Each year, 4R studies ecosystems by doing projects. After choosing their ecosystem, students research it and create a shoebox diorama display of their ecosystem. Each year, I am blown away by the creativity and hard work that goes into these projects. This year was no exception! So, without further adieu, I bring you this year’s Ecosystem Dioramas!
Wetland:
Tundra:
Rainforest:
Grassland:
Desert:
We have officially finished our entire Science book for the year. We celebrated today by learning about 4 Science items that were not in our book. In the words of one student, “This was the best Science lesson EVER!” Apparently we had fun. 🙂
We learned about Physical and Chemical Changes. Physical Changes are when you change the appearance of an object or substance, but it doesn’t become a new substance. We folded paper to demonstrate how the shape changed, but it remained paper.
Chemical Changes are when an object or substance changes into another substance. Examples included burning paper and wood, rust on metal, gasoline being burned within a car, and, our favorite: Diet Coke and Mentos. 🙂
(JUST missed the height of the “explosion”. It was QUITE the reaction!!)
We also learned about Solutions and Mixtures. Solutions are when two or more substances are combined, but cannot be separated again. Examples we talked about were lemonade, Kool-Aid, and food coloring with water. Mixtures are when two or more substances are combined, and they CAN be separated again. Examples were fruit salad and trail mix. Trail mix was our personal favorite. 🙂
What a fun afternoon! We are ready to put our Science books behind us and move onto more out-of-the-box Science fun! 🙂
As an addition to our current Science chapter on Ecosystems, Adaptations, and Interactions, we had an extra lesson yesterday dealing with food chains and how they work. We learned that they all start with the Sun, and energy is transferred through each part of the food chain, ending with a carnivore or decomposer at the end. We worked for a bit on some projects that showed an example of a food chain, from the ecosystem of their choice.
We also watched a catchy video that described what a food chain is, and gave examples as well. Enjoy. I guarantee it’ll be stuck in your head in no time!
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