Properties of Rocks, Shells, and Water
This week in Lower School Science, properties were being observed in almost every class.
Kindergarten observed the physical properties of shells, using their senses to ascertain size, texture, and color. They then sorted the shells by appearance and created pictograms and bar graphs to quantify their results.
First grade finished their study of nutrition by making their own butter in test tubes. After observing the properties of cream, the boys “shaked, rattled, and rolled” the cream (which they learned was a colloid) became a solid.
Second grade continued learning about the properties of water. After finishing their experiments on surface tension, the boys observed cohesion of water droplets by moving the droplets with air. The water droplet race was a big hit, and reinforced cohesion.
Third grade observed the properties of rocks by weighing, measuring, and recording color and texture. The boys will begin using field guides to identify rock specimens this week.
Fourth grade used probability to analyze the amount of water coverage of the earth. By tossing an inflatable globe back and fourth 100 times, and recording the number of times their pointer finger landed on land vs. water, they derived at estimates of the coverage. They will finish this activity next week.
Next week:
K - Fish Observations/Dissection (discovering physical adaptations)
1 - Intro to Five Senses - Sense of Smell (”Mystery Smells” and “Peppermint Beetle” activities)
2 - Water Cohesion: Water Drop Experiments
3 - Begin Field Guide Rock Research
4 - Finish Globe Toss Activity (using probability to estimate the Earth’s water coverage), Water Facts Game, and Landforms Powerpoint and Bingo
Sami