In math this week, we continued with our work around area and perimeter. We discussed when to use square centimetres and square metres when finding the area of an object. Students used geoboards in class to find the area and perimeter of both regular and irregular shapes. They worked on some area and perimeter problems in class and I’ve written them below if students want to continue to work on them over the weekend (I’ve also attached a link to a virtual geoboard to assist them in their work). We will go over some of their possible answers next week.
Our main focus in science this week was learning about the ways plants disperse their seeds—namely through animals/humans, wind and water. We worked our way through a “plant mystery adventure” about how the Koa tree can be found on both the Hawaiian Islands and Reunion Island in the India Ocean, which are separated by thousands of kilometres. Through the video clips and discussion, we finally reached the conclusion that birds were most likely the ones responsible for the spreading of the koa seed. We constructed three paper seed templates in class to test in small groups--the spinner seed pod, the rotocopter seed pod and the glider seed pod. After making them, students tested each design to see which seed could get further away from the “zone of darkness”--the shaded area next to the mother tree where seeds want to avoid landing. We soon discovered that the glider design worked best, although the spinner design was also quite effective as well. We also discussed how our results could have been affected if we did this activity outside, as the wind would spread the seeds much further. We watched an interesting video about how some plants, like the squirting cucumber, use high-pressure mechanics to disperse their seeds far and wide.
We also watched an in-depth video about each of the plant parts. It discussed the two types of transport tissue in a plant—the xylem (transports water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves), and the phloem (transports food from the leaves to the rest of the plant). We were able to observe the xylem in celery stalks that were sitting in water and food colouring for a few days. The leaves of the celery turned colour proving that the tubes in the stem (or xylem) were taking water up to the leaves. The food colouring had stained the xylem of the celery, and was clearly visible from a cross section taken from its stem. Our bean plants are continuing to grow—many students have observed they now have five leaves with more leaf buds ready to open soon! Have a great long weekend! —Ms. Jagger
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June 2018
CategoriesNeed extra practice? Below are math printable e-books for extra practice at home:
Patterns and Algebra Reading and Representing Whole Numbers Addition and Subtraction Multiplication and Division Time Length, Perimeter & Area Fractions “Math Makes Sense” Practice and Homework Book: Can be found at the Virtual Learning Commons under “Student Links”: http://nckodiaks.ca/lc/ Username: kodiakstudent Password: M@th15fun! Practice Problem Solving Questions Math Dictionary Math Websites: Demolition Division Multiplication Games Multiplication Interactive Games Subtraction Games Hour of Code Prodigy Abcya.com Math Facts Games Math Fact Fluency Activities & Games Plant Growth & Changes: Plant Growth and Changes Glossary of Important Terms Seed Survivor Plants for Kids Easy Science for Kids Plants Elementary Science Wheels & Levers Resources: Wheel and Levers Glossary of Important Terms Simple Machine Facts Simple Machines Interactive Sites Light & Shadows Resources: Light and Shadows Glossary of Important Terms BBC Light & Shadows How We See Things Light & Shadow Activities Interactive Tutorials Waste & our World Resources: Waste and our World Glossary of Important Terms Recycle City Game EekoWorld |