We have been observing worms! We began the year by learning what it means to be a scientist. We read What is a Scientist by Barbara Lehn and discovered the various skills that scientists use. Students have been observing, diagramming, measuring, and writing about worms. We have learned that worms are "nature's plows" by helping plants to grow when they tunnel through soil. Students enjoyed learning about the enemies of worms, and learned that moles can eat up to 30 worms in one day! Students are very excited about our Science kit: Pebbles, Sand, and Silt. They have been observing several kinds of volcanic rocks and will begin to understand the properties of rocks. In our first few lessons, students will observe, rub, wash, sort, and describe rocks. Our upcoming focus questions include: *How are river rocks the same? *Is there an earth material smaller than sand? *What earth material is smaller than silt? Insects and Plants Students are very excited about our new kit, Insects and Plants! In this kit, we will observe the structures and behaviors of various insects. Students will also be observing how the insects change over time (life cycle). We have set up habitats for our mealworms and we have observed the mealworms change from the larva stage to a pupa, and finally emerge as a darkling beetle. The level of excitement was very high when our first beetle hatched! Milkweed bug eggs arrived next and students set up their habitat. We have been busy observing the changes in color, structure, and size of the milkweed bugs. This week we will be receiving Silkworms. In a few weeks, Painted Lady larva will arrive. We have planted Brassica seeds and have been observing our plants grow very quickly! Students have their own plants and we record observations quite frequently. Our focus question is "How does a young plant change as it grows?" We are learning about the needs of plants, as well as the life cycle and the stages of growth. Once flowers have formed on the plants, students will be cross pollinating, which leads into our next focus question of "What will happen to the flowers on the Brassica plants?" Students are thoroughly enjoying observing the stages of their insects and plants! *How are river rocks the same? *Is there an earth material smaller than sand? *What earth material is smaller than silt? Students are very excited about our Insects and Plants kit! In this kit, we will observe the structures and behaviors of various insects. Students will also be observing how the insects change over time (life cycle). We have set up habitats for our mealworms and we have observed the mealworms change from the larva stage to a pupa, and finally emerge as a darkling beetle. The level of excitement was very high when our first beetle hatched! Milkweed bug eggs arrived and we set up their habitat. Unfortunately, the batch of eggs has not hatched. This week we will be receiving Silkworms. In a few weeks, Painted Lady larva will arrive. We have planted Brassica seeds and have been observing our plants grow very quickly! Students have their own plants and we record observations quite frequently. Our focus question is "How does a young plant change as it grows?" We are learning about the needs of plants, as well as the life cycle and the stages of growth. Once flowers have formed on the plants, students will be cross pollinating, which leads into our next focus question of "What will happen to the flowers on the Brassica plants?" Students are thoroughly enjoying observing the stages of their insects and plants! Solids and Liquids I recently sent home our first Science assessment. Thank you for reviewing and signing the assessment log. After I determined the students' progress by reviewing the items on their assessments, students then used colored pencils to confirm and/or correct their answers to clarify and refine their thinking. Research shows that students learn more when they take part in evaluating their own responses. We have begun our investigations on Liquids. Our first focus question was "How are liquids different form each other?" Students worked in groups to investigate 7 different liquids in order to develop the concept of a liquid. They tipped, swirled, shook, and rolled the liquids, investigating if all the liquids moved in the same way. After discovering what each liquid was, this led into discussing the properties of the liquids. Our new vocabulary to describe liquids includes transparent, translucent, viscous, foamy and bubbly. Our next focus question will be "How do liquids change in containers?" We will be observing that liquids fill different containers to different heights and that liquids always have flat, level surfaces. We have been building towers this week! Our focus question is "What objects are useful for building towers?" Students need to figure out which properties will be useful for building the bottom of a tower, as well as properties that help make a tower stable and tall. We have one more investigation with Solids (outdoor solids), then we will take our first assessment. Our next investigations will be centered around Liquids. Students are very excited about our Science kit, Solids and Liquids! We will be observing the properties of many solids and liquids, as well as comparing how solids and liquids are alike and different. Students have begun the first investigation, which is all about Solids. After observing many different objects, students are describing the objects by their properties (flexible, rigid, rough, smooth, transparent, soft, hard, etc...) We have added many properties to our Science word wall which is used often as a resource while writing. Each of our investigations is centered around a focus question. This week's focus question: Can two or more objects have the same property? Students are grouping objects that share the same property, and working with partners to guess what property the objects share. We have been observing worms! We began the year by learning what it means to be a scientist. We read What is a Scientist by Barbara Lehn and discovered the various skills that scientists use. Students have been observing, diagramming, measuring, and writing about worms. We have learned that worms are "nature's plows" by helping plants to grow when they tunnel through soil. Students enjoyed learning about the enemies of worms, and learned that moles can eat up to 30 worms in one day! |