Alka-seltzer Rockets: REDO

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! 

We adjusted our materials for our experiment and went back outside to  test our hypothesis!
(We got a little wet, but scientists don't mind a little rain!)

We still found certain types of film canisters that 'couldn't take the pressure' BUT we found a couple canisters that sealed all the gas given off from the chemical reaction. Those rockets allowed the pressure of that gas to build inside the sealed canister until it finally POPPED! Some of our rockets launched higher than the basket ball nets! It was very rewarding and exciting to see those ones lift off. 

                                                     

 The Polygon Song
We are learning about 2D and 3D shapes in Math and found a fun song to help us remember the names of polygons (Polygons are 2-dimensional shapes. They are made of straight lines, and the shape is "closed" (all the lines connect up).) 

Click on the title to check it out! 
---> it's a link ;) <---

   Aloha!

   Hawaii had some very interesting weather! The climate and weather patterns on Hawaii are a surprise to most visitors. For example, did you know that the Big Island has a wet and a dry side? That there is a hurricane season? And that some months are far more rainy than others? It wasn't just sunshine and beaches!

   The Big Island is actually on five shield volcanoes that overlap one another. The oldest is the Kohala volcano, which is already an extinct (dead) volcano. Two other dormant (sleeping) volcanoes came after one another; that is, Mauna Kea and Hualalai.

   The two active volcanoes (still giving off lava) in the Big Island are Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Kilauea is quite an active volcano. On the other hand, Mauna Loa is one of the biggest volcanoes in the whole world, extending into the Pacific Ocean, and is also still active. These two exhibit continuous lava flow, making the Big Island always bigger.

   When a volcano erupts, it can cause a lot of big weather changes. Ash from the explosion can be carried through the air, covering nearby land. The eruption can cause tsunamis, floods, and mudslides.

   Hurricane season in Hawaii is from June through November, with almost all the activity happening from July to September.  However, the Hawaiian islands themselves rarely experience more serious weather than lots of rain and large surf.

   This is because the volcanoes on the Big Island act as natural protection against hurricanes. Their high peaks affect wind circulation and help break up and weaken the storm as it moves toward and over the Big Island.
                               

                                        
Hawaii was once an independent kingdom. (1810 - 1893) The flag was designed at the request of King Kamehameha I. It has eight stripes of white, red and blue that represent the eight main islands. The flag of Great Britain is emblazoned in the upper left corner to honor Hawaii's friendship with the British.
-Wikipedia-

Alka-seltzer Rockets: Fail

Today our fifth graders experienced some exciting experiment failure.

Hey...it happens sometimes!

We still learned about chemical reactions and had fun!
We know what to do better next time!

Sidewalk Scoot

SCOOT! SCOOT! SCOOT!

Yesterday we had a math quiz, and since spring is in the air, we did our quiz outside!

We did a sidewalk scoot with Mrs. Krochel's crew! I had a wonderful parent volunteer help with writing the division questions on the sidewalk before we took the 5th graders outdoors with pencils and paper to write their test. The kids 'scooted' along the sidewalk squares and answered the question on each square.

Screaming Sticks

Screaming Sticks

Have you ever put your head in a pillow to just SCREAM? Feels good doesn't it?

   In health we are going to be doing a traditional native american activity called: “Run and Scream”. This game traditionally helped children and youth build strength, endurance and lung capacity (which is the amount of air a pair of lungs can hold after breathing as much air in as possible).

   As a class we have discussed the significance of choosing a stick from nature that you 'connect with'. We decorated our sticks with different objects to reflect our personalities. We also discussed importance of being in control at all times while running and that this is not a competitive race against others, it's traditionally a practice to improve individual performance. In all areas of life we do not need to compare ourselves to others, only improving ourselves and trying our best to do better than we've done in the past. Not to mention it's great for mental health! 

We can't wait to go outside to Run and Scream! Check back for our screaming pictures!

Creative Chemistry - Mixing Liquids and Solids

I can recognize and describe evidence of a
CHEMICAL REACTION.  I can also explain how the products of a reaction differ from the original substances.

In today's science class we mixed several household solids with water to see which dissolved in water, which did not, and which REACTED.

The student's had some surprising findings! 

Creative Chemistry

After exploring different ways to separate solids, we are now looking at ways to mix different liquids!

Do all liquids mix together? We learned that they don't! 

By mixing different materials together, we learned to recognize what dissolves and what reacts.We learned about the properties and interactions of some safe to handle household liquids and solids. We tested a variety of materials to see what happened when things are mixed together: what dissolves, what reacts and what remains unaffected.

Our fantastic fifth graders have show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits:

• curiosity
• confidence in personal ability to learn and develop problem-solving skills
• inventiveness and open-mindedness
• perseverance in the search for understandings and for solutions to problems
• flexibility in considering new ideas
• critical-mindedness in examining evidence and determining what the evidence means
• a willingness to use evidence as the basis for their conclusions and actions
• a willingness to work with others in shared activities and in sharing of experiences
  
  We will continue to explore and work on these traits in the experiments to come, but check out these mad scientists!