Thoughts From: science

Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Jello: Liquid or Solid? Your Thoughts...

The definition of a solid--it retains it's shape as it is moved from one container to another.

The definition of a liquid--it conforms to the shape of whatever container it is placed in.

So...the question of the day in science was: Is jello a liquid or a solid? That really wasn't our main focus today, but I just rolled with it! My LBK's were really arguing this point...so we focused on the properties of a solid and a liquid.

We looked at examples of solids and saw how they did not change shape no matter what you put them in or on. We determined that jello has properties of a solid after it gets cold.

Then we looked at an example of a liquid and saw how it changed it's shape according to what we put it in. We determined that jello has properties of a liquid before you put it in the fridge.

Fifteen minutes later (yes, it took my precious ones that long) we determined that jello is a solid. (Unless it breaks, then it's a liquid according to one of them!)

I love my Little Big Kid's!!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Moon is Made of Cookies!!

For the past week (and a couple of days) my LBKs and I have been discussing the moon. And no, not because they are all space cadets!! It's actually one of our state standards for fourth grade.

Anywho...we have been discussing how the moon orbits the Earth, that it doesn't actually change shape or size, and that it goes through phases. Well, the phases of the moon is what we had a sweet time with today. I grouped my LBKs and passed out some cookies...and I didn't let them eat any! Mwaa-ha-ha-ha (that was my evil laugh!)

I told them to show me what they knew about the phases of the moon and this is what they came up with!

Pretty sweet, huh?!

The LBKs really enjoyed this project. I think it had something to do with being able to eat the cream that they scraped off!

BTW...I did have some extra cookies on hand to let them enjoy after we all finished!

Until next time,

Mr. A

Thursday, September 29, 2011

What's My Speed?

Putting social studies on the back burner for a couple of weeks, we are diving head first into science!!

Force and motion to be more specific. One thing I've noticed about fourth grade, and most other levels of the education of students, is that they L-O-V-E science! And my LBKs love them some science! (I hope I can keep this feeling goin' all year...)

In the beginning stages of this unit we talk a little bit about speed. So...yet another impromptu project. This time it's in science. --I've got a feeling we're going to be doing a lot of impromptu this year.--

We took some notes...and more notes...and then just a few more notes. By this point I was b-ored!! The LBKs checked out about 15 minutes ago. I think I did too but it just took me a little longer to realize it...

So we are talking about speed and discussing how fast a car travels in kilometers per second...and then the little light bulb in my went off. Mr. Bulb said, "Why don't we actually measure speed instead of just talking about measuring it?"

"Great idea Mr. Bulb!" I said. (One day I'm going to say that out loud and then my kids will think I'm crazy...ummm, I think they already do.)

So off I ran to my ~~on it's last leg~~ trusty computer and sent out a message, "Help, I need some stopwatches!" Those who ask shall receive.

Off we go, my LBKs (Little Big Kids) and I, out to the ball field. We measure out 50 feet, we group up, we get our timers out, and off we go!! Did I mention we L-O-V-E science?

We called our experiment "What's My Speed" and we got out our handy-dandy science notebooks. We wrote down our materials, our question, our hypothesis, our method, and what happened.

Our Handy-Dandy Science Notebooks.

Each student was timed in how fast they ran 50 feet and how fast they walked 50 feet. Then they took the distance (50 feet) and divided that by their time. They figured out how many feet per second they could run and how many feet per second they could walk. We all had a good hypothesis for this experiment!