A collection of moments from our Grade 7 learning community
Hello, historians! Our class has been investigating the mysterious fate of the ‘unsinkable’ ship… the RMS Titanic. So far, we have examined the lack of lifeboats, the treatment of 1st class and 3rd class passengers, and some of the engineering feats and flaws of the ship.
Tomorrow, we will begin to explore some of the main people involved in the Titanic (and her untimely tragedy).
Feel free to refresh your memory or share what you’ve learned by clicking on our PowerPoint below!
Hi, marine biologists! Check out these VR (virtual reality, 360 degrees) videos of some aquariums around the world! Remember, also be mindful to take what you see online with a “grain of salt” (meaning, use your best judgement to tell if something is accurate).
These videos work best on a mobile device or tablet.
Today we took a ‘virtual trip’ to some aquariums around the world. Feel free to click the link below to see live footages of some of the animals at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, including penguins and sharks!
We’ll be exploring the strange, wonderful, and interesting creatures that call the ocean their home. But how deep is the ocean? And how much is still unexplored by humans? Check out this video to get an idea of depth and breadth of the ocean!
Today for Brain Breakfast, we read Such a Good Boy. In the book, a very well-behaved dog decides that he wants to ‘let loose’ for the first time in his life. He rolls in the mud, barks at cars, smells garbage, and has an amazing time just being a dog. We discussed how sometimes, we all need to take a break from trying to be perfect.
Check out the video below of another dog deciding that he just wants to have fun (during an agility challenge at a dog show):
Our class created our own version of the famous ‘elephant toothpaste’ experiment! To do this experiment at home (with adult permission and supervision), you can…
-fill an empty plastic bottle or cup around 1/2 way with 3% hydrogen peroxide (if using a higher %, please wear gloves and eye protection)
-add a large squirt of dish soap
-optionally, add food colouring and/or peppermint extract
-then, in a separate cup mix a large spoonful of instant yeast with some warm water for 30 seconds (until dissolved)
-quickly and carefully pour the yeast mixture into the hydrogen peroxide mixture and step back
We learned this experiment creates and exothermic reaction, which means it gets hot! We noticed that when we increase the amount of soap and yeast, the bubbles continued to form for a much longer amount of time.
Pleases note: Always be careful when doing Science at home, and make sure to have adult supervision and permission.
We have been hard at work creating our 3-D Micronation models! Take a look at a few of the completed projects so far! Our class has created their own individual ‘tiny countries’ that have their own flag, identity, economy, and topography. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of these models completed!
Did you know candy canes were thought to have been invented around 200 years ago? In celebration of Candy Cane Day at Lochdale, we decided to take these minty treats and use them in a Science experiment!
First, students decided what substances/chemicals to submerge the candy canes in. We had a selection of acids, bases, etc. Then, we observed the candy cane immediately, after 5 minutes, and after 20 minutes of being submerged in the liquids.
Top left: Isopropyl alcohol (liquid hand sanitizer) and top right: 1% milk
Bottom left: Pepsi and bottom right: vinegar
We had very interesting results! You can also check out the process of making candy canes by hand in the video below:
We were inspired by the book Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen! Here is the tutorial we used to create our own ‘sweater weather’ bears for our classroom window decorations!
Sometimes Science surprises us! We made 2 fake snow recipes yesterday and the results were… a bit messy to say the least. If you want to make this snow at home, the recipe for our successful fake snow was:
Mix together 1 tablespoon of white hair conditioner and 5-10 tablespoons of baking soda. Stir until well combined, adding more baking soda or conditioner until you get a texture that is not too sticky and can be molded into a ‘snowman’. Optionally, you might add a drop of colour to your snow.
Pictured above left: successful snow! Pictured above right: less successful snow!
We learned that baking soda works much better than cornstarch when making fake snow. We will try this experiment again on Friday to create our ‘perfect’ recipe. Stay tuned!