Geology Video Morning

Geology Movie Morning on Friday December 11th
Grade 5 Classroom at 8:45 am

Parents, teachers and students,you are invited... We will be watching the student geology films that were written, filmed, edited and produced entirely by the students. We had no idea how much work the films would be an we want to celebrate with you by kicking back and viewing our films.

 

Skype Date with Geologist

Last  Wednesday we had a chance to Skype with a geologist graduate student who has been working in Greenland and Antartica. Ruth is the cousin of Elena, one of our students. She spent about 45 minutes visiting with us and answering our many questions. She created a google presentation of photos from her travels and shared them with us so that we could follow along with her presentation. It was a wonderful experience and I am glad that we were able to learn so much from her! If you would like to follow her here is her website and her program's blog at Dartmouth. Thanks Ruth!

 

Convection Currents with Mr. Simon

Last Monday we headed upstairs and collaborated with the upper school science teacher, Mr. Simon. He invited us into the science lab for our very first science experiment. It was a wonderful experience and the students really got a good understanding of convection currents and how they move the tectonic plates. Thank you so much Mr. Simon for volunteering your time, expertise and enthusiasm!!!

If you would like to try some more experiments with convection currents, check out these videos and links below.

Home Learning: Convection Currents
Heat Convection in Liquids

 

Geology Gallery Walk

Last Friday we invited students, teacher and parents to come view the Grade 5 end of unit projects. The students had a chance to share their projects and show the knowledge they gained over the past 6 weeks. It was a wonderful morning and I was proud of all of the hard work. Here are three of the computer projects. Enjoy!

The Grade 5 "Great Shake Off"

Last Friday the kids participated in the first annual Great Shake Off. After working all week with their partners to build their structures, the students got a chance to test them on the earthquake table. It was great fun not only watching the buildings shake, shimmy and unfortunately crash on the floor. Check out the photos. It was so much fun!!!


 

Earthquake Structure Challenge

This week the class has been exploring the earth forces that influence the structural strength of buildings. The students were given a challenge to create a 4 walled building with a roof that would withstand a significant earthquake. They were partnered up and given freedom to choose their materials. Here are photos of the process and finished products. Tomorrow is the Grade 5 Great Shake Off, so be sure to look for post quake pictures soon.


 

Geology Videos to Check Out

Krakatowa Erupts Up Close

Forces That Have Changed Our Earth

National Geographic: Lava

 

Alex's Disaster News

Last night Alex took action and made a Natural Disaster Newspaper. Take a look. It is informative and his voice shines through!

 

Geology Website Resources for Students

Today with Ms. Skye's class we watched some videos and worked on our note taking skills. I know you were very excited about this and Ms. Skye wanted to share the links with you. Enjoy and if you share your learning with others, let me know and you can go on the Action Board!

Volcanoes

• Volcano Discovery
• USGS Hawaiian Volcanic Discovery

Earthquakes

• Earthquake Facts
• Famous Earthquakes- Scholastic News
• Richter Magnitude Scale
• Measuring Earthquakes

 

Geology Teamwork Activity

Yesterday in class the Grade 5 students came together and created a "land mass" out of dough. They had to form groups independently, use the student teamwork rubric and the given recipe to create dough. It was a great event and I observed some wonderful teamwork skills. It also taught me that I have to teach how to use a measuring cup...ha! Needless to say, some recipes were a success and others were a wet mess. The kids had a great time getting dirty though! Enjoy the photos.