Category: Scientists

Today was incredibly exciting and slightly nerve wrecking for some. The Big Bad Wolf came to Division 7 and he brought a lot of force with him. The students have been working very hard on their little pigs’ houses. We had a straw house, stick house and brick house. Students worked together to develop a plan, draw their proposal, create their vision and then observe whether or not their structure could remain standing after both a minimum and maximum amount of force was applied. 

I can not give out the results of what happened with their three structures, rather, I encourage you to ask your scientist what happened. Did all three structures remain standing? Did any of the structures fall down due to the force? Was there any movement? If so why?

How does the weight of an object affect the possibility of it being moved? If an object is lighter, does it require more or less force to move it compared to a heavy object?

Encourage your scientist to discuss how inertia was involved in this fun, hands-on and interactive activity. Hint hint* inertia* a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force. 

Yesterday was our first day of construction!

Students were assigned to groups and were given the medium that they will be using to construct their ‘Little Pig’s House’  (a) straw house (b) stick house or (c) a brick house. Students are working together in their group with the purpose of constructing a house that can successfully stand up against the FORCE of the Big Bad Wolf from blowing their house down. The force of the wolf will be a blow dryer. Each group has collaboratively come together to generate a plan for how they will combat the force. 

Groups continue to work on their effective communication skills, the ability to respectfully listen to others and their ideas and perspectives as well as actively participate in this group activity/challenge. 

Stay tuned for the results of when the Big Bad Wolf comes for a visit!

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to have a guest speaker, Amanda Coutts, come to Parkcrest and introduce us to Coding. Many scientists in Division 7 were already familiar with coding, but she introduced us to body movement coding which was a great activity for us to wake up our minds and bodies after lunch time.

Inquire with your scientists what they liked most about these coding activities this afternoon.

Can you create a code for your family members to follow (i.e., if I clap my hands that means stand up – if I wave my hands that means you sit down)? Once you establish your coding message, can you communicate to someone without talking? Was it hard or easy to communicate in code?

As Scientists we are learning to independently gather information through observations and various sources of data. Today we conducted further investigation on our penguin of study, taking a closer look at their specific habitat, diet, predator(s) and appearance. We continue to develop our skill-set in making and recording our own observations and communicating our knowledge and understanding through oral and written communication, as well as through drawings and labels.

Stay tuned as our investigations continue to blossom!

The March of the Penguins is happening right outside our classroom door. The students of Division 7 did a terrific job in creating life size penguins of their choosing. Although there are 18 different species of penguins, Little Blue penguin was a popular choice due to the cuteness factor, and we do not have an example of each species of penguin. During writing we have been focused on instructional, how to writing. A composition that we wrote last month focused on how to make a (dinosaur, pumpkin, fairy, monster) potion, explaining to the reader how to make the potion correctly and what ingredients or materials were required. We incorporated our Science knowledge and understanding into instructional writing in the form of HOW TO BE a penguin.

Stay tuned to see our informational facts that we have collected about our specific penguin, this includes their specific habitat, diet, predators and an interesting fun fact!

Do you currently know any fun facts about the King, Emperor, Gentoo, Chinstrap or Little Blue penguins?

Read the following facts and take a thoughtful guess in what penguin this fact is describing.

• They lay their eggs during the coldest time of the year in the coldest part of the earth. What penguin is this?
• They are the fastest swimming penguins at 22mph! What penguin is this?
• It has a black line under it’s chin that looks like a strap. Sometimes it is called the bearded penguin. What penguin is this?
• They have four layers of feathers. What penguin is this?
• It is the smallest penguin of all at 17 inches. Sometimes they are called blue penguin or little blue because of its colour. What penguin is this?

As scientists, we have also taken an in depth look at adaptations and how the penguins’ bodies have adapted in order to survive in their habitat. Can you think of 4 different adaptations for the penguin? Ask your young scientist, they will be able to tell you!