{A Cranberry Thanksgiving}

Before Thanksgiving Break we spent some time looking closely at cranberries and experimenting with them. We first predicted if they would sink and float. It turns out that cranberries float. We then cut them open to find out why. Cranberries have air pockets inside of them. Farmers use this to their advantage when they harvest them through the use of cranberry bogs.

 

We then explored with heating cranberries. When the heat fills the air pockets, it causes the cranberry to rupture, with a "popping" sound.

Next, we looked at dried cranberries. We examined their surface and compared it to that of a regular cranberry. When we dropped the dried cranberry in clear soda, the air bubbles would catch on the ridges and bring the dried cranberry to the surface. The air bubbles would pop and then the cranberry would fall back down. The cranberry's movement up and down made the cranberry look as if it were dancing!

 We ended our exploration by building catapults that would launch cranberries. The goal was to make adjustments after each trial to launch the cranberry further!

 

 

The winning catapult launched a cranberry almost 20 yards!

{Eagle Run Walk}

Congratulations to our Eagle Run Walk Winners for second grade!

{Greenhouse Fieldtrip}

To help us with our yearlong STEAM project, the Twosies visited the Malcom Bridge Middle School Greenhouse. Mr. Walker, the agriculture teacher, lead some wonderful instruction about the form and function of greenhouses and allowed the students to explore and ask questions. 

To begin our field trip, each second grader was paired with an eighth grader.

The students made a sketch of the greenhouse and took notes on the parts and materials used. Their research will be used in the design of their own greenhouses.

Mr. Walker then taught us how to reproduce plants through propagation. Each student got to plant a clipping of an adult plant. The plants will be housed in the greenhouse and we will get to pick them up in the spring. We can't wait to see how much they will have grown by then!

We are so excited to partner with the middle school in this way and look forward to working with the agriculture students again soon!

{Nocturnal Madness}

Our Nocturnal Animals Unit is one of my favorite units of the year! The students were greeted like this the morning our unit began!

We had a lot of fun learning by flashlight this week!

 We researched bats and owls together and learned how to pull facts from informational texts. We dissected owl pellets to learn more about the interesting creatures!

 The students ended our unit by conducting their own nocturnal animal research and creating a Google Slide to share their learning. Check these out below: