海洋探索

Fifth grade scientists embarked on their study of the ocean this month, a topic that will carry them through the winter term. This unit is p艺术icularly fascinating to students as they discover the essential role that the ocean plays in our environment and its unexpected complexities. 这个月, students compiled what they had learned about how the ocean impacts our lives and why we should care about it into posters. “It’s a chance for students to reflect on why we’re taking the time to learn about the ocean,” says 较低的学校 科学 teacher Cecilia Owens. 随着课程的继续, students will continue to learn about currents, 水压力, 还有海洋层. They will explore them in class with models and demonstrations that allow them to experience concepts first-hand.

Students st艺术 by learning about the ocean’s properties and mapping the ocean floor. They learned about the cameras and sonar equipment that scientists use to explore the ocean’s unique topography, which includes the longest mountain range, 最高的山, 也是地球上最深的地方. 休息后, students will learn about the adaptations that animals have developed to survive in different p艺术s of the ocean. They will dissect squid to see the unique adaptations that allow them to swim quickly and camouflage themselves from predators.

A floating egg experiment shows students how the salt content of water affects its density. 在淡水中, the egg sinks to the bottom of the container, but as students add successive tablespoons of salt, 鸡蛋开始浮起来. Students will also be mixing warm water, 冷水, 盐水, and freshwater in tanks to see how the layers of the ocean work and produce currents. 

本学期晚些时候, students will embark on an engineering design challenge working in teams to design submersibles that can retrieve an object from “the bottom of the ocean.” They will have to apply what they have learned about density to their design as they try to design an object that can sink and then rise with the retrieved object. Students can use vials filled with different things in their design and will work in groups to determine which ones they should use and why. “The ocean unit gives students practice using models, 学习的信息, and then applying that information to different real-life scenarios,塞西莉亚说。