5th Grade Science - Volume 2 - Thursday, December 20th                                                            

What are we working on?




This month, students have been using a variety of strategies to investigate the stuff that makes up EVERYTHING - matter!

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What's coming up?

Students will be introduced to a series of assignments that we will be working on for the remainder of the year: Current Events.  Current Events will be assigned on Google Classroom.

Please take a look at the Current Events Guideline and Rubric so you know what will be expected of your child moving forward!  

For a quick overview of where to go in Google Classroom to find these assignments and guidelines for them, take a look at this short video.

The first two current events will be due Friday, January 11th. 

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Now, back to what really 'matter's:
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:

Science gets messy with Ryan, Will, and Daniella

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

What's the 'matter,' Ember? 

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 Google Slides.  Students then presented those slides to their peers as their peers offered feedback.

Colby, Nina, and Kyle mix baking soda and vinegar

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.





Some students have volunteered to share with you what we've been up to!

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Sam, Gabby, and Keira (station 2 - separating mixtures):

Dustin, Matt, & Tyler (station 2 - separating mixtures):

Jaxen, Kal, & Michael (station 2 - separating mixtures):

Separating Mixtures at station 2 can get messy...

...very messy

Liam (station 3 - mysterious white powders):

Brian (station 3 - mysterious white 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.

An observation table after each substance was classified

At Station 4, students gathered research about an element from the periodic table and put together a presentation on it.  They then presented their findings to classmates, who provided them with peer feedback.  Below are some presentations and pictures.

Sydney, Bella, Chris, and AJ share their presentation on Hydrogen.

Michael, Christian, and Ben share their presentation as peers observe!

Erin's group even found a Google extension, called Peardeck, that allowed their presentation to be totally interactive! 

At Station 5, Magic Matter, students got a chance to observe the law of Conservation of Matter.  They combined baking soda with vinegar and found the mass of 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 mass of the mixture stayed about the same - the students learned that matter can't disappear, but it can turn into a gas and escape! 
Jaxen and Em (station 5 - magic matter):


Sydney & Bella (station 5 - magic matter):

Keira, Lexie, and Catherine (station 5 - magic matter):

Mixing baking soda and vinegar creates carbon dioxide, allowing us to blow up a balloon without blowing at all!

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To prepare for our unit test, Ms. Phillips designed a Breakout game to help students review!  They had to solve a series of science-related puzzles to uncover the key that helped them solve the mystery of the stolen Atom Crown!

Congratulations to the winning team who finished in about 8 minutes!

In science class, something new we've been trying is Classcraft, an interactive video-game style class gamification platform.  Students have created characters and are completing quests to earn points and prizes.  
Please feel free to create a parent account and follow along with your child's progress!  If you're having trouble and would like to create account, I can invite you as well.  Let me know if you have any questions!

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Finally, a special shout-out to the Period 8 Neptune Knights for winning the Fluorine 500, this unit's class race, by being the first class to earn nine protons on their atom!  They have taken quite a lead in the Science Bowl.

Peter Morris
5th Grade Science
Byram Intermediate School