King of Code

Check out this short video on how to incorporate coding into your everyday curriculum.

Animal Robots

We just completed our longterm robotics and coding project.  First, the students were introduced to various components (servo motors, LEDs, duo controllers, etc).  We learned how to code each component individually.

Students were asked to build an animal that incorporated movement, sound, and light into their project.  They used GarageBand to record facts about their animals and Snap! for coding.

Pandas, Panda, Everywhere

Our first graders were very fortunate to travel to the National Zoo and visit Bei Bei.  Throughout the year, they have been studying pandas and learning some facts along the way.

Firstie wrote and illustrated a panda book during computer class, and it was presented to the National Zoo during their field trip.  Also, they created beautiful panda masterpieces in Art class.

We combined the two projects into a panda movie.  During this project, students learned how to voice over their images.

Check out their informational movie.

Bot Building

The third graders had their first experience with building bots today.  This opened up great conversations about circuits, insulators/conductors, vibration, and friction.

We cut the head off toothbrushes, added batteries and vibrating motors, and off they went.  Spontaneously, the students created tracks from old cardboard.  They also used the chalk ledge to help give the bots direction.  We tried to have our bots vibrate through paint, but we concluded the paint was too thick.  Next time we will water down the paint and create bot masterpieces.

What a fun day!

Teeth Shine without Grime

A big thank you to Ms. Danielle and Ms. Bethany from Dr. Tilghman & Dr. Schwartz's office for visiting our school and teaching us about dental hygiene.  We learned some important tips on how to keep our teeth shiny and clean.

Tip #1
Brush twice a day for two minutes.  You should spend thirty seconds brushing each of the four quadrants of your mouth. Don't forget to brush your gums and tongue.

Tip #2
Always floss after brushing.  When your dental floss reaches your gums, make a "C" motion and come back up.  This will help scoop away any food and help keep your gums healthy.

Tip #3
Eating crunchy vegetables will also help clean your teeth.  Chewing on crunchy pencils, fingernails, or ice cubes will NOT help clean your teeth. They only cause damage.

Tip #4
Try to stay away from soda, candy or other acidic foods.  Acid can eat away your teeth and cause cavities.

Your student bloggers,
Class of 2023

Maker Day

"Wow"...

"Look what we made"...

"Can we do this again"...

"We figured it out"...

Maker Day- a day to celebrate innovation and creativity by emphasizing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). 

 

All students in grades Pre-K through 12 spent the day problem solving, building, brainstorming, calculating, and collaborating.  Whether constructing greenhouses in our Upper School,  building wooden benches in Middle School, or making small boats in Lower School, the students worked together.  

Our fourth graders rotated through five different STEAM projects.  They made marble mazes, musical instruments using recycled materials, floating boats, electric circuits and contributed to a large art mural made with bottle caps.

Students were quite creative when they were presented with LEDs, battery pack, insulating playdough, and conductive playdough.  

Car with Working Headlights

Airplane with Lights

Octopus

Maryland Blue Crab

Days like this prove that you don't need textbooks and pencils to learn. 

The Four Senses

We all know there are five senses, but in Science class today we only used four of them.  Yesterday we started our new unit on powders and crystals.  Today we used our sense of touch, smell, sound, and sight to describe six different powders and crystals.  The powders and crystals were a mystery because our teacher didn't tell us what they were.

We had to use our four senses to observe the differences and similarities between the six powders and crystals.  We didn't use our sense of taste because we didn't know what the powders and crystals were. It wouldn't be safe to taste something that is a mystery....especially in Science class.

We can't wait to find out the names of the six powders and crystals.

Your student bloggers, 

Class of 2023

Climbing Colors

Today in Science we talked about absorption.  We did an experiment where we used different kinds of liquids (plain water, soapy water, glycerin, and cooking oil) to see which liquid is absorbed the fastest and the most by a piece of blotter paper.

Plain water got off to a very quick start and moved up the blotter paper the fastest.  Soapy water was in second place.  Glycerin and oil had a hard time moving up the paper.

Your student bloggers,
Class of 2023

Hello World!

Welcome to our fourth grade blog for the 2014-2015 school year.  Check back often to see what's happening in our class.  This is our first entry of the school year.  We hope you enjoy our pictures, and maybe you'll even learn a little.

In Science today we learned that plain water has more cohesion than soapy water.  Cohesion is when similar molecules stick together.  Soap reduces the amount of cohesion in water.

In this experiment we filled plastic cups with plain water and soapy water.  We wanted to find out which liquid heaped higher over the brim of the cup.  Plain water heaped higher because it has more cohesion.

Your student bloggers,
The Class of 2023

Measuring Density

Our science experiment was really fun. We used washers to measure different liquids on a scale.  The liquids we measured were cooking oil, glycerin, plain water, and alcohol.  We learned that glycerin has the most density out of these liquids.  Density is how close or spread out molecules are in a substance.   The molecules that were spread out more, weighed less.  So, they had less density.  

For fun, we measured the density of soapy water.  We learned that soap does not effect the amount of density in plain water.

Your student bloggers,
The Fantastic Fourth

Super Science

Our first unit in Science is about liquids.  We already know that liquids take the shape of the container they are in.  Also, we know that when you add dye to a liquid it doesn't effect the shape, size, or texture of the liquid.

During today's experiment, we learned that cohesion is the force that attracts molecules to themselves.  Water and glycerin both have a lot of cohesion.  When we put a drop of water and glycerin on waxed paper, the drops stayed in a circle form and did not spread out.  Soapy water, cooking oil, and alcohol do not have a lot of cohesion.  Those drops spread out into a thin layer of liquid on the waxed paper.

This is the first time we are blogging, instead of our teacher doing all the work.  This is our way of keeping you informed and in touch with our classroom.  We hope you enjoy our first blog and visit often.  We will tell you about our school days, our science experiments, special projects, field trips, and much more.

Your student bloggers,
The Fantastic Fourth