Exploring Science

Over the last week students have been using their scientific knowledge to create real-life designs of different machines.

Grade 4

Over the last month the Grade 4's have been learning the ins and outs of simple machines. We have used our mini-books to organize our thoughts and our research. Grade 4's are becoming experts in Managing and Evaluating Information. We have watched videos about machines, researched them, designed them in 3D and looked at a variety of real life examples. It was time for students to put their design thinking to the test and create their very own simple machine that would not only include one or more of the machines we have learned (wheels and axles, pulleys, drive train, chains, levers - just to name a few) but would also work!
Students researched different designs and eventually came up with their own. We have everything from balloon powered cards to dog food feeding machines!
Students will be able to describe how their machine works and show it off to the class next week during Science Presentations. I can't wait for you to see these machines when they bring them home.

   
      

                         

Grade 5

As we continue our weather unit the Grade 5's have been looking at the movement of air. How location can contribute to the flow of air and the temperature. This week students began designing a machine that would help them determine the direction of wind and how strong the force of the wind was. In a group we talked about why this might be important and students had so many insightful answers. For example, one student replied "if we lived somewhere that there were tornados we might need to know which direction it was coming from and use the wind speed to determine how fast it would get to us." We have tested many of our devices and have encountered many obstacles in our quest for the perfect machine. We have learned that while some machines we made can detect wind from one direction if it is coming from a different way it doesn't work properly. We will be continuing to trouble shoot our devices next week before final testing and presentations.
Students will bring the devices home to share with their families and predict the weather at their houses!

      

Jump Rope for Heart

Ron Southern School will be holding a Heart & Stroke Foundation JUMP Rope For Heart assembly on Monday February 10.  Students will have the opportunity to learn about the importance of heart health and the ways that skipping can provide a quick and effective fitness workout.  Skipping activities will take place during Phys Ed classes, and we would like to offer the opportunity for students and families to fundraise online and collect donations for heart disease and stroke research.

 

For students and families that may be interested in fundraising, students will receive a donation envelope. For your convenience, there is also an online option for collecting donations. Thank you for your support!

 

How to get started

1. Visit JumpRopeForHeart.ca and Register for JUMP

2. Set up your personal fundraising page

3. Send donation request emails to friends, family and colleagues

If you need assistance, please visit JumpRopeForHeart.ca and check out the instructional videos and step by step “how-to” resources.

Building our Research Skills

This past week we have been focussing a lot on building our ability to research online. Giving the tools needed to research will help set them up for success as they continue to go through their educational journey. 

Researching has the following benefits for students:

• Ability for summarization and categorization. This ability is particularly important at the early stage of research when the students gather information. There are many possible sources. However, a true researcher has to find only the most relevant sources. 
• Critical thinking. The value of research is to find the new knowledge or new conclusions. That is why for the students it is important to be objective. Students must be able to verbalize what they have learned and justify their point of view based on the research.
• Analytical thinking. That is one of the most valuable skills. The person who is able to think analytically can analyze more information at once. They can manage and recall information from different sources. 
• Explanation skills. By researching and becoming experts on a topic students will enhance their ability to verbalize their learning and explain their thinking. 

 Before students could really begin their research project based around Canada (grade 5) and Alberta's (grade 4) history and identity we had to be able to determine if a website was credible and factual. To do this we talked about the important things to look for on a website and why we should look at multiple sources before forming conclusions.

Students learned that websites such as the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada websites will contain factual information, but may have a bias. We learned that wikipedia may not be 100% accurate as anyone can contribute to a wikipedia page, and that while some websites look completely real, accurate and official they may not be. 

Students are now aware that they must question everything online and you can't believe everything you find online.

The ability to properly research also relates to this years School Development Plan, as we work to increase students ability to manage and evaluate information and ideas, and communicate ideas in an informed and persuasive manner.