SIMPLY SUPER SIMPLE MACHINES!

We have been busy learning all about simple machines in 4K! We have read about the six simple machines (lever, gear, screw, inclined plane, wedge, and pulley), and done activities to explore how these machines work and help humans. Now we are putting all our knowledge to use by creating "gumball machines" in CLIC.  The task the class was given is to work as a group to design and build a machine that will move a ball from one point to another incorporating at least 5 simple machines in your device. We have only just begun and look at what has been created so far! Stay tuned for more updates on our progress in this exploration and for videos of each group explaining their machine, the design process and what they learned.

LEARNING ABOUT LEVERS!

Simple Machines
Our class is learning all about simple machines. Simple machines are machines with very few parts. There are six simple machines: levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wheel and axles, screws and wedges. Today 4K did some investigations into how levers work. We asked the essential questions: 1. What are the parts of a lever? 2. How can you make a lever balance? 3. What do distance and force have to do with how a lever works? Take a peek at the photos below to see us hard at work using levers.

Click the image to go to the Museum of Science and Industry's simple machine game.

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POCKETS FULL OF POETRY

December was a month full of poetry! We not only read all kinds of poetry, but we also wrote original poems! Our poetry was overflowing, so we filled our "pockets" with our best poems for all to see. We were inspired to do this by the poem by Beatrice Schenkde Regniers

"Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" 
Keep a poem in your pocket  and a picture in your head  and you'll never feel lonely at night when you're in bed.  The little poem will sing to you.  The little picture it brings to you  A dozen dreams to dance to you At night when your in bed.  So--- Keep a picture in your pocket  And a poem in your head  And you'll never feel lonely  At night when your in bed. 

CHANGE IS SIMPLE

When the New Year arrives, people often resolve to make improvements in themselves. Well, today our class was treated to an educational program that inspired us to make improvements in our environment.  Change Is Simple is an educational environmental group that works with schools to help students understand how their actions impact the world around them. Today, each fourth grade class learned about endangered species and what factors have led to their endangered status from this program. Our class will work with Change Is Simple two more times this year.

The bald eagle was once an endangered species. Change Is Simple helped us learn how making one change in a law about a chemical these beautiful creatures are now thriving again in our country. In the picture below, we are shown how much larger a bald eagle is than our tallest classmate.

We played a game much like musical chairs. It showed us how small changes in our environment affect the animals in the area. As their habitat is encroached upon, they become endangered or worse, extinct.