Category: Science

Recently Div 8 and 9 students began their Planting a Promise project.  They learned about daffodils and what they need to grow. Then they planted daffodil bulbs knowing that they hold the promise of beautiful flowers in spring.

In the spring when the bulbs begin to sprout and bloom, we will observed and measure their growth. Then in June, as the daffodils enter their dormant stage we will explore how they are readied to start the daffodil life cycle all over again.

Throughout this unit students will explore the following concepts:

• Plants are diverse in the way they grow. They are different in their appearance, in their use and in their life cycle.
• Seasonal changes happen in plants as well as animals.
• Plants have basic needs (air, water, soil and light) that must be met in order for them to grow.
• Air, water and soil have different physical characteristics that can affect the growth of plants.
• Personal choices have environmental consequences that can affect living resources, like plants.

During our matter inquiry students learned a song about matter and learned how to categorize various types of matter as liquids, solids or gases. They also explored how like items (eg. a chair) may have different properties even though they are both solids.

Also, as we were exploring the concept of matter, one Div 9 student posed a very good question: If something is light will it always float and if something is heavy will it always sink? To answer this question we conducted an experiment. Students soon discovered that weight alone is not the only factor in determining whether or not it will float or sink. As they were testing out their predictions they quickly discovered that objects sinking or floating in a liquid depends mainly on two factors: density and buoyancy.