After reading the story Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, kindergarten students roll pumpkins down a hill behind our school. They predict which size of pumpkin will roll the farthest then test their ideas. The big pumpkin rolled the farthest, about 87 meters! Students record their observations in science notebooks and explain the phenomenon. Using models, students discover that weight is more important than size when it comes to rolling pumpkins. Students gather evidence by racing ping-pong balls and metal marbles down a ramp. The marble wins the race every time! Even though the marbles are smaller than the ping-pong balls, they roll faster and farther because they are heavier. Standard 3: Physical Science (Force & Motion)
Objective 1: Identify how non‐living things move.
Grade 2 students explore the school yard with thermometers, looking for the hottest and coldest places. They hang weather bags full of colored water outdoors in the sun and shade to compare local variations in temperature. Students discover that weather bags on the north side freeze more readily than bags on the south side of the outdoor classroom. Students construct an explanation for this phenomenon, using evidence and reasoning to support their claim.
Forests in Utah and across the western United States and Canada are dying. Everywhere you look, you see dead trees. This damage is not due to fire. What could be killing the trees? Insects? Disease? Grade 4 students gather evidence to explain the phenomenon during a field trip to the local forest service station. Then we consider the cause of death for trees in our school yard. We make a plan to restore the trees in our own school yard "forest".
Consider the beauty of the Grand Canyon and the Grand Teton Mountains. Compare and contrast these two iconic geologic features of the Western United States. What caused the formation of the Grand Canyon? What caused the formation of the Grand Tetons? Construct an evidence-based explanation for the phenomena (see video formation of Grand Canyon and Grand Teton Mountains and Rocky Mountains).
Looking at two different mountain ranges (Tetons and Rocky Mountains), can you tell which mountain range is older? How did the Rockies form so far away from the boundary of two tectonic plates? Using an interactive mapmaker tool, students analyze frequency data for volcanoes and earthquakes across the globe, looking for patterns and relationships that explain the landscape of Earth's surface. While looking at an image of the moon, students record what they see, think, and wonder. Here is a cumulative list of wonders from grade 3 students:
How was the moon made? What is it made of? Does the moon rotate? What makes the moon glow? Is the moon solid or hollow? Why does the moon have so many craters? How many people have been to the moon? How far is the moon? What is the temperature on the moon? Why does the moon not have gravity? What is the difference between a moon and a planet? Why is the moon not always a circle? Thinking about this last question, I invited students to respond to a probing question: When is the next full moon? In other words, how often do we see a full moon in the sky? Students were asked to make a claim. I tallied the responses. When is the next full moon? In about a week: 17/66 (26%) In about two weeks: 12/66 (18%) In about a month: 26/66 (39%) In about a year: 11/66 (17%) It looks like we all have different ideas. That means it's time to investigate! Students observe the moon and draw its shape over time using a moon chart. See NY Times article published Oct. 21, 2015:
"2015 Likely to Be Hottest Year Ever Recorded" Your shoe. Is it made of parts? How are structure and function related? Create a classification system for shoes.
Food scraps get composted as part of our school lunch compost program. We use the compost as fertilizer in our school garden. How do we explain decomposition? What causes it to happen? How long does it take different food items to decompose? How does food turn into fertilizer? What kind of environment is required for decomposition? Does trash decompose at the same rate as food scraps? Where does all our trash go? What are the benefits of composting and recycling? What factors do engineers consider when building a landfill? Grade 6 students investigate.
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November 2015
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