Best material? To bring the unit on materials to a close and to check on the knowledge we gained, we made kites, boats and parachutes! WE had to combine materials and think of what was the most suitable material to make them. The we tested them! Most of us used Wood and rubber to make our boats since they float and rubber is waterproof. Plastic or fabric to make our parachutes, since they are both light. Paper and string since they are light. Testing out Boats! Testing our Kites! Testing our Parachutes! We visited the Grade 1 Classroom! Ready to take the leap to G1!
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Heat changes materials! This week Anjali and Ashritha's mummy came to our class to conduct some experiments. We wanted to find out how heat would change the material. She brought a 'Bunsen Burner'. There were two types of flame that came out from it. The yellow flame that went high up was not the best to heat objects. The blue flame generated more heat was better to heat objects. We had thought of many things that could happen to the materials when heated. It could Melt Burn Bend Evaporate Harden Before subjecting the object to heat we had to make hypothesis of what would happen to the object. Then Dr Jeremiah, conducted the experiments. Most of our hypothesis were right! When subjecting glass to heat Zoe said that she had seen that 2 pieces of glass could join when heated. We could not do that experiment because it needed a very high temperature! This lead us to our investigation on glass. We watched a video on how glass was shaped when heated. We also saw that some glass was transparent. And that lead to our next inquiry about finding which objects were transparent, translucent and opaque. Transparent: We noticed that light goes through an object when it is transparent. The shadow cast is only of the outline of the object. Translucent: Here we noticed that some line passes through the object and we cannot see clearly through it. The shadow cast by objects that are translucent is also translucent. Some light goes through it, but the outline is not as defined as that of a transparent object. Opaque: Light could not pass through these objects. The shadows were just like that of the object. Math
When we combine two groups of objects they become more. There are lots of words to describe that put together sum add combine join total plus We made our own stories problems, which we represented using manipulatives, drawings and number sentence. Data When asked what is data, we were not very sure. So to help us understand data Ms Smita gave us a challenge. We were to make as many interlocked loops as possible within three minutes! We took on the challenge and put our fine motor skills to work! Once we made our loop chains we wanted to compare how long each one was. So we all had to start placing our chains at the same starting point. We then realised that we had to label each loop to identify whose loop it was. Once that was done we compared whose was longer, shorter or the same. We also compared the chains to find out if they were same, longer or shorter. On another day we collected data about our shoes. We sorted the shoe in to different categories. To make it easier to count we drew lines between each shoe (which looked like a grid). This helped us view and read the data easily. EEKK! We were introduced to EEKK! Here we 'Read to Someone' and then check for understanding. Metal detector! Zoe's daddy came to show us how people use the metal detector to find metal. When the detector came across any metal it went beep beep beep! We went to look for some hidden treasure in our sandpit using the metal detector. It was so much fun! People use it to find treasure! Zoe's daddy then read us a story by Dr Suess! We like when mummies or daddies come to read to our friends.
Superheros! We were given the opportunity to be Superheros! Our mission was to fly to save the people on the other side of the white line and get them back! We had to be fast! So we set out on our rescue mission wearing a mask and a cape. But then the capes were made of different materials! We had to test which was the most suitable material for a cape. It had to be light, not make any noise and help us fly fast. After testing capes made of wood, plastic, fabric and metal we came to the conclusion that fabric was best suited for a cape! Waterproof or absorbent? Ms Smita sprayed lots of water on us. But we did not get wet! We were wearing our rain coats/ carrying an umbrella. We found that umbrella/rain coat is made of a material that does not let water go through it and it is waterproof. But Ms Smita did not stop at that! When we put away our umbrellas/raincoats she sprayed water on us again. We were 'soaked'! We thus found out that clothes (fabric) absorb or soaks water. Exploring another material: CLAY It is a natural material. It is soft, smooth, mushy, cold and can be moulded into different shapes. It becomes hard when it is dry. It can break when it is dry. When heated and cooled it becomes waterproof. We can use it to make pottery- glass, tea pot, mugs, bowls and also make sculpture. 3D Shapes all round us!
