Gross Science

The human body has many amazing systems that seem to function without us having to think about them. Last week, the grade 3 students took a look at one of these systems. They were introduced to the digestive system through an exciting science experiment that one of the students so eloquently reported on in the following reflection:

Digestion Experiment

Materials: ½ a banana, cracker, ¼ cup water, bowl, glass with a hole in the bottom, stocking, Ziploc bag, newspaper, paper towel, and scissors.

What we did:

First we cracked the cracker into the bag that was supposed to be the stomach. Then we placed the ½ banana into the bag, but peeled it first, then sealed the bag with not much air in it. Next we put the water in it too. After that we sealed the bag with not much air in it and then we smashed it all with our hands for five minutes. Afterwards we cut a small hole in the corner of the bag so the food can slide out of the bag and into the stocking, which is the intestine. Then we squeezed the food into the stocking (on the newspaper). After this we squeezed the food through the stocking to the bowl. Then we squeezed the food into the cup.

What I learned:

I learned that there are chemicals in the stomach when you eat and also how the large intestine takes the water from the food and then the food goes to the anus and to the toilet.

Other responses to ‘what I learned’:

·        I thought that it was a good way to learn the digestive system and it really looked like it’s in your body or yourself. It was really gross, but we learned how it looks in your body.

·        We learned how the small intestine, esophagus, and salivary glands work and where they are.

·        I liked it because it was very ugly. I learnt that chemicals can be important.

·        I learned that our body is working every day.

·        I learned about the body and how food goes into your body.

 gathering the materials

 putting food in the stomach                   breaking down the food

food enters the intestine

food waste stored in the rectum

Taking Action

Following the lesson with the digestion experiment, Martina took action and brought in a model of the digestive system that she had at home and did a demonstration of how the digestive system works to the class. The students were given a chance to try the model themselves. It was a great way for them to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts learned during the lesson.

Inquiry

Questions Lead to Questions Lead to Questions Lead to Questions…

Before we left for the autumn break, we looked at questioning that leads to good inquiry. We came up with a list of ideas of what they think inquiry is. (see the first picture below)

Students then started with a question and instead of just looking for answers to the question, they brainstormed questions that it can lead to. We started with a model question to provide an example. The question was: Why do we need to go to school. The picture shows the students trail of questions that developed from this question.

The model question and brainstorm

Following this model, the students worked in groups and were presented with a question that they needed to use to brainstorm the questions it leads to.

When finished, they presented their questions trail to the class.

Students brainstorm their own question trail.

The brainstorming continues…

The question trail grows!

Sources of Information

The above mentioned questioning exercise led to a session with Mrs. Woche, the librarian, about sources of information. She asked the students to brainstorm how we could find the answers to these questions. They discovered that we can find information in many ways, such as asking an expert, looking in books and encyclopedias, using dictionaries, searching the internet and conducting interviews. Next Mrs. Woche introduced us to the encyclopedias and National Geographic magazines and described how we can use these sources of information to research a topic. We then looked at the online encyclopedia Britannica and the students had a chance to see how to access information using this online information source. This is a great source of information that they can access at home. The link to this website is: http://school.eb.co.uk/elementary

To log in to this site use the following username and password:

Username: winterthur

Password: bolse

Students explain how they came up with their questions

Brainstorming infomation sources

Using books as an information source

Making Math Fun!

To practice the skill of subtraction with regrouping the students played a game of Subtraction Bingo. They each got a bingo card and they had to choose two numbers at a time and find the difference between the two numbers by subtraction. They recorded these in their math notebooks. They could either circle or cross out the answer on their bingo card if it appeared there. They worked in pairs and challenged each other to be the first to get three in a row for bingo. Once bingo was called, they could clear their bingo cards and start a new game. Not only did they play cooperative, but they helped each other with solving the problems when necessary. They had fun playing the game and almost forgot they were actually doing math!

Sorting and Categorizing Food

The grade three students worked collaboratively on a food sorting project. Each group of three students was given cutouts of food items and they had to work together to sort the food items into categories. They shared their categories and received feedback and suggestion from their classmates. This led to a discussion of the different food groups and the foods we need more of or less of. The students were able to connect this to the food pyramid, which outlines the daily requirements for each food group. We then put all the food items together in their appropriate categories.