All TCPS students grades 1-8 helped make our very own, wall-size, periodic table! Each student was assigned to research a different element(s) and then made a poster that showed the element block with all the acquired information they learned. When it was all put together, we had a wall that was color coded just like the real periodic table of elements!
The middle school students have been working hard the past four weeks to understand elements, why they bond and have now learned how they react. They did four mini experiments showing different chemical reactions and the four clues that differentiate a physical from a chemical change. They were explosively awesome!
All students 1-8 learned about the three types of rock: sedimentary, igneous an metamorphic. For each type we learned what they mean, how they are formed and a few examples of each. As a way to demonstrate how they form, we made sedimentary sandwiches, chocolate igneous lava rocks and metamorphic marshmallows. The students loved to learn and watch their yummy “rocks” form!
Grades 1-3 demonstrated the relative distances to scale between each of the eight plants in our solar system. They each counted out a certain number of steps where each step was approximately 100 million km. We were amazed to learn that Neptune is about 50 steps or 5 billion kilometers away from the sun! Take a look at our solar systems below. We needed the whole school parking lot to fit all eight planets!
Middle school students had a competition as to who could correctly make and label the eight moon phases with four Oreo cookies. They did an awesome job with everyone succeeding in getting the correct answer. And what better prize than being rewarded with a tasty lunar treat!
As part of our weather unit, the eighth grade students designed, recorded and edited their own clay animation to show the three main steps of the water cycle. Each partner pair was instructed to take a minimum of 50 pictures that were then put together in a short film. They did a fabulous job!
Below are a few examples.
For our Biomes of Africa unit, all students grades 1-8 grew different plants in the three African biomes to see which plant grew the best under each set of conditions.
To start off our first unit, the 1st-6th graders dissected owl pellets to show the steps of the scientific method. Most groups were able to successfully put back together their undigested bones which are now displayed in Ms. Miller’s science classroom. Come take a look!
Eighth graders completed their science project in April, analyzing data to determine if their hypotheses were correct or incorrect. Some of their findings held some interesting surprises! They presented their work in a classroom science fair and took time to explain to younger students and teachers what their projects were all about. Stay tuned for more photo uploads!
All ages of students spent the month of April, into May, exploring a world too small to see with our naked eyes. Using microscopes that made things anywhere from 30 times larger to 400 times larger than life, students looked at the structure of ordinary objects, and made some extraordinary findings.
For example, who would have guessed that each drop of Tecolote Creek water contains at least 6 different varieties of micro-organisms — from Paramecia to Euglena, to Daphnia, to Stentor, and more! Using our 400 x pathology microscope with a camera and projector, we were able to project this microscopic world onto a screen. Check out what we saw!
We explored fungus, grew bacteria cultures from our own hand-prints, looked at protists from Tecolote Creek water and our worm composter, and did Wanted posters about disease causing bacteria, viruses and protozoans.
Check back for pictures!
