Which Soil Holds More Water

Greeting all and Happy New Year! (is it too late to say Happy New Year in February LOL)


       I know I haven't blog about the events that occur in the Science Lab but trust me it has been on my mind to update my faithful 10 subscribers on the Science Lab! January and February has been a busy month at Blue Ridge and the Science Lab has been percolating with learning and teaching. Currently, I am experimenting with our 5th graders on soil. The first thing I discussed with them is that all soil is not called dirt and that soil is a mixture(science vocabulary word) of organic remains, rock particles, and clay. To compare and contrast some different soils I had the students observed four types of commonly used soil; Peat, Clay, Silt, and Sand. After using their "naked eye" to observe the soil, the students then took a sample of each soil and used a high power microscope to observe it. This was an excited and eye opening experience for the students. Not only was it their first time using a real microscope but they also got a chance to actually see the rock particles, clay, and organic material in the soil that is not visible to the naked eye. After using the microscope I had the students test each soil sample to see which soil would retain the most water and which releases the most water. We preformed this experiment with small clear plastic cups and coffee filters. I always remind my students that all Scientist collect data, so to record their information after investigating they used a chart to analyze their data. Below are some pictures of the Lab! Until next time, be blessed!

Data Chart

Lab equipment use for the investigation 

Students working

"Thinking like a Scientist" 

"Thinking like a Scientist"

It's That Time Again!!!!

     Good morning or good afternoon (depending what time of day you are reading this post) I hope all is well with you and your families.  I know its been a while since I posted on the Science Lab Blog, many apologies but the highly anticipated December post is here! HOORAY!!!!  It is December so people are preparing for Christmas, the upcoming New Years, and of course their Science Fair Projects.  Most schools host their Science Fairs in late January or early February; well to help my readers prepare for their Science Fair I am dedicating my next blog entries to all things Science Fair!

        Students, you should be familiar with what a science fair project is, but just in case you still have some question, here is a YouTube video explanation.  By now my Blue Ridge Students should have completed their Purpose and Hypothesis for the Project.  Remember students the Purpose of your project is a short 1 or 2 sentence statement regarding what you are investigating for you project.  For example, "The Purpose of this experiment is to determine which balloon makes the hovercraft hover longest" (Taken from Dominic V. 2013)  Notice that this purpose statement is short precise and to the point.  I like the fact that this student started of this purpose statement with the sentence stem "The Purpose of this experiment....."  Remember students your purpose statement must detail what you are trying to figure out AND must be something you can investigate to find the answer to.  Keeping with that same purpose here is an appropriate hypothesis, "I believe the hovercraft with the largest balloon will hover the furthest."  Again, this statement is short precise and to the point.

          Alright my faithful readers, my next post will be about the Material and Procedure portion of your project. Until next time, Peace, Love, and SOOUULLL = ) 

It all MATTERs to me!

      Things are heating up in the Science Lab, literally!  Our 5th graders are almost done reviewing physical properties of matter and will be moving on to Force & Motion next.  We did some fun and engaging lab lessons on matter, and on physical and chemical changes.  Parents you should ask them about it!  One lab lesson we did was to use an ice cube to actually see the 3 stages of matter (Solid, Liquid, and Gas) and watch it transform before our very own eyes.  Students also knew if the transformation was a chemical change, which occurs when a substance combines with another to form a new substance i.e. a nail rusting or a physical change which affects the form of a chemical substance, but not its chemical composition i.e. breaking a pencil in half.   Here is a great Video that explains the differences between the two. 
      Other characteristics of matter we studied were Density, Mass, and Volume.  Students start learning about physical properties of matter as early as Kindergarten so these concepts are not new to most students.  In 5th grade we go into more details on how to measure and classify these properties.  I provided a new link resource to the blog dedicated to physical properties for our students and some useful STAAR resources for our 5^th graders.

A Great Day to be a Scientist

Hello parents and students,

     I hope everyone's school year has started off wonderful, and hopefully all my students are making A's & B's.  Well things have been great in the Science Lab, I have so much to share with you all!  First, Blue Ridge Elementary had to the pleasure of being on Channel 13 News......for something good of course.  Deborah Wrigley Channel 13 field reporter stopped by the Science Lab to talk to, and filmed our broadcast students for her Hometown Live segment.  It was very exciting experience for us, the student had the chance to hold a thousand dollar camera and talk to Deborah about her career.  We even toured the News Station van. Some photos of the event are down below and you can watch the Blue Ridge's Hometown Town Live segment HERE.  Who knows, maybe some day some of the BRE News crew members might be working at Channel 13!

