In Science Class . . . Week of 11/23

5th Grade: This week we'll be completing our unit test on "Mixtures and Solutions." Good luck to everyone! After the break, we'll be starting our earth science unit, entitled "Water Planet."

4th Grade: This week, we'll be completing our unit test on "Magnetism and Electricity." Good luck, students! We'll also be  watching a video about volcanoes in preparation for our next unit on earth science, entitled "Solid Earth." Key questions you can ask your students: What is a volcano? How does it work? What are the names of the three layers of the earth? Why do we find volcanoes in certain areas and not in others?

I also am adding a new website I found that has fun at-home science experiments. So, just in case you have some extra time over the break, enjoy with science! Students, check with your parents before working on anything : )

Here's the link. I am also adding it to the links on the left side of the page.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html

In Science Class . . . . Week of 11/16

5th grade: This week, the 5th graders will be finishing up their periodic table posters, and presenting them to the class. I've seen some very creative presentations in the works, and I look foward to the finished product! After wrapping up the periodic table, we will be working on a study guide for the unit test on Mixtures and Solutions. This test will be on Monday, November 23, just before Thanksgiving break. The study guide we will be working on in class will be very similar to the test, and will go home this week to allow students to review over the weekend if they would like.

4th grade: The 4th graders will be working on a study guide this week to help them prepare for the unit test on Magnetism and Electricity on Monday, November 23. The study guide is very similar to the test, so hopefully this will cause a little less anxiety for those students who have been stressed about science assessments in the past! The study guide will go home with students on Wednesday for Ms. Lee's class, and Friday for Ms. Govil's class.  We also played a couple rounds of science Jeopardy on Monday, which was exciting!

If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to email me at caitlin_jenkins@berkeley.k12.ca.us.
I'd love any suggestions about the blog, and I am going to try to start posting science-related community events. If you know of any upcoming ones, please let me know. Thanks!

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/9

5th Grade: The students took a quiz last week on chemical reactions, which we have been studying as part of our Mixtures and Solutions unit of the FOSS curriculum. This week, we will be working in class on studying the Periodic Table more in depth. The students will be working in groups to study one particular group on the Periodic Table and create a poster to share with their classmates. If you would like additional information, there are some great links regarding the Periodic Table posted on the left side of the page.

4th Grade: The students took a quiz last week on electromagnets and circuits as part of our Electricity and Magnetism FOSS unit. This coming week, we will be experimenting with conductors and insulators, as well as investigating the workings of the telegraph.