Tech Updates

This month the students in fourth grade have been working on a variety of projects.  Mrs. Keller's class has been working in Tinker Cad to design a pencil holder that will be printed from the 3D printer.  Ms. Strouss' class has been working with the Lego NXT kits and creating robotic cars.  

French: Quel temps fait-il?

The girls have been learning how to describe the weather in French. Il fait froid (it's cold), il neige (it's snowing), and il fait mauvais (the weather is bad) have been particularly relevant phrases during the cold and dreary recent weeks.

Happily, the girls are creating their own imaginary weather reports using the app Tellagami. They can pretend it's l'été (the summer) and il fait chaud (it's hot) and il fait du soleil (it's sunny), if they like, or create a weather forecast from the past, future, or, best of all, their birthday. They write a script, record themselves, and then animate a video using the app. We will be viewing their projects after Spring Break. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Science: Water, Clean and Pure!

When you turn on the faucet, do you wonder where the water comes from? The fourth grade students know that it travels from the reservoir to a water filtration plant before coming through underground pipes into our homes, schools, and offices. They have come to appreciate what we often take for granted. They know that many people in the world do not have access to clean, safe water.

The girls were challenged to develop a model water filter for a new planned city. The group with the most successful filter would be able to win a contract to build the water filtration plant. The girls carefully planned and built their water filters and then tested them. Once they saw their results, they re-designed the filters and tested them. You can see their progress in the photos below. After they completed their testing, each person wrote and illustrated the process on her iPad.

The girls followed their plan while constructing the filter column.

Large, medium and small gravel, sand, charcoal, and cotton were layered in the columns.

Watching the water filter through was exciting!

It was just as exciting to watch the water filter through the second column each group made!

Here are all of the columns, with the first and second column for each group side by side. The original water was extremely dirty and the girls did a good job of making it cleaner.