Science Update

Structures and Stability

We have been enjoying this theme in Science because students get to build! During the first activity students just explored and built structures using foam blocks and wooden blocks. From this they discovered that some structures were stable and others were not. We then looked at why. Students came up with very good reasons. They discovered that structures that were too tall were less stable than shorter ones and that structures with a larger base were more stable. They also learned that structures that were more narrow at the top than the bottom were more stable. This begins the process of "inquiry" learning. In these pictures students used a cardboard box as a table. They tried different places to put the legs. They tried in each corner, all 4 legs in the centre nd legs to one side of the table. Then the fun began testing the stability by placing a load on top of the "table".

Why Inquiry Learning?

Students are more engaged and they remember concepts that they have discovered much better                                                                                          than if they were just told.

Words to know: stable, unstable, structure, load, foundation.

 We will work on this cool website this week!

Shapes Lab

Ms. Howie