Learning Highlights from room 4A October 15-19

Oki,

"Science is everywhere" was our quote for this week.  We went from decomposition to dissection in order to investigate how nature handles waste in the most efficient ways.  Here are some photos for you to  see the sparking of neurons in Room 4A.

 What are the factors of decomposition?  Which one of these jars will cause the pumpkin to break down the fastest/slowest?  Why do you think this?

Can you estimate how many seeds there are here?  Ask your child to tell you how many there were.  

 Have a look at our vermicomposter and the red wigglers we have in the classroom.  Another way that nature recycles and reuses.  Here is a link to learn more about vermicomposting   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_cRLHfmDhY&t=13s&frags=pl%2Cwn

Barn Owl Pellet Dissection.  Can you guess how many rodents or bird bones were in each pellet?

 Some questions and connections we made to owl adaptations and there specialized eyes.

 Mindful dissection in progress.  Students said they felt like "real scientists".

The bone map that students had to match their bones back to.  Very interesting to discover the difference between the prey of the Barn Owl.  

Did you know that the Barn Owl is an indicator species?   Ask your child what this means.   Here is al ink to the website that we used prior to the dissection.  https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/


Venn Diagrams comparing and contrasting Great Horned Owl and Barn Owl.

A huge thanks to Mr. Boisselle (Kyle's Grandfather) for his expert photography skills.  He built our background knowledge about Great Horned Owls and Red Tailed Hawks in their ecosystems through his stories and amazing photographs!  

 Students were mesmerized by this once in a life time shots.  Their thinking was transformed!

 Just look at this amazing shot of a smaller bird scaring off a hawk from its nest.

 A close up look at our bone specimens.  Which of the growth mindsets do you think that students used during this experiment?

 Eco-warriors voluntarily pick up waste from our playground.  Well done young ambassadors!  Dedication to the keeping our planet clean.

 Here is our web for understanding reciprocity "the process of exchanging things for mutual benefit"  You can see the connections that students made to their background knowledge and the classroom learning we have been doing so far in Humanities.  It was a beautiful afternoon for our walk along the school path to give back to the land.

 Mrs. Scherschel is asking students to find a quiet spot and to offer the tobacco to the land and see what is offered back through a special story.