Christmas poem

C rackers bursting everywhere you look….POP!
“Ho ho ho,” the fat jolly man says merrily.
Reindeer dutifully follow Rudolph to all the houses.
In the Northern Hemisphere, there is lots of snow.
Stockings and sacks get filled then emptied by excited children.
Trees are lathered in bright ornaments and tinsel.
Mistletoe brings everyone together
A tradition that comes and goes every year
Santa and his elves work busily throughout the year, preparing the gifts for Christmas.

Ice fishing experiment

Ice Fishing 

http://www.sciencefun.org/kidszone/experiments/ice-fishing/

Aim/Purpose:

To see how salt can affect ice or react with ice

Materials 

• Small paper cups, bowl or an ice cube tray
• Glass of water
• String (yarn or kite string works great)
• Small stick
• Salt

Steps/Method:

1. Fill the cup or tray up with water and place it in the freezer.  You can also use ice cubes from your freezer and skip this step.
2. When the water is frozen, remove the ice from the cup or tray.
3. Put the ice in the glass or bowl of water. The cube will bob up and down in the water and then float on the top.
4. Place one end of the string from the fishing pole on top of the ice cube and sprinkle salt on the ice where the string is touching. Watch as the water melts slightly and refreezes.
5. After about 10 seconds, carefully lift the ice cube out of the water with the fishing pole. You caught a fish (ice)!

My results:

Salt - The string stuck really well to the ice and pulled the ice cubes up out of the water

Sugar - The string didn’t stick to the ice cubes and none of them were pulled up out of the water.  Some people started to see the ice cubes stick - but it then failed after that.

Flour - THe ice didn’t stick to the string at all 

Pepper - The ice didn’t stick to the string at all 

More salt than normal - The ice still got picked up by the string

Changing the variables

Don’t wet the string before hand 

Use only a little salt

Using lots of salt 

Try to catch the ice using sugar instead of salt 

Try to catch the ice using pepper instead of salt

Try to catch the ice using flour instead of salt

Change the time period that you wait before trying to pick up the string.

Explanation - Why does it work?

When salt goes over ice it melts.  In the ice fishing experiment, the ice melts a little bit and then refreezes.  The string gets frozen to the pieces of ice to make it stick on because of the water around it.

Resources:

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/ice-fishing-winter-science/

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/fishing-for-ice-science-experiment/

https://sites.google.com/site/sciencekiddoexperiments/fishing-for-ice

https://www.sciencekiddo.com/salt-melts-ice-experiment/

https://www.adabofgluewilldo.com/ice-fishing-science-experiment/

https://www.rookieparenting.com/why-does-salt-melt-ice-freezing-point-experiment/

https://whatsubstancemeltsicefastest.weebly.com/about.html

Catch it narrative

Yawn  I stretch my muscles up and down until they click.  I head outside to get a bit of fresh air... ah so nice and refreshing.  Now my friends start to stir and get up.  We lovingly look at the pomegranate that we grew.  However, our pride and joy that we feel suddenly turn to horror when We see a shadow circling...

We bolt back into our burrow trying not to be seen.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see a vulture inspecting the area for any food like a lion in stalking its prey.  I think he spots the pomegranate that we grew. He lands on the tree and nicks the plump and round, red and juicy fruit.

my friends and I declare war on the large, ugly vulture.  I raise my hand and everyone follows. My clumsy friend forgets to raise his hand and he goes off track.  We run as a pack towards the bird, like an army charging. I jump on his claw trying to rip the pomegranate out.  The vulture shakes his claw and I slip away.  I ponder to myself wondering what to do but then my gang starts to act.  One jumps on and then followed by everyone else to make one big chain from the birds claw to the ground.

 The vulture flies up and tries to shake everyone off and he is successful but the pomegranate comes off with us. Max throws the pomegranate to me and the vulture dives like a bullet out of a gun straight at me with pace. I quickly throw it to Max and we fool the vulture.  But Max drops the pomegranate and the bird retrieves it.

