Sound Third Grade-Students explore the basic characteristics of sound as well as how it is produced and received. They investigate tuning forks, nails, rulers, straws, slide whistles, and finally construct their own musical instruments. During this unit the children work with K'NEX building pieces to create wheeled vehicles. Throughout this unit students will explore the effects of force, friction, and wind resistance on distance and speed. Students will go through some basic steps from drafting a design and making their vehicles to the evaluation process and refining their design.
Students learn the basic characteristics of electricity.
They identify conductors and insulators, explore circuits and switches. The unit culminates with student teams designing, building, and wiring a cardboard house. Floating and Sinking Fifth Grade-Students learn how density, weight and displacement are related to buoyancy. The children work with spring scales to measure weight of a variety of objects in and out of water and compare these results to the object's ability to sink or float. They also shape clay boats to discover how form is related to buoyancy.