Gretchen Brinza
Email me!
  • Home
  • About Me
  • School
    • Louisville Middle School >
      • 2022-2023
      • 2021-2022 >
        • 6th Grade: Contact Forces/Collisions!
        • 8th: Patterns in Space and Sky
        • 6th: Bath Bombs
        • 8th: Climate--The Warming Arctic
        • 8th: Hail, Rain & Snow
        • 6th: Cups
        • 8th: Tsunami-Natural Hazards
        • 6th: One-Way Mirror
        • 8th: Mt. Everest & Other Mtns
    • Sauganash >
      • 2020-2021 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Data in Science
          • Human Impact (+/-)
          • The Dead Raccoon
          • Clean/Dirty Water
          • Opening Routines
        • 6th Grade >
          • Healing
          • A Changing Landscape
          • Keeping Things Hot or Cold!?!?!
          • One-Way Mirror
          • Dogs (Well and Unwell)!
          • Opening Routines
      • 2019-2020 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • The Sky
          • Dead Raccoon
          • All Things Water!
        • 6th Grade >
          • Sick Dog
          • Mt. Everest
          • Cups
    • Alcott >
      • 2018-2019 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Patterns in the Sky
          • Roadkill--Dead Stuff
          • Down the Drain...
        • 6th Grade >
          • Chickens!
          • Sounds From a Distance
          • Sick Dogs
          • Spooky ________!
      • 2017-2018 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • The Mystery Sun
          • Roadkill
          • Clean/Dirty Water
        • 6th Grade >
          • Changing Populations
          • Smelling Lots of Stuff
          • Seeing and Light
      • 2016-2017 >
        • 6th Grade >
          • Can I Believe My Eyes?
          • How Can I Smell Things From a Distance?
          • Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
        • 5th Grade >
          • Unknown Chemicals' Identities?
          • Data
          • Water Transformations
          • The Raccoon Mystery
        • Technology Integration
      • 2015-2016 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Opening Procedures
          • Chemical Tests
          • Earth's Systems Science
          • Data (Moon, Daylight, Temp., Constellations)
          • Ships in a Field
          • Patterns
        • 6th Grade >
          • Opening Procedures
          • World of Wonder Projects
          • Can I Believe My Eyes?
          • How Can I Smell From a Distance?
          • Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
    • STEM Magnet Academy >
      • A Glimpse Into My Classroom
      • Fifth Grade >
        • 5th Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Environmental Engineering (Part II)
          • Aerospace Engineering
      • Fourth Grade >
        • 4th Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Waves and their Applications for Information Transfer
        • 4th Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Transportation Engineering
          • Biomedical Engineering
        • 4th Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Transportation Engineering
          • Biomedical Engineering
      • Third Grade >
        • 3rd Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Forces and Interactions
        • 3rd Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Electrical Engineering
          • Acoustical Engineering
          • Optical Engineering
        • 3rd Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Acoustical Engineering
          • Electrical Engineering
          • Optical Engineering
      • Second Grade >
        • 2nd Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Matter and Its Interactions!
        • 2nd Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Ocean Engineering
          • Packaging Engineering
        • 2nd Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Civil Engineering
          • Ocean Engineering
      • First Grade >
        • 1st Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Optical Engineering
          • Sound
          • Plants--Structures and Processes
        • 1st Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Materials Engineering
          • Mechanical Engineering
          • Agricultural Engineering
        • 1st Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Mechanical Engineering
          • Materials Engineering
          • Agricultural Engineering
      • Kindergarten >
        • Engineers do what?
        • Forces and Interactions!
        • Earth and Human Activity
        • K: 2013-2014 >
          • Introduction to Engineering
          • Force and Motion
          • Fabric
        • K: 2012-2013 >
          • Introduction to Engineering
          • All About Fabric
          • Built By Nature
        • Check it out! >
          • Exciting News
          • National Engineers Week
          • Donations
          • Chicago Events
  • PAEMST
  • Other
    • STEM FAIR 2019
    • STEM Fair 2018
    • Tech-Class
    • Engineering Week
    • G.D.W.O.F.
    • MSU Urban STEM >
      • Summer Work >
        • Ultimate STEM
        • ImagineIT >
          • Phase 1
          • Phase 2
          • Phase 3
        • Deep Play
        • Quickfires
        • Reflections >
          • Summer
        • Cosmos
      • Fall Work >
        • Deep Play Group
        • ImagineIT >
          • Phase 4
          • Phase 5
          • Phase 6
      • Spring Work >
        • Leadership
        • ImagineIT

Connecting the Earth and Sun

5/22/2016

 
As fifth graders dig deeper into their Patterns unit, they are beginning to uncover some trends that ultimately make them ask questions just like real scientists. As they uncovered that the Earth, Sun and other stars have a unique relationship that determines when they're seen, students are now questioning what the Sun can do to the Earth when it is visible in the daytime sky.

If the Earth is covered in land and water, does the composition of these materials affect anything that the Earth experiences?  For example, if the Earth is mainly covered in water, does water have a different relationship with the Sun that the land does?  Only time will tell.  So far, students have uncovered that the Earth is mainly made of water (nearly 70%) and that about 97% of that water is salt water.  Whoah!

Starting tomorrow, I will be on maternity leave, so my blog will resume next school year!

Are There Patterns We See in the Night Sky?

5/18/2016

 
Picture
We're really starting to put our thinking caps on in 5th grade regarding the patterns/trends we see and experience.

