5th Grade Science - Volume 4 - Monday, April 1st

5th Grade Science

Peter Morris

Byram Intermediate School
Stanhope, NJ

This month, students have been researching an environmental problem in the world, inventing a product to help with the problem, building a website to advertise the product, and pitching their ideas to classmates in the Polluted Shark Tank!

The 3rd marking period is almost over!  The final day of the marking period is TODAY, April 1st.  Please remind all students that school doesn't end just because the weather is warm; we need to keep working hard all the way through the year!

*   *   *   *   *

What's coming up?

1. Current Events (4) for the 4th marking period will be assigned shortly.  If your child is having any trouble with these, please refer to the 'Current Event Rubric' instruction doc posted in Google Classroom.  Current Events are assigned mainly as a time management assignment, so the earlier they get done, the less work will be saved for the end of the marking period!

2. Please remind your child that as we move toward the end of the school year that work due will need to be turned in in a reasonable time frame to receive credit.  Each day late will cost 10%, and after 5 days no credit will be given.

3. Student Led Conference time will be here soon!  Please go to https://myconferencetime.com/bis/folder/1094 to sign up for a conference with your child's Morning Meeting teacher

4. Information regarding our class field trip to Liberty Science Center will be coming out soon, the trip is currently planned for Thursday, June 6th.

3. If you'd like more regular pictures of what's going on in class, please follow me on Twitter: @petemorris202

*   *   *   *   *

What are we working on?

In science class, students have been participating in the Polluted Shark Tank.  Based (loosely) on the TV show 'Shark Tank,' students created products and pitched them to each other as potential investors.  Students learned about some environmental problems that are affecting our world, then chose one in particular to research.  They then created a website using Google Sites and built a model of a product to help in their chosen environmental issue.  Finally, students set up and delivered their presentations as their peers toured the Polluted Shark Tank and decided which products were worth investing our classroom "cash" in!

Students created feedback forms during the project presentations to help recognize and celebrate each other's strengths as well as to help each other identify areas of the projects that could be developed even more.

Some students created Flipgrid commercials to tell you about their products.  Take a look below!  Following the commercials, take a look at some pictures and visit the students' websites! 

Finally, read to the bottom to find out who our Polluted Shark Tank winners are!

*   *   *   *   *

Liam (The Edible Water Bottle):

Gianna M (The Reusable Garbage Bag):

Check out the Reusable Garbage Bag at    https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/thereusablegarbagebag

Jack & Mike (The Freezinator):

Get some more information on The Pressurizer at Jack & Mike's website:
https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/the-freezinator/home

Molly, Catherine, & Lexie (Robo Litter):

More information available on the Robo Litter website here:  https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/robo-litter/home

Mia (The Oil Consumer):
Check out more on the Oil Consumer here:
 https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/oilconsumer-com/home

Sam & Caitie (Filters For Fumes):

Check out Sam & Caitie's website at: https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/filtersforfumes/filters-for-fumes

Brian (The Oil Separator):

Learn more about Brian's plan for the Oil Separator here: https://sites.google.com/byramschools.org/the-oil-separator-brian-laurid/home

These were just some of our amazing products.  Check out some more below!

The Litter Picker Upper is a robot that tracks and cleans garbage!

The Toxic Air Killer transforms polluted air
into clean air!

The Picker Upper moves through the water to pick up plastic pollution

Polluted Shark Tank Class Winners

Each class was given a chance to invest in the different products.  The top three earning products were then given a chance to compete directly against one another.  Below are our four class winning products!

Saturn Savages - Plastic R6000 by Emily: A 3D printer that transforms plastic into filament for printing

Mercury Platypi - The Oil Separator by Brian - a machine that can be placed in the water in the vicinity of oil spills.  It separates oil and water based on their densities, then absorbs the oil for easier cleanup -  The Oil Separator

Mars Underdogs - The Reusable Garbage Bag by Gianna -  A garbage bag that comes with washable linings and a variety of different color and design options to reduce the amount of plastic being thrown away The Reusable Garbage Bag

Neptune Knights - The Garbage Sucker by Sydney - The Garbage Sucker is placed in the water, and as it cruises around it scans the water for garbage that it can clean to reduce ocean pollution   The Garbage Sucker

Congratulations to our winners, and thanks for taking a look at our classroom newsletter, Volume 4