2020-21 Lesson 14: Electrical Circuits

Electricity is a type of energy that can build up in one place or flow from one place to another. When electricity gathers in one place it is known as static electricity (the word static means something that does not move); electricity that moves from one place to another is called current electricity.

A circuit is a complete path around which electricity can flow. It must include a source of electricity, such as a battery. Materials that allow electric current to pass through them easily, called conductors, can be used to link the positive and negative ends of a battery, creating a circuit.

We had a great discussion on how we use electricity and depend on it in our everyday lives. We use it to light our houses, cook our food, power our electronics, and play our games. 

For our experiment we created circuits using aluminum foil, Christmas lights, electrical tape, and 9-volt batteries. It was so fun to see the lights turn on as the circuits were created!

 

2020-21 Lesson 13: Rainbows

Rainbows are formed when light shines through water, like when the sun shines through the rain. This light is bent and reflected, like a reflection in a mirror, and this causes all of the amazing colors that you see. 

The light that we see each day is sunlight, a white light that comes to us from the sun. White light is made up of the different colors that we see in the rainbow, but when the light is all traveling in one direction, it looks white. 

During the rains, however, millions of raindrops cause the colors in the white light to separate and refract through them. Each raindrop actually makes its own rainbow, but when there are so many raindrops at the same time, the rainbows become big enough for us to see with the naked eye.

Rainbows normally appear from the rain, but they can happen wherever light is being bent inside of water droplets. Rainbows can be seen in mist, fog, spray, and dew. 

Rainbows are made up of all seven colors that come from light. These colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

A great way to remember these colors is the think of the acronym, which seems like a man’s name: ROY G BIV

There is no end to a rainbow. Even though they look like an arch to us, or an upside down letter U, rainbows are actually full circles. 

We saw beautiful pictures of rainbows and then created our own rainbows by dropping clear nail polish onto water and pulling out the film with our black paper squares.

2020-21 Lesson 12: Water Cycle and States of Matter

Water is pretty amazing! 

Water can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas. 

The recycling of water over and over again is called the Water Cycle. 

There are four main parts of the Water Cycle: Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, and Collection. 

We learned about each stage of the Water Cycle and then created a Water Cycle in a bag.

We played a water cycle game to learn more about the vocabulary.

And we danced to the Water Cycle Song!

2020-21 Lesson 11: Habitats and Ecosystems

A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive. ... The main components of a habitat are shelter, water, food, and space.

An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms and their environment. Living things interact with each other and also with non-living things like soil, water, and air. Ecosystems often contain many living things and can be as small as your backyard or as large as the ocean.

In every habitat and ecosystem food webs are created. As we discussed food webs we learned that in each food web there are producers, consumers, and decomposers. 

We played a card game where we sorted types of consumers into: 

herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

2020/21 Lesson 10: The Moon

What would it be like to live on the moon? Maybe one day that will be a reality! But for now it is fun to imagine what it would be like. 

Here are some facts we learned about the moon:

The earth and moon rotate together so we always see the same side of the moon. We looked at a model of this in class.

The first men to walk on the moon were Americans named Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. 

No one has walked on the moon since 1972. 

It takes 27.3 days for the moon to orbit the earth. 

The phases of the Moon are the different ways the Moon looks from Earth over about a month. As the Moon orbits around the Earth, the half of the Moon that faces the Sun will be lit up. The different shapes of the lit portion of the Moon that can be seen from Earth are known as phases of the Moon.

"The lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually change over a synodic month as the Moon's orbital positions around Earth and Earth around the Sun shift." Wikipedia

We twisted open a cookie to see if the frosting looked like the phases of the moon!

We experimented with "Fizzing Moon Rocks"!

If you want to make some at home, just mix baking soda with water. Roll the mixture into a ball and let dry. Using a pipette, squirt some vinegar on the baking soda rock and see it bubble and fizz. 

Finally, we drew the phases of the moon on a cup. As you twist the cup, you can see the different phases. It was so fun to learn about the moon!

2020/21 Lesson 9: The Ocean

 The Ocean is a fascinating place! Did you know that oceans cover over 70% of the earth? Wow! There are 5 oceans on earth: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and the Southern. Oceans provide 50% of the oxygen on earth, 97% of the water on earth, and provides over 270 billion dollars to the United States. The ocean is used for transportation, recreation, and is home to over one million species of animals. 

We looked at pictures and videos of many sea creatures. Sharks are always the most popular answer when asked what creatures live in the ocean. So, we had to spend a little more time discussing sharks!

Mark Rober videos are always a hit! Watch his shark blood videos to see if sharks are attracted to blood from a mile away. Click on this link: Can sharks smell blood?

We also discussed the zones of the ocean. We learned that most ocean life live in the Sunlight Zone. 

We had fun looking through microscopes to see objects from the ocean including: fish scales, sand, plankton eggs, and a feather (not from the ocean). 

 We looked at sea shells, coral, and sponges from the Atlantic Ocean. 

Finally, we cracked open an oyster and saw the pearl that was inside!

2020/21 Lesson 8: Camouflage

 Animals camouflage to blend into their surroundings. Camouflage is a defense tactic that animals and organisms use to disguise their appearance. Usually it helps them blend into their surroundings. Animals use camouflage to mask their location, identity, and movement. This allows prey to avoid predators and for predators to sneak up on prey. We saw some pictures and videos of animals that camouflage so well, we couldn't find them! 

We played a game called "Hiding in plain sight" where we camouflaged paper moths. Students created a moth by coloring it to look like a place in the classroom. We hid the moths in the room and then had to find where they were hidden.