Second trimester summary

Below you can find a summary of what the kids did in science and garden classes in the Winter trimester.

Next trimester we are having our first science fair at Peregrine elementary. I am really excited, and will share more details about what the kids will be doing soon.

Owls

I covered the Kindergarten physical science standard this trimester. The overall focus of this standard is forces and motion.  The kids had a lot of fun exploring pushes, pulls, collisions, friction and gravity. Before diving into the study of forces and motion, I did a few simple activities to introduce the idea of programming to the kids. Peregrine is starting to integrate engineering and programming to the elementary curriculum. If you are interested in learning more about the importance of introducing these concepts to curriculums, and don’t have much time to research this topic, I recommend the New York Times article “Adding coding to the curriculum”. The kink to this article is: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/europe/adding-coding-to-the-curriculum.html?_r=0

After writing codes for their friends to build cup stacks, the owls played with Kodable – a program that teaches kids how to code.

We started this physical science unit by exploring ways in which we can make things move. After letting the kids explore (in classroom with toys and ramps and at the park), it was clear that the kids knew that pushes and pulls make things move and that they can have different strengths and directions. The kids also learned that pushing or pulling on an object can change the speed and/or direction of its motion and can also start or stop it.

Since the kids clearly understand the Kindergarten physical science national standard, we went a little deeper into the study of motion. The kids learned about friction, collisions and gravity. I brought hover pucks to school to illustrate the concept of friction and the kids compared how fast things move on different surfaces. To illustrate what happens to objects when they collide, I asked the students to collide objects in different scenarios – objects moving in opposite direction, objects moving in same direction and when one object is stationary and the other moving. We also read books about gravity, and some kids were very interested in learning about Earth’s gravitational pull. The kids were engaged and had fun exploring motion.

Our final project was building a miniature golf course. We started by watching a short video (2 minutes) with an example of a homemade miniature golf course and discussing the materials and forces involved in the example. The kids were able to identify different types of pushes, gravity and friction. Then each student drew a possible design for a hole and created a model in the classroom. After everyone had a chance to think about the design and forces involved in this game, I brought wood and other materials for the kids to build their own mini golf course.

In “garden” classes, the owls harvested vegetables from their garden and made their own juice. Students participated in every step: they planted, harvested, washed, cut and added ingredients to the juicer. In addition, the kids also helped me take care of the school garden (pulling weeds, planting seeds and seedlings and adding to the compost) and we also went on nature walks.

Magpies

During the second trimester the first and second graders studied physical sciences. The focus of the standards that I covered this trimester was on sound and light. The kids also learned about the states of matter, and practiced asking questions.

We started this trimester studying sound. The two main questions that we answered were: what is sound/what makes sound and how does sound travel. The kids had a lot of hands on activities to explore sound – they made string telephones with different types and length of strings, they simulated sound waves with slinkies, made sound in different places – including inside water, on something solid and in the air. We were also fortunate to be able to borrow a Ruben’s tube from UC Davis Physics Department – the kids love seeing the fire “dance” with the music, and it leads to great discussions on sound waves. They can see the waves as the shape of the flame changes with the music.

I used the kids’ observations of sound traveling through different sources to initiate a discussion on matter. Some kids were familiar with the word and its meaning, while others were learning for the first time. We talked about the difference between energy and matter, and I explained that matter is made of small units called atoms. After this I did a few demonstrations and hands on activities to allow the kids to explore and understand the different states of matter.

Our next, and last, topic of the trimester was light. Our study started with a shadow hunt. Each student had a small LED light and was asked to go on a shadow hunt for a few minutes. The goal of this activity was to get the kids thinking about light and shadows so that I could hear from them – theirs thoughts and questions. One of the great things about working at Peregrine is that I can go much deeper into the subject, and can (usually) answer everyone’s questions.

The kids learned that light is a form of energy, and that the different colors that we see correspond to different wavelengths. They also know that there are natural and man made sources of light. Each student had a chance to demonstrate one way in which light interacts with things in the classroom. Some showed us how light reflects from a mirror, passes through a clear bag and is absorbed by the carpet.

In order to answer students’ questions we also talked about Earth’s interaction with the sun – we demonstrated how the planet moves around the sun with a focus on explaining why the day has 24 hours. We made sundials, watched a short documentary on Thomas Edison and built simple circuits to demonstrate energy transfer and how a light bulb works.

In “garden” classes, the magpies continue to be very busy taking care of the garden. They harvested and transplanted vegetables, picked weeds, and planted strawberries and trees. The magpies also started planning what to plant after spring break.

Hawks
 

The third and fourth graders studied life science this trimester. We started the trimester making a connection between what they studied in the first trimester (geology, how California was formed) and living things. We looked at examples of changes in the landscape that happened after the formation of California. Examples included invasive alien plant species changing the landscape and the hydrological changes that accompanied the expansion of our state.

In order to make biology more engaging and attractive to the kids, I brought a class pet (leopard gecko) and small vernal pools to their classroom. The kids learned how to take care of the geckos – they know what they eat, when they eat, how they protect themselves, where they live (natural habitat), their ideal temperature and how to determine their genders. The kids enjoy seeing the geckos eat crickets and mealworms. We also got to see the mealworm life cycle – most kids were surprised to see that they turn into beetles!

