The Reasons for the Seasons

The essential questions that sixth graders are asking in Science this month are related to space science.  They are asking -  What is Earth's place in the universe?  What makes up our Solar System?  How does the motion of the Earth explain seasons and eclipses?

After reading their lessons and working with many models, students created the following explanations for why we have seasons in the temperate regions of the Earth.  The explanations were then turned into videos to demonstrate what they have learned and share it with their parents and friends.  

Hunter - Thanking All Who Have Served Our Country!

We All Need Trees - NRCS Poster Contest

Mr. Westerman, NRCS district conservationist, met with students in the outdoor classroom to give a presentation over native trees.  Students were able to enjoy hands on experience with five species of trees that are prevalent in Greenwood County; the eastern cottonwood, green ash, black willow, red oak, and eastern red cedar.

Students learned about the characteristics that help identify the trees and ways that the trees contribute to the ecosystem.  They also learned how to tell more about a tree by counting the rings and looking for scars in the heartwood.

Keila Sherman then introduced students to an NRCS poster contest. The posters drawn by students will describe reasons why we all need trees. Students were able to relate some of the benefits of trees to science class because they provide for cellular respiration through photosynthesis and transpiration of water in the water cycle.

Proving the Water Cycle

Sixth graders used the outdoor classroom to help prove how the water cycle works.  A small stone was placed in the bottom of a baggie.  The baggie was tied around the leaves of a green plant with a twist tie.  One day later the students checked the baggies and found that droplets of water had transpired through the leaves of the plant and collected in the bottom of the baggie.

A second observation was made in the classroom.  Students filled a clear, plastic cup with 200ml of water and added 10ml of salt to the cup.  After the salt had dissolved, students tasted the salty water.
A clear plastic wrap was placed over the top of the cup and the cup was put under the grow light.  The light was moved to within 15cm of the cups.  After 24 hours, the students noticed that the water had formed condensation on the bottom of the plastic wrap.  They tasted these droplets of water and found that they no longer tasted like salt.

Students concluded that water is purified when it evaporates and when it transpires through the leaves of plants that are going through the process of photosynthesis.  Sixth graders are working on finding answers to the essential question - "How does a system of living and non-living things operate to meet the needs of the organisms in an ecosystem?"  Clean water is one of the abiotic factors that is increasingly important in the world.

Awesome Osmosis

Students collected qualitative data on celery during a recent experiment. Celery was placed in sugar water, salt water, and the control was placed in tap water.    After four hours, the celery was checked for differences in quality.  Students looked for changes in color, crispness,  flexibility and changes in the water color.

Students learned that osmosis is a type of diffusion that occurs when water moves through the cell membrane of a cell until equilibrium is reached.  The sugar molecules moved into the celery through osmosis using passive transport.  The celery structure changed very little during the four hours. 

The salt molecules were not able to move through the cell membrane.  The water moved out of the celery because the cells were trying to reach equilibrium.  This caused the celery to dehydrate and the cell membrane to break down.

The results of the experiment were communicated,orally, in short videos.  

How Does One Explain the Processes of Life at the Cellular Level?!?

In sixth grade life science, students are asked to answer the essential question - "How can one explain the ways cells contribute to the function of living organisms?"  Most of the first six weeks of science class were spent learning about cells and the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration that help formulate the answer to this question.

Students have been practicing ways to explain how cells contribute to the function of living organisms.   They are developing an understanding that cells provide a place for the transfer of solar energy into chemical energy in the plant process of photosynthesis, and the movement of oxygen and energy needed for cellular respiration.  Enjoy the following videos of sixth graders explaining how the processes work together!

Energy Expo at State Fair

The sixth graders visited the energy fair at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on Tuesday, September 15th.   Students were greeted by members of the KCC who facilitated several experiments dealing with energy and the conservation of energy.   One of the experiments required the students to manually generate enough electricity to turn on a radio.  Students walked away with a new appreciation for the amount of power it takes to generate a watt of electricity.

Dan Whisler, from Sterling High School, worked with students to design their own windmill and then test it with an electrical watt meter to see how many watts of electricity it could generate.  If the windmill failed, students were able to adjust their design and try again.  Engineering at its best!

After the expo, sixth graders were treated to a show from Dr. Goddard's Lab.   During this show they learned about the three things needed for combustion.  Liquid oxygen and cotton were ignited and created a terrific example.  After the demonstration, students were shown how to make rockets using alka-seltzer and water.  They were strongly encouraged to use these materials when experimenting at home!!

Dan Whisler, Sterling High School teaching about electromagnets used in windmills.

Abby generating enough electricity to turn on a radio.

 Students experimented with oil, soap, and water to make an emulsifier.

 Students learned about adding enzymes to oil to change the consistency.

 

 

Students were able to enjoy some fair food after the presentations. 

 

Liquid oxygen, cotton, and fire = KABOOM!

Rocket Combustion! 

Compare/Contrast Essays

Sixth grade science students worked in the outdoor classroom and on the playground as they completed a field investigation to see which environment contained more evidence of life.   The outdoor classroom was subdivided into a prairie upland, a woodland, and the wetland area.  

