Students have been so busy learning new science in all of the classes at RWS! Here is a snapshot of what everyone has been up to…
JK
- used information from Watery William Quirkles book to investigate the water cycle by making our own water cycle and a graphic to help remember it
- read XE Ecology Quirkle book to help them understand recycling
- learned what compost is and why we should do it
- explored outside to find different "browns" and "greens" to use to create our own compost
SK
- started unit on weather
- revisited the water cycle
- learned to use maps to tell temperature on Earth
- made rain gauges and used them to determine the amount of rain that fell during a storm
- learned what a weather station is and more tools that meteorologists use to track and report weather
- created an anemometer to measure wind speed
1ST
- learned about the simple machine called a lever and made our own levers and experimented with them
- started unit on sound
- learned how sound travels and how important it is to us
- created an experiment to demonstrate how sound is one of our five senses that we use to gather information from our surroundings
- experimented to see whether sound travels best through solid, liquid, or gas
2ND
- investigated and experimented about desert plant and animal adaptations
- investigated and experimented about tundra plant and animal adaptations
- investigated and experimented about rainforest plant and animal adaptations
3RD
- wrote a lab report detailing what happened in the culminating project of the land and water interactions unit
- started unit on circuits
- investigated different insulators and conductors
- investigated ways to light a light bulb using a bulb, a battery, and a wire
- created a circuit using a battery holder, battery, two wires, a light bulb, and a bulb socket
4TH
- used the Scratch computer coding program to practice debugging programs
- created a video game that can keep score using the Scratch program
- played video games that were created by peers in order to give feedback to them on their projects
- started ecosystem unit
5TH
- started investigation of simple machines
- learned how to calculate work (W=FxD) and conducted an experiment to use this skill
- experimented with levers and how they work
- created a wheel and axle and used this project to complete an everyday task
6TH
- continued to study chemistry
- learned about two different atomic models (Bohr and Electron Cloud) and created each type of model for a different element
- picked an element to research for an element "Wanted" poster
5TH GRADE HEALTH
- started study of mental health and self esteem
6TH GRADE HEALTH
- continued genetics unit by identifying the difference between genotype and phenotype
- experimented with genotype and phenotype in the experiment "Genetics With a Smile" in which they flipped a coin to determine what traits their "child" would have
GARDEN NEWS
Students harvested the crops they grew in the winter garden. They grew arugula, red sail lettuce, buttercrunch lettuce, turnips, cilantro, and beets. Students then cleaned the produce and made salsa and salads to share with the school community at lunch. Everyone thought it was delicious!
The Second Grade continues to grow the prairie plants that they started from seeds collected at Litzsinger Road Ecology Center last fall. They are growing in a greenhouse in the classroom and will hopefully be planted in the fall.
We hope to plant the summer gardens as soon as the threat of frost dissipates.
As always, we continue to have a "Sustainability Star of the Week." Please encourage your children to be good citizens of our Earth. They can do this by treating our Earth as they would a member of their family. It is my hope that they are all reducing, reusing, recycling, and rotting (composting) when away from the science lab. Every little bit helps!
KIM BRECKENRIDGE SCIENCE SPECIALIST