We used recyclable materials to make 3D images! We continued our investigation into the different materials and its properties. This week we found out that unlike the fabric silk and wool which are natural materials and come from animals, there are other natural fabrics like cotton and jute that come from plants. We looked at how cotton grows and then is spun into threads which get woven into fabric. We did not have machines but we used our hands to try and spin the cotton into thread. At first the cotton ball was soft and could break and come apart easily. Once it was spun into a thread it become strong and difficult to pull apart. Since it was soft we used it to make clothes. We also found out that we should wear clothes made of cotton in warm countries since it keeps us cool. Sorting the 3D shapes in the class. Visit to the Grade 5 Exhibition: Loads of fun showing our parents what we learn in class during the Student Led Conference! Shapes all around! This week we started looking at 3D shapes. We discovered that we are surrounded by 3D shapes. Some were: Cube: Dice, ice, box, blocks Cone: Ice cream cone, party hat, traffic cone, mountain Cylinder: Pole, pipe, straw, arm, marker Sphere: Ball, globe, earth, moon, sun, eyeball, marbles Pyramid: Pyramids in Egypt, roof, desert Rectangular prism: Eraser, bus, soap bar, buildings, sponge, trolley, chocolate bar Triangular prism: Tent, ramp, roof, slide Question? When do we use a question mark? During Daily 5 we looked at words that could be used to ask questions. We also looked at the symbol of the question mark and used it in our writing. Properties of materials: Bend it, squash it, stretch it, bang it! We discovered that materials feel, look and sound different! There were so many different ways in which we could describe the material. We have also started wondering why we should use a particular material to make things! We are being inquirers and thinkers! During our show and tell we are carefully looking at the materials and investigating if they are natural or manufactured.
Zoe and Reika got objects that were made of fabric. Some of us thought that all fabric came from animals. So we started our investigation into where fabric came from? Ceyone researched and found that silk came from silkworms! Did you know that a single thread of silk could lift 2 students from K2 without snapping? Silk is very strong and light that is why it is used in making parachute! Natural material or not? What is a natural material? We discovered that materials that are found on the earth, or that which grow on earth, are natural materials. They are plants, rocks, water. Lots of other materials and not found in nature. We wondered what these materials that were not natural, but made by people, called? We thought of several names: Human made Manufactured Artificial Synthetic We thought that plastic and sponge were human made materials. We continue to investigate and inquire into other man made materials. We then went on a hunt in our playground to find things that are made from natural materials and those that are human made materials. Things made from natural materials: fence bench sand Things made from manmade materials: bicycles slide ball wall toys tyre Properties: Finding out more about the materials, we looked at it closely and thought about what it looked like and felt like. These are some of the words that we came up with: shiny, hard, soft, spiky, breakable, reflective, see through, waterproof, bendable. During Daily 5, we continued to focus on using describing words. We looked at some natural materials and described them by how they looked and felt. Shapes and symmetry Symmetry: it is when one half is the same as the other half. When a line cut an object so that the 2 parts are the same, is called the line of symmetry. K2's very first student nominated certificate to Anjali!
Describing words: This week we have been focusing on using describing words to improve our writing and speaking skills. We continue to work on our reading, writing and spelling skills. Shapes: There are lots of shapes with 4 sides, how do we differentiate? We found that Rectangle has 2 long and 2 short sides Square has sides which are all same Trapezoid has two slanting sides, one short and one long side Rhombus looks like a diamond Materials:
We are surrounded by lots of materials! We sorted materials into different categories. Later we were given chocolate to make teapot, plastic to make dress, paper to make shoes and wire to make umbrella. Were these suitable? Math day: We solved lots of number, pattern and sudoku problems. We also competed against each other at Live Mathletics. UOI: Looking at a other forms of expression using our body - acrobatics and mime. Spring Concert!
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AuthorWe are the class of K2 consisting of 5 and 6 year olds. Our teacher, Ms Smita, facilitates our learning through inquiry and lots of fun! Archives
May 2019
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