Animal Adaptations and Birds of Prey

This week, our class was lucky enough to experience two enrichment activities relating to Science.  The first was a visit from Mrs. Condon, the CLIC teacher, who led us through an activity about the adaptations of beavers.  We learned a lot of interesting things about beavers, including that they can use their tail as a chair!

Mrs. Condon pointing out some adaptations of beavers.

Stephanie was a very good sport and modeled the adaptations of a beaver, including clear eyelids (the goggles), two layers of fat for insulation (the foam) and webbed feet (the flippers)!

Thanks, Stephanie!

On Thursday, we had a visit from Mr. Parks who runs a program called "Wingmasters".  Mr. Parks has spent years rescuing and rehabilitation injured birds of prey.  He brought in some of these birds, including a Peregrine Falcon (the fastest animal on earth), a Barred Owl, an American Kestrel (the only type of falcon that lives in Topsfield) and the very cute Northern Saw-Whet Owl.  We were amazed by these incredible birds of prey!

Thank you to TESPO for funding this wonderful program!

Gummy Bears in Science?!

This week in Science, we conducted a really fun experiment involving gummy bears in different solutions.  

We started by making observations, asking questions and forming hypotheses.

Then we put our gummy bears in the four different solutions and let them sit overnight.

The next day we made observations about our gummy bears.  A lot had happened overnight!

Then we shared our observations as a class.

Though all four gummy bears were affected by the different solutions, it seemed as though the water and baking soda mixture caused the most change.

This would be an easy experiment to try out at home with different solutions!

 

Simple Science

Today we went to CLIC for the first time to experiment with what we've been studying in Science and Social Studies.  We, as a class, are writing this post using the scientific method.
Step 1: Observations: When we walked into the CLIC room, we saw some materials on the tables.  We didn't know what they were for.  We saw a piece of cork, a magnet, a bowl of water, and a message on the board.  Mrs. Condon explained that we were going to do an experiment where we made a compass out of simple materials, including a sewing needle.
Step 2: Problem: What would happen to the cork, needle and magnet to turn it into a compass?
Step 3:  Hypothesis: Some of our hypotheses were: 

• we would use the magnet  and rub the needle to turn it into a compass
• we were going to drop the magnet into the water and it would point north
• we were going to put the cork over the magnet, put the needle on the cork and it would stick

Step 4: Experiment: Here are our steps

1.) Pick up the needle and the magnet

2.) Rub the magnet on the needle and pass it in one direction

3.) Rub it about 30-40 times

4.) Put down the magnet and the needle

5.) Lay the piece of cork on the water

6.) Lightly place the needle on the piece of cork

7.) Watch as the needle starts to spin and point north

Step 5: Results: In order to turn a needle into a compass, you have to magnetize the needle so it points north.

Step 6: Conclusion: Some of us had hypotheses that were correct or close, while others were not correct.  However, we know that an incorrect hypothesis can be as useful as one that's correct.

****Written by the members of Mrs. Lampe's class!**** 

Surface tension, compasses, and Secret Knowledge of 4th Graders!

We had a great week settling into routines and learning a lot!  Here are a couple highlights:

We explored the reading strategy of visualizing by listening to different pieces of classical music and drawing what we pictured in our minds.  We found out the names of the pieces of music at the end and were surprised by how accurate some of our mental images were!

We solidified our knowledge of cardinal and ordinal directions my making compasses...

...our finished products!

We practiced using the scientific method in an experiment with surface tension.  We were surprised as to how many drops of water could fit on a penny!  We even learned a trick to make a paperclip float!

In Writing, we read parts of "The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups" for inspiration.

We also signed up for Google Classroom, organized our folders and began writing our "Secret Knowledge of Fourth Graders" on the Chromebooks. 

We had quite a busy week! :)

Our First Full Week!

We've had a busy week here in the 4th grade!  It has been wonderful making new friends, connecting with old ones and coming together cooperatively as a class.  Here are some highlights from this week:

We enjoyed checking out our class library and learning all about how to read independently.

We learned about the scientific method and how it can help us be successful scientists.

We did an experiment that included pennies, vinegar and salt.  Ask one of us what happened!

We started our mentor sentences, beginning with "First Day Jitters".

We also practiced making observations in Science with Mystery Bags.

Some were easy to figure out...others were tougher!

We had a great first week!