The vulture thinks its fine sailing from here so he looks back in happiness.  He lifts his head back up and to his surprise, he hits a rock face and lets go of the pomegranate, down a natural ramp and up into the air for me to catch.  We pass it along a line of meerkats until it gets to Max and he kicks it through two trees that look like a rugby post.

Splat

The pomegranate bursts open and our faces´ droop and go dark.  I burst into tears, our beloved pomegranate that we had successfully grown was no more.

purifying water

Water Filter Experiment 

Aim/ Purpose - 

To filter or clean water using a number of materials 

How to clean/filter water - making it clean

Materials -

Sand, 

gravel, 

activated charcoal, 

cotton wool, 

plastic bottles cut in half,

bucket of dirty water (can make the water dirty with soil or whatever from outside)

Predictions - What is going to work best?  What steps/process and in what order - why?

Cotton wool at the bottom - It will absorb the smaller dirt particles from the dirty water

2nd layer up - gravel - The gravel will grab onto the dirty parts and the clean water will drip off the gravel through the gaps.

Second Layer Up  - Charcoal - Second smallest material, can absorb the things not cleared by the bigger materials.

Third Layer Up - Sand - Turns hard when it’s wet - Take all the bigger dirt particles 

Top layer - Gravel - All the hugest dirt particles out first.  

Method/Steps:

First, you put cotton wool at the bottom

Then you put a sprinkle of fine charcoal

Now you put sand 

And finally, you put gravel at the top

Explanation - How did it work?

The gravel takes all the large pieces out of the water

Then the sand to take and pieces that have passed the gravel and the sand hardens.

The charcoal absorbs tiny particles of dirt and other things

The cotton wool holds everything from falling through

Why is it important for cities/towns etc to purify and clean the water before it gets to peoples’ homes?

In New Zealand cities and towns, clean water is pumped straight into our homes. We have systems in place to monitor how safe our water is for drinking, and to manage what happens. It also helps to stop illnesses and catches algae and bacteria.

https://science.lovetoknow.com/science-fair-projects/homemade-water-filter-science-project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPP_Yn2w2Sk&t=157s

https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/water-filtration-science-project/

https://childsci.org/water-filtration/

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/sand-filter-activity/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df12osqZfQ0

Boom in a Bag

Inquiry experiment  

Aim/Purpose : 

To see what happens when baking soda and vinegar mix/combine 

To see the reaction that occurs when these two substances are mixed

Prediction - What do we think is going to happen:

We think it will explode/ It’s going to blow up

The ziplock bag will pop open and the liquid will spill out

It could fizz up 

The bag might fill up with air 

Fizz up like soda when shaken

The air pressure created inside the bag will cause the seal on the bag to pop open

Steps:     

1.  Open up a paper towel on a flat surface
2. Put 4 levelled teaspoons of baking soda in the centre of the paper towel
3. Wrap up the baking soda in the paper towel like a package - Keep the baking soda concentrated in the middle of the paper towel
4. Tape down your package of baking soda with a piece of masking tape so that everything stays in place
5. Open the vinegar and pour it into a cup - until the cup is half full
6. Then open a zip lock bag and pour the vinegar into it
7. Hold the package inside the zip lock bag, making sure it doesn’t yet make contact with the vinegar - then zip up the bag - making sure that it is completely closed
8. Let the package of baking soda drop into the vinegar and shake the bag up a little so that they start to mix
9. Observe what happens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlmsiPxEuK0

Materials/equipment:

• Baking Soda  (4 x tablespoons) 
• Vinegar (half a cup)
• Ziplock sandwich bags 
• Plastic spoon
• Paper towel 
• Masking tape

Roles within the group:

1. Presenter - conducts the experiment 
2. Assistant - collects all the materials 
3. Videographer - takes a video of the experiment 
4. Recorder - Record the result

After students have prepared they can present the experiment in front of the class who will be the audience. The videographer can record the experiment and the recording can be shared at a later stage.  

