They explained the laws of motion, described and identified inertia, and related motion in space to the lack of gravity in orbit around Earth. Newton's first law of motion states that no acceleration can happen without an unbalanced force; this describes inertia. Inertia is the tendency of objects to resist a change in motion. Newton's second law states that an object's acceleration depends on two factors - the amount of force applied to the object, and the object's mass. Newton's third law states that forces always act in pairs. The students conducted scientific investigations to test and demonstrate each law. The students completed the end-of-unit review and evaluations. Next week will be a very busy week! We will complete forces and motion projects, conduct investigations to demonstrate and test laws of force and motion, and set up displays for our Spectacular Science 3-4-5 Museum.
A SPECTACULAR SCIENCE MUSEUM!
The Spectacular 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade scientists are creating an interactive science museum. The 3rd graders will display engineering and Earth science projects and demonstrate and instruct Earth science investigations. The 4th graders will display life science and engineering projects and demonstrate and instruct states of matter and conservation of mass investigations. The 5th graders will display life science and physical science projects and demonstrate and instruct force and motion investigations. The Spectacular Science 3-4-5 Museum will be open Thursday, May 28 from 12:10-1:00 (4th grade presentations) 1:10-1:45 (3rd grade presentations) and 3:15-3:55 (5th grade presentations. We would love to have you visit our museum! Please contact Mrs. Lerner -via email- to arrange a visit.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Forces, Motion, and Things that Matter
We have had a SPECTACULAR science week! The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade scientists were focused, industrious, and enthusiastic. We learned many new concepts, finished projects, conducted mini-investigations, wrote poetry, played a game, and had insightful discussions.
Third Grade:
The third graders are studying changes to Earth's surface. We identified and compared various landforms, including mountains, hills, valleys, canyons, plains, and plateaus. We described and made colorful diagrams of the main features of the Earth's core, mantle, and crust. The students created diamante poems about landforms. Our diamante poems followed this pattern: noun, 2 verbs, 3 adjectives, a 4 word phrase, and an antonym for the first noun. Some of the students extended this activity by writing a paragraph about a landform on which they'd like to live, and a landform that they would not choose to be their home. We've started to study how the Earth's surface slowly changes through weathering and erosion. We defined and explained the terms weathering and erosion, described and explained the effects of weathering and erosion, and discussed examples of weathering and erosion. Next week we will model erosion.
Fourth Grade:
The fourth graders are studying properties of matter. We explained how physical properties can be used to describe matter, defined matter, mass, density, and volume, and compared objects by their physical properties. We conducted 2 mini-investigations: Using a pan balance to find the mass of a pencil, eraser, scissors, and a marker and describing 5 other physical properties of each object, and using physical properties to sort a box filled with 3 different sizes of rubber bands, straws, pencils, beads, markers and crayons. Each group of students had the same materials to sort, and each group came up with different criteria for sorting the materials: by color, length, type, shape, and function. We discussed many other possibilities: by number, mass, density, and volume. We played a game: PROPERTIES. This game is a science version of "I Spy". One person describes an object by its physical properties; the others guess the name of the object. It is a fun game that you can play at home. We also put finishing touches on our 3-D food web projects. Next week we will conduct an investigation of how physical properties are observed, define conservation of mass, and explore the states of water.
Fifth Grade:
The fifth graders are studying forces and motion. We identified some common forces: gravity and friction, described how varying the strength of a force affects the motion of an object, described how objects of varying mass are each affected by a similar force, and compared and contrasted balanced and unbalanced forces. We will put this knowledge to the test next week as we conduct experiments to determine how forces affect motion, and create examples of balanced and unbalanced forces. We will also study Newton's Laws of Motion.
The 5th graders had a bonus science lesson: The How's and Whys of Personal Hygiene. We watched a power point presentation about the basics of good hygiene, how and why sweat stinks, how deodorant and antiperspirant can prevent smelly sweat, the importance of showering, washing face and hair, brushing teeth, and how bacteria and hormones work together to create body odor. Sometimes people stink...but you don't have to. If you would like a copy of this power point, please email me and I will send it to you.
