ALL GRADES: HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT DUE THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY 2009

Scientists keep neat, organized notes in order to review the results of their investigations and make sense of their data.

When you come to science class, you are scientists conducting your own investigations. The data YOU collect must also be written neatly. Every investigation must also be dated and filed in your binder in an organized way.

During the holiday break, you are required to bring home your binders and organize them in a neat, coherent manner. When you return in January, your binders will be graded. The grade will, in part, influence your overall science grade on your second report card, so please take care in making your science binders something to be proud of.

1. Binders should be organized into three sections: CLASSWORK, HOMEWORK, and WORD BANK/GLOSSARY. Classwork belongs in the CLASSWORK SECTION, homework/projects belong in the HOMEWORK SECTION, and vocabulary words go into the WORD BANK/GLOSSARY SECTION.

2. Classwork is organized consecutively by date. The first thing we did in September should be page one, the second thing page two, and so on. Everything is filed in the order in which it is done. I expect you to date a new, clean page of paper or your worksheet every time you come to science class, and you must take notes.

3. All homework must be filed in the homework section and also arranged by date.

4. Vocabulary words must be written in the Word Bank/Glossary section. If this section is messy, please rewrite the words and their meanings on a clean sheet of paper and file it.. Entries should be written like this, with the new word underlined--ecosystem: a place where living and non-living things interact.

5. If pages in your binder are ripped or falling out, either rewrite the page on new paper or tape the rips around the holes so they don’t fall out of your binder.

6. Please bring in lined, loose-leaf paper and a box of pencils to class when you return to school in January.

File this sheet in your homework section and show your parents the assignment. Binder will be GRADED for neatness and organization. I expect EVERYONE to complete this assignment. If you have questions during the break, you can reach me at oogly2@yahoo.com. And remember to visit www.sciencewithmsseitz.blogspot.com.

Have a safe and happy break.

Cheers!
Ms. Seitz

Fifth-Grade Family Science a Huge Success!

It was great seeing so many fifth-graders at Family Science Day on November 22nd. Students enjoyed many science investigations and made terrific observations. Kudos to Robert Kosinski and Juan Villacis from Ms. Bradley's class for creating great sculptures from trash! We also have some budding scientific illustrators at P.S. 230--so many of your bird illustrations were marvelous. Kids also got a chance to read tree cookies and find out the age of a tree and the conditions under which the tree grew. Students wracked their brains trying to solve toothpick puzzles and built some pretty tall skyscrapers using clay and toothpicks. The tallest skyscraper was built by Cassidy McAllister. Sabiha Afroz from Ms. Shapiro's class guessed correctly that there were 350 pencils in the Estimation Jar. Way to go Sabiha!

Whew! Parent-Teacher Conferences are over. It was so nice meeting so many of my students' parents. My apologies to anyone who tried to see me but couldn't because all the slots had been filled. Please feel free to email me at oogly2@yahoo.com if you still wish to speak to me.

FOOD CHAIN PROJECTS

Thanks to all the fourth-graders who handed their food chain projects in on time. I've really enjoyed reading them and want to compliment many of you on your fine work. We've even enjoyed a few food chain skits that were great, as well as a puppet show. Science grades will be handed in this week, so if you didn't hand in your project, this will be reflected in your grade. Please get your project to Ms. Seitz as soon as possible. We are doing some very important work and it is your responsibility to hand your work in on time. Thank you.

And next in the food chain........Anoles!

That's right. Our terrarium ecosystems have a new occupant, the green anole, also known as the American chameleon because they change color from brown to green. The anoles eat crickets and are considered SECONDARY CONSUMERS. And because they eat crickets, they are CARNIVORES or meat eaters. They are also PREDATORS because they hunt for their food. Anoles live in Florida and love to climb trees rather than crawl on the ground. When the males get angry or when they are looking for a mate, the hanging skin below their mouths puffs up, sort of like a frog. This loose skin is called a DEWLAP. Okay, so let's recap our FOOD CHAIN so far. The chain starts with the SUN. Plants use the sun's energy to make food. That's why plants are called PRODUCERS...they produce their own food. Plants and in the case of our terrarium, grass, then becomes food energy for CRICKETS (PRIMARY CONSUMERS), which in turn, become food for ANOLES (SECONDARY CONSUMERS).

