What do we already KNOW, WONDER and what have we LEARNED about strong and stable structures? We have been using this Padlet to share our ideas and update as we experiment, research and complete our various STEM challenges. Have a look at what we've done so far, and please feel free to read and post over the break from home! If you are eager to learn more, please visit any of our Wonder Websites to add to our learning on the Padlet below.
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2020
Saturday, December 09, 2017
Hour of Code
This week students participated in the #HourofCode. Students had the chance to participate in a variety of computer science activities online and using robots in our school. Students are expert programmers with the robot Dash. They had so much fun applying their knowledge of forces in science and coded Dash to move in a variety of positions and locations. We also had the chance to plan purposeful activities with Dash when we were challenged to design a maze for Dash to navigate through. Students used a variety of tools in their attempt to get Dash to move in the correct direction. They learned through much trial and error how to slow Dash down, pick up speed at the right time and change location to be successful. It was a tough challenge, but many students persevered to accomplish their goal.
Students also programmed their own games on the Coding website code.org. Students loved programming on many of the sites including Minecraft, Google logo, Flappy Game, Star Wars, Box Island so so much more. Students were challenged to apply their knowledge of forces in science as well as their math skills in movement. It was a great week of collaboration, critical thinking and communication. We reflected on this engaging week by writing a retell paragraph using details from the struggles and the exciting adventures we had with coding. Ask your child to share what they wrote about and what they liked best.Students are encouraged to keep coding at home and use our KidBlog platform to continue to share what they are learning, what obstacles they face and what new discovery they are making while coding on their platform of choice.
We wrapped up our week of #hourofcode by reflecting on our code learning. We wrote about what we learned and what we liked best. Ask your child about what they wrote. #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/dHRyDeZHYI— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 8 December 2017
Our elf Tallulah challenged our class to design a maze for Dash to go through. Students creativily designed mazes with tools in our room. A fun #hourofcode today. #ontariocodes pic.twitter.com/yftBqUSoby— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 6 December 2017
More examples of hour of code in grade 3. pic.twitter.com/gTjORa2U5H— St Emily School (@StEmilySchool) 5 December 2017
Even with internet issues we persevered and completed an #hourofcode. Students worked through a few coding stations today and LEGO challenges too. #ontariocodes #stem #ocsbdl pic.twitter.com/l229xj2g9P— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 5 December 2017
Happy coding week! We got distracted from our math lesson by this awesome #Google coding game. #hourofcode #OntarioCodes pic.twitter.com/6lJc4KKvuF— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 5 December 2017
Problem solving when Dash won't follow the code. pic.twitter.com/JUScj68wWM— St Emily School (@StEmilySchool) 1 December 2017
Students put their Forces in science learning into practice today. We programmed Dash using @WonderWorkshop apps. Ask your child what they had Dash do and what they learned. #stem #ocsbdl #ontariocodes pic.twitter.com/98Ps4DLgCq— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 1 December 2017
Grade 3 Ciampa codes Dash to move pic.twitter.com/XAvKGtriOD— St Emily School (@StEmilySchool) 1 December 2017
We continue to experiment with the @WonderWorkshop apps to program and code our little Dashes. #stem #ocsbdl Ask your child what they learned on the Blockly app today. pic.twitter.com/ooimzXySci— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 November 2017
Students experimented with @WonderWorkshop today. We had fun teaching Dot how to move in different directions. #stem #ocsbDL pic.twitter.com/Myxe2mzm4V— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 23 November 2017
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Global Maker Day - Cardboard Challenge
Today students put their plan into action and brought their ideas to life during the cardboard challenge. Students were only aloud to use cardboard, scissors, tape and crayons or markers to design and create. They were also told they needed to create something that could either be pushed or pulled.
They followed the Design Process to solve problems, brainstorm ideas, make a plan, follow and test our their plan, alter or change their ideas and finally reflect on what worked and what didn't. They worked extremely well in their groups today. No one gave up or become frustrated. Everyone was encouraging and helpful. They were on task and had so much fun while playing and creating. It was also great to see them help out their friends when they needed extra hands to help solve a problem or to finish up their project.
Students all got a chance to present their inventions and test it out in front of the group. They reflected on what worked and what didn't. They answered questions from their friends and asked a few friends to come up and try their games. Have a look below at our finished products! They are very proud. We will be writing a retell paragraph and a reflection on how the challenge went tomorrow. For homework, please have your child prepare for this by retelling what they did today. Have them use the keep on track words (first, next, then, after that, also, finally, etc) to share the steps they took to create today. It will be helpful for them to practice retelling for their writing work tomorrow in class.
