Dynamite Learning: March 2010

It was a very WET week in Grade 2 Dynamite, and the forecast looks to be more of the same for the coming week. Rain gear is a must! Our inquiry into water and how it connects to air and soil got fully underway. The boys enjoyed thinking like scientist as they explored the properties of water (along with air and soil). Before spring break, the boys participated in daily book passes to explore facts about water, and pose questions about what they were wondering. Many of their questions were used to plan our inquiry for the next 3 weeks.

Ben F. finds a fact to share
on our discovery wall.

(L)

John, Matthew and
Sebastian explore
water books on our
new rug. (R)

On Wednesday the boys measured capacity to see how many cups of water they could fit into different sized containers. They were reminded that water in its liquid state takes the shape of whatever container it is poured into. They then weighed the water to see how heavy it is. They began to understand that capacity is how much liquid fits into a container, whereas weight is how heavy something is (mass). A great home-school connection could be to continue measuring capacity with your son by having him guess how many cups (250mL) of water he thinks might fit inside a container and then measuring to check the exact amount.

Ms. Cohlmeyer gave a demonstration that showed the boys how the water on earth compares to an apple and it's peel. The boys were quite surprised to see how a very tiny piece of peel represented the drinkable water on earth. They quickly made the connection that we need to take care of this precious resource, even though there is so much of it on the planet.

We also began learning about the water cycle. Did you know that scientists believe that the same amount of water has been on earth for 5 billion years? A big number to wrap our brains around, but is sure makes sense once you start thinking about water as a part of a continuous cycle that renews itself. "Mother Nature" is so smart! We had a demo where I made it rain indoors, which the boys thought was pretty cool. They could see evaporation, condensation and precipitation occur within a matter of minutes and enjoyed the trickle of rain over their heads. If you have a kettle at home, a metal baking sheet, and some ice, you can ask your son to show you how to make it rain inside. Be sure to ask him the scientific words that he should use to explain it to you! We also made salt water paintings to explore evaporation. The boys created water scenes which will be posted on our display wall outside the room next week. Do come in and see their masterpieces!

Felix and Callum create their salt water paintings.

Part of our inquiry will take the boys through a series of experiments that they will complete in small groups. They will explore how we know air exists, whether items sink or float, how to tell the difference between salt and fresh water, and what the ideal conditions for evaporation/drying time are. We will also do many more experiments and demos together as a class over the next week, as well. So as you can see, water really is everywhere in our class and in the world!