Science

Electricity

This term we have started our exciting new topic of Electricity in Science. 

We began by investigating various different inquiry questions, including:

• Can you make a circuit?
• Can you unscrew and put a plug back together?
• What makes the toy move?
• What makes the buzzer sound?

We managed to complete most of the activities set and discovered the answer to the last two questions was in actual fact Electricity.

We have also learnt about the many dangers of Electricity, creating posters to help remind others!

Later in the term, we will then move on to exploring and working out what makes a simple circuit, looking at how switches work and investigating whether different materials are insulators or conductors.

Sound & Science Week!

Class 4 have, once again, lived up to the mark of being Super Scientists. This term, they have begun to learn all about the interesting concept of Sound. In the first lesson, Miss Sweeney took on the challenge of trying to teach the whole lesson in silence, to a ‘silent’ class. Then they went on a sound walk, noting all the sounds they could hear as they travelled around the site. The children were amazed to be able to hear the faintest of sounds, when they really paid attention and tuned in to their surroundings!

Can you work out which was the quietest place we discovered?

How about the noisiest?

However, it wasn’t quite what the children imagined. From tranquil silence, they then went to making a lot of noise as they briefly explored how the musical instruments varied in loudness and pitch – and how differently each one is played, in order to produce sound.

This week, in celebration of national Science Week, Class 4 were privileged to attend a fantastically, exciting Science Busking Workshop hosted by Sevenoaks School. The children learnt that Science is not only interesting, but also entertaining . The workshop began with a little balloon bonanza to explore and explain the concept of static electricity. Then the children worked out how to make the balloons un-pop-able, even if sat on! Not an activity for the faint hearted (or eared)...

Armed with a cardboard tube, rubber glove, a straw and some tape, the children met the challenge of making their own didgeridoo type instrument. The most tremendously loud noises were made, due to the vibrations which were created. Earlier in the week, Class 4 had attempted to make own string cup phones, so the workshop tied in beautifully with the children's learning and provided opportunities for consolidation. We’d like to thank Mr Qureshi for taking the time to organise the visits to Sevenoaks School, as well as the Sevenoaks School team; all of Class 4 (and the other KS2 classes) had such an incredible time!

Animals including Humans

Class 4 have once again been quite the super scientists as they have recently begun to learn about the incredible human digestive system! The children have been conducting some practical investigations, which have brought the learning to life and allowed us to fine-tune many scientific skills.

So far, attention has been given to learning about teeth – where it all starts; the gateway to our digestive system. The children not only learnt about teeth functions but also why it is so important to take good care of them. A practical investigation showed what happens to the enamel of teeth if we don’t clean them. We did this by using eggs, as the shell acts much in the same way as the protective enamel coating of our teeth. Can you guess which type of liquid had the most dramatic effect and whether covering it in toothpaste first made a difference?

The children have started to learn more about the digestive system and carried out a rather squelchy practical investigation involving bananas, crackers, orange juice and tights to replicate the incredible process our food goes through!

Living Things in their Habitat continued...

Human Impact & Dangers Posed!

Can you guess what this picture represents?  What is happening here?

Class 4 have taken on the role of super scientists this week as we conclude our learning about Living Things in their Habitats and have turned our focus to human impact.  We have learnt about the global warming and the effect this is having on our environment, trying to get our heads around the concepts of climate change and the greenhouse effect.  What better way to do it than through an investigation!  Therefore, we decided to take our learning outside and measure the difference in temperature of two different thermometers; one inside a glass jar demonstrating the effect, which the greenhouse gases have on the Earth, and one outside. 

Can you guess which thermometer showed the highest temperature after an hour?

Then we looked into the effects which deforestation have on the environment as well.  With compost representing mountains and cress for trees, we investigated what happened according to how much tree coverage there was, when an equal amount of rainfall fell.

Can you predict which managed to retain its shape the most and which was the most damaged?

This visual representation most certainly caused us to reflect a little on the impact us humans have on the world around us and think about what differences we can make.

Living Things in their Habitats

As part of learning about Living Things in their Habitats in Science, we have taken to going and exploring creatures in their local habitat. Equipped with bug viewers, binoculars, magnifying glasses and iPads, the children took to the outside world to observe and record their findings. Observational diagrams were drawn and detailed notes about the conditions of the environment were also made.

This brought up a few interesting questions. We wondered why is it that worms prefer dark and damp places? Why are wasps and bees, however, attracted to the warmer and brighter surroundings? We brought all our findings together and totalled our sightings, which led to some interesting discussions. Despite being able to identify crane flies and some other less familiar, insects some of the different leaves and branches had us stumped, but we soon identified these after a quick referral to resources and identification keys.