Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Real Time Heart Rate

Using a digital heart rate monitor, 5th grade students collected data on their resting, active and recovery heart rates.  The students watched their heart rate change in real time on the smart board display as they rested and exercised.  Ask your child about their heart rate.  Here is an example of the data display...

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Coke vs. Diet Coke (It's not what you think)

4th grade students hypothesized what would happen when a can of coke and a can of diet coke were placed in a tank of water.  In order to make informed hypotheses, table teams investigated the soda cans, gathering as much information as possible.  This is what we came up with...

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Here are some of the hypotheses:

"I think that the coke will immediately sink because, I weighed the cans and the coke weighed more, and the diet coke is going to float because it has less mass."

"I think that both will float in the water because they both have air in them."

"I think that the diet coke will float because it is more dense than the coke and the water."

"I think that the coke and diet coke will both sink because they both have a lot of mass."

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We conducted the experiment and discussed the concept of density.  In order to find out the results, you must ask your child!

Weather Forecasters-in-Training

3rd grade students are utilizing actual weather maps to create continent-wide weather forecasts.  They are working in partnerships to read and translate the weather symbols across the nation and to create a script for their own weather report.  Ask your child to help you translate this map!

Click here to download:
weather_map_12_hours.pdf (123 KB)
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Instruments Completed...Mostly

2nd grade students have just finished building their musical instruments that make sound and change pitch and volume.  Their latest endeavor was to write about how their instruments work, using a specific set of key words.  We are happy to report that nearly everyone was a Word Challenge Winner!  

Here are the key words...

vibrations vibrate pitch volume air length size

loose tight amplifier energy solid liquid gas

molecules

**Ask your child to show you his or her written work! (Instruments will come home soon.)

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Bald Eagle Check-In...New Facts!

<br />Live TV : Ustream

Students in 6S and their Grandfriends, checked-in on the bald eagle family in Decorah, IA.  Here are some of the new facts that were uncovered...

According to William, humans are the most important source of mortality for this species.  In fact, according to Emmet, Nick and Ashley, the bald eagle was threatened with extinction because of the pesticide, DDT, but now due to conservation, as of 2007, they are off the list.  

Riya tells us that the bald eagle, native to North America, was originally bred in Central Alaska, Northern Canada, Central Arizona, and around the Gulf of Mexico.  

Charlotte S. adds that they are accomplished and opportunistic food thieves and in mid-November, at least 4,000 bald eagles gather in Alaska to prey on salmon.  

Nora and Arthur tell us that bald eagle nests can weigh up to 2 tons and that they are so adaptable that in one case, a couple nested on a giant cactus.

Finally, Lydia and Madison discovered that the bald eagle engages in a spectacular courting ritual in which a pair of eagles will fly very high, lock feet together, then tumble and cartwheel toward the ground, breaking apart at the last possible moment.  

Here is a video of the cartwheel display...

ARKive video - White-tailed eagles sky dancing

 

 

Harlem Meer Microorganisms

Yesterday the weather was perfect for a trip to Central Park!  Students in 6D headed to the Harlem Meer to collect pond water to use for our study of microorganisms.  Next week we will examine the pond water under the microscopes.  Check back in to find out what we discover!

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Alumni Marine Biologist Visits

Dr. Judith Weis, marine biologist, Rutgers University professor, and HCES alumna, came to speak with the 4th grade science students about the fascinating world of fishes...yes, fishes!  As we first learned, "fish" is the plural of many fish within one species, but if you are referring to multiple species of fish, the plural is, "fishes!"

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Here are some of the other interesting facts that Dr. Weis shared with us today:

1. You can tell a fish's age by looking for growth rings on the scales or in the ear bones (similar to the rings in a tree trunk).

2. The coelacanth is a "living fossil."  It was thought to be extinct, until it was discovered at a South African fish market in the 1930s.  The coelacanth is related to a group of fish that "crawled" out of the water and gave rise to amphibians. 

3. At over 50 feet long, the largest fish is the whale shark, and it eats plankton. 

4. Some fish can live out of water.  The mudskipper lives in the moist mud of mangroves, the walking catfish, can scoot along on wet land, and the lungfish survives in dried lakes by becoming dormant.  

5. Fish can live in freezing cold water.  Fish that live in these extreme temperatures have built-in anti-freeze molecules that stop the growth of ice crystals in their bodies. 

6. Some species of fish in the depths of the ocean can produce their own light by combing two chemicals, lucifern and lucierase, in the presence of oxygen.  This process is similar to the one that takes place in fireflies!

More Info on Bald Eagles

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(Illustration by Jillian)

Interesting Bald Eagle Facts:

* Bald eagle nests are called AERIES.

* In Old English, balde, meant white. 

* It takes about 4 years for an eaglet to become an adult.

* They are considered "food thieves."

* The population of bald eagles is declining due to toxic chemicals.

* Unit recently they were considered endangered.

* Adults have white heads, white tails, dark brown bodies and wings.  Juveniles have dark brown heads and wings, a spotted front, and white on the underside of their tails.  

Check out the Eagles in Decorah, IA:

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles