Light experiments

Last week students investigated the properties of light including using fibre optic cable and lasers. 

SOLE Project

After watching a TED talk video by Sugata Mitra, I was inspired to try something new in our class. This week the class participated in a SOLE (Student Organized Learning Environment). Each group was given an iPad and a challenging question to respond to independently. The grade fours were asked "Were the Middle Ages really the Dark Ages?" and the grade threes were asked "How did physical geography and natural resources affect where the pioneers choose to settle in Canada?" The groups took different approaches and worked cooperatively. They were incredibly engaged. To follow are the posters they made to communicate their findings. I am hoping to be able show the videos we made of their presentations.

DSRO

Last week we had a performance from members of the Deep River Symphony Orchestra. The students were captivated.

Forces in Action

This week, Mr. Wills, our volunteer science consultant, arranged for Andrew Wilson to come to our school to demonstrate rockets and rocket launches.  On Tuesday, April 9th, Mrs. Thomas' class and ours attended this exciting display.

 

We set up the launch area in the playground and the students stayed well clear of the area.  There was also a table set up for a closer look before and after.  Andrew had a few rockets that the children could touch and a rail launcher for larger rockets, so that the children were able to get a sense of how larger ones could be launched and how a pad might look. 

Andrew started his presentation with a brief overview of how rockets work and what we could expect to see.  He discussed safety precautions, and afterwards, he had a short question and answer period.

The students greatly enjoyed watching forces in action!  There were amazed at the heights the rockets reached.

 

What we are up to

In math, we have just completed a unit on patterning and have started investigating 3-D solids.
In language, the students have been learning to write procedures, including documenting how they made balloon rockets.  Also, they have been writing narratives and discussing the features of this text type.
After the March Break we will be reading about Chris Hadfield, the International Space Station and space.  The students are very excited with the topics of rockets and space travel, so we will be following their interests. Through a variety of media (news articles, videos, etc.), students will learn more about what goes on out of the earth's atmosphere.  In Science, students will further investigate forces (grade 3) and how they act on humans in space.  We will also tie in Light and Sound explorations (grade 4) during our space investigation.

Friday, March 8th

On Friday during our language centres block, students will have the opportunity to select an activity of their choosing. They may bring electronic devices to class on this day should they wish to use them during this time.

Balloon rockets

Today the students investigated forces while constructing and "launching" balloon rockets.  Local scientist, John Wills, lent his expertise to help the students better understand forces and the laws of motion. They greatly enjoyed the activity and were very successful.