Year: 2019

Magnets and Static Electricty

ldegrazia Science , ,

We continue to explore forces.  Recently, we have been working closely with magnets and learning about static electricity.

Here are some questions to think about before watching the video below:

MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY DEFINITION Forces can be applied at a distance through magnetism and static electricity. A magnet is an object that can attract some metals like iron. Static electricity can also attract objects without touching them, but it works a bit differently. It can attract and repel due to electrical charges.

***Watch the video below from Generation Genius to learn more. Then complete the worksheet provided. You can pause the video to write down your answers. After all of this is complete you can check out the other resources below.

Magnets and Static Electricity

After the video you will understand the following concepts:

  • Forces can be applied at a distance through magnetism and static electricity.
  • The closer magnets are, the stronger the force.
  • Magnets can push or pull other magnets, depending on the poles.
  • Electromagnets can be turned on and off with electricity.
  • Static electricity can push or pull things without touching them

Here are some other resources to read or watch about magnets. Also, I know many of you enjoyed watching the nine experiments with static electricity, I included that video too. Enjoy and have fun!

Trueflix Magnets

 

DK Magnets– Click on the quiz

Reading Mystery Books

ldegrazia Reading, Writing ,

In our reading Mystery unit of study we are learning the different elements that are in mystery books. We used The Absent Author and The Whodunit, The Diamond Mystery as our read aloud and mentor texts. You can click on the links below to remind yourself how do mystery books go and how do you read mystery books from the beginning, middle and end of this genre?

 

How do mystery books go?

Mystery readers look for…

Also, we have been working on retells after each chapter using a timeline to help track and hold onto information in our reading notebooks. Last, we are practicing to write 3rd grade summaries.  Look at your chart in your notebook to remind yourself what a 3rd grade summary looks like.  Otherwise, Here is the learning progression retell/summary chart for easy access.

Please post one of  your summaries on your blog.  Here are some guidelines to help you write a successful post:

  • First write in google docs (in writing folder, name your doc “summary and the book title”) because this is a long post and will not save automatically in your blog
  • Remember to use character names, big events, problem and solution, and a lesson (who, wanted, but, so, then…)
  • Reread your summary and take out any details that are not necessary to tell (big events)
  • Proofread and edit for capitals, punctuation, and spelling
  • Copy and paste your work from google docs to your blog (command c- copy and command v- paste)
  • In your blog remember to write a few sentences to introduce what you learned about summaries before you paste it into your blog
  • Add categories and tags on your blog
  • Save draft
  • Publish when you completed your checklist above

 

Magnets

ldegrazia Science , ,

Did you know that magnets have a force of their own? Much like the pushing and pulling we have been talking about, magnets make things move. Watch the Brainpop Jr. Video below and continue to think about magnetism as a force.

Magnets on Brainpop Jr. video

  • You can post your thoughts on the padlet link below.
  • Please include your first name, so we know who wrote each response.
  • Elaborate and provide evidence from the video (text) to support your answers.
  • As always, please look at your spelling and punctuation before completing your post.

Padlet on Magnets

Khan Academy Addition and Subtraction with Regrouping

ldegrazia Math , , , ,

Please use the links from Khan Academy below to practice and further understand the math skills we have been working on in class.  I would recommend watching one link per night since there is a lot information to review. Enjoy and have fun being a flexible mathematician, as you continue to think about different strategies and visualizing numbers in many different ways.

Breaking apart 3-digit addition problems

Adding and subtracting on number line

Worked example: Subtracting 3-digit numbers (regrouping)

Missing number for 3-digit addition within 1000

Applet to learn about patterns in a pendulum

ldegrazia Science ,

We learned that a pendulum is a weight that hangs from the end of a rope, wire, or string in motion.  One end of the wire is attached to a fixed point. In our lesson students made a pendulum with a 7 inch string with a donut, and watched it swing three cycles. One student was a timekeeper and another student recorded the time it took the pendulum to swing in three cycles.  Students then changed the length of the string to 5 inches and recorded how long it took the pendulum to swing  for three cycles. Again, students recorded their data and compared the data from this one changed variable (the length of the string). What patterns did you notice?