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| Planning in groups for the challenge |
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| Cardboard Challenge in action! |
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| A Vending Machine |
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| A Photocopier Game |
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| A tractor and a wagon with a game inside the wagon! |
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| Maze Machine |
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| Lucky Shoot Flicking Game |
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| Pet Carrier and a Flicking Game |
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| Flick Game |
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Push and Pull Forces Padlet
Today in class we talked about push and pull forces. We learned the following vocabulary terms:
Force, Motion, Push, Pull, Friction, Position and Location.
Students can continue to add more of their learning or a wondering about Forces that push and pull.
Force, Motion, Push, Pull, Friction, Position and Location.
Students can continue to add more of their learning or a wondering about Forces that push and pull.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
STEM Task: Red Cup Challenge
Today students completed their first STEM challenge of the year. (STEM = Science + Technology + Engineering + Math).We collaborated with our group to stack 10 cups into a tower without touching the cups. We had to use only the materials provided in our baskets. An extra challenge at the end: we had to put our Lego figure at the top of our tower without touching it with our hands. It was great to see the students use their critical thinking and communication skills to solve this problem. We learned as a group the importance of following direction and listening to our group to finish the task. We will do many more STEM challenges and as a class we will need to review how to work effectively in a group when solving challenges or tasks.
Ask your child about this fun activity. What strategy worked best for their group? What strategy didn't work at all? What would your child do differently next time? What would your child do the same next time?
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Science Workshop on Soils
Shaking up the soil types with @sci_in_school @assumption_ocsb Look how much fun we are having. https://t.co/svEgMwe4hb— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
Wiggly worms that tickle https://t.co/AkzkgWff1B— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
Is root growth easy or hard with sand? @sci_in_school https://t.co/4ej0UMceDp— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
Labelling and discovering the parts of a worm with @sci_in_school https://t.co/It03Vj4fgz— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
How much water can the topsoil hold? @sci_in_school? https://t.co/Ok8U9P2fT0— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
Having fun learning about wiggly worms during our @Sci_in_School workshop today. pic.twitter.com/A0UlS4nhrz— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 27 April 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Coding and Forces Causing Movement
In Science our current focus is on Forces that Cause Movement. We are exploring different types of forces found in our environment. We talked a lot about what push and pull forces are around us. Students are learning that forces in nature like wind or water have an impact on the environment. Many of our students are members of the Makerspace club at our school that meets a few times a week. They are using what they know about Forces when experimenting with different STEM projects.
This week we participated in an #HourofCode together with the grade 4/5 class. We collaborated with our friends in the class to learn how to code our very own video games. Students loved participating in this coding activity. We all received our very own certificates after completing the Hour. It's cool to see programmers in our Grade 3 class.
After the coding, students made connections between forces that cause movement and the coding activity. We talked about how altering the speed on a code or our own tapping on the keyboard impacts various push and pull forces in a video game. We also made connections between our knowledge of forces that cause changes in movement to the coding activities we did this week. We coded a few games this week like Flappy Bird, Minecraft, Frozen and Star Wars games on code.org. It was fun to put what we've learned into practice this week on our very own video games. Ask your child about their coding adventures. We will continue to talk about Forces and Coding next week. See our fun from this past week below.
Getting started on our shared learning with @assumptiongr45 We are learning how to #Code today @Assumption_ocsb pic.twitter.com/kAf7fgWRcD— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
Programming the Flappy Bird game for the first time. @assumptiongr45 @Assumption_ocsb https://t.co/14x2DjNxKu— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
The hints help us to change the game if we can't move to the next level. @assumptiongr45 https://t.co/024wIhEc0T— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
We help our friends when we can't figure out the problem in our code #HourofCode @assumptiongr45 https://t.co/2zM8PiOyDS— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
TO says: "#HourofCode is more like playing than working but it's still fun, because we're making games." @assumptiongr45 @Assumption_ocsb— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 29 March 2016
Our first #HourofCode today with @MrsCiampaClass #coding #collaborativelearning #HelloWorld pic.twitter.com/6ia7hVUq7x— Amanda Salinas (@assumptiongr45) 29 March 2016
In science we are connecting forces that cause movement to coding. pic.twitter.com/IUNIyaCeaM— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 30 March 2016
Trying to figure out why Elsa isn't moving into all of the squares instead of just one. https://t.co/Splcvb8GAD— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 30 March 2016
We keep trying but can't figure out why he is turning right too much? https://t.co/QgEvBg3JZN— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 30 March 2016
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
3D Structures and Shape Experts
We are currently working on 3D shapes in our class. Students worked together to show their expertise on a 3D shape of their choice. They used Pic Collage to show what they learned about their shape. After showing what they know, they shared their Pic Collage on a shared Padlet. If you'd like to learn more about and of the 3D shapes on our list, check below at our Padlet thinking. Today we presented our learning and added to our 3D Shape Chart. If you know anymore facts about 3D shapes, please add it to our Padlet below!We will continue working on 3D shapes and describing their properties. In Science we are working on stable structures. We had a STEM challenge last week using gumdrops and toothpicks. Students had to design a 3D shape that would be stable enough to hold a heavy textbook. It was a fun challenge and we got to experiment with various 2D and 3D shapes. Ask your child what their learned about the shapes after completing this challenge. Ask your child what is the strongest shape is!!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Tuesday, November 03, 2015
Venus Flytrap Learning
Today in class we consolidated all of our amazing venus flytrap learning. We recalled all of the wonders we had and some of the answers we came up with. We chatted with friends and worked together to write some interesting facts and unusual information. Students learned a lot of great things about the plant. They had more to share but we ran out of time. If they would like to add more learning or photos for homework on our Padlet, please do!
