Last week, we learned about how water shapes the Earth’s surface. Our lesson was called, “What’s strong enough to make a canyon?” Through a hands-on activity, we saw evidence of how water is strong enough to carry rocks, sand, and dirt, and leave behind landforms like canyons. We also made observations of Earth events using videos, images, and text. We analyzed these sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

This week, we will solve the Mystery, “How can you stop landslides after a wildfire?” Students will design their own ways to stop rain from washing away a model hillside. We will wrap up this unit with a post-test.

Here’s something you can do to encourage your child’s curiosity: next time you’re driving together, look for steep places along the road where engineers have tried to prevent erosion, like hillsides or cliffs. Your child will know to look for walls, nets, and plants that hold back the rocks and soil!

Last week our class continued our current Earth Science unit, “Earth Surface Changes.” We solved the mystery, “Why is there sand at the beach?” We learned how rivers can be powerful enough to carry rocks and slam them into each other, breaking them into smaller and smaller pieces along the way.

This week, we will discover why flash floods are more likely to happen in some places and less likely in others. We will learn how steep slopes, soil that doesn’t soak up water, and heavy rainstorms will all contribute to flooding.

Here’s something you can do to encourage your child’s curiosity: next time you’re walking outside, take a look at the ground at your feet. In some places -- like a grassy park or a garden — the ground soaks up water. In other places — like a paved parking lot — water doesn’t soak in. Discuss with your child — where do you think you are most likely to find puddles after it rains? On a rainy day, check to see if you are right!

Last week, students learned about chemical and physical changes to matter. For example, breaking a stick is a physical change, and making pancakes is a chemical change.

This week, students will be making Oobleck – a non-Newtonian liquid. You can learn what Oobleck is by clicking here. Students will also take the Social Studies Pre-test. After Winter Break, we will begin our new Social Studies unit “My Community in the Past.”

On Friday of last week, students began to learn about the 3 states of matter – solids, liquids, and gases. Students learned about the properties of each type of matter, including how the molecules are different in solids, liquids, and gases.  

This week, students will continue to learn about states of matter. They will also learn about chemical and physical changes to matter. For example, breaking a stick is a physical change, and making pancakes is a chemical change. 

This week in science we will explore the idea that some solid materials can be melted into liquids then frozen back into solids again. In class, students will learn about the history of toy-making and how the invention of plastic made it possible for toys to be mass-produced. Then students will investigate the melting property of different types of candy.

Later in the week, we will learn how new materials are constantly being invented, and that this makes it possible to solve new problems. In class, students will learn the story of how “Post-it” notes were invented and learn that often new materials get invented before anyone knows exactly what problem they’ll solve. We considered the question, “What materials might people invent in the future?”, then came up with inventions involving a hypothetical new material, “bouncy glass.”

This past week in science we explored how different properties of clothing materials are good for different situations.  In class, students imagined that they were on a remote island.  Using materials that washed ashore, they designed hats that would protect them from the sun. Students created hats, based on the material’s properties such as stiff, absorbent, soft, etc.

This coming week in science we will explore how different materials can conduct and insulate heat.  You can help you child’s learning by talking with them at breakfast about the different things your family uses to handle hot food.  Maybe you use oven mitts to take hot food out of the oven?  Maybe you use a plastic thermos for hot coffee?  Discuss how these materials insulate and protect your hands from the heat.

In class, students will imagine that they are still on a remote island.  On the imaginary island, they will need to cook an egg using a piece of metal as a pan and then have to figure out what materials they could use to pick up the hot pan and not burn their hands. 

This week, we will begin our second Science Unit, “Matter and Materials” in which we will be focusing on Physical Science.  In this unit, students will learn that matter exists as different substances that have observable different properties.

Our focuses for this week:

• Tuesday: We will first take a virtual tour of a foundry to make observations about the hot work that takes place there. We will generate observations and questions about how foundry workers stay safe around so much heat. We will write and discuss our initial thoughts about what foundry workers wear, and how it protects them.
• Wednesday-Friday: We will plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of various materials.
  • We will begin by exploring different materials and grouping them into categories.
  • We will then explore specific properties of materials used for clothing, such as texture, flexibility, and absorbency.
  • We use this information to design and build a hat that protects from the Sun.

We will continue to learn about biodiversity and ecosystems. This week we will focus on these concepts:

• Water, sunlight, and plant growth
• Different Needs of Different Plants
• Biodiversity in global habitats
• Biodiversity in local habitats

This week, we are beginning our first Science unit, “Biodiversity and Ecosystems.” In this unit, students will study of the needs of plants, how structures of specific animals aid in seed dispersal, and the diversity of life in different habitats.

On Tuesday, we will observe that Death Valley is a hot, dry desert with very little life. We will generate questions and create an initial model of why and how desert superblooms occur. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we will learn that plants produce different types of seeds in the process of reproduction, and how these seeds require wind, water, or animals to disperse (move) them. We will make and test models of seeds and discuss how models can be helpful in science.