Dec 04
Make your own slide show at Animoto.
Oct 31
This week’s question:
Both whales and sharks are animals with fins to help them maneuver through the water. What is the difference between the tail fin of a shark and of a whale?
BONUS: A whale shark, which can measure up to 40 ft long, is one of the largest animals in the ocean. Is the whale shark a whale or a shark, and what characteristics make it this?
A small whale shark at the Georgia Aquarium
Oct 23
6th grade students had some lessons in experimental design as they investigated Newton’s Law of Gravity and answered the following question: Do heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects?
6th grade student measuring the height at which he will drop the objects
Students came up with a list of materials they would need, methods and a procedure they would use to perform the experiment, and a way to record and display their observations and data. They worked together in groups to test their objects, and refined their procedures as they noticed some errors they were making (and made a great connection- this is what real-world scientists often have to do!). At the end of their experiment, students figured out how they would display their data and wrote a conclusion, finding that most frequently, the objects fell at the same time.
Oct 23
The mysterious "Magic String" device
Puzzled….confused….surprised….mesmerized. Those are just a few ways to describe the 6th grade students as they went through exploration of this nifty device shown below. They pulled strings and tried to figure out how this contraption works. They made observations and inferred how they thought the device acted. Currently they are designing a device that should behave in the same way The Magic String behaves. It is fun to see their creations!
Oct 23
This week, 5th graders explored surface tension through a variety of activities.
Adding drops of water to a penny....10....20....30 drops!
First, we were wowed at how many drops of water fit onto the surface of a penny. Students wondered if their results would be different if they used the heads or tails side of a penny. I sense another experiment in the future…
Next, students with steady hands tried to float a paper clip on top of water. Yes, there is a secret behind this one- ask a 5th grader to find out!
Look at all those floating paper clips!
We wrapped up with looking at droplets of water, vegetable oil and rubbing alcohol under the document camera and recording the differences in their shapes. Students made some great observations!
Oct 23
*******************BREAKING NEWS********************
Zoologists in 3rd grade have discovered new species! They got together this week at a convention to showcase models and drawings of species discovered from all around the world. From the Scaly Eel to the obscure Two-Headed Monkey, zoologists shared their knowledge and expertise of animal classification with other zoologists in the room, and the visiting science teacher, Ms. Schmuttermair.
Zoologists make models of the new species they have discovered
“I am so excited to share all about these new species with my science students,” says Ms. Schmuttermair, a science teacher at The Academy in Westminster, CO. “We are so honored to have such highly esteemed and knowledgeable scientists in the room with us today.”
Oct 23
- Students create static electricity to “power” their “motor”
After experimenting with a variety of ways to create static electricity in their homeroom classes, students further experimented with static electricity in the science lab to see how they could best “power their motors”. Equipped with a basket of materials to test and merry-go-round to represent a motor, students set off testing their objects. Their goal: to find which pair of objects, when rubbed together, moved their motor the fastest. Students were amazed when they got their motors spinning!
To further this investigation, students designed an experiment to investigate how adding more mylar strips would affect the spinning speed of their motors.
Check out a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao1ySFGnT0w
Oct 23
Relay racing was in full swing last week in the science lab. Fieldworkers raced to outfit their teams’ “scientist” into their scientific gear such as lab coats, hard hats and hand lenses. In order to earn pieces of this gear, students had to place testable and untestable questions into the correct categories. After placing 18 questions correctly, the first team to fully outfit their scientist in the gear won! Fun and excitement were had by all who participated.
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- Students race to the field site, crab-walk style
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- A 6th grade student reads one of the questions at her team’s study site
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- Students race to place their last few questions into the correct category
Oct 13
Our class needs some responsible students to help care for our critters, 2 gerbils and 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Students interested should fill out an application. Commitments will include coming in before or after school to feed/water the animals, give them some one-on-one attention, and cleaning their cages.
If you are interested in applying, please click on the link below to download and print the application (may be typed or neatly handwritten). Applications are due by Monday, Sept. 19th at 3:35pm.
Oct 05
3rd graders had the wonderful opportunity to meet some friends of mine last week, virtually that is. The Bug Chicks (http://thebugchicks.com/) are bug scientists, or, entomologists, I met last year at the National Science Teacher’s Association conference in San Francisco. They are entertaining, and know a lot about bugs! 3rd graders learned about Bess Beetles from their video, “The Daily Antenna”. They learned about the life cycle of Bess Beetles, and compared it to what they learned last year about the life cycle of butterflies. They aren’t too different!
Thanks to The Bug Chicks, 3rd graders have also been able to learn and observe our new pets, Rocky and Scooter,who are Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. They are all very excited to find other insects around our school, such as the ever-popular sow bug and more recently, leaf bugs.
Yay for insects!