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...
vibrationsvibratepitchvolumeairlengthsize
loosetightamplifierenergysolidliquidgas
molecules
**Ask your child to show you his or her written work! (Instruments will come home soon.)
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.
After viewing the live stream of a Bald Eagle family in Decorah, Iowa, 5th grade students were inspired to find out more about our nation's symbol. Here are some samplings of what they uncovered:
* Bald eagles can be found in Canada and the United States usually near sea coasts, rivers, or large lakes.
* The breading season is November through April.
* The nest, usually made of sticks can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and be 8 feet in diameter.
* Some nests last as long as 30 years, with the Eagles returning from year to year. The nests can be found 10-150 feet above ground in a tree.
* The females are larger than the males. They can weigh from 4.5 to 13.5 pounds with a wingspan of nearly 8 feet.
* Both the male and female take care of the eggs and then the eaglets.
* The preferred foods are fish, duck, geese, rabbit, muskrat, carrion, and other small mammals and water birds.
* The female usually lays 1 to 3 bluish-white eggs that incubate for 35 days. The eaglets will leave the nest after 10 weeks.
* The voice of bald eagle is characterized as a harsh cackle.
* Bald Eagles migrate alone or in pairs and are known to mate for life.
Second grade students began to experiment with getting different materials to vibrate and make sounds. Students tinkered with different sized rubber bands, boxes, cans, chopsticks and more, to gain inspiration for their upcoming instruments.
*Please continue to send in clean, dry, unbreakable found items with no sentimental value, for the children to use to build instruments. Some suggestions (but not limited to): Shoe, tissue, or cereal boxes Coffee, tuna, soup cans Wine corks Chopsticks Plastic bottles Plastic fruit containers Plastic cups Any other interesting materials
Today, 2nd graders discussed the differences between the pitch (how high or low a sound is) vs. volume (how loud or soft a sound is) of a sound. Each student classified common sounds into categories based on their pitch and volume.
Click on the link below to virtually change the pitch and volume of a guitar, a drum, and a bottle!
**Please start saving clean recyclables and found items that could be used to construct creative musical instruments. Keep your eye out for a formal e-mail regarding the collection of items, and the invitation to come in and build with us during science time.