We put our new multi functional “hi-tech” outdoor clipboards to good use today. After searching for interesting leaves we spent time recording details about them and then working in teams to identify them too. We took part in interesting discussions and gave constructive feedback to each other.
We also played a mapping game and will continue playing more next week to develop our skills in orienteering.
This week we used wire coat hangers and string for our sound investigation. We worked in pairs to bang the hanger off the table. We each held the end of a piece of string that was attached to the hanger and we could hear the sound quite quietly. When we wrapped the string around our fingers and then placed our fingers in our ears the sound was much louder.
Following this, we took turns individually, held onto both pieces of string and placed our fingers in our ears. The sound was even louder it sounded like ‘booongg’.
We watched a video on how vibrations make sounds for example when we sing our vocal cords vibrate and create a sound.
As part of our science work we have started investigating sound and animal communication.
As an introduction Mrs James showed us a video on TigTag showing how some animals communicate. It was interesting to see what an important part vibration plays in the creation of sound.
We carried out a task that required us to attach two plastic cups together with a piece of string. We tried it out with different lengths of string and we could hear a little of what our partners were saying.
It was suggested that we pulled the string tight in order that it would vibrate. It was fun to hear the laughs and giggles as the voices at either end of the string became clearer.
We discussed how stringed instruments work and a few musicians amoung us shared their experience of tuning instruments which required us to tighten the strings.
Last week we investigated friction using rice and plastic bottles.
Mrs James asked us to fill the bottles with rice and then pick it up using only a stick.
To begin with we thought she had missed out something but then as we followed the instructions and gave it a try there were shrieks of laughter as we all managed to pick up the bottles.
We had to make sure that the bottle was filled tightly right up to the top with rice and then we pushed the sticks in carefully.
The fact that all of the air had been pushed out of the bottle allowed friction to be created between the stick and the rice particles. Therefore when we tried to lift the bottle the stick held it up – FRICTION!
We have started to investigate Friction as part of our science work. To kick start this area of learning we carried out a simple investigation using a range of different balls outside.
We compared how each ball travelled on three different surfaces. The pitch, the playground and the grass. We used a tennis ball, hockey ball, a spiky ball, a basketball ball and soft football to compare how the size and weight of the ball changed how well the ball travelled.
In groups we noted down our findings and then we compared them with the other groups as a plenary.
This week for Outdoor Learning we collected twigs and leaves from the playground to make model rafts. We gathered items and then returned to class to construct our rafts. We worked in pairs or individually, then when they were ready we placed the rafts in the sink to see if they would float.
