Going further into our inquiry about plant adaptations we watched a video out carnivorous plants. Venus fly traps and pitcher plants have adapted to live in boggy areas where there are very few nutrients in the soil. So they trap and digest small insects instead. We created some of our own and made a display. You'll be able to see them at the student led conferences coming up.
This week we have begun our inquiry into 3D shapes. In groups we worked together to try and make different buildings and structures. We had to use team work, discuss what shapes would go where and help each other to steady the structure while we were building. As we built we became more familiar with the shapes and their names as well as their properties.
Mr. Grant took us to the garden to plant some sunflower and watermelon seeds. He showed us how to make a hole in the soil for the seed by using a stick. We put the little pots into a greenhouse and have to remember to water them each day. After they are bigger we will put them into larger pots in the garden.
We were faced with a problem to find out which container held the most coloured water. We made some predictions and then shared ideas about how we could solve the problem. An initial idea was to find 2 more containers the same in order to compare the amounts. We didn't have these available so had to extend our thinking further. We tried out the next idea of pouring the red liquid into a larger container, then we noticed there were markings and numbers. Mrs. Hayward explained these were the standard measurement 'millilitres'. So we used this jug to measure the amounts in millilitres. The next challenge was to work out how to repeat the problem by using only non-standard measure. Someone suggested a small cup and someone else a small spoon. We chose the spoon and counted out how many spoons of coloured water were in each container. Then we had a problem, the red and blue had the same amount! What could have gone wrong? We discussed the spoons sometimes weren't full and the possible miscounting. To be more accurate we agreed the spoons needed to be carefully filled to the top each time and one person to be the counter.
Before the March break some of us tried to plant apple seeds in the playground. They weren't growing. We found out that apple seeds need cold weather to germinate so it is very unlikely the seeds will sprout. So Ms. Hima gave us some mung beans to plant instead. We each planted our own in a biodegradable cup using soil and water. We have been watering them each day and watched many of them sprout. We are still waiting for some.
After researching about the lifecycles of different plants and animals of our choice we made iStop Motion videos. We had to make the props, find or make the characters and set up the background. We took turns to move the items and take lots of pictures. The app iStop Motion then made a video for us. On reflection after the process we discussed the use of social skills to cooperate, self management skills in making decisions and thinking skills to plan our work. We will share the videos with you at our student led conferences in April. Here are some photos of the making process!
All of the children performed well at our ISS Spring Concert. It was great to see them confidently singing and playing on the stage. Here are a couple of videos from the evening. On Thursday we celebrated Maths Day by taking part in Live Mathletics where we played games against other children in the school and across the world! We tried to solve riddles and questions written and displayed by other children in the school. We had fun dressing up too!
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