In Science Class . . . Week of 12/6

This week, the students have been studying digestion through reading, discussion and a video. Here's a diagram:

Of the structures shown above, students need to know the names and functions of the following:

Teeth: Used for grinding food into smaller bits
Saliva: Made in the mouth and used for wetting food and breaking it down.
Esophogus: Moves food from the mouth to the stomach
Stomach: Contains strong digestive acids for further breaking down food
Small intestine: Most nutrients are absorbed through the wall of the small intestine to the blood stream

For excretion, the students need to know the following structures:
Large intestine (colon): Condenses and dries solid waste
Rectum/anus: Used for excretion of solid waste
Kidneys: Clean blood in preparation for liquid waste excretion
Bladder: Stores liquid waste prior to urination
Lungs: Used to exhale carbon dioxide

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/29

This week, the students have started a new unit on living systems. They learned about cells and circulation through reading, discussion and video. Here is a diagram of the circulatory system:

The students do not need to know all of the names of the various arteries and veins; it is more important that they understand the main ideas:

• What are cells? (Small units found in all living organisms) 
• What do cells need to survive? (Water, food, gas exchange, waste disposal)
• How do many animals, including mammals, get these requirements to the cells? (Through a circulatory system). 
• What are the key components of human circulatory system? (Blood, heart, arteries, veins and capillaries)
• How does the body respond to increased cell needs during exercise? (By increasing breathing and heart rate, the circulatory and respiratory systems can get more oxygen to cells).
• Why do your veins appear blue? (They contain blood that has already "given up" it's oxygen to the cells, so the blood itself is blue. When you cut yourself, the blood immediately gets oxygen from the air, so blood from all cuts is red.)
• How many chambers does the human heart have? (4. The right two chambers are responsible for pumping deoxygenated blood to the lungs, while the left two chambers are responsible for receiving oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumping it to the body. 

Note for Ms. Carter's class: Our CalTeach student, Ashley, taught about digestion this week, so those students will learn about circulation next week! I'll include questions then about digestion. Sorry for the confusion! Ashley is an undergrad at Cal who has been with the class for the last couple weeks, and she chose to teach about digestion, so there is a little scheduling anomaly - I needed to switch digestion and circulation for this class to meet her scheduling needs. 

Quiz on Tuesday!

We're wrapping up our study of earth science, and will be having a quiz on Tuesday, November 23. The students brought home a study guide yesterday that we completed in class. Please take a few moments to review with your student over the weekend. Thanks!

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/15

This week, we'll officially begin our study of weather and weather maps. For fun, we'll be using our mobile computer lab to go online to study weather maps. We're using the site, www.weather.com, but there are lots of sites out there! A sample weather map looks like this:

Key questions:

• What symbols did you see on the weather maps, and what do they mean? ( H= high air pressure, L= low air pressure, etc)
• Why does the California coast have more moderate temperatures than inland? (Because we are near the ocean, and the air over the ocean heats up much more slowly because the ocean itself does not heat up easily). 
• Where do our storms in Berkeley come from? (Primarily from out over the Pacific Ocean)

Water Cycle

In Science Class . . . Week of 11/1

This week, we'll be learning about the water cycle. The students have already studied condensation and evaporation, so these concepts should be familiar. We will be reviewing vocabulary and playing a game. Key questions:

• What is the water cycle? (The global water-recycling system that includes water in all three states - gas, liquid, and solid)
• Where is most of the earth's water? (In the ocean as salt water. Only about 1% of the earth's water is fresh and available to us to drink.)
• As a water molecule, where did you "go" in the water cycle game? (Answers were vary - may include ground water, glacier, animal, ocean, clouds, river, lake, etc)

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/25

This week, we will be working on a study guide and taking a quiz in preparation for the end of the grading period. The students will be getting a study guide and working to complete it on Tuesday, and then they'll be taking a quiz on Thursday. The study guide will go home with them on Tuesday afternoon. The quiz questions will be very similar (hint, hint!) to the study guide questions, so please take a moment on Tuesday or Wednesday night to go over it with your student.
Thanks!

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/18

Sorry for the delay! It was a super busy week, as I attended the CA Education Conference in Sacramento.

Last week, the 4th and 5th graders explored the properties of air using syringes, tubing and clips. By pushing the air back and forth, we determined that air is made of matter and does take up space. The students also did a reading that explained how the pressure and density of air changes with elevation.
Key questions:

• What happened when you put a clip on the end of the tube and why? (The plunger to the syringe couldn't go in far because the air was trapped.
• Why did the plunger of one syringe go out when you pushed the other connecting syringe in? (The air pushed the plunger out when we pushed on the other end.)
• Is air pressure higher or lower on the top of a mountain? Why? (The air pressure is lower because the air molecules are spread out more. This is also why it's harder to breathe at elevation.)