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Venus Flytrap Inquiries
Over the past few weeks we've shared many questions and wonders about the plant. We are reading books, talking with friends, watching videos, consulting Twitter and observing our class plants. Each of these helpful resources are guiding our learning and our fun wonders!
Over the past week, students got to solve many of their wonders. We added our wonders to our class wonder wall, and as we answer a popular question, we post the answer as well. This inquiry has been amazing so far. Students are very engaged in their science learning and are using their spare time to learn more information about the plant. Some students are writing plant stories for homework and posting their plant creations on our Wonder Wall. I even hear students talk about how they are researching the plant when they go home - amazing scientists in action in Grade 3!Today Mr. Gautreau gave our 3 plant friends a friendly shout-out over the announcements. He welcomed the 3 new "students" to Grade 3....Mario, Thornhead and Spike. We had many curious student visitors to our classroom today who wanted to take a peak at our new class friends. Inquiring in Grade 3 is pretty popular!
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Venus Flytraps
Our current focus in science is on plant life systems. Last week in our discussions, students had many questions about Venus Flytrap plants. We consulted Wonderopolis for some answers and watched some videos to learn more. I searched all over the city and was finally able to find some Venus Flytrap plants to bring into our classroom! These plants will be so helpful for our science wondering and our inquiry into Venus Flytraps. Having a real life plant will allow students to watch how it grows. We are hoping to watch it eat a real bug too!We tested out what happens when an object gets too close today. It was really neat to see the trap close! Ask your child about it. We are building on what we know and adding wonders to our list. We hope to answer these questions during this inquiry. We voted to give the plants names: Spike, Thornhead and Mario. This will be helpful for when we observe the changes and talk about their differences. We can't wait to find out more information!
IG: The venus flytraps are like our class pets!
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) October 6, 2015
ED: I was surprised to see the venus flytraps. I think they're cool because they trap bugs.
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) October 6, 2015
AG: I'm surprised that venus flytraps have really good reflexes.
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) October 6, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Science Wonders
Our current science focus is on plants and life systems. In class, we are reviewing what we already know about plants. Students worked with a partner last week to post and share their ideas on what they know about plants on a shared Padlet. Have a read at what we know so far:
Today we read through our Padlet and shared what we know about plants. Some students shared what they know and names of different plants they remember. During our discussion, many students shared questions about what a Venus Fly Trap was. We started to research the plant and learned a few things about what it looks like and what it does. We had a few other questions about the Venus Flytrap so we decided to ask the website Wonderopolis for help on our Class Twitter Account....
Dear @Wonderopolis How does a Venus Flytrap eat a bug?
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) September 29, 2015
Wonderopolis is a wonder website that students can access from home to research questions they might have. We will be consulting this website a lot this year to help us with our science wonders. We created a Science Wonder book today and wrote about what we know and what we wonder about plants so far. We can't wait for Wonderopolis to reply to our question and to share with us how they eat bugs. During our unit in Science, we hope to answer these questions and more. If you would like to research Venus Flytraps at home please do! Ask your child to share with you what they know and what they wonder about Plants so far.
Thank You Wonderopolis for helping us with our Wondering. They posted on our Padlet and shared a link with us. Take a look!
@MrsCiampaClass We LOVE all the WONDERing & thinking represented on the @padlet! We left a message for you! Keep up the GREAT WONDERing!
