Creating a Circuit... or Two

Wildcats used their new knowledge of electricity and how it flows to create simple circuits and parallel circuits to light a light bulb. 

  The students had a great time figuring out different configurations that would work to complete the circuit. 

Geometry in Art

The Wildcats have been exploring geometry concepts through art this month.  They have been learning geometric vocabulary such as ray, polygon, parallel lines, and plane.  Then they have been taking the concepts and creating pieces of art that incorporate the ideas.  This week they explored different contemporary and classic art pieces to find geometric elements like shapes and lines that they could identify.

STATIC ELECTRICITY!

In their search to understand electricity the Wildcats experimented with the transfer of electrons that result in static electricity.  Here they discovered the hair raising effects of creating a charge.

Experiments in Sound

This week we started our experiments in sound.  

We tested pitch, volume, and the way our mouths forms sound into words. 

We also listened to various instruments and tried to decide what the sound waves coming from them might look like if we could see them.   Finally, we experimented with the speed of sound vs. the speed of light. 

Mayan Writing

This week we have been discussing the ancient hieroglyphs of the Maya.  We learned about the mystery behind much of the language and the use of syllables to create words.  The wildcats tried to create their very own name glyph and then etch it into clay.

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Reading with the Ladybugs

This week the Wildcats got a chance to share their very own folktales with the Ladybugs.  They spent an hour reading their stories and helping their young schoolmates write their own stories.  They did an excellent job showing their understanding of how to write a story and patiently teaching their Ladybug partners how to write a good story.

Body Language

In Art we learned how to use flowing lines, color and hand gestures to convey thoughts and emotions.

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Teaching about Ancient Civilizations

What is better than learning all about an Ancient Civilizations? Getting to share all of your new knowledge with your classmates! The Wildcats did a great job passing on all they now know. 

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Experimenting with light!

This week we wrapped up some very interesting lab work on light properties. Did you know that it is much easier to draw an image using a plane mirror rather than a convex one? How about the fact that you can be a magician with a little water, a penny, and light?

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Calder's Mobiles

Creating a class mobile using examples of Calder's mobiles and our knowledge about center of gravity.

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Chinese Folktales

We have been learning all about Folktales recently.  We started by reading many different Chinese Folktales in order to identify the components of a folktale.  Then we took two folktales and rewrote them as Reader's Theaters.  This was quite the learning experience for the students.  They had to work on fluency, expression, voice level and teamwork as well as reformatting an existing tale into a play like structure. Wow, what a lot of work! The Wildcats did a great job though and gave two very nice presentations.  Below you will find a video of the story of Aniz and the Magic Flute.

Next up writing our very own folktales!

Center of gravity

This week we answered the question"What is Center of Gravity?" The students practiced adjusting fulcrums to get different sized books to balance. Next week we apply our new knowledge to creating artistic mobiles like those of the artist Calder.

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