Spring Break!

Miss Holck is in Los Angeles and will put up posts from our last day of the H2O Flow Zone near the end of the week.

Have fun and be safe!

H2O FZ: Day 4, daily report

Jenny and Kim prepare to collect data and measurements from their second trial.

Brandon helps the red team 'bull doze' their soil to prepare for the second trial.

Jayonta presents the some of A204's work. See the details below!

Here are the stream tables after the third trial. Why didn't the soil erode to make more streams? How much deposition was in the runoff water?

Here are all the teams' graduated cylinders. Tomorrow we will analyze the amounts of soil that settled in 50 ml of water.

The last investigation we will do was created from these questions. We will investigate how leaves effect soil run off.

Today, we wrote in blue.

Other news:

• Ms. Marci began teaching the F.L.A.S.H. curriculum yesterday and will join us for one hour a day after spring break, too.
• Mrs. Nielson made her first visit to observe Miss Holck! She noted that students had a "high degree of engagement and excitement about getting started!"
• Spring break is next week. What will you be doing? I'm going to Los Angeles to visit friends and plan my wedding!
  

H2O Flow Zone Prompts (all five!)

1. You just fell out of a cloud and you’re dropping in mid-air. Precipitation Galore! What do you look like while you fall? Are you a frozen snowflake (solid), or a fast pellet of rain (Liquid)? Draw this in your first H2O Flow Zone Box!

2. Splat! You fell right on the edge of a hill. You’re slowly seeping into the ground. You’re moving so fast, that the soil is moving with you on the ride. Erosion! How much soil deposition did you cause to move? What does the land look like? Are you moving fast or slow?

3. At the bottom of the hill, you found a stream that emptied you right into a big body of water. Is it an ocean or a big lake? Are there big waves or is it still? You are a liquid for sure. Draw this in your next box.

4. Can you feel that breeze? It’s not cold, but actually really warm. It’s just right for your ride to swoosh up into the atmosphere. That’s right, you’re evaporating up into the sky. Draw what your ride looks like as you turn into water vapor and go up into the sky from that body of water you were in. You’re a gas, no longer a liquid! Draw this in your next box.

5. You move up higher and higher. As you approach the sky, you see some other bits of water to hang out with. What do you look like? What property of matter are you (liquid, soil, or gas)? Is the wind moving you really fast across the sky? Where are you going?

H2O FZ: Day 3, hw

1. Make a list of ten things you see after school that you would like to investigate. For example, I would like to investigate what the rattling sound in my car is.
2. Pick one of the things and create an investigation. What would be the controlled variable and the changed variable?
3. Reading log!

H2O FZ: Day 3, image observation

Observe at the images.

In your science notebook write down which image portrays water that is the fastest, a middle speed, and which is the slowest. Then write about what the water movement is doing to the land that it is on. Use at least 10 words from our word bank for full credit.

H2O FZ: Day 3, daily report

Jayonta shows his deposition sample in the yellow team's graduated cylinder. This stream table had a very interesting water flow!

We added a lot of new words to our landscape and word bank such as terrarium, wondered, erosion, and rivulet.

Today was the messiest day yet! Students made stream tables after learning that rain can be a source that can make rivulets > tributaries > gullies > and rivers that then empty into a large body of water. We modeled the rain yesterday and today we saw the erosion it can create on land. We also collected data to compare the soil that can be deposited to new places. Tomorrow, we'll do a similar test with much faster water!

H2O FZ: Day 2, daily report

We added to what we want to know and what we have learned (orange).

We labeled more parts of our landscape.

We observed scientific models of the water cycle. Above, Symphony looks at the orange team's water cycle.

Students finished their H2O Flow Zone #1. This time they imagined they were falling out of a cloud. Here is a sample of what you will see in the podcast. Your student needs to bring in a signed permission slip to be able to have their work on this website. Email me at missholck@gmail.com if you have questions.

We have many books available to read during the choice literacy time students can earn.

H2O FZ: Day 2, hw

1. Read the three page report about the water cycle. Write a reading log.
2. Daily Water Usage worksheet. Visit the Saving Water Partnership for extra credit!

H2O FZ: Day 1, daily report

Today was full of changes and science. Students were introduced to their new table groups and the self manager system.

Students took a pre-assessment which will be used to collect data about what they learn this week. We listed what we think we know and what we want to learn on the chart using a red marker for Monday. Tomorrow, we'll use orange. We also created our landscape that we'll use to label what we are learning. Ask your student what part of soil is organic.

Students investigated four parts of soil: gravel, sand, clay, and humus. They also started their first Flow Zone report. These will be posted at the end of the week in our podcast!

Questions? Ask your student or Miss Holck at missholck.gmail.com

H2O FZ: Day 1, hw

Find, take, or draw a picture of soil. Label at least 5 things in the photo using words from our word wall. Write one paragraph with 5 or more sentences about what would happen in your image there was a heavy rainfall.

useful sources:

• National Resources Conservation Service has images of soil landscapes.
• Stock images of farming from FotoSearch
• Parks in your neighborhood
• Your imagination

H2O FZ: Day 1, Videos

Where does the water on this waterfall go?


Why do these clouds move so fast?


What does rain do to the ground it falls on?


What does rain look like from a distance?


What do these huge waves do to the sand under them?


What will your H2O Flow zone be like?

H2O Flow Zone Science Unit!

Dear families of A204,

What will students be doing next week?
Next week will be very exciting in room A204! We will be doing science every day for most of the day. Students will be doing multiple investigations to learn about what it would be like to go on a ride on the water cycle on the “H2O Flow Zone.” We will learn about different parts of soil, erosion, water-flow and more as we build terrariums and stream tables. Miss Holck will be in the classroom every day from March 23 until June 12, so this is a great opportunity to do science with two teachers in the room.

How will my student’s learning be assessed?

• He or she will help create a classroom chart where students will write what they know, want to know, and what they learned.
• He or she will analyze photographs of the interactions of land and water.
• He or she will take a test at the end of the unit to analyze two different experiments.

What can I do to be involved with my student’s learning?
Homework: Since the classroom activities will be a little different next week, the homework will be a little different, too. Students will be asked to make notes about specific things they see in their neighborhoods and I invite you to help them do these assignments.

Volunteer: These investigations can be a little complicated and messy, so if you are able to volunteer in the classroom, this would be a great week to do so. Please fill out the bottom of this page and have your student bring it in tomorrow.

Look Online: A204 now has a website at a204emerson.blogspot.com. I encourage you to cut out the reminder and stick it on your fridge or near a computer if you have one!

If you are available to help or have any questions or concerns, please contact Miss Holck or Mr. Wong by phone, email, or just dropping by before or after school.

Sincerely,
Miss Holck & Mr. Wong

Positive and Negative numbers

Today we practiced comparing positive and negative numbers. We played what's my number to practice using 'greater than' and 'less then' to guess a secret number between -100 and 100.

Go to this website to play the game on your computer. It looks like the image above. Insert the numbers -100 and 100, but watch out, you only get six guesses!