Now that we understand the properties of soil, we can begin to explore how rocks are broken down into sediment, carried away and deposited in a new location. To start this off, students simulated weathering from acid rain, pulverization, grinding, and root pry. They used shredded wheat as their rocks and compared the resulting sediment that was created by each weathering method.
We started our unit on Problem Solving in Math. The first step to solving story problems correctly is to understand what the problem is asking. To help with this, students looked through 48 keywords and sorted them by mathematical operation. These words give us clues to strategies that work best for each type of problem.
This week's trip to the garden was a busy one. Mrs. Marsh helped our classes learn about how the mixture in topsoil gives it the ability to support plant life the best. First students visited a soil buffet made up of clay, topsoil and sand. Here they explored the physical properties of each of these types of soil before and after adding water. Then they moved on to the raised bed. Onion and lettuce seeds were planted. The lettuce seeds were harvested from last year crop! During the school year our 4th grade students will get together with Mrs. Finch's 2nd grade class. We do cooperative activities that help students encourage each other to learn and grow. Today was our first meeting. Here we introduced ourselves to our buddy by bringing a stuffed friend along. Using the app Popplet, students created a double bubble to compare and contrast their animals. Future plans include garden activities, Reading together, STAAR support and holiday celebrations. Students worked in Place Value World again this Friday. They modeled decimals this time using virtual Base 10 blocks. They also represented these decimals in standard, expanded and word forms.
Students used marbles and rice to simulate the soil particles of sand and silt. We poured water through each sample and timed the rate of percolation. This helped us understand why water runs through sand quickly and thus makes it a difficult home for plants to grow.
Students headed out to the World of Wonder to collect soil samples. In these samples we discovered a variety of different things. Soil is a mixture!!
This Friday was a MinecraftEdu day. Students worked in a learning environment called Place Value World. Rather than using the plastic base 10 models to represent whole numbers, students were able to create these numbers using virtual blocks. Diamond blocks to be precise :) It was a great day!
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January 2016
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