Science
This month the fourth and fifth graders continued their explorations of different tools and techniques used for measurement. Lab teams participated in a liquid volume color challenge in which carefully reading directions and taking measurements led them to creating a rainbow.
Groups also used water displacement to find the volume of solid objects, such as plastic pigs, pennies, and toy cars.
Lab teams used triple beam balances to find the mass of a variety of items around the classroom.
For Halloween, students practiced measuring different volumes to make pumpkin spice play dough. They also investigated some properties of candy corn using water displacement to find its volume, and a balance to find its mass.
In celebration of Bat Awareness Week, students participated in bat trivia, made bat hats, and played an exciting echolocation game called Bat and Moth.
In November, the students are working on a few different recycling awareness projects, visiting the Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Center, and investigating microscopes.