     I've been very busy in the Science Lab also, introducing students to science lab equipment and working with our 5th graders on the physical properties of matter.  So far I've done two lab sessions, "Getting to know The Science Lab" were I taught our students the safety rules of the science lab, followed by a hands on activity on different scientific tools we use.  I taught our 5th graders how to measure mass with a Triple Beam Balance with a lesson I titled "Measuring Mass".

 This year my motto for the Lab is to"Think like a Scientist", and in order to think like a scientist you must know scientific vocabulary. Inside of the science lab I encourage our students to use as many science vocabulary words they know and to always analyze, observed and reflect on different experiments.  Parents what you can do to help your student think like a Scientist is to encourage them to check out Non-Fiction books or science related books when you visit the library.  Remember science is knowledge attained through study or practice!

Behind the scenes look!

Yours truly

Clinton working the camera 

   

Welcome back parents & students

          Well it's another great year at Blue Ridge Elementary and I'm glad to be back as the Science Specialist!  Time surely does fly, I can't believe this is my 7th year at Blue Ridge, as I am truly blessed to be here.  The Science Lab is fully operational and ready for experimenting, exploring, evaluating, and analyzing!  The first couple of weeks of school I'll be reviewing Science Lab Safety procedures with the students and informing them general guidelines to adhere to while in the Lab. Here is a quick video, I'll be sharing with the students about safety in the Science Lab.  Although the Science Lab is in full operation the broadcast team is not quite there yet.  I'm still waiting on the equipment to be connected back together (Which should be very soon) and then I will hold auditions for crew members with our 4th and 5th graders.  I was really impressed with the dedication our students showed last year being apart of the inaugural year of BRE Eagle News.  Most of the students came everyday at 7:30am to prepare, rehearse, and film the news.  Two of our students even received district recognition for their efforts as news anchors, and spoke this summer at a teacher training about how they prepared for and enjoyed being a news anchor. The News station was truly an enjoyable experience for me and I can't wait until I get my new news crew.  Remember parents and students, subscribe to this Blog to get updates on what activities/investigations your students are doing in the Science Lab and to keep abreast with the upcoming Science Fair!  Until next time, have a great day!

The soon to be functional Broadcast area! (positive thinking)

Half Way to the Finish Line

      I equate a science fair project to running a marathon.  When you initially hear about the project you are excited and can't wait to start, then somewhere in the middle of the race you start to realize "Wow, this is a long ordeal what did I get myself into".  But! then you see the finish line and get a burst of energy knowing that all your hard work and preparation is going to pay off.  Well maybe your thought process didn't happen exactly like that but some of you might be feeling a little anxiety right about now.  Don't fret, you have help!  Use the resources I have given you to complete your project and this best thing to remember is that you are Half Way to the Finish Line (if you have been keeping up with the items off your Science Fair Time Line).  This week and next week is all about your purpose you are investigating.  If you are doing a plant growth project, you need to be growing your plant(s) and tracking the progress.  If you are doing a project on the solar system you need to be building your model and researching the galaxy.  If your researching the effect junk food has on your health you need to be eating as much junk food you can possibly devour. Just kidding = ) I would hope you would already know the answer to that research question.

     Just remember students I am here to help you. Several parents have emailed me regarding the project and I am glad to work with them to ensure your success.  But No Last Minute stuff! Do not wait until February to try to put this all together. The next two items due off your Science Fair Time Line, is your Materials Listed (due today) , & Procedures (due 1-15-13).  I am discussing these steps in the Lab this week and next  so you should get them into me on time.  Before I go to a look at two completed display boards from last year so you can get an idea on how to construct your display board.
 

Your Hypothesis......

     Greetings parents, children and educators!  Our students at Blue Ridge are fully engulfed in their science fair projects and that’s great.  I look forward to seeing their finish projects.  The next item due off your Science Fair Time line is your Hypothesis (due 12-19-12).  Simply put, your hypothesis is an educated guess on what the outcome of your experiment will be prior to you actually performing your experiment.  An educated guess uses your prior knowledge on the subject were as a random guess is something you just come up with that doesn't have to make logical sense. 

     The key thing to remember students is to keep up with your Science Fair Time line, and also ask questions to your parent, teacher, and myself if you don't understand a step.  Do not come to your science teacher or me the day of or the day before something is due off your Science Fair Time Line. Your experiment & investigation step should be perform during you winter break so make sure you gather all your materials during the upcoming weeks.  Well I hope this post helps, and remember I am here to assist you with your project but you are the captain.