After finishing up learning about the land, we started learning about the properties of matter. We focused mainly on solids and liquids, but students learned about all 3 states of matter: solids, liquids, gases. We learned that matter is what all things are made of and that they take up space. Students learned that solids keep their own shape, liquids take the shape of the container they are in, and that gases fill the entire container they are in. They also learned that matter has certain properties that give us more details about the matter. Students then did many hands-on activities to identify properties of matter and why they are important.
After break we will continue our work on matter.
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Our first unit in science was all about how the Earth changes. This first couple weeks we focused on maps and landforms. Students created a few different maps, drawing them from a birds-eye view. They drew maps of what they saw outside of our school, a map of our classroom, and a map of their own choosing. We then moved onto landforms. Students have learned about many different landforms: lake, valley, river, hills, delta, ocean, plains, island, and others. They then took the that information and created landform models in groups. You can check out all the videos and photos on our Class Stories page on Class Dojo.
We then moved on to learning more about various forms of water. We brainstormed the forms of water we already know. Then students got an idea of how rivers and lakes are formed. We talked about how the ice and snow at the tops of the mountains melt causing a river to run down and how that feeds into lakes. The students did an experiment where they created mountains and observed an ice cube melting and what they noticed as the ice cube melted. We talked about what was happening, where the ice cube went (what had happened to it), and what this meant when talking about landforms. The students then learned about glaciers. Students learned what glaciers are and how they help other landforms. We are now going to move on to ways that the Earth changes. We will first learn about quick changes to Earth. Students will learn about volcanoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and landslides. We will then move on to slow changes to Earth. Those changes that we will learn about are how wind and water can slowly change the shape of the Earth over time. To kick off science this year we did 2 investigations through Mystery Science to understand what scientists do. Our first investigation was How Do Scientists Know so Much. This lesson was getting students to understand that scientists observe things and ask questions. They then try to answer those questions. Students observed their hand and brainstormed different questions about their hands. You can check out the photo of this on our Class Dojo stories page. Our next lesson was Why is it So Hard to Make New Inventions? In this lesson students learned that scientists go through a lot of failures before they get it right and that's okay! They learn something each time they fail. For this investigation students had to make Bobby Droppers (a kind of parachute for a bobby pin) using paper. They had to see what would be the safest, most gentle way for Bobby to get to the floor. The students had a great time with both of these lessons.
This week we will start our first Science Scope through our science curriculum STEMscopes. We will learn about Systems that Change the Earth. Students will learn about landforms, maps, and how these things can slowly or quickly change. |
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