Seabury School challenges gifted children in a community that cherishes each individual and fosters a love of learning, discovery and creativity.




Wednesday, October 26, 2011

We are Tiny Alien Scientists...

...exploring foreign liquids and solids from Planet Earth.  We are investigating whether we can physically change each object while still keeping their properties.  Using a States of Matter curriculum tailored for gifted students, the Sharks had to use their senses to describe each object and record their data.  Afterwards, they "changed" each solid and liquid to make is smaller to determine if the properties of their object changed.  Using the scientific process, the students started with a question, gave their hypothesis, collected data and shared their results.



The next day, while cleaning our "alien" ship, Mrs. Van noticed that one of the mysterious substances (cornstarch) had water spilled on it and turned into "goop."  The Sharks really worked hard at deciding whether or not the mysterious goop was a solid or liquid.  Bottom line: The cornstarch does not mix well with the water, therefore, it begins to mix with the water giving it a "liquid" look, but as soon as it is touched, the cornstarch molecule clump up and turn the goop into a solid.  Watch to see how some students described it below:


Friday, October 21, 2011

We Know All About Eggs!

We continue to explore different types of communities, and how they impact our lives.  On Thursday, we went to Wilcox Farms in Roy, WA.  The students visited buildings that were over 100 years old and compared how life back then differed from today. Also, we walked through several buildings were eggs were cleaned, packed and ready to be shipped to our local grocery stores.  The strongest memory is the smell; chickens are not the sweetest smelling animals!!  I have some follow up lessons that we will do over the next week to see what other businesses provide us with goods and services, and the types of communities these businesses exist in (ie: rural, urban, suburban).

Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures inside the factories, but the students enjoyed exploring the old equipment and vehicles on the farm.
Making a delivery in the milk truck from the 1940's

The schoolhouse from 1905.  Many noticed spaces for ink and quills, and that the desks were all different sizes...

Does your Shark have any idea what this is??

Quote of the day: "I bet your jaw will drop when we get this thing moving!"