4th Grade Science and Engineering
Announcements:
June 26:
Zohar found a snow quartz crystal. She sent us a photograph of it, which you can see in the Outdoor Discoveries gallery.
June 22:
Max, Ian, and Olivia spent some time building grabber arms, each with a different grasping strategy. You can see the results of their efforts in the Student Engineering
gallery.
Here is a list of Summer Science and Engineering Resources.
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Science Lessons
Here is the first of several lessons about Climate Change.
Here is the second lesson about Climate
Change, called Earth's
Climate History
The third lesson about Climate
Change, called Melting
Polar Ice,
is now online.
Here is the link to the Sea Level Rise chart to go along with the above lesson.
Here is the website that will let you know the Elevation of Your Home.
The fourth lesson about Climate
Change, called Desert
Belts,
is now online.
The final lesson about Climate
Change, called Winners and Losers,
is now online.
Here are the Mountain Pages
for 4A.
Here are the Mountain Pages
for 4B.
Here are the Mountain Pages
for 4C.
Watch ants bring food back to their colony with this How Do Ants Find Food?
activity.
I have adapted a 5th grade lesson
about viruses
for you: What Is a Virus? You may need help from a grownup
to do this lesson.
There is a follow-up lesson that examines why washing your hands
with soap is so effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It's
called Life Without Purel.
There
is an experiment on page 4 that I would like you to do as you
work your way through this lesson. You will need two clear
glasses or empty jars,
water,
cooking oil, salt, a measuring cup and measuring spoons.
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Engineering ChallengesUsing only toothpicks and raisins, build the tallest tower possible. Your tower must stand on its own for 5 seconds before you measure it.
Here is the Balloon Rocket assignment, along with a little story.
Here are the directions for the Paper Rocket
Design Lab.
Here are the requirements for the Shoebox Maze
engineering challenge.
Here are the directions for constructing the Cotton Ball
Launcher.
Build a Sundial
following these simple directions.
Here are
the directions and requirements for the Catapult
Challenge.
While you're at home, why not build your own model roller coaster?
Here are some videos to give you some ideas:
A paper roller coaster
One made of plastic tubing
A cardboard roller coaster
You can also buy foam pipe insulation and split it in half
lengthwise. This is what we used in class.
Here's an explanation of some of the physics.
And for all you over-achievers: A backyard
roller coaster
Send photos of any roller coasters that you have built to gsimonelli@leffellschool.org
and I will post them on a special roller coaster page.
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Experiments and ActivitiesHere is an interesting acid/base reaction that you can try:
1) Use a funnel to pour 1 Tbsn of baking soda into a balloon.
2) Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into a narrow-mouthed bottle, such as a water or soda bottle.
3) Carefully put the open end of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle,
4) Stand the balloon up so that the baking soda falls into the bottle.
In honor of spring I have added three new science activities that you
can do with plants.
A photograph that Ascher (5th grade) sent
inspired this lesson on Root
Vegetables.
What would spring be without Daffodils? Here's an
activity to make them even more colorful. You can also find Before and After photos of Avery's (3rd grade) experiment
on this
page.
Ever wonder what's inside a seed? Try this Seed Sprouting activity to find
out.
Print out this Checklist.
How many items on this list can you
spot while we are out of school?
Go outside sometime and look at the buds on
trees. Are they going to become leaves or flowers? Spring Tree Buds
Announcing The
Goofy-Looking Tree Bark Photo Contest open to
all Leffell 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Have a look.
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Science Videos
Here's the Video that inspired Ascher's most recent
science experiment. This video also mentions two other great YouTube
channels. Life in Jars is all about creating mini
ecosystems, and Journey to the Microcosmos
is devoted to exploring the microscopic world. Ascher found this video
on a site that has compiled thousands of excellent educational videos
for kids. It's called The Kids Should See This. The videos on this site
cover a broad range of subjects. Of course, I like the Science
Videos best.
Both Mark Roper and the Backyard Scientist
have a lot of great videos that investigate different science
principles. Many of these investigations are quite dangerous. Do NOT
try these at home, but I think you will enjoy watching them from a safe
distance!
Check out this short,
beautiful video of a Flock of Starlings in flight.
Those of you going through amusement-park-ride-building withdrawl might
want to attempt something like this Pyramid Marble Run at home.
A
parent sent in this video explaning how soap
kills bacteria. It looks like a
good follow-up to the Life
Without Purel lesson.
Check
out this video of
some amazing creations by Theo Jansen: Strandbeest
Evolution
Here is a nice collection of Earth and Physical Sciences videos.
Interested
in some off-the-wall science videos? Of
course you are!
Here are some YouTube videos by Steve Spangler. Let me know if
you have any favorites and I'll pass them along to everyone.
And let's not forget The King of Random. (Please do NOT try these
activities at home!)
Okay, if you're really bored,
you can watch some Glenn's Science Videos.
