A Visit to the ESSL

Last week our class got to take their annual trip to the Earth Science and Space Lab, an out-of-this-world science center that is part of the Frederick County Public School system.  Its goal is to enrich and extend the science curriculum being taught in Frederick County Public School classrooms.  And what great timing for some enrichment!  Our class got to visit the ESSL right in the middle of our unit about space! 

At the ESSL, we listened to some great information about celestial objects.  Our class took part in reenacting the way our planets revolve around the sun.  We acted out the four seasons and explained what classifies a planet as a planet.  We also learned some new, lesser-known facts about the solar system!  Did you know...the Sun actually rotates on an axis too, just like Earth does?  That is why the Sun is a celestial object.

After our lesson, we got a chance to visit the state-of-the-art planetarium in the ESSL.  Here we used monoculars (one half of a binocular) to observe what the stars really look like in the night sky.  We pointed out constellations and even the planets that are visible from Earth!  The technology in the planetarium projects a realistic model of the night sky, so the students could go home that night an look for what they observed in the planetarium that day!

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.

Thank you to our volunteers who came along on our trip.  Your help is always appreciated!  :-) 

Science Fair!

Yes, I have asked the students to participate in the science fair again this year.  My goal is for 100% of the class to participate in the science fair. I will be checking for participation. I think it is important for our students to take initiative and investigate something science-related that they are interested in. It does not need to be a big, detailed project.  Something small that shows that your child learned something new through asking questions and making observations is science!

Below are several websites with LOTS of ideas. These websites allow you to look for projects by science category, which might make it easier to narrow down some ideas.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science_project_ideas.php

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/

http://sciencefairadventure.com/ 

Students may work with a partner or on their own.  The directions have been sent home with the sign-up form.  Please let me know if there is anything else you need!  Happy Investigating!

The Great Beyond of Space

To infinity and beyond!  After a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break, we began our unit studying the Sun, the earth, and our solar system.  Our first week of the unit was spent learning about how we get day and night and why the moon changes seems to change shape in the night sky.  In the coming weeks, we will be researching the planets and investigating constellations.  It is sure to be an exciting unit!

Below is a great study guide for students to practice naming the phases of the moon.  It comes from Quizlet, an online database of virtual flashcards.  You can study the flashcards provided and then test your knowledge by laying one of the two games available.  Check it out!

Phases of the Moon Flashcards


In other news, these fantastic fourth graders certainly showed this week that they are ready to finish fourth grade with a bang!  They went hard to work when given the task of budgeting an idea for a UES math supply store.  Hired for the day as accountants, the students reviewed adding and subtracting decimals by balancing a checkbook after selecting and purchasing office supplies from  catalog.  Check out these financial firecrackers hard at work.