We've recognized the day/night pattern, and now we're starting to wonder about if there are any patterns in the night sky.  We know there are patterns with the moon phases, as all year long we've collected and graphed moon data to see that the moon cycle is approximately 29-30 days.

But are there patterns with the stars we see in the sky?  You betcha!  Fifth graders figured this out by using some mathematics and modeling.  Check out their awesome work to explain this phenomena!
Here students created a physical model to show how the Earth moves around the Sun and determined that there were times during the year they saw certain things in the night sky and other times when they didn't.  They put this into words creating a 2-dimensional model to explain their thinking!

So How Does the Sun Relate to the Different Shadows We See???

5/13/2016

 
Picture
As the sun rises and moves across the sky, students have acknowledged that when we say this, it's really the Earth that is moving.  When the Earth spins on its own axis, this makes the appearance of the Sun change in the sky.  We noticed that as this happens, our shadows change.  But why?

Using simple materials, students were trying to make sense of what happens not only to the position of their shadows as it relates to the Sun, but also what happens to their length.  Check it out as we made sense of this phenomenon!

Explaining Why We See the Sun Sometimes...

5/10/2016

 
So the Sun appears the brightest to us because it's the closest star to the Earth. But why is it that we only see the Sun at certain parts of the day and then at night it disappears?  We thought that the Sun doesn't move as a star, but it appears to move across our sky?  Why is this the case?

Using simple materials, fifth graders are trying to explain this phenomenon and connect it to the sunrise and sunset data they've collected all year.  Way to go 5th graders!
Picture

Explaining the Relationship Between Distance and Brightness...

5/5/2016

 
Wow are we really learning!  Fifth graders are making sense of the relationship between the brightness of a star and how close it appears to another object.  By modeling and working on their explanations, students used quantitative and qualitative data to support their claims.  Students collected data from pictures, graphed them, and then made sense of the data as it related to the scientific phenomenon.

Awesome work fifth grade!  

Sample pictures of star (flashlight) as it distance change from Earth (iPad)

Sample graphs to show the relationship of star (flashlight) as it distance change from Earth (iPad)

Models to show the relationship of star (flashlight) as it distance change from Earth (iPad)

Explanations to show the relationship of star (flashlight) as it distance change from Earth (iPad)

Beyond Gravity...What About that Sun?

4/29/2016

 
Picture

​So fifth graders have made sense of gravity's role in orbiting bodies.  Gravity pulls us back to the center of the Earth when we jump and it also keeps celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun.

And now we are starting to notice things about the Sun.  


Why is the Sun so bright compared to all the other stars in our Solar System?  Is it brighter because it's bigger?  Or is it because it's closer, like the majority of the class claims?

​Since Mrs. Brinza wanted evidence for their claim, fifth graders designed an investigation to gather evidence for this.  Using iPads, rulers, and flashlights, they're seeing how the size and brightness of a flashlight (which represents our Sun) changes as the distance from the iPad increases.  How does the brightness and size of a star change as distance changes?  Check back soon to find out!
Picture

Gravity's Role Beyond Orbit...

4/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Fifth graders have made sense of how gravity plays a pivotal role in keeping the planets in orbit around the sun.  In fact, the gravitational pull of the Sun keeps the planets in a circular orbit despite the planets wanting to go in a straight path.

But what else does gravity "do?"  Knowing that if we were to jump up on the Earth anywhere, we'd always land "down."  But is "down" the same for everyone?  How can we explain how gravity plays a role on what happens to us when we jump?  And is there a better way to explain this phenomenon?

Check out our continued work on modeling!
0 Comments

Why do the planets orbit the Sun?

4/24/2016

 
Picture
One of the most common questions fifth graders generated regarding the Sun's relationship with all the other planets was the reasoning behind why the planets orbit the Sun in the first place.  Using Newton's First Law of Motion (which states that things will stay in motion unless something stops/accelerates them or changes their direction), students were wondering why the planets don't just fly in a straight path, like his law states.  Using a ball/string model, students began seeing the connection between how the planets 
wanted to continue moving in a straight line but we somehow connected to the Sun with a force pulling them inwards.  We'll be working on our models, explaining how these phenomena occur!

Working with our Driving Question Board! 

4/12/2016

 
Picture
After fifth graders made sense of the planets' locations in relationship to the sun, students begin interacting with the Driving Question Board.  The DQB grounds our thinking, and has us coherently build upon one idea to the next. As we try to understand the many patterns that occur on the earth, we're also trying to develop understanding as to why those patterns occur in the first place.
As we notice that all the planets orbit the sun, we're beginning to ask some fascinating questions about this phenomenon now that we see some things...

1.  Every planet seems to go around the sun.  Why is this so?
2.  Every planet takes a circular path.  Again, why is this so?
3.  Every planet has many unique features, distinguishing it from the next.  Does the sun have a role in this?  

​These are some of the questions students have asked...great work 5th grade!  We'll be working hard to answer these questions!

Earth in the Solar System...

4/8/2016

 
Picture
 Fifth graders have started their next unit focused on everyday patterns on the Earth.  They'll be making sense of the causes of these patterns by developing models and constructing explanations...just like real scientists do!

We started our unit trying to determine Earth's place in the Solar System at large.  We're working through data to make sense of things like diameter, temperature, orbital period, and distance from the sun, all of which can help explain things we have yet to make sense of!  We've hit the ground running!

    Earth

    The Earth is a mystifying place, where things happen everyday...and then repeat themselves at some point in another.  We'll be making sense of that!

    Archives

    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly