It has been a busy week of science in The Draatsi Class!  We have begun to explore our new Water Topic and it has been lovely to see the class working in co-operative groups to take turns, share resources and support each other in their new learning.  A great start to the year!

First we tried some floating and sinking experiments in small groups.  We made our predictions, tested the items and shared our results.  We spent time asking questions and making suggestions as to why certain items floated and others sank.  Some children thought that if the item was light, it would float and if it was big and heavy it would sink.  The apple caused some confusion as it was big and heavy, but it floated!

The next day we investigated different liquids and if they would mix if we put them in the same jar, one at a time.  We used syrup, water (with purple food dye added to make it easier to see), vegetable oil and milk.  We discovered that some liquids sank to the bottom of the jar and some sat on top of other liquids, without mixing.  The class suggested that some liquids were heavier than others. and that is why they sank.  This was when we learned about DENSITY and how this differs from items simply being heavy or light.   Some of the floating and sinking items were then added to the jars to see if they were more or less dense than the liquids in the jar.

We also had great fun making paper boats speed off in a tray of water using only washing up liquid to make it move!  I wonder if someone in the Draatsis can explain to you why the boats moved when we added some washing up liquid…?

Wednesday afternoon was spent working with a partner to design a tinfoil boat that would be strong enough to hold as many coins as possible.  Mrs Henderson hadn’t anticipated how strong the boats would be and we had to find some more pennies from the office!  Then it was time to design boat number two, based on the results of the first test.  Some pupils are still to test their second design, so next week we will be prepared with LOTS of spare change as i’m sure these new designs will be even more successful!

Great team work everyone!

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What a bright and sunny start to the new term!   We have been working outside on some problem-solving Maths games and learning about different mental strategies when adding.

We also began our Queen’s Jubilee entries for the Living Lerwick art competition.  Everyone was asked to design a picture showing what the Queen might see or do if she came to Shetland for a visit.

It was lovely to see the children making choices about how they would present their picture, using pencils, pens, paint or collage.

I was so proud to hear so many supportive comments when confidence levels dipped amongst some pupils, believing their picture was not good enough.  What an amazing team we have in our classroom!  You can take the following quote with you the next time you need a confidence boost…

“Believe in yourself!”  (Ella, P4)

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On Wednesday morning we looked at how sound can travel through solids, liquids and gases.  We used the tuning forks again to create vibrations to make the rice dance on our “drums”.

Then we moved on to making some string telephones to see if sound could travel along the string.  It was lovely to see everyone working as a team, helping each other to measure the string and build their phones.  We developed our skills in tying knots and untying

knots (when the string got in a tangle).  Lots of perseverance shown from everyone!  Well done!

Our photographer Eilidh, took some great photos of everyone passing on a secret message to their partner.

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We had some fun this afternoon learning about sound and vibrations.

It was very interesting listening to the different tuning forks vibrating, after we had tapped them on the floor.  Some made a high pitched sound, some were quite low.

We could feel the vibrations in our hands too and when we touched the tip of the tuning fork, the vibrations and the sound stopped.

We all enjoyed being able to test them out in a container of water too…

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