Week 9: June 10-14

Experiments!

This week we finished Airplane Experiment 2, and I have posted the pictures below.

Parent's Day

This week Grade 5 welcomed many parents as guests and prepared a series of experiments to present to their audience.  Students spent the week researching experiments and preparing for the experiment demonstration on Friday.  In addition to researching experiments students also completed the various Scientific Method steps: Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment (and later Analysis and Conclusion). 

Students made a shopping list of materials needed to conduct the experiment and we made a trip to Daiso.  A small budget was allotted to each group so students had to factor in what they really needed versus what they wanted.  Posters were made and data gathered as each group walked us through each of their experiments.

On Friday Grade 5 performed four different experiments:

Homemade Bouncy Ball: made out of a mixture of borax, glue, and corn starch.

Waterproofing Sand: sprayed waterproofing spray on sand found and sifted at the park. 

Lava Lamp: water, vegetable oil, alka-seltzer combined to show different densities in liquid.

Lemon Volcano: lemon, baking soda, dish soap, and lemon juice combine for an explosive effect.

Bouncy Ball

Bouncy Ball

Waterproofing Sand

Lava Lamp

Lava Lamp

Bouncy Ball

Lemon Volcano

Lemon Volcano

Week 8: June 3-7

Airplane Experiments 1-2

This week we expanded our inquiry into the Scientific Method by conducting two airplane experiments.  The first experiment was more of a trial run while the second allowed them to revise their hypothesis and designs.  

Experiment 1:

Students divide into five groups and search through an origami airplane book to select a design that they predicted would fly the farthest.  Students set to work constructing their planes using origami paper.  We wrote all the data for our experiment according to the Scientific Method: Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment.  

After doing all the prep work we headed to the park where students took it in turn to fly their designated plane one by one.  They used a tape measure to record the distance of each plane and wrote it in their UoI notebooks for all five rounds.  

Back in the classroom students applied their math skills to calculate the average distance of all five rounds for each group and determined whose plane flew the farthest.  They finished writing their Analysis and Conclusion (the last two steps of the Scientific Method).  Students were a bit disappointed with the results and kept thinking of ways to improve their design which led us to...

Experiment 2:

In an attempt to improve results of their flights, students selected a new design after doing more research.  They also had the freedom to use different paper and materials.  Some predicted construction paper would be better while others thought wider wings might improve flight distance. Students revised their hypothesis and research to construct a new design.  We repeated our experiment at the park and calculated data results to determine the plane that flew the farthest distance on average.  Most students were happy with the improvement in the flight.

Literacy Week: May 20-24

Literacy Week 

This week was all about reading and sharing our love of books and stories.  Students spent extra time delving into library books and reading with friends.  Here are a few of the activities that we participated in this week: 

Book Buddies.  On Monday Grade 5 paid a visit to Pre-K B and read stories to them as a mentoring activity.  It was a joy to see how nicely the older students interacted with the younger children.  We are hoping to continue this reading buddy system in the future.

Poem in our pocket day.  We ended up carrying our poem with us for longer than a day and shared them with each other throughout the week.

Osaka Public Library.  On Thursday we took a field trip to the local public library and found some interesting books to look through.  There was a large English section and multimedia area as well.  It was fun to see what kind of books are available to us for free.

Dress up as a book character day.  Half of the class dressed up as famous book characters, and we all enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes around the school.

Spelling Bee: Ahmet and Aleyna were our class representatives in the school Spelling Bee.  They competed against students in grades 4-8 with Aleyna as the winner.