Blog Archives - What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class?

2018 Inventor's Challenge!

5/29/2018

KinderPals Reflection

5/22/2018

My Reflection Questions

Answers

What is the KinderPals Program?
In what ways do you think the program benefits the kindergartners? Try to explain several with support.
Why is the KinderPals program beneficial to 5th graders? Believe it or not, you should be getting something out of the program as well!
What challenges did you experience in KinderPals this year?
What improvements could be made to the program for next year?
Do you think the kindergartners enjoyed the stories from Peekapak? Why do you think that? Do you have any evidence to support your answer?

KinderPals is where us (the fifth graders) go in with our buddies or our KinderPals and teach them about important life skills. For example, some of the things that we do are honesty, empathy, courage and teamwork. We use links from Peekapak.com to help explain to our KinderPals whatever it is we are talking about.
In my opinion the program benefits theKinderPals because a lot of times we teach them very complicated emotions like empathy. I feel that Kindergarteners wouldn't usually learn those types of things until at least 3rd grade. So they get ahead of the game with social emotional skills.
I think it benefits us by helping us explain thing which is the best way to really learn something is by teaching it to others. It also improves our patience because sometimes Kindergarteners can be hard to work with. Also we better our people skills and speech.
Sometimes I would find my buddy drifting off and not paying attention so I would have to keep making sure she is on track. Also trying to explain the very complicated words the my buddy.
I think that one improvement that could be made is to include a very simplified version of the definition of the word because explaining that to a Kindergartener is very hard because the words are very complicated. So if I had a definition simplified (or not) I could even change it by putting it into my own words but I think that would make this program better.
I think that they do. One way I know this is because my buddy always remembered the characters so that means she must have been paying attention. And I know that in Kindergarten I only paid attention when I was actually interested.

Testing Plant Growth

5/14/2018

I Was Absent for Part of It Including the Video.

Independent Variable

Plant seeds in different kinds of soil (e.g. potting in soil, perlite, sand etc.)

Dependent Variable

Measure heights of each plant at certain checkpoints.

Evidence

We can record our data using measurements (in cm).

Questions

Answers

Name your Control Variables (What will stay the same for each of the three cups)?
Name the Independent Variable (What is it that is different for each of the three cups)?
Name your Dependent Variable (What is it that you are testing & recording data on?)
What data are you collecting to serve as Evidence to show how plants grow in organic material versus inorganic planting material?
Why is everyone starting with the same three cups? Why do we need to test so many plants?
What sprouts first in a seed: the stem or the root?
How do you know? How do the pictures below help explain your answer for #6?
Why do you think it goes in that order?

The place the jars are in, the jar that the plant is in, the amount of water it gets, the soil that the seedling has been planted in and the amount of Sunlight each one gets.
Well the soil type is different for all of the cups.
We are measuring the plants.
We are measuring the heights of the plant in inches for all of the different soil types.
So that we can make sure all of our data is correct by checking all of them. So if one thing is strange then we will know it is all because of the different types of soil.
The root because water is the "activator" to tell the plant to start growing, and the root is the thing that gathers the water.
The first picture has it where the thing coming out is white not green. (Roots are white) And in one of the other ones the thing is all squiggly and stems usually stick straight up to find the Sunlight in the shortest time possible.
I think it goes in that order because the root finds the water which is what activates the plant to start growing. So it pretty much just needs water before sunlight.

Plants as Producers

5/3/2018

Reflection/Synthesis Questions:

Answers

Plants need energy and matter to grow. Where do plants get their ENERGY?
Where do plants get their MATTER?
Where do plants get their FOOD (be careful - this is a trick question)?
Why are plants called Producers?
What would happen if plants didn't have a way to get energy?
What would happen to animals if there were no plants to eat?
What are some of the LIVING components of a plant "system"? (A plant "system" is everything that a plant needs to survive and everything it produces.)
What are some of the NON-LIVING components of a plant "system"?
In what ways do the components of the system interact?
What matter is transported in and out of the plant system?

They get their energy from the Sun.
They get their matter from water, the nutrients in the soil and carbon dioxide.
They don't get it, they make it in a process called photosynthesis. That is why they're called producers
As I answered in my previous question, they are called that because they "produce" their own food.
They would eventually die because they would have no way to make their food if they didn't have energy.
The herbivores would die and omnivores would lose a lot of their food. If you consider humans as animals then we would die because of unfiltered air.
Some living components are the plant, and the Sun.
Some non- living things are the soil, the water, oxygen and the carbon dioxide.
They all work together by making the plant it's energy and matter. They mix and create the plant's food.
All of the water, sunlight, carbon dioxide, trace amounts of oxygen and the nutrients are transported in. The things that are transported out is one thing, oxygen.

5th grade classroom website