The Impossible Bridge

We read the book The Impossible Bridge in class. After reading it we decided to build our own bridges.  Have a look at what we created.

Amazing Writing

We wrote stories about a time we spent with our families.  Have a listen to our stories.

Dancing Raisins!

We looked at floating and sinking this week.  Room 20 had some great ideas about why some things float, and some things sink.  We discussed about heavy and light objects, the shape and size, introducing the word 'density.'  We had some raisins, half the class thought they would sink because raisins are dense, half thought they would float because raisins are little and light.

First, we half filled a jar with water.  We put the raisins in and they sunk.  Raisins are denser than water.  Next we tipped the water out and half filled a jar with soda.  Initially the raisins sunk, but then they started bouncing!!  They went up and down in the jar.  Why was that?

The raisins have lots of little creases in them.  Bubbles get trapped on the raisin, when enough bubbles get trapped the combined raisin/bubbles become less dense than water and the raisin floats up.  When it gets to the surface, the bubbles pop and the raisin sinks back down again, as it has become more dense than the water again.

Think like a scientist...I wonder??
Will vinegar and baking soda work the same?
Will a different soda like Fanta or Coke work?
Does temperature change the results?

Camouflage

We've been reading the big book 'Camouflage' this week.  We've learned about how different new Zealand animals use camouflage to protect themselves, and to be more effective predators.  As the ground is currently covered in autumn leaves, we thought about which creatures would be well camouflaged amongst them.  We covered paper with autumn leaves and then hid a variety of creatures in them.  Can you spot the kiwis, skinks, hedgehogs, snails and slugs hiding in the leaves?

Fractions!

Room 20 are learning about fractions this week.  Things we need to remember;

• Fractions are fragments (pieces) of a whole
• The pieces need to be the same size (equal)
• The number at the bottom of a fraction tells us how many pieces the whole has been cut into

We had to share a slice of bread in groups of 2, and then in groups of 4.  We worked out how to cut it up into equal pieces so that everyone had the same amount of bread.  We used 1/2 (halves) and 1/4 (quarters) to work it out.