NEWS:
We are nearing the end of our school year. We have many magnificent science lessons to learn. We will showcase our spectacular science projects at the Lower School Achievement Fair, Wednesday, May 20. Please stop by the Room 8 Spectacular Science Museum during the Achievement Fair!
Third Grade:
The third graders are studying changes to Earth's surface. We identified and compared various landforms, including mountains, hills, valleys, canyons, plains, and plateaus. We described and made colorful diagrams of the main features of the Earth's core, mantle, and crust. The students created diamante poems about landforms. Our diamante poems followed this pattern: noun, 2 verbs, 3 adjectives, a 4 word phrase, and an antonym for the first noun. Some of the students extended this activity by writing a paragraph about a landform on which they'd like to live, and a landform that they would not choose to be their home. We've started to study how the Earth's surface slowly changes through weathering and erosion. We defined and explained the terms weathering and erosion, described and explained the effects of weathering and erosion, and discussed examples of weathering and erosion. Next week we will model erosion.
Fourth Grade:
The fourth graders are studying properties of matter. We explained how physical properties can be used to describe matter, defined matter, mass, density, and volume, and compared objects by their physical properties. We conducted 2 mini-investigations: Using a pan balance to find the mass of a pencil, eraser, scissors, and a marker and describing 5 other physical properties of each object, and using physical properties to sort a box filled with 3 different sizes of rubber bands, straws, pencils, beads, markers and crayons. Each group of students had the same materials to sort, and each group came up with different criteria for sorting the materials: by color, length, type, shape, and function. We discussed many other possibilities: by number, mass, density, and volume. We played a game: PROPERTIES. This game is a science version of "I Spy". One person describes an object by its physical properties; the others guess the name of the object. It is a fun game that you can play at home. We also put finishing touches on our 3-D food web projects. Next week we will conduct an investigation of how physical properties are observed, define conservation of mass, and explore the states of water.
Fifth Grade:
The fifth graders are studying forces and motion. We identified some common forces: gravity and friction, described how varying the strength of a force affects the motion of an object, described how objects of varying mass are each affected by a similar force, and compared and contrasted balanced and unbalanced forces. We will put this knowledge to the test next week as we conduct experiments to determine how forces affect motion, and create examples of balanced and unbalanced forces. We will also study Newton's Laws of Motion.
The 5th graders had a bonus science lesson: The How's and Whys of Personal Hygiene. We watched a power point presentation about the basics of good hygiene, how and why sweat stinks, how deodorant and antiperspirant can prevent smelly sweat, the importance of showering, washing face and hair, brushing teeth, and how bacteria and hormones work together to create body odor. Sometimes people stink...but you don't have to. If you would like a copy of this power point, please email me and I will send it to you.
NEWS:
We are nearing the end of our school year. We have many magnificent science lessons to learn. We will showcase our spectacular science projects at the Lower School Achievement Fair, Wednesday, May 20. Please stop by the Room 8 Spectacular Science Museum during the Achievement Fair!
Friday, May 1, 2015
Changes, Forces, and Food Webs
We have had a spectacular and very busy week!
Third Grade:
We completed our study of simple machines, played review games and took the end-of-unit test. Our review lesson is on blendspace, an interactive teaching website. You can access the lesson by going to the Third Grade Google Chrome page and clicking on the link. The last frame of the lesson is the Bill Nye the Science Guy "Simple Machines" episode. We highly recommend this action-packed and entertaining show.
The third graders have started a new unit: Changes to the Earth's Surface. This unit focuses on the following "Big Idea" and "Essential Questions":
Big Idea: Processes on Earth can change Earth's landforms. Some of these changes happen slowly, while others happen quickly.
