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Science
3-8-10 This week we will discuss ecosystems. We will talk about the reasons why animals are living in their particular ecosystem. We will participate in a “survivor” ecosystem activity to show how food chains work and are affected. We will also compare and contrast invertebrates and vertebrates. - Ecosystem - Habitat - Niche - Producers - Consumers - Omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores - Decomposers - Invertebrate and vertebrate 3-1-10 We have now covered Earth and Physical Science. We are moving onto Life Science. This week we will review what we know about Life Science. We will discuss how scientists classify animals and the specific needs of animals. Scientists use dichotomies to classify animals by their similarities. It starts out broad (kingdoms) and then moves to more specific (species). The basic needs of animals are food, water, shelter, and space. We will do an activity to demonstrate the needs of food, water, and shelter. 2-22-10 This week we are spiraling our knowledge of addition/reduction of heat, mass, volume, buoyancy, density, and constellations. Our CBA is on Wednesday, February 24th. Please go over these concepts with your children at home. See the previous weeks for vocabulary to review. 2-16-10 We are discussing constellations this week. Students will hear of many stories related to constellations and how they got their names. They will also learn how and why we see certain constellations throughout the year. Please discuss the following terms with your child: - Constellation - Polaris (North Star) - Rotation - Orbit - Revolve 2-8-10 We are covering measuring matter with volume, mass, and buoyancy this week. We will be doing a lot of hands-on activities and experiments to show the changes these go through. We are using many different measuring materials and learning how to read the measure on each one. Here are some terms that your child will be learning over the next week: -Volume -Graduated Cylinder -Mass -Matter -Density -Meniscus -Displacement -Millimeter -Triple Beam Balance -Gram 2-1-10 We are beginning our second phase of Physical Science. We are going to revisit states of matter, (solid, liquid, and gas) but we are extending our knowledge to show changes in matter. This week we are focusing on the addition/reduction of heat. Go over the following vocabulary with your child: - Conductor - Insulator - Thermometer - Thermal Energy 1-25-10 This week we are spiraling our knowledge of electricity, scientists and their contributions, recycling, reflections and symmetry, and inertia. Our CBA is on Tuesday, January 26th. Please go over those concepts with your children at home. See the previous weeks for vocabulary to review. 1-19-10 We are doing another Science Court trial over Inertia. We will be doing several experiments to demonstrate how Newton’s Laws of Motion work. Please go over the following terms with your children. - Acceleration - Force - Friction - Inertia - Isaac Newton - Mass - Motion - Speed - Velocity 1-11-10 This week we are going over the properties of light. We will do several demonstrations of how light reflects off of different surfaces. We are challenging the kids to come up with several ways to reflect the light off of mirrors and onto different surfaces. We will also be discussing reflection and symmetry. Please go over the following terms and questions with your children. - Reflection - Symmetry - Does light travel in straight lines? - What surface reflects the most light? 1-4-10 We are beginning our project on famous Scientists. We will research them in the computer lab and write facts about them. Then the students will create a puppet of their famous scientist with materials from school or ones they brought from home. With their facts in hand, the students will create a script that they will perform using their puppet. They are to act as the scientist. We will record their performance as a webcast. This should be a very exciting project that we will all enjoy. Ask your child to practice their performance for you at home. 12-14-09 This week we are reviewing recycling. We will discuss why it is important and what we can do at school and at home to help out the cause. Please review the following terms with your child: - Recycle - Reuse - Reduce - Conservation - Renewable Resource - Nonrenewable Resource 12-7-09 We are going to be learning about electric current through a fun video-based program called Science Court. The students will be conducting experiments throughout the week to challenge misconceptions presented in the video. Have your child describe the following terms. - Electric Current - Open Circuit - Closed Circuit - Atoms - Electron - Conductor - Insulator 11-30-09 We have finished our study in Earth Science. We are going to explore Physical Science now. This week we are investigating electricity. We will be doing experiments to help the students discover how to make a complete circuit to light a light bulb. Go over the following terms with your child. - Charge - Static Electricity - Electric Field - Circuits 11-16-09 We are preparing for our CBA on Wednesday, November 18th. It will cover layers of the Earth, Rock Cycle, and Fossils. It also has some of our previously covered information on it such as lab safety and procedures. Please review with your child. Helpful information is in the posts below. 11-9-09 We are starting our study on fossils. Fossils are the remains of deceased plants and animals found in sedimentary rock. Fossils are the link to the past. The lower in the rock that the fossil is found, the older that it is. Discuss the following terms with your child: - Fossils - Trace Fossils - Mold - Cast - Fossil Fuels 11-2-09 This week, we are extending our knowledge of the Rock Cycle. We are going to study how each rock can change and transform into other types of rock. Ask your children under what conditions do rocks change? We are sending home an outline for the students to study. Have them show you the outline and explain what each arrow means. There will be a rock quiz on Thursday, November 5th. 10-26-09 We are beginning our study in the rock cycle. We are going over the three types of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. We are discussing the types, characteristics, and showing examples. If you have any rocks that you would like us to classify, please send them in. The more rocks that they see, the better they will be at identifying them. Have your child tell you everything they know about: - Igneous Rock - Sedimentary Rock - Metamorphic Rock (Some facts they should know are how they are formed, what they look like, characteristics of the rock, how they got their name, types and examples) 10-19-09 This week we are discussing the layers of the earth. We have multiple demonstrations to show the layers and how each reacts. Have your child tell you everything they know about: - Crust - Mantle - Core Ask your child what food is a good representation of the earth and why. 10-12-09 We are going to be reviewing this week for our CBA on Thursday, October 15th. Our CBA will cover Lab Safety and Procedures, Water Cycle, Wind, Clouds, Weather and Weather Tools, Weathering and Erosion. Please review these with them as well as the vocabulary listed below for previous weeks. 10-5-09
This week is all about weathering and erosion. Ask your child what the difference is between weathering and erosion. Weathering is the breaking down and wearing down of rock. Erosion is the movement of weathered materials by water, wind, or ice. Have your child explain the following vocabulary terms. - Weathering - Erosion - Deposition - Sediments - Waves 9-28-09 We are going over weather, weather tools, and severe weather. Ask your students how weather is predicted and what tools meteorologists use to forecast the weather. Go over the following vocabulary with them: - meteorologist - humidity - forecast - hurricane - tornado 9-21-09 We are delving into the wonderful world of wind and clouds. Ask your children to explain the following about the wind: - cold front - warm front - air mass - air pressure We are also studying the three types of clouds: (Cirrus, Cumulus, and Stratus). Have your child describe to you what each one is and have them show you outside. 9-14-09 This week the students are learning about the water cycle. Ask them about vocabulary words like: - condensation
- precipitation
- evaporation
- accumulation
8-31-09 This week we are reviewing lab safety and how to use lab tools such as: - hand lenses (magnifying glass)
- graduated cylinder
- beaker
- thermometer
- goggles
Fourth Grade
Mooneyham Elementary
2301 Eden Drive
McKinney, Texas 75070
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