— Wonderopolis (@Wonderopolis) September 29, 2015Sunday, March 08, 2015
Forces in Science
In Science our current focus is on forces that cause movement. We are exploring push and pull forces and wondering what causes types of movements to occur. We are listening to songs and researching information about forces. We learned some new forces vocabulary like friction. Students are adding to our Science Wonder Wall and adding Learned information after they discover an answer to their wonders. Students have the opportunity to explore their wonders during our centers time! Ask your child about the science vocabulary they are learning about including movement, force and friction.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Stable Structures
This week we participated in a Scientist in the School Workshop. Students experimented with many different types of structures. We explored science terms such as support, strength, tension, force, stable, compress and more. Students participated in many experiments and concluded with a bridge challenge. We had to build a strong bridge that could support at least 3 math text books. The great news is...all of our bridges passed the test and supported 6 math text books. Well done friends!
At the end of our workshop, we consolidated our learning and came up with new words. Students worked with partners to talk about 3 things they learned....2 interesting facts.. and 1 question they still have. We posted some of our thinking on another Padlet. Students can continue to post new learning or wonders from home!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Pumpkin Investigations!
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| Adjectives to describe the inside and outside of a pumpkin |
Students had the chance to consolidate their learning from our pumpkin investigation and post their new learning on our KWL Chart for pumpkins. We know a lot more about pumpkins now. Investigating the pumpkins and reading stories has really helped our learning in science!
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| Our current KWL Chart for pumpkins in science! |
Using what we learned from Math, students had to come up with their own counting strategies to determine how many seeds they had inside of their pumpkins. We are consolidating our findings and learning more about how to skip count large numbers. So far we know that we can count by 1's, 2's, 5's 10's and even 25's. We will be practicing this skill for the next while.
Understanding how to find patterns in numbers helps us to see numbers in a variety of ways. We can use our strategies to help us count and sort big object (like boxes, desks or chairs) as well as little objects (like pumpkin seeds, coins or toothpicks). Students are encouraged to practice what they recall about finding patterns in numbers at home!
Below is a video of our pumpkin investigation fun. We used the Flipagram app for the first time. What a fun app to capture our pumpkin learning!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Science Wonder
Our Science focus so far has been on plants and life systems. We have explored many types of plants including flowers and trees. This week, students have had many wonders about pumpkins! They must be all over our neighborhood! We created a Know-Wonder-Learn chart. Students posted what they already know about pumpkins. We are learning about the features of a pumpkin and talking about a pumpkin's life cycle. We had read a few books about the features of a pumpkin - ask your child to tell you more about what they already know about pumpkins!
Students are learning that pumpkins are part of the gourd family. Many students are learning about gourds for the first time. We added what we've learned about gourds to our Learned side. Ask your child what they've learned about gourds this week.
Finally, today we came up with a few pumpkin wonders. Students recalled where they could go to get an answer to a wonder. First we used Google. We remembered how to safely Google an image (by writing "FOR KIDS")! Next, students remembered that we could tweet to Wonderopolis to ask a question about one of our wonders. We look forward to hearing back from them soon!
Dear @Wonderopolis is an avocado in the gourd family? #wonder
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) October 23, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Conserving Water
This week students worked on a water activity. We explored the ways people use water in the environment. We talked about how we use water at home and focused on what it means to conserve water. We came up with many things we could do at home or at school to conserve (or save) water. We also explored why it is so important to conserve water and what we could do to make sure people know all about it!
Students worked hard all week on creating posters about what we can do to conserve water. They wrote about what we people can do to conserve water and why it is important. Our goal was to teach people that we all need to do our part to make sure we take care of the water we have and conserve it so we don't waste it!
We created a video using the 30 Hands iPad app to showcase all of our posters. Students did a wonderful job of demonstrating what we can do to conserve water and why it is so important to our environment. Enjoy! How else can we conserve water? Students used other tools to communicate what they've learned this week. Have a look at some of our creations:
AB shares how to conserve water https://t.co/ccpyHH5nIS
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 29, 2014
WN shares how to conserve water https://t.co/vDH7XP5evl
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 29, 2014
MD shares how to conserve water https://t.co/3vMKxzlXag
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 29, 2014
RC encourages you to conserve water pic.twitter.com/Sv4rEOh6Fr
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 29, 2014
How to conserve water By: HH. https://t.co/gjX5FU9PKa
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 29, 2014
In science I learned about how to save water and to not use so much water. Like when your having a shower don't use to much hot water. AB
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 27, 2014
HH:In science I learn to not waste water because some people need water and we need it to live
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 27, 2014
Condensation is a cloud and another cloud sticks together and make a bigger one by: a. w
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 22, 2014
Condensation is a cloud and another cloud sticks together and make a bigger one by: a. w
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 22, 2014
Today in science we larde about evaporation. It is when water goes up
in the sky. By: NN
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 22, 2014
md, hh: in science we learned about saveing water.
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 26, 2014Dear @MrsSwansClass I learn about Evaporation and condensation that water goes up to the sky then the clouds forms into rain by: co
— Mrs. Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) May 22, 2014
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