Wednesday November 23rd
What are we working on?
This month, students have been using a variety of strategies to investigate the stuff that makes up EVERYTHING - matter!* In terms of grading, all work submitted on or before Sunday, November 13th was counted as part of the first Marking Period. All work submitted since will be counted for the second marking period.
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Students will have a test on Matter on Friday, December 2nd. Prezis, a study guide, and other study materials will be posted on Google Classroom. After matter, we will be doing a mini-unit on reading nonfiction science texts and writing responses and summaries of them. We will then be investigating ecosystems and energy transfer!
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| Colin, David, Luca, Ryan S, and Sofia love cleaning almost as much as they love learning! |
Students have been working their way through six matter-based stations to investigate all different aspects of atoms, molecules, and everything else to do with matter, according to the Next Generation Science Standards These stations were:
1. 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' - Students were asked to watch two videos. One was a detailed explanation of the states of matter and how these states can change BUT the molecules don't! Students then watched a clip from Disney's Frozen and explained to Olaf what would really happen to a snowman in summer.
2. 'Separating Mixtures' - Students learned that mixtures can be separated only when you use the properties of the items involved. Students were challenged to separate one of three mixtures: a. sand, salt, and iron filings; b. salt, pepper, and lentils, or; c. paper clips, glitter, and beads
3. 'The Case of the Mysterious White Powder' - A lab that we did this unit involved determining the properties of baking soda, borax, corn starch, salt, and sugar. Students were tasked with the job of identifying which substance was which when they were given unlabeled samples.
4. 'Element Commercial' - Students chose one element from the periodic table and gathered research on it in order to put together a commercial for that element using the presentation website animoto.com
5. 'Magic Matter' - Students learned about the law of conservation of matter by combining baking soda and vinegar, and determining what happens to the molecules involved when chemicals combine!
6. 'Using Multiple Sources' - One of the skills we'll be working on this year is synthesizing information from multiple sources, like videos, images, and nonfiction texts, to answer a single question. At station 6, students used an article on matter as well as a image of solids, liquids, and gases to compare and contrast the three states of matter.
Addison:
In the stations we did experiments, such as Separating Mixtures, Mysterious White Powder and ,Magic Matter. In the other 3 stations we made an element commercial, watched 2 videos and answered 2 open ended questions using the writing method R.A.C.E. (Restate the question) (Answer the question) (Cite evidence) (Explain your quote) The stations helped me understand properties of some of the elements on the periodic table, answering open ended questions, and using quotes to help support my answer. I learned a lot of new and cool things about science. I think these stations were fun and organized, and I hope to do something like this another time!
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| Done with all your stations? Kaleigh and Izabella take each other on in a game of Periodic Table Battleship, while Matthew runs a game of Kahoot  |
Some students have volunteered to share with you what we've been up to!
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In station 1 we learned about properties changing.We talked about what would happen if Olaf were to experience summer for the first time.It was fun because we got to watch Olaf sing “In Summer”from frozen and talk about molecules seperating and jamming together.It really helped me understand the seperation of molecule and atoms.I learned that the under certain circumstances it’s properties change.
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| Hannah and Caitlin work together to figure out how to separate mixtures at station 2 |
Tim:
Andy:
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| Andy, Nate, and Melissa try to figure out what methods work best when separating lentils, salt, and pepper |
Thinh:
At station 2 Noah, Brody and I separated the iron filings, sand, and salt mixture. How we solved this was we took out the magnet and stuck it in the middle of the cup when we pulled it out again we got a lot of the black iron fillings . We continued to do this once we got most of it out. Then we dumped the sand and the salt on a metal plate we poured the water into the mixture then we dumped the salty water into a cup .The reason why we dumped the water is because the salt dissolved and so once we boil it the water will evaporate and what will be left in the pot is salt. Each part of the mixture had different properties, which let us separate them.
Harlow:
At Station 2, we separated a mixture made up of iron filings, sand, and salt. (At least, that’s what I did with my group.) We had the options of using coffee filters, sifters, magnets, and water to separate the mixture of our choice. I separated my mixture by using a magnet for the iron filings, a coffee filter to hold the separated items in, and a sifter for the sand and salt. The magnet easily picked up the iron filings, so my group placed those in a coffee filter. Next, we placed the remaining items, the mixed up sand and salt, into a sifter. The sand grains were small, so they easily went through the holes onto the coffee filter. The salt grains were too big, though, so they stayed in the sifter. We poured the salt grains onto another coffee filter, and that’s how we separated the mixtures.
This station helped me understand properties of objects and how to use those properties to our advantage. There was an online worksheet that we had to fill out as part of the the station, and one part of it had us list a property for each item and how that property had to do with its separation. For example, for the iron filings I put “magnetic” because the magnet easily pulled them out of the cup, which helped us separate them from the salt and sand. Also, for the sand I wrote “small grains” because the small grains allowed the salt to go through sifter holes, falling onto the coffee filter and separating it from the last item, which was salt. Finally, for the last item I typed in “big grains” because the size of its grains didn’t allow it to fall through the sifter holes.
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| Caitlin applies vinegar to salt to determine what properties will be affected by the reaction |
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| Elise, Drew, and David discuss the different textures of the testing powders |
As part of the unit, students observed and recorded the properties of five different white powders. They used their observations to later identify the powders in a small group in Station 3 - Mysterious White Powders.
