Simple Machines!

We have done it!  We have officially discussed each of the 6 simple machines in the classroom and have seen first hand how they help make work easier.  We have been working on this Science Unit for quite some time. We tested levers (catapults), inclined planes, wedges, screws, pulleys and wheels and axles.  We even re-built our cars (from our Discovery Western workshop) to make improvements to our designs.  I am especially proud of the way all students have improved at drawing detailed, labeled diagrams and explaining their thinking orally and on paper..

Curriculum Expectations we were working on:
By the end of Grade 2, students will:
2.3  investigate the structure and function of simple machines (e.g., by building a wheel and axle for a toy car; by exploring the effects of changing the slope of a ramp

2.4  use technological problem-solving skills (see page 16), and knowledge and skills acquired from previous investigations, to design, build, and test a mechanism that includes one or more simple machines (e.g., a toy, a model ...What is the purpose of your mechanism? What simple machine(s) does it use? Explain how it does what it does. What kind of movement does it demonstrate? What were some of the challenges in designing and making your mechanism? Based on the tests you conducted, what might you change about your mechanism?

2.5 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including push, pull, beside, above, wheel, axle, and inclined plane, in oral and written communication 

2.6 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., orally explain to the class the process they followed in building a mechanism that includes one or more simple machines)

3.1 describe different ways in which objects move (e.g., turning, spinning, swinging, bouncing, vibrating, rolling)

3.2 identify ways in which the position of an object can be changed (e.g., by pushing, by pulling, by dropping)

3.3 identify the six basic types of simple machines – lever; inclined plane; pulley; wheel and axle, including gear; screw; and wedge – and give examples of ways in which each is used in daily life to make tasks easier

3.4 describe how each type of simple machine allows humans to move objects with less  force than otherwise would be needed
(e.g., an inclined plane allows a heavy object
to be moved upwards more easily than if it were lifted and carried up stairs; a wheel and axle allow an object to roll, which creates less friction than if it were dragged; a lever activated by a piano key strikes [pushes] a string, which vibrates to make a sound)
3.5 identify simple machines used in devices that move people (e.g., the wheel and axle on a bicycle or a car; the pulleys on an elevator; the inclined planes of moving ramps in parking garages and malls) 

Measuring Perimeter and Area!

• Our class has had a lot of fun measuring the Perimeter and Area of different objects and shapes.  When measuring perimeter, we used coloured tiles, link its, straws, sticks and of course centimeters. We placed these measuring tools all the way around the outside of an object.   When measuring area, we used coloured tiles and different pattern blocks, playing cards and index cards to completely cover an object. We noticed that the size of the measuring tool is really important.  The bigger the tool....the fewer you need to measure and the easier and faster it is to measure.  When the measuring tool is small, you need a lot of them and it takes longer to go all the way around an object or cover the object.  
  
  We have also practiced building figures using blocks and the geoboards and determining the area and perimeter of those figures.  We showed our understanding of Perimeter and Area through games, hands on measurement. activities and through paper pencil tasks that involved drawing and determining the area or perimeter on paper!  Great work everyone!  
  
  The specific expectations we were working on are:
  By the end of Grade 2 students should be able to:
  
  - estimate, measure, and record the distance around objects (PERIMETER), using non-standard units (Sample problem: Measure around several different doll beds using string, to see which bed is the longest around.);
  
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  –  estimate, measure, and record area (THE AMOUNT OF SPACE INSIDE A FIGURE)), through investigation using a variety of non-standard units (e.g., determine the number of yellow pattern blocks it takes to cover an outlined shape) (Sample problem: Cover your desk with index cards in more than one way. See if the number of index cards needed stays the same each time.);
  
  0. 
     -  describe, through investigation, the relationship between the size of a unit of area and the number of units needed to cover  a surface (Sample problem: Compare the numbers of hexagon pattern blocks and triangle pattern blocks needed to cover the same book.)
     
      
     
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Endangered Animals and Countries of the World Research

Our class had been working on our research skills.
We use books and the iPad minis to gather important information about a topic.
We have discovered how useful non-fiction text features can be.  The table of contents or the index are the best places to look for specific things you want to know.  "If you look there, they you don't have to look through the whole book for the information you want to know...it tells you what page to go to and you can find it right away".

We will continue our research in June as many students have expressed an interest in learning about another endangered animal and/or another country.

This research has specifically helped us in the achievement of the following Grade 2 Ministry Curriculum Expectations:

Social Studies:  

*demonstrate the ability to extract information on the location and climate of a region from photographs and print, digital, and/or interactive maps

*identify basic human needs (e.g., for food, water, clothing, transportation, shelter), and describe some ways in which people in communities around the world meet these needs (e.g., food: hunting, farming, shopping at grocery stores; transportation::  on foot, using animals, using motorized vehicles, by water)
*describe selected communities around the world, with reference to their major physical features, wildlife, and some aspects of their culture (e.g., physical features such as mountains, lakes, rivers; native animals; cultural practices related to food, clothing, recreation, the arts)
*describe similarities and differences between their community and a community in a different region in the world (e.g., with respect to food, clothing, housing, beliefs, climate, ora and fauna, recreation, agricultural practice

Science:  

*identify positive and negative impacts that different kinds of human activity have on animals and where they live 

*use scientific inquiry/research skills, and knowledge acquired from previous investigations, to investigate the basic needs, characteristics, behaviour, and adaptations of an animal of their choice