In Science Class . . . Week of 10/11

This week, the students performed an experiment that compared how water and soil respond to the energy from the sun. We took cups of soil and water outside, and recorded temperatures of the materials in the sun every few minutes for 15 minutes, then moved them to the shade and recorded temperatures every few minutes there. This experiment will help students when we begin our study of weather and climate in a few weeks.  On Thursday, the students created line graphs of their data, and we discussed independent vs. dependent variables. Key questions:

• What did you discover about how soil and water heat? (Soil heats up and cools down much more quickly, while water is a "heat sink," meaning that it takes an ton of energy to warm it up.)
• What was the dependent variable in the experiment? (Temperature, because it depends on the time the material was in the sun. )
• What variables did we control? (Amount of materials used, time in the sun/shade, type of thermometer used, etc)

In Science Class . . . Week of 9/27

In 4/5th grade science this week, we'll be wrapping up our evaporation experiments and graphing our results. Students will practice using syringes and graduated cylinders to measure water volume.  Key questions:

• How did you measure the volume of the water in the cups? (We used a syringe to put the water into a graduated cylinder.)
• Where in the classroom did water evaporate most quickly? (By the window, because the air temperature was higher due to the heater and lots of sunlight.)
• Where did it evaporate the slowest? (On the floor, in the cupboard, etc where air temperatures were lower)

In Science Class . . . Week of 9/20

This week, the students will be focusing more on evaporation and recording data. We will examine our paper towel experiment, and then design an experiment to investigate how different locations in the room affect evaporation. Key questions:

• What happened to the scale with the paper towels? (The paper towel with out the lid dried, meaning the water evaporated. The paper towel with the lid did not dry because the water was contained, though there was some condensation on the inside of the cup. The scale tipped toward the side with the lid because it still contained water, whereas the water on the other paper towel had escaped into the atmosphere.)
• Where did your group place the cups with water? What predictions did you make? Which cups will have the highest evaporation rates?

In Science Class . . . Week of 9/13

This week, we wrapped up our solar system section by reviewing key concepts on the planets (see previous post) and watching a video. We have moved on to discussing evaporation as part of our focus on earth processes. The students observed a demonstration that involved putting two wet paper towels on a scale, with one side being covered by a lid. Key questions:

• Where do you see evaporation in daily life? (When things "dry up" like laundry, puddles on the sidewalk, hair after a shower, etc)
• What did you predict would happen with the scale and the wet paper towels? Would both paper towels dry?

Welcome to Science! Weeks of 8/31 and 9/6

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a new year of science at Emerson! I am very excited to back at Emerson, teaching a subject I love. On this blog, I'll update you on our lessons and topics and include questions you can ask your 4th and 5th grader to reinforce science concepts (and spark conversation)!  If you have questions about any of the following or anything related to science education at Emerson, please contact me at caitlin_jenkins@berkeley.k12.ca.us.

To start off the year, the students did a sensory/observation activity last week. I passed around brown paper bags with common household objects in them. Instead of looking in the bag, students had to use their sense of touch and smell to write descriptive words and make a guess as to what the object was. The learning goals were to work on our observation skills, scientific language and to introduce students to the scientific method. Questions to ask your student: What were the objects? How did you know? What words did you use to describe them?

This week, we started investigations in the solar system. Students worked with cards with each of the components of our solar system on them, including comets, planets, satellites, asteroids and the sun. On the back of each of these cards is important information about the object's mass, diameter, composition, distance from sun and temperatures. We worked on organizing them in order from the sun, and next week will work on other sorting skills. We also watched a video and discussed the sun's gravitational pull. Key questions to ask:

• What is the order of the planets? (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.  Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.)
• What is the difference between the inner and outer planets? (Inner planets are rocky and solid, while outer planets are made of gas.)
• What is the largest planet? (Jupiter) The smallest? (Mercury)
• What planets have very high surface temperatures? (Those closest to the sun, though Venus is hotter than Mercury because it has an atmosphere that helps it retain heat.)
• Why don't the earth and other objects fly off into outer space? (Because of the sun's gravitational pull) 
• Why do the moon and man-made satellites continue to orbit around the earth? (Because of gravitational pull of the earth.)

In Science Class . . . Week of 4/19

4th/5th Grade: In class this week, we have started observing living organisms! Our isopods ("rolly pollies") and beetles arrived, and we discussed, observed and contrasted their bodies and behaviors. Over the next few lessons we will be observing how they interact with their environments, and which conditions are preferable for them.  What did the beetles and isopods look like? How are they different? How are they similar? What sort of environmental conditions do you think are best for them?

We also worked on more terrarium observations. Our plants are big, and we'll be taking them home next week as there isn't a lot of space left in our terrariums. If you have a good container for a few plants, please send it it with your students.  A number of students have asked for the "directions" to set up a terrarium at home.  They should know - they did it already! Potting soil, seeds of choice, and a lettuce container are perfect to get you started. Water is needed to get soil moist, and then just place in a sunny location. A lid helps to keep the moisture level high until your plants reach the top of the container, and then you must keep an eye on the wetness of the soil.  Our plants germinated in just a few days and are now 30 cm high after just three weeks! You can insects and isopods from outdoors if you'd like. Voila, a terrarium!

