Dr. Peter Cavanaugh, researcher from the University of Washington came to share with us some experiences he has had investigating bone loss in astronaust and how his research has helped to reduce the impact. We learned so much for our upcoming March fieldtrip about the Moon, Mars and the International Space Station.
Dr. Cavanaugh walked the classes through an exploration of the difference between mass and weight. We also explored weight on the moon, mars and weightlessness on the International Space Station.
He shared videos and recounted experiences in research. Students seemed to really enjoy his recount of the 727 flights to test a treadmill in weightlessness.
Dr. Cavanaugh walked the classes through an exploration of the difference between mass and weight. We also explored weight on the moon, mars and weightlessness on the International Space Station.
He shared videos and recounted experiences in research. Students seemed to really enjoy his recount of the 727 flights to test a treadmill in weightlessness.
Some Things to Explore
Reaction time: 3rd graders will be exploring their reaction time after talking about how neurons work. Reaction time test
A virtual bulletin board for posting virtual sticky notes. Padlet.com is a good place to keep notes and work collaboratively.
If you have ever wanted to ask a scientist questions about Mars...try out this website from NASA: Ask Dr. C
A website that might be fun to try out with your parents~ Draw a Stickman
Websites that allow you to make animations:
Kizoa.com (Slideshows & collages)
Animoto.com (turns photos & video clips into movies)
Tetra Tetra Flexagon (video directions for the World's Fair Passport...with your parents, you can look for more samples by searching for the name)
Fractals - one of my favorites!
A virtual bulletin board for posting virtual sticky notes. Padlet.com is a good place to keep notes and work collaboratively.
If you have ever wanted to ask a scientist questions about Mars...try out this website from NASA: Ask Dr. C
A website that might be fun to try out with your parents~ Draw a Stickman
Websites that allow you to make animations:
Kizoa.com (Slideshows & collages)
Animoto.com (turns photos & video clips into movies)
Tetra Tetra Flexagon (video directions for the World's Fair Passport...with your parents, you can look for more samples by searching for the name)
Fractals - one of my favorites!
Body Forward Resources (5th)
Coming...
Alligator Habitat Resources (3rd) |
Fractals with 3rd GradeIn the afternoon, we often have time for a short lesson or activity. Today, I was able to introduce one of my favorite SMART activities - Fractals! These repeating patterns are everywhere - think of ferns, trees, land formations, seashells and even your lungs! Through increasing or decreasing iterations (repetitions), the pattern repeats itself.
Today, we explored Sierpinski's Triangle in 2 dimensions through the Fractal Foundation. Next week, we will try it in 3 dimensions! A link to the Fractal Foundation Website: HERE. (if students are looking for the "blank" triangles, they can be found here). |
EducreationsHave you ever watched a lesson on Khan Academy? 4th and 5th grade classes gave our best shot at creating a simple lesson. In "Short and Sweet, 5th grade spent some time deciphering some very descriptive sentences (thesaurus nearby!) and then created a few of our own. We used an app on the iPad called Educreations. It was pretty easy to learn the basics and voila! We have our first lesson: Short and Sweet!
4th grade used the app to demonstrate their solution to a logic puzzle: How Many Squares? Look out Khan Academy, here comes the PATS Academy!! |
NimWe're trying out a piece of hardware from BoxLight that allows us to control my computer from the whiteboard. To test out some of the features, we learned how to play Nim, an ancient mathematical strategy game. There are many variations to the game. We played with 10 dots (or coins, or pencils, or scraps of paper, or...). Players take turns taking away one or two dots each turn. The player that takes the last turn wins the game.
You can learn another variation here, if you like an additional challenge! World's FairThank you to everyone for all of your hard work! The presentations were amazing and your enthusiasm for the project showed!!
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Prime Factorization in 5th GradeThank you, Brendan, for bringing in your presentation on Prime Factorization! We discovered a wonderful visual on a website and he was able to put it into words. And, he brought in a domino game to go along with it! (You can find the domino game directions here). Brendan gave me permission to link his powerpoint - we hope you enjoy it!
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