Mr. Calvert showed us a song to help us learn about the Periodic Table. I learned that there are 118 elements in the periodic table. I didn’t learn all 118 of them but I can remember some like gold, silver, calcium, mercury, hydrogen and uranium. I don’t remember a lot of the rest but I hope to learn more about them this year. I know that there were a few new elements added this year. Maybe when I’m older there will be even more elements.

Today we split up into two groups and tried to get into a box with two locks on it. Our team worked together while doing the clues. We corporated and used many strategies including:

• Listening to everyone and their ideas
• Breaking into smaller groups to accomplish one big task
• Letting everyone see the clues

I feel like our team did very well and we even did an extra lock! I really liked this challenge and hope to do more throughout this quarter.

Today I learned a lot about atoms.

• I learned that the more electrons in an atom, the more orbitals
• The electrons in orbitals don’t have to be in certain levels. They may be spread out in clouds, groups around the nucleus.
• Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus and without him we wouldn’t fully understand atoms

In addition, I learned that insulators are things that don’t conduct electricity. Insulators help protect people from getting electrified and stop the flow of electricity.

Yesterday in technology, I learned about how to be safe while using the tools. Let me list some of them:

• Don’t wear loose clothing like necklaces,  large earrings or baggy sleeves
• Don’t leave machines unattended while they are running
• Tie your hair up
• Stop and think before you do something

Mr. Calvert showed us a video of someone that got a drill stuck in his hair and that influenced me to be very careful.