In Science Class . . .Week of 4/12

4/5th Grade: This week, we continued with our terrarium observations, working on choosing the right tools to take measurements. The students learned a little about the metric system, and we practiced using centimeters. We did some test prep, and also watched a video about the ways that seeds naturally travel in various environments (marine, forest, stream, etc). Key questions: How did your terrarium change? What environmental factors influenced the growth of your plants? How? How do seeds travel in an ecosystem and what sort of adaptations do they have to help them?

In Science Class . . . Week of 4/5

This week, we will be setting up our terrariums, which will include soil, water and seeds of radishes, peas and corn. Hopefully we will be seeing sprouts by next week! Keep your fingers crossed! These terrariums are mini-ecosystems and will eventually include beetles and isopods. We will be making observations of changes over the next couple weeks. We also will be starting test prep this week. Our 5th graders will be taking the state test in science in early May, and we'll be looking at released test questions and discussing both content and strategy. Although the 4th graders won't take the test until next year, it's good practice for them as well! Key questions: What were the living and nonliving environmental factors in your terrarium? How did you plant them? What do you predict you will see occur over the next few weeks?

In Science Class . . . Week of 3/22

This week, the students reviewed the concepts of producers (plants), consumers (animals), decomposers (fungus, bacteria, invertebrates) and non-living environmental factors (rocks, soil, sun, air, water). They further discussed the Monterey Bay ecosystem, and played a game called "Oh, Deer" that emphasized the challenges of competition for resources in an ecosystem. Key questions: What is competition? How does it affect populations? What happened to a population of animals if the resources are decreased?

Reminder: Would love lettuce containers if you have them! We need about 20 to make terrariums to house our plants and insects starting right after Spring Break!

In Science Class . . . Week of 3/15

This week, the 4/5th graders will be expanding their knowledge of food webs by examining the Monterey Bay kelp forest ecosystem. They will be using 13 different organisms to construct a complex food web, and , for the first time, the concept of competition will be introduced. Key questions to ask your student: What was the base of the kelp forest ecosystem? What is competition? What species in this ecosystem compete against each other?

Also, a side note: We will be starting with building our own land ecosystems after Spring Break. If you have large lettuce containers at home that you are willing to donate, please send them in with your child! We need them to act as terrariums for our insects and plants! Many thanks!

Also, should you have any questions about your child's science grade, please feel free to contact me at caitlin_jenkins@berkeley.k12.ca.us. Thanks!

In Science Class . . . Week of 3/8

We are starting a new unit on life science! This week, the students were introduced to the concept of food webs and food chains. Using cards with pictures of plants and animals, the students created food chains and food webs common in a forest ecosystem. They also learned about carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, producers and consumers. Key questions: What is a food chain that you built? What is a food web? How is energy transferred? What is a producer? A consumer? What are the differences between omnivores, carnivores and herbivores? What are some examples of each?

In Science Class . . . . Week of 2/15 and 2/22

The fourth and fifth graders have been continuing their investigations of how water and other natural forces can shape the land. We have been experimenting with sand, clay and water, and watching erosion and deposition take place. The students read about and studied pictures of both erosion and deposition. Key questions: When rock is washed away, what is this process called? How can the rock in the mountains become sand on the beach? Why did the clay move further than the sand in our stream tables? When sand or clay settles to the bottom of a body of water, what is that process called?  What is the area of deposition at the mouth of the river called? How were erosion and deposition affected by the "flood" we created in our stream tables?

In Science Class . . . Week of 2/1

Sorry for the delay in getting posts up, everyone! It's been a busy couple weeks with field trips and such.

We have been working on mineral identification for the past couple weeks, investigating mineral's streak, luster, magnetism, and hardness and putting all this information into a table to help us with identification. This week, prior to our Camp Arroyo trip, we will be learning about the three types of rock - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, and how they can change with various geological conditions. Key questions to ask your students: What are the three types of rock? How are they formed? How can they change over time?

When we return, we'll be starting to work on landforms.

In Science Class . . . Week of 1/4

The fourth and fifth graders will learn about calcite, a very common mineral. On Tuesday, they tested four rocks (limestone, basalt, marble, sandstone) for calcite by placing them in a weak acid, vinegar. When calcite comes in contact with acid, it reacts to form carbon dioxide bubbles. Later in the week, the students will learn about where calcite is formed, and how rocks (like marble) can be used in buildings. Key questions: How did you know limestone and marble contained calcite? Why can't we see the calcite itself in the rock? What other types of rock contain calcite? How do geologists test for calcite in the field?