Click on the link  below to view the experiment:

Pendulum Swing Video

Now that we found through our experiment that changing the length of a pendulum changes the time it takes to complete a swing; the shorter the pendulum, the faster it swings.

You can continue to explore with the applet below to change another variable.  Maybe you will change the amount of friction or the amount of gravity.  Remember to only change one variable at a time to have a fair test method. Have fun and experiment with the applet and remember to find patterns with the pendulum. Here are some questions to reflect about while exploring:

  • What makes a swing similar to a pendulum? 
  • Why do you need to push and pump to get yourself going in the first place? 
  • What makes you (or any pendulum bob) keep coming down to the ground and not flying off into the air?
  • What makes you (or any pendulum bob) keep going up? ) Hint:.TAKE AWAY FRICTION (force) see what happens.
  • How could we change the rate of the pendulum swing? 

***Here is an applet that shows a pendulum that you can virtually manipulate. You will need to download this. 

You can lengthen or shorten the string, add friction, add more or less gravity. 

Stonefox

ldegrazia Reading ,

We just finished reading Stonefox and we learned a lot about Little Willy and his relationship with his grandfather.  We stopped and discussed many lessons throughout the book to see what John Reynolds Gardiner did as an author. We recently discussed how author’s put certain things in their stories for a reason,  the author’s purpose.

  • How did you feel about the ending of Stone Fox?
  • Why do you think the author chose to end the book this way?

Once you write your reason(s), please give evidence from the text to support your answer and your thinking.

  • You can post your thoughts on the padlet link below.
  • Please include your first name, so we know who wrote each response.
  • Elaborate and provide evidence from the text to support your answers
  • As always, please look at your spelling and punctuation before completing your post.

Image result for stonefox

 

Padlet on Stonefox

 

FORCES

ldegrazia Science ,

We have been learning about balanced versus unbalanced forces. Today we learned about friction. We learned through our investigations that friction is a force that affects the motion of objects.

Click on the video link below from BrainPop to learn more about forces. When you finish, click on the padlet and write something you learned from the video. Please put your initials and use correct spelling and punctuation.

Forces

Padlet on Forces

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

ldegrazia Science , ,

We have been learning about balanced and unbalanced forces in science. Click on the link below to watch a video to learn more about this topic. Some questions to think about are:

  • What is a force?
  • Is a student sitting on a chair an example of a balanced force or an unbalanced force?
  • If you drop a ball is at rest or in motion?
  • What needs to happen in a game of tug of war for the forces to be balanced?

 

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

After this activity, you will have some reading materials and questions to think about. Enjoy!

Maglev post #3 -Final Reflection

ldegrazia Science

You did it! You have used all that you’ve learned about magnets and being a transportation engineer in order to create a successful maglev train. You planned, created and improved upon a design that would safely and efficiently transport people, or…rocks!

For your final reflection please answer the following questions:

 

Paragraph 1- Describe what your first track and vehicle design were.

 

Track: What magnets did you use? How many of each? How were they arranged?

 

Vehicle: (What magnets did you use? How many of each? How were they arranged?

 

Paragraph 2- Describe one problem your group faced and how you revised and improved your design to solve the problem

 

Paragraph 3- Describe your final design. Why did it work?

 

Track: (What magnets did you use? How many of each? How were they arranged?)

 

Vehicle: (What magnets did you use? How many of each? How were they arranged?

 

Paragraph 4 – Describe some of the thoughts and feelings you had when going through the design process.  Be specific about what caused you to have these thoughts and feelings.

 

Be sure to check over your work in your Google Drive BEFORE you post it to your blog. Look for:

  • Proper capitalization and punctuation
  • Spelling and grammar
  • That you answered each question in FULL sentences
  • Be sure to include a few photographs for any of the questions.