September 21st

Did You Know…? Many early lawnmowers were horse-drawn – the horses wore leather boots to avoid leaving hoof marks on the lawn.

Today in Math, the Grade 4 students and I completed their mid-unit assessment. We will actually be having our unit test for Data Analysis either this coming Friday or Monday. Students will be bringing home their data sheet at the front of their duotang tonight. Please look over this sheet, as well as any quizzes or assessments that are brought home. I would also appreciate having parents sign this form, so that I know who has viewed it. Thank you.

In Science today, the Grade 5 students moved on from convection currents to wind. We discussed devices that you can use to measure wind speed and wind direction. An anemometer measures wind speed. We looked at a commercial anemometer today, but we also watched this video on how to make our own:

The wind pushes the ping-pong ball forward. Looking at how far it traveled (the movement of the string on the protractor) you can estimate the speed of the wind. The next device we discussed was a weather vane. A weather vane is used to measure the direction the wind is coming from. We actually made our own weather vanes today and went outside to test them. We found that the wind was blowing from the North-West.

The Grade 4 students began to discuss biodegradable and non-biodegradable today. Now we now that:

Then we moved on to the rate at which something degrades (breaks down). Students predicted when they thought a disposable diaper would break down. After we shared our predictions, we found that we predicted that it would take between 1-11 years for a disposable diaper to degrade. The real answer? 500-600 years! Just look at the chart students completed below:

After looking how long it takes these items to degrade, students had a much better understanding of the importance of reducing the amount of waste we create, reusing items when we can, and recycling items. In fact, that is our next topic! We also watched the following video for some inspiration:

There IS a contest similar to this in Fort McMurray – The Amazing Waste Race. Stay tuned for more information, as it takes place later in our school year.

Don’t forget that book orders are due on September 25th. Cheque is preferred if possible: