In Science Class . .. Week of 3/19

4th Grade: Over the past few weeks, the 4th graders have been studying weathering, erosion and deposition. Students experimented with weathering granite (creating sand by shaking granite pieces in a jar) and have since been using stream tables to study how canyons and deltas are formed by moving water.

Key questions:

• What is weathering? What did you notice about the granite pieces that had been weathered? (Weathering is the breaking apart of rocks. Our granite was smoother and smaller as a result of weathering, and sand was created by the process)
• What other forces weather rock? (Acid rain, wind, rain, moving water, ice, foot traffic)
• What did your stream table look like when we poured water on it? What is erosion and where can we see it occurring? (Erosion is the moving away of earth materials by water, wind, etc. Canyons and valleys are the result of erosion, but smaller examples can be seen in gardens, yards and by the sidewalk)
• What is deposition? (The "dropping off" of eroded earth materials, which can result in landforms such as a delta).
  
• How are erosion and deposition affected by a flood? (The canyons are straighter and wider and erosion/deposition are increased)

Fourth graders will be taking a quiz on these concepts next week. A study guide will go home later this week to help them review.

5th: The 5th graders wrapped up their unit on weather, atmosphere and the water cycle early this week, and we are moving on to our life science unit. This week, we learned about cells and cell needs. Later this week, we will be studying circulation as a means of getting key components to and away from human cells.

Key questions:

• What is a cell? (A cell is a small unit of living organisms. Some organisms are made of just one cell, which complex, large organisms such as humans are made of tens of trillions of cells!)
• What do all cells need to survive? (Food, water, gas exchange, waste disposal)
• How do humans get all of these needs to their cells? (The heart pumps blood around the body, and the blood carries sugar, nutrients, water and oxygen to cells and takes carbon dioxide and other waste away.)
  

In Science Class . .. Week of 2/27

4th Grade: This week, the students have been studying the structure of the earth and the types of rocks (and how they form). We took some notes, discussed and played a game to reinforce vocabulary. Next week, we'll be moving on to weathering and erosion.
Key questions to ask:

• What are they layers of the earth? (Core, mantle, crust)
• What are the three types of rocks and how are they formed? (Igneous rock is rocked formed from the cooling of the mantle. Sedimentary rock is rock formed when bits of other rock are pressed together. Metamorphic rock is rock formed from heat and pressure.)
• What processes are important in the rock cycle? (Weathering, melting, heat and pressure are important ways that rocks can, over a long time, be changed into a different type of rock.)

5th Grade: Last week, we looked at how the energy from the sun heats water and soil. We took containers of water and soil outside and measured the temperatures over time in the sun and the shade. Students found that the soil heated and cooled much more quickly than water, which maintained a pretty even temperature throughout. On Monday, we practiced line graphing with our results. This activity will provide a basis for how the sun's energy affects the heating and cooling of the earth, weather, and atmospheric conditions. On Wednesday, students where officially introduced to the earth's atmosphere through a writing activity about photos of the earth. We then observed and discussed atmospheric pressure by putting various objects (balloon, marshmallow, bubble wrap, water) in a vacuum chamber. Kids LOVED watching the objects expand and the water change phase. It was so much fun! Next week, we're on to weather.

Key questions:

• What where the results of your heating soil/water experiment? (Soil heated and cooled much more quickly than water.)
  
• What happened to objects in the vacuum chamber? Why? (The objects expanded due to decreased atmospheric pressure on them. The balloon and bubble wrap stretched and then popped. The water started to change to a gas because of the decreased pressure as well.)