Sunday, May 27, 2018

In the Spring, Thoughts Turn to Planting...

We started learning about plants by closely examining a lima bean seed. We were able to see the seed coat, the baby plant, and the "picnic lunch." Then we had a chance to plant some seeds of our own in planter boxes located on the playground. We were able to watch during the spring as the lettuce, spinach, and radishes we planted grew.

After learning how plants spread out their seeds to help ensure their survival, we were challenged to create our own "seed dispersal devices to carry a lima bean seed as far as possible. We planned, designed, and built our devices.



Then we tested them to see how well they traveled with the wind, which was provided by a fan!



This testing helped us determine which features helped the devices carry the seeds farther. We used this information to design new devices which were more effective.


We tested these new devices and measured the distance each was able to carry its seed.



Our devices were successful in spreading out the seeds!

It was also fun to learn about the various parts of a plant and what they do to help the plant survive. Did you know that the purpose of a flower is to make seeds so that there can be more plants? We learned about the parts of a flower. Then we had to make a scientific drawing of a flower and label its parts.



 Our real challenge came when we had to design a flower model which would attract a specific pollinator. We worked hard on our designs and came up with a variety of lovely flowers...and they had all the parts needed to produce seeds!






Surely these flowers will be a delight to their pollinators!


During the spring, the vegetables seeds we planted near the playground grew and grew. In May, we were able to harvest our crops. Don't they look great?













It was fun to pick the crops that we had grown....but it was even more fun to eat them! The fresh vegetables were DELICIOUS!




Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Picture Perfect Learning


Improper fractions, the magic of learning never ends in third grade!




The girls were totally absorbed in researching a new website called CultureGrams. Here they are able to find concise, reliable, and up-to-date information about their individual states. 



Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Design Thinking

Third graders have been busy exploring the old kindergarten playground then designing ideas that could replace it.  After pitching their ideas to the class, pairs of students decided on what they would build a prototype of - everything from a student cafe' to rock walls!  Students used recycled materials, tape, and learned how to safely use hot glue guns.  In the final stage, students will pitch their ideas to the class for a vote on what would work best.