Vernal pools are fascinating – this unique ecosystem can be used to study ecology, evolution and microscopy. After getting a general understanding of what vernal pools are (temporary pools that come to live during the rainy season), we started adding water to our pools and collecting data. The kids observed that algae and plants were the first life forms to appear in the pools, and they noticed that they grew faster in the indoor pools.  Students also had a chance to practice reading temperatures in a thermometer since they would always check the water temperature when collecting observational data on the pools.

The vernal pool study lead us to a discussion on evolution of life in our planet, so we watched a National Geographic documentary on the evolution of life on Earth. The documentary starts with the formation of our planet, it also talks about the formation of our moon, and then it summarizes how Earth’s atmosphere changed to become inhabitable.  The documentary then focuses on the evolution of life  - from the simplest unicellular organisms in the ocean, to complex aquatic and terrestrial animals, ending on humans.

After watching this documentary and having a few class discussions on evolution, I brought different microscopes to the classroom and showed the kids how to use them. This led us to discussions on the ecology of vernal pools – we talked about vernal pool food web, and took a close look at what and how fairy shrimp eat.

The last project for this unit was an animal research project. Each student chose one animal that they would like to learn more about. I wrote down some questions that I wanted them to answer, and Sangeeta and I helped the kids find good resources for their research. They looked at websites, found books at the library and some learned information at the Zoo, during their field trip. The kids did a great job answering the questions and creating posters summarizing what they learned.

Even though the kids learned a lot this trimester, I would like to finish this unit after spring break. I want to do a few quick activities to ensure that the kids understand the concept of evolution and want to focus a little more on plants. Students were so engaged in the animal study that we ended up not looking at structures/functions of plants. I will probably spend 1 – 2 weeks finishing our life science study before we move on to our next topic.

In “garden” classes, the hawks were introduced to their landscape design project. The third and fourth grades class will be responsible for designing a native area in our yard. Lorie Hammond is acting as a client, and the hawks are the landscape architects for this project. She told them that the school wants to develop a native area that future 3^rd and 4^th grades students can use when studying California. The kids are responsible for learning about the native plants that they want to include in the native area and designing a plan for it. The plan has to include the relative size and microhabitat (how much sun and water it needs) of each species. Students had the opportunity to see natural, native CA habitats by the school and in the UC Davis Arboretum. Now they are starting to research the different species that they want to include in their project. 

Crows

 

During the second trimester, the fifth and sixth graders studied chemistry. We started with a fun activity – I asked the kids to go outside and find 3 or 4 random things, they could even collect liquids with small vials. After each group presented their items, I asked students to guess what everything in the classroom had in common. It took them a while but eventually someone said, “They are all made of matter”.

We had a good discussion about matter and atoms. The kids clearly understand that atoms are the building blocks of our universe, but most of them didn’t know what an atom is. We built models of atoms, talked about all the parts and watched a short Bill Nye video about atoms and molecules. Students also had the opportunity to build models of molecules. We talked about the periodic table, and the kids used different colors to represent the elements that they wanted to use to build their molecules.

It was clear to me that the children understood that molecules are made out of elements, so we moved on to study reactions. My goal was to make sure that they understood that no atom is created or destroyed in a chemical reaction – atoms are just rearranged. In order to demonstrate this, I started with a simple, well-known reaction: vinegar and baking soda. I wrote down the chemical formula for each reactant, had the kids observe each reactant (look, smell, touch) and then asked them to mix them. It was clear to everyone that a chemical reaction had occurred – the products looked much different than the reactants. The kids knew that a gas had been produced during the reaction and most guessed (right) that it was CO2. After writing the molecular formulas for the reactants and products, the kids could clearly see that there were the same numbers of atoms before and after the reaction. The atoms had just been rearranged into new molecules.

Now the kids were ready for a fun inquiry activity involving chemical reactions. After being assigned into groups, students were asked to mix specific amounts of calcium chloride, baking soda and phenol red solution in a zip lock bag. The mixture got really hot, changed color and produced a large amount of gas. The kids’ job was to find out what was causing the heat in this reaction. Each group had to design two experiments to try to answer this question and at the end they were asked to write a lab report summarizing the experiment.

In “garden” classes, the crows started to work on their landscape design project. The 5^th and 6^th graders learned about the elements of a Greek/roman garden, measured the area that they have available for this project and started to draw a detailed map with their ideas for an “educable and edible” Mediterranean garden that future 5^th and 6^th graders can use when studying ancient civilizations.  The design includes an orchard, an amphitheater and ornaments. Each group will present their ideas and everyone will vote to decide the final design. In addition, the crows planted trees around the school and helped me take care of the garden.

During health classes the crows continued studying nutrition. The kids started this unit learning more about what their bodies need. After finding out how many calories, and how many grams of protein and fat they need on a daily basis, the kids were asked to look at the nutritional information of some of their favorite foods. Their assignment was to make a few pie charts summarizing how much of the daily nutritional need they get with a meal of their choice.

After completing this assignment, we talked about sugar. The kids measured the amount of sugar in different snacks and we talked about the difference between natural and added sugars. Students clearly understand that added sugars are a problem in our society.