I'll apologize in advance. But with so much emphasis placed on "best
practices" in science teaching, I just felt that we should also
celebrate some "worst practices." We can't all be great teachers (or YouTube
stars), can we?
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Student Work Galleries
Goofy-Looking
Tree
Bark
Have you seen any goofy-looking tree bark? Contribute to our Goofy-Looking Tree Bark Photo
Gallery. Send your photos
and snarky comments to gsimonelli@leffellschool.org
and I will add them to the Photo
Gallery.
Root
Vegetables
Have you gotten anything to grow while working on the Root
Vegetables activity? Add your photographs to our Plant Sprouting Gallery.
Outdoor
Discoveries
Find something amazing outdoors
An animal? Or a plant? Maybe an interesting rock? Sent us a photo of
what you found for our Outdoor
Discoveries gallery.
Spring
Tree Buds
Spring Tree
Buds are beginning to open. The Spring Buds Photo Gallery has
increased to 3 pages.
Page 1
Page
2
Page
3
Send your photos to
gsimonelli@leffellschool.org.
Let's keep this gallery growing.
Student Engineering
Here
is where you can share any engineering projects that you have worked
on. If you sent me photos or a link to a video of any engineering work
that you've
done (roller coasters, shoebox maze), they are now part of the
new Student Engineering
gallery.
Student Experiments
Have
you done any other experiments at home that you'd like to share with
your friends and classmates? Send your photos and a desciption of what
you did to gsimonelli@leffellschool.org
and I will publish
them our Student
Experiments page.
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Science News
The virus that causes the COVID-19
illness has a new name! Some
background: The term "coronavirus" is a general term that describes a
family of viruses with tiny little "spikes" sticking out of their
protective coating, sort of like the corona of our Sun: .
The current illness that everyone is so concerned about was first
identified in 2019, so it was called Coronavirus Disease 2019 and
shortened to COVID-19. Recently, scientists have discovered that the
virus causing the COVID-19 outbreak is very similar to another
coronavirus that caused the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
illnesses about 18
years ago. They named that virus SARS-CoV, so they have given this new
virus the official name SARS-CoV-2. So the next time someone talks
about COVID-19
you can roll your eyes and say "That name is soooo last month!" That is, if you
want people to dislike you.
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Old Announcements:
March
22:
Getting outdoors. Here are some great places to hike in the Westchester County area:
- For
those of you close to the Bronx, Pelham Bay Park has a lot of secluded hiking
trails.
- The Westmoreland
Sanctuary and the Butler Memorial Sanctuary are right across the
road from each other in Mt. Kisco. Both have nice trails. The Butler
Sanctuary is a great place to view the
spring and fall hawk migrations.
- Mianus River Gorge
is a little further east, near
Bedford.
- Stone
Barns is closed, but you can still
enjoy hiking the extensive network of trails in the Rockefeller
State Park Preserve. The Thirteen Bridges Loop is one of my favorites.
- Teatown
Lake Preserve
in Ossining
has a very family-friendly hike around the lake, along with additional
hiking trails.
- Croton Point
Park is a little expensive during the summer, in my opinion, but
admission and parking is free until May 25.
- A
little further north, the Blue Mountain Reservation offers both hiking and
mountain biking trails. It, too, is free until May 25.
- Turkey Mountain Nature Preserve in Yorktown
affords some nice views of the Hudson River and, on a clear day, the
Manhattan skyline.
- And
finally, in Rockland County, Harriman
State Park, which includes Bear
Mountain State Park, is a national treasure. With over 200 miles of
secluded trails, you might want to buy the set of hiking trail maps published by the New York/New Jersey
Trail Conference
A
big thank you to everyone who is sending me links to other science
resources. I am starting to compile a list of these websites on a new Resources page.
March
20:
For those of you who, like me, feel the need to get
outdoors every now and then but want to avoid crowds, the New York/New Jersey
Trail Conference has recently published a collection of maps
of Hiking Trails in
Westchester County. They also have a
lot of other books and
maps on their "Marketplace"
page. I've gotten several of both and can
recommend them. (I particularly like hiking in Harriman
State Park.)
Links to Outside Sources of Science Lessons and
Activities
11 Engaging STEM Activities for Kids That Will
Foster Curiosity from Rasmussen
College by Brianna
Flavin
Explore different topics and games on National Geographic Kids.
You
do not need to set up an account for this web site.
40
STEM ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
The California Academy of Sciences
has collection of different online live science lesson videos. I like
how these include the target age group and contain additional materials
to supplement the lesson.
The
Environmental Protection Agency still exists and has developed lessons
to introduce students to the EnviroAtlas.
Some members of a Girl Scout troop in Alabama sent us a link to a page of Engineering Games and Projects. There is also a lot of information about engineering carreers on this page.
A big "Thank you!" to Amelia for sending this link to a web page filled with Computer Science and Engineering Resources for Women in STEM. Scroll down the page for links to programs, scholarships and other helpful information for woman interested in STEM careers.
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