REX GETS TERRITORIAL. NINJA IS REMOVED FROM TANK!

After a year and a half of living peacefully together, Rex has gotten territorial and began attacking little Ninja this week. To keep Ninja safe, Ms. Seitz has taken Ninja home and set him up in a tank in her kitchen. Rex seems to be sulking now that he is alone in his tank in Room 409. Ninja seems a bit lonely in his kitchen aquarium. Hopefully, Rex and Ninja can be reunited in the future, but for now, they need their own space.

The Crickets Have Arrived!

Fourth-graders are just finishing up their study of the first link in the food chain--plants--also known as PRODUCERS because they produce their own food (using sunlight, air and water). Now for the next link--CRICKETS--also called PRIMARY CONSUMERS. PRIMARY CONSUMERS are always HERBIVORES because they eat PRODUCERS, which are always plants. They are eating rye grass in our terrariums.
Crickets are insects. Only the males chirp, by rubbing their wings together. It is their love song. They live in fields, grasses and meadows and are nocturnal.
Students will be taking a close look at crickets to distinguish between males and females. They will also draw scientific illustrations to accurately depict the anatomy of a cricket.

WHAT DO OUR CLASS TABLES HAVE IN COMMON?

As the students know, our science classroom tables are each named for a particular creature. We have the Luna Moth, Horseshoe Crab, Flying Squirrel, Monk Parakeet, Large-Eyed Click Beetle, Spotted Salamander, Downy Woodpecker, and Moon Jelly tables. I have asked the students what they all have in common and have received some good guesses. So far, however, no one has hit the nail on the head. So put your thinking caps on and try hard to figure out what each of these creatures have in common. Either let Ms. Seitz know or drop a note in her question box near the front door. There's a prize for the first person who guesses correctly, so give it a go!

The Monarchs are Migrating

While you walk around your neighborhood, look to the skies and the gardens for these brilliant orange and black butterflies. They are gathering nectar so they can make the long flight south for the winter. Many of our monarchs will be wintering in Mexico and, in the spring, make the return journey to Brooklyn!

SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING!

We're just about starting week three of school and so far I am very pleased with the enthusiasm and curiosity of many of my students. Thanks for being prepared with your binders and thank you for participating during class and working cooperatively with your group members at your tables.

We started the year off with a Lemon of a Lesson, during which students had to describe and draw their individual lemons, so they could pick them out of a crowd of lemons. This exercise helped students hone observation skills, which are necessary in order to conduct accurate scientific investigations. It also required students to use their data (as evidence) that the lemon they picked out of the crowd was indeed their own--just as scientists have to prove their conclusions with scientific evidence.

Everyone was happy to see the return of Ninja and Rex to the classroom. The two turtles spent their summer in my kitchen. Sometimes I took them out into the yard to catch some sun. But I can tell they were aching for their bigger aquarium in the classroom, where they can swim around to their hearts' content. While my sons were sad to see Ninja and Rex leave the kitchen, my students were thrilled that they had come back to PS 230. For the record: Ninja is the small one and he is a painted turtle. Rex is the big guy and he is a red-eared slider. They are both pond turtles, which means they live in fresh water.

The fourth grade started their unit on Food Chains and Webs by studying the composition of three different soil types: potting soil, local soil (from Ms. Seitz's backyard) and peat soil. They learned that soil is composed of living and non-living things and were asked to determine whether each of the soils was more sand, silt or clay. They did this by studying the soil particles while dry and then wetting the soil and making soil snakes. If the soil wouldn't form a snake, it was mostly sand; if it made a snake that broke when bent, it was silt; and if it made a snake and stayed when bent, it was mostly clay.

Fifth-graders started their unit on Variables. A variable is anything that can be changed or manipulated in an experiment. Students were asked to hang washers one-by-one from a rubber band and then record how the length of the rubber band changed with the addition of each consecutive washer. The washers are what's called an independent variable, the variable changed by the scientist. The dependent variable is the rubber band, because it responds to the changes of the independent variable. All other variables remain constant and are called controlled variables.