Lily: At station 3, we had to identify 5 mysterious white powders. The powders were sugar, salt, borax, cornstarch and baking powder. The powders were in plastic bags, and we had to add water, vinegar and iodine to a small amount of the powder on a black piece of paper that was separated into sections so we could experiment with each. We had done an experiment with these same powders a couple days before, and we had filled out a sheet on them that said things like their properties and how they reacted to vinegar, water and iodine. We used that to help us identify the pattern. At this station I learned how to use an identification sheet and properties of something to figure out what it was.
Grace:
At station 3 we had to find out what were the powders that Mr.Morris spilled in his car. But before we had to find out what the powders were, we did an experiment when they had their labels on. When we did it helped me understand that when you have information use it and it will help you find the answers to your question. Something I learned in this experiment is that when you do the experiment they have different reactions to different chemicals. When we did this experiment I felt like I was in a different world doing an experiment. This is why station 3 is my favorite station.  |
| Bethany, Ajla, Hailey, Ella, and Thomas successfully labeled all 5 powders! |
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| Scientists at work |
In Science, we did station work. My favorite station was station 3, The Mysterious White Powders. We used salt, sugar, Borax, baking soda, and cornstarch. We also used water (H2O), vinegar, and Iodine. We had to put iodine, vinegar, and water in the powders and, using our paper from when we saw the reactions a couple weeks ago, we had to try to figure out what the powder was. We also used all the powders put together and put iodine in it for no reason. It was really cool because it put all of the reactions together. I enjoyed doing Station 3.
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| Charlie, Raya, Tyler, Harlow, and Kayla researching some elements |
Ryan K:
I chose station 4 - element commercial. We made an element commercial that includes an element of our choice from the periodic table and put 2 facts about the element, the price of the element, the atomic number, the atomic mass, the name and symbol, picture of the element’s atom, what your element can be used for, and of course a jingle! It helped me understand how to read a periodic table. I learned a lot about the element...Tin!
Ryan Z:
I loved station 4, the animoto station. What I loved is that you could personalize your own presentation. You can add a song, pictures, and words. We had to pick an element from the periodic table and do a presentation on that element. You need tons of facts like the symbol and number. It is super fun to do it. It might be one of the longer stations, but it is worth your time. It helps you learn about a periodic element of your choose. I learned that polonium is a solid and literary everything about that element. I learned a lot that my little brain could barely store it all. I loved that station.
KiKi:
My favorite station would probably be the Animoto station, because we get to create our own commercial about the elements we chose. For example, I chose Neon because I thought that I could do a pretty cool Animoto about it.
It helped me learn something because at first, I knew absolutely NOTHING about neon. The only thing I knew was that it looked cool. Now I know the atomic number, weight, and stuff like that. When I finished my Animoto, I was like, Wow, this is really cool! When I turned it in, I was so happy that I knew more about something that I wanted to do another one, but I knew that we were only allowed to do one.KiKi and Ashley's commercial for Neon
Please check out just a small sample of some other amazing research videos created by the 5th graders below!
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At Station 5, Magic Matter, students got a chance to observe the law of Conservation of Matter. They combined baking soda with vinegar and weighed the mixture. After the reaction, the weight of the mixture went down. They then put a balloon on the same flask. With the balloon, the weight of the mixture stayed about the same - the students learned that matter can't disappear, but it can turn into a gas and escape!
At Station 5, Magic Matter, students got a chance to observe the law of Conservation of Matter. They combined baking soda with vinegar and weighed the mixture. After the reaction, the weight of the mixture went down. They then put a balloon on the same flask. With the balloon, the weight of the mixture stayed about the same - the students learned that matter can't disappear, but it can turn into a gas and escape!
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| Julia and Sara watch what happens when baking soda and vinegar combine to form carbon dioxide |
Rachel E:
I did station 5 also known as “magic matter” what i did at this station was i poured Vinegar in a beaker And found how much it weighed. then I weighed the baking soda. And then I added The baking soda and vinegar Together it started to fill up and come out of the beaker some of it got on the table. but then we looked at the way of them together. and we were trying to figure out what happened because we no matter cannot disappear or reappear. So we thought that when it exploded some of the stuff we on the table. But then we figure it out that. 6 grams could not be on the table. Since we lost 6 grams. so then we did some more thinking. So then Mr. Morris said let's put a balloon over the top before we put them in together so what we did was we We put baking powder in the vinegar and quickly put the balloon on top. and then we slowly watched the Fill up to the max. so then we figured out that the 6 grams actually went into the air. So that is what we learned in station in that station .
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| Molly, Sofia, Ryleigh, Eve, and Nash observe what happens at station 5 with no balloon on top of the flask |
Addie:
At station 5, we made a mixture with baking soda and vinegar. On Day 2 of station 5 we added a balloon to see why the mixture lost weight. It lost about 6 grams of carbon dioxide. It help me understand why matter can’t disappear. I also learned about another chemical reaction that I could try at home. Another thing I learned was how carbon dioxide escaped the beaker.
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| Thanks for taking a look at our class newsletter, Volume 2! |