Essential Questions:
1. What are some landforms?
2. How does Earth's surface change slowly?
3. How can we model erosion?
4. How does Earth's surface change quickly?
This week we defined and identified the term "landform", identified and described the layers of the Earth: "crust", "mantle", "outer core", and "inner core", and discussed bit about plate tectonics.
Fourth Grade:
We completed our 3-D food web projects. The students chose different ecosystems: desert, rain forest, arctic/polar, savannah, or ocean, and created 3-D representations of the producers, consumers, and decomposers in their respective food webs. These are no ordinary 3-D food webs. We have herbivores devouring producers, predators attacking prey, decomposers decomposing organic matter, colorful creatures, and clever connections! We are eager to display our work.
Next week we will begin an new unit: Properties of Matter
Fifth Grade:
We completed our study of ecosystems, played a review game, and took the end-of-unit test. Our review lesson is on blendspace, an interactive teaching website. You can access the lesson by going to the 5th grade Google Chrome page and clicking on the link.
The fifth graders have started a new unit: Forces and Motion. This unit focuses on the following "Big Idea" and "Essential Questions":
Big Idea: Forces interact with objects to produce motion. Motion can be observed, measured, and described.
Essential Questions:
1. What are forces?
2. How do forces affect motion?
3. What are balanced and unbalanced forces?
4. What are Newton's Laws?
This week we defined and identified "force", "gravity" and "friction". We conducted some simple investigations of gravity and friction, and identified objects designed to increase or decrease friction. We explained why it is easier to walk on a smooth flat surface, like a side walk, than it is to walk on an uneven, flexible surface, like sand. The student have asked wonderful questions about gravity, friction, and force. We will research and seek the answers to these questions.
Third Grade:
We completed our study of simple machines, played review games and took the end-of-unit test. Our review lesson is on blendspace, an interactive teaching website. You can access the lesson by going to the Third Grade Google Chrome page and clicking on the link. The last frame of the lesson is the Bill Nye the Science Guy "Simple Machines" episode. We highly recommend this action-packed and entertaining show.
The third graders have started a new unit: Changes to the Earth's Surface. This unit focuses on the following "Big Idea" and "Essential Questions":
Big Idea: Processes on Earth can change Earth's landforms. Some of these changes happen slowly, while others happen quickly.
Essential Questions:
1. What are some landforms?
2. How does Earth's surface change slowly?
3. How can we model erosion?
4. How does Earth's surface change quickly?
This week we defined and identified the term "landform", identified and described the layers of the Earth: "crust", "mantle", "outer core", and "inner core", and discussed bit about plate tectonics.
Fourth Grade:
We completed our 3-D food web projects. The students chose different ecosystems: desert, rain forest, arctic/polar, savannah, or ocean, and created 3-D representations of the producers, consumers, and decomposers in their respective food webs. These are no ordinary 3-D food webs. We have herbivores devouring producers, predators attacking prey, decomposers decomposing organic matter, colorful creatures, and clever connections! We are eager to display our work.
Next week we will begin an new unit: Properties of Matter
Fifth Grade:
We completed our study of ecosystems, played a review game, and took the end-of-unit test. Our review lesson is on blendspace, an interactive teaching website. You can access the lesson by going to the 5th grade Google Chrome page and clicking on the link.
The fifth graders have started a new unit: Forces and Motion. This unit focuses on the following "Big Idea" and "Essential Questions":
Big Idea: Forces interact with objects to produce motion. Motion can be observed, measured, and described.
Essential Questions:
1. What are forces?
2. How do forces affect motion?
3. What are balanced and unbalanced forces?
4. What are Newton's Laws?
This week we defined and identified "force", "gravity" and "friction". We conducted some simple investigations of gravity and friction, and identified objects designed to increase or decrease friction. We explained why it is easier to walk on a smooth flat surface, like a side walk, than it is to walk on an uneven, flexible surface, like sand. The student have asked wonderful questions about gravity, friction, and force. We will research and seek the answers to these questions.
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