Threats to the ocean: oil spills...

 This week, we are continuing our studies on threats to the ocean. Today, we focused on oil spills. Students learned about the Deep Horizon oil spill. This oil spill poured more than 5 million barrels of oil into the ocean. That is equivalent to over 210 million gallons. To put that into perspective, our classroom could hold approximately 13,000 gallons of milk if we stacked them from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. That means we would have to completely fill over 16,153 classrooms! That is a LOT of oil! After learning about how devastating oil spills are to ocean life, students learned about containment and the three most common methods of cleaning up the oil: suction, skimming, and absorbing. After students cleaned up their oil spills, we took a picture in the glare of the light to see how much oil was actually remaining. This was a messy, but fun, activity!

Threats to the ocean: pollution and plastics...

Third grade Quest students are still on their Ocean Unit. Last week, we began discussing the many threats to the ocean. We learned about the various forms of pollution, and researched how long it took for a variety of items to "decompose." Students brought in a variety of trash and we created a 3D decomposition timeline. We were shocked at the results! Disposable diapers take 450 years to decompose...that means 100% of the diapers ever made and ever used are STILL here in our environment! The internet will tell you that plastics take between 500-1000 years to decompose...BUT scientists will tell you that plastics NEVER actually decompose...they simply break into smaller particles called microplastics. Unfortunately, these microplastics end up in the stomachs of many ocean creatures (even some that we eat)! The students learned that we must do better as a people of taking care of our precious planet.

STEM building with jelly beans and Peeps! And a rubber egg?

We had so much fun with this Easter themed activity! Students had to build a "nest" for their Peep to sit in. Then they had to build a structure over their Peep's head in order to keep the rain and sun from melting it! Once the structures were complete, and approved by the teacher, students were able to eat their creations.

We also had fun with a very cool experiment! We took a regular uncooked, shell egg...placed it in a jar of vinegar...left it for 3 days...then took it out to reveal a dissolved shell and a rubber exterior. It was really cool, and the egg actually bounced! The students were thoroughly entertained!

 

Paper Airplane Competition!

 After the Reading Gate test, I wanted to give students a much needed brain break! Each student created a unique paper airplane that they used to fly in a distance competition against their peers. The weather was perfect and the students had a great time soaking up the sun and testing out their planes.

Ocean layers in a bottle, and ocean density test...

 Our latest unit has us exploring the depths of the ocean. Students have identified the 5 layers of the ocean: Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight, Abyssal, and Hadal. To drive home the light variations at each layer, students created the ocean layers in a bottle! While it is difficult to see the color variations in the bottom 2 layers, all 5 layers are present! Later that week, we compared the densities of tap water vs. ocean water. This experiment clearly shows that salt water has a higher density than tap water. After more than 5 days, the blue dye STILL had not dispersed to the bottom of the salt water bottle.

Career Exploration

 Students recently began a unit on Career Exploration. Students were given a job aptitude quiz in order to see what job field they were best suited for based on their talents and interests. Students had to create a Google Slideshow presentation with facts about their chosen job. Once completed, students then utilized the green screen to record a video presentation of their chosen job. This is going to be a hard working group! The following were just some of the many jobs showcased: nurse, pilot, photographer, pediatrician, secretary, dog trainer, teacher, actor, orthodontist, CNA, and a cheer coach.