Spotlight On Saylesville Elementary Science Investigations

Transcription

1 Spotlight On Saylesville Elementary Science Investigations Students in Lincoln participate in science investigations at every level. All investigations begin with a question and the students form a hypothesis-an educated guess about what they think might happen. Students investigate their hypothesis during an investigation. They use their claims-what they observe- to gather evidence to support that claim. Then, they formulate another question and the investigation continues. We use kits provided by the East Bay Collaborative. Currently, Kindergarten students complete one and 1 st -5 th grades complete two kits during the school year. Check out the chart below to see what topics your child will be investigating! Visit the website for more information about the East Bay Collaborative: and visit for additional details about the various kits. Parents can support our scientists by discussing the investigations at home. Grade Kit #1 Kit #2 K none Animals 2 X2 1 Air & Weather Balance & Motion 2 Pebbles, Insects Sand & Silt 3 Water Structures of Life 4 Magnetism & Electricity Earth Materials 5 Environments Landforms Grade 4 NECAP Prep NECAP Prep: Common Task Materials

2 First Grade Science The First Graders are learning all about weather. In doing so, they recently had a visit from T.J. DelSanto from WPRI Channel 12. From the students: In science we have been learning all about weather and air. We already know a lot about weather. We learned that when a meteorologist predicts the weather, he uses a lot of different tools. He uses thermometers, anemometers, a barometer to measure air pressure, and a weathervane to show the direction of the wind. Weather satellites can help meteorologists predict the weather. He uses Doppler radar to track and measure weather conditions. Mr. DelSanto used Doppler radar to predict a TORNADO! He said he helped people and warned them right before the tornado! Mr. DelSanto then took us outside to see his special weather van. He showed us all the special equipment on the weather van. His van is really cool! We learned a lot the day Mr. T.J. DelSanto came to visit us! We also learned that visiting schools to talk about the weather is Mr. DelSanto s favorite part of his job. Before going to college, he wanted to be a teacher as well as a meteorologist so visiting the schools gives him the best of both worlds.

3 Second Grade Science Second Grade Geologists Second grade students have been geologists, or scientists who study solid earth materials, known as rocks. Observing is a fundamental process in geology. Our budding geologists have been observing rocks and sorting them into groups. Through observations, students gather information about rocks. They use their observations to make comparisons and to sort the rocks into groups having similar properties. Most recently, students have explored a river rock mixture containing earth material particles of various sizes. Using screens to separate and group river rocks by size, our rock hounds discovered there is a continuum of rock size: large and small pebbles, large and small gravel, and sand. They will further develop the knowledge that there are rock materials larger than pebbles, called cobbles and boulders, but some even smaller than sand. Scientists are always wondering, so some of our geologists may already be thinking about what solid earth material could be smaller than sand!

4 Third Grade Science Just last week, the students in Mrs. Fanning s, Mrs. Goldberg s and Mrs. Avenia s classes began an investigation on water vapor! The essential question for the first part of the investigation is: What happens when two paper towels are allowed to dry, one in a cup with a lid and the other in an open cup? The students will observe a demonstration in which two paper towels are soaked with equal amounts of water and then left to evaporate, one in a cup with a lid and the other in an open cup. The second part of this investigation asks the question: What effect does air temperature have on evaporation? The students will investigate the effect of location and air temperature on the rate of evaporation. They'll choose four different locations to place four cups of water. They will monitor the temperatures at the locations for 4 days. They will also measure and compare the amount of water remaining in the cups.

5 MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!! Grade Four Science In recent weeks, the students in Mrs. Cavanaugh s, Mrs. Haddad s, and Mrs. Mellen s classes have been working collaboratively with partners and in small groups to learn about magnets and the magnetic properties of materials. Using a bag of test objects, they had the opportunity to investigate how magnets attract and repel, that most magnets are permanent, and that certain objects can become temporary magnets. In addition, they measured the force of magnets using a balance scale, and detected magnets hidden in boxes based upon the force detected using iron objects. Parents can extend these science activities at home by encouraging their child to explore the many uses of magnets, and perhaps letting her/him try to invent a magnet game with household items! Grade Five Science The fifth grades latest investigation is focused on Aquatic Environments. The focus question is: How do different organisms affect the environment they are in? Next up is an experiment

6 testing how acid affects aquatic environments. During the previous investigation, the students were testing for Water Tolerance and the focus question was: Do different plants have different water tolerance? Why do certain plants have different tolerances? In picture at the right, Mrs. Charlemagne captured the fish at just the right "angle"...the class had previously finished a math lesson introducing angles and the kids thought the fish were making an "obtuse" angle...they were correct and she showcased this picture on the ELMO document camera after she had taken it... the kids were doing a GREAT job of integrating their science and math lesson!!

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