Students observed and compared the air temperature, cloud cover, wind speed and direction as abiotic, or nonliving, factors of the ecosystems. Next, they observed  the biotic, living, factors that could be found in each environment.

Students concluded the activity by writing a four-paragraph compare/contrast essay to describe what they had seen.   The conclusion that was drawn by most of the students at the end of their essays was that the outdoor classroom had more evidence of life and greater biodiversity than the playground because more habitats were available.

Measuring Slope Percentages in Outdoor Classroom

While spending time in the outdoor classroom, sixth graders have measured slopes in each direction from the wetland area. They did this to determine where the most soil erosion is occurring.  Using the mathematical formula   rise ÷ run x100 = % slope, students were able to determine that the slopes with a higher percentage were the slopes on the west side of the wetland where the water runs into the area.  After verifying findings by experimenting with sand and water, students decided that the water enters the west side of the area faster and this causes a greater amount of soil erosion which leads to steeper slopes. 

Sixth Grade Classroom Garden

Our garden is growing and should be ready to harvest before students leave for the summer. Lettuce, carrots, and green beans have been planted from seeds.  Students are observing the changes in the plants as they grow and mature. 

Heat Transfer Experiment

Sixth graders have learned that heat transfers from an area of greater concentration to an area of lesser concentration in three ways; radiation, conduction and convection currents.   The experiment  they completed this week tested the conduction theory by using calorimeters(insulated cups) and an aluminum transfer bar.   Equal amounts of hot and cold water were placed in the calorimeters and the temperature of each cup was taken every three minutes.   The aluminum bar that had been placed between the containers demonstrated the transfer of heat from the hotter liquid to the colder liquid.  Students could prove the concept with the change in temperature and could also feel the heat move along the aluminum bar.

Designing Experiments To Test Properties of Matter

One of the new NGSS science standards requires sixth graders to design their own experiments.  This week students pretended to be material scientists that were evaluating a spill site from a railway derailment in Columbus, Ohio.    The train wreck deposited carloads of sand, pepper, and an unidentified toxic material (Epsom Salt), along with pieces of metal from the damaged cars.   Samples of the spill were evaluated for properties of matter that could separate them easily so the spill could be cleaned up and the environment protected.  

After designing an experimental procedure and testing the substances, students found that the iron filings could be removed with a magnet. The salt could be dissolved in water.  The pepper floated in oil and the sand could be filtered out with a coffee filter.  This activity was used as an example of how studying the properties of matter might be useful in real life. 

The Effect of Heat on Kinetic Energy

Students used corn syrup to support a concept they have been learning about in science.  The concept was that if heat is added to molecules, then the molecules will have more kinetic energy.  This is the reason why substances can change from a solid to a liquid and from a liquid to a gas.

Two test tubes were filled with corn syrup of different temperatures.  The cold syrup was 10ºC and the warmer syrup was 30ºC.   A marble was dropped into each test tube and students timed how many seconds it took the marble to fall to the bottom of the tube.  The marble fell an average of 3 times faster in the syrup that was 30ºC after multiple trials.

The results verified the results that students obtained when they used an online computer model that simulated the concept. 

Analyzing the Emancipation Proclamation

"Did Abraham Lincoln decide to issue the Emancipation Proclamation mostly for military reasons or mostly because of his moral principles?"

Sixth graders are using the website "Zoom In" to try to understand why Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.    Students are analyzing and taking notes over four primary documents from the 1800's.   Each source can be found in the National Archives and supports a point of view that the students will consider, adopt, and debate in small groups. 

After the debate, students will write a four-paragraph argument essay in response to the lesson question.  Claims will be supported with interpretations of the positions and quotes from the documents.   

Autumn concentrating on the information and forming an opinion.

 Autumn distracted by the photographer!

Sixth Graders/PTA Partner on Yearbook

 The sixth grade technology classes are working with the PTA to produce the 2014-2015 Marshall Elementary Yearbook. 

Students have been compiling pictures from each homeroom teacher and are selecting the designs for the borders and backgrounds of the class pages. They are evaluating templates for the arrangement of student portraits. Students are using proofreading skills as they prepare the book to be published.  The PTA will be offering the book to the student body in the spring for a nominal fee.

Describing Matter With Real World Applications

During the investigation for this week, students measured the mass and volume of four objects and found the average of three trials for each object. Students were able to find the volume of a rectangular object by multiplying the object’s length by its width and height and the volume of an irregular object by subtracting the volume of water in a graduated cylinder without the object from the volume of the water with the object.  The mass was determined by using a beam balance.  Metric units of measurement were used because of the International System of Measurement used by scientists world wide.

Some of the real life conclusions the students came up with after completing the investigation were that Doctors need to know the mass of a patient before deciding how much of a medication to prescribe because smaller patients should receive less medicine. Scientists should use the same system of measurements so that they can share information without having to convert their results to another measurement system.

Using Ratios, Rates & Proportions in Science

Sixth graders are applying math skills learned this year while analyzing data collected when germinating turnip seeds.  Gideon and Preston are pictured planting the seeds within a centimeter grid.  After the seeds germinate, students will count the ratio of germinated seeds to the number of seeds planted.  This number will be converted into a percent and students will catalog and graph the rate of growth of the plants over a six week period.