The Result - What did we see happen?

When you drop the baking soda in the vinegar a chemical reaction was caused.

Variables - How could we change the variables?

Predict what might happen if we change the variables

It would be quicker 

Experiment - Were our predictions accurate? 

With more vinegar, it was slower than we expected

Put 5 or more teaspoons of baking soda into the package - Bigger explosion/more powerful 

If there is too much baking soda and not enough vinegar, it may not work

Put more vinegar  - Bigger explosion/not pop  

Way less baking soda and wrapped in more paper towels - nothing - it would take a longer time to see a reaction 

Baking soda - With no package surrounding it - The reaction would happen instantly and uncontrollably 

Science - Why did it happen?  Here are some websites to look at…. You may be able to find other websites too!

The first reaction is the acid-base reaction. When vinegar and baking soda are first mixed together, hydrogen ions in the vinegar react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda. ... The carbonic acid formed as a result of the first reaction immediately begins to decompose into water and carbon dioxide gas.

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/balloon-baking-soda-vinegar-experiment-kids/

https://www.science-sparks.com/amazing-baking-soda-experiments/

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-happens-when-you-mix-vinegar-and-baking-soda

https://carrotsareorange.com/baking-soda-vinegar-reaction-experiment/

Plants Absorbing Water

Plants Absorbing Water 

Aim:

To colour celery or cabbage leaves - Try and see how plants absorb water

Materials 

Glass jars x4 

Celery

Cabbage leaves 

4 different colours of food colouring 

Water 

Scissors/knife/chopping board to cut the celery

Method 

Fill up 4 glass jars up to around halfway 

Put approximately 10 drops of different coloured food colouring into each jar

Place a celery stick or a cabbage leaf into each jar

Explanation 

Part 1 - Explain why plants need water 

Plants need water to absorb nutrients from the soil they also need water to grow to the right size and not die.

Part 2 - How they absorb water

Plants absorb water through their entire surface through roots, stems and leaves. Because of this movement of water molecules, it’s absorbed by the root hairs through cell membranes from the soil. Then the root hair cells become more and their osmotic pressure falls.  Osmotic means the movement of water molecules through a structure.

Choral count

Tui day in the life

The sun rose and warmed my body as I stood up and shook off the twigs, grass and moss from my nest.  I fly away to find some food then I spot some Kowhai trees so I glide down to peck on some leaves and flowers.  Then I fly to my friends in the Chatham islands to tell them I found a big Kowhai tree on the other side of the island.

After all that flying around the island, I get hot so I find some shelter to make myself cooler.  I find some shade under a big pohutukawa tree and rest a while. I wait there and I eventually fall asleep because it was so comfortable,  nice and cool. In the early evening, I go to find some food. I remember where the kowhai tree was and fly there to suck on some more delicious nectar. After I've done that, I find my nest and go to sleep.

compare and contrast- tropical and temperate rainforests

freshwater biomes

cheetah fact file

Describing a habitat - Mariana trench

how is a shoe made

First paragraph -  what is a shoe

A shoe is a covering the foot,  made of leather, having a sturdy sole and not reaching above the ankle. 

Second paragraph - Looks like/structure/qualities/ properties/functions/features

Some shoes are different colours like blue, black, white and even green. The structure is the shape of your foot. The qualities of a shoe are the lace or strap. The functions are to keep your off the ground and getting hurt. 

Third paragraph - Begin explaining

First, you steam the shoe to make it flexible and fit in the last for 15 seconds.  Second, the shoe gets pressed down into the soul. Now you put the shoe in something called a flesh activator so the soul sticks on.  Then you pull it out and line it up with the soul. Next, you go to the soul press to press the shoe at 45 pounds per second. Now go to the delisting station to take the shoe out of its mould your done.

Conclusion - Depends on what you’ve explained 

Now you know how long it takes your shoes to be made maybe take it into consideration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO-F-eRpJnM&t=320s