Welcome to Fifth-Grade Science! We have a lot of fun in this class, but we also work really hard. There is a lot of material to get through, so regular attendance is extremely important. Typically, we study one topic a week, so you lose a lot of information if you're absent for even a day. Please try to be at school whenever possible.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT MY CHILD'S LEARNING?
Discuss and practice our topics from this week. You can informally quiz your child, have them draw diagrams of what they've learned, help them identify examples of our science topics in the world around us, or even ask them to explain the coolest thing they learned that day.
This week (9/19-9/22), we're learning about: circuits and electricity. I encourage parents/guardians to ask their child to discuss the differences between open and closed circuits. (Open is not allowing electrons to flow; closed is allowing electrons to flow.) Students should know what components MUST be included in a complete circuit (power source, wires, load--all connected), and what components are optional (specific type of load, additional conductors, etc.). Students must know how to interpret a switch--if it's open, the circuit is broken/incomplete/open; if it's closed, the circuit is complete/closed. You may have students draw pictures of circuits. They'll need to know parallel and series circuits, and they must know what would happen to various loads in the circuit if certain switches are opened or closed. This is a lot of new information, I know. But, we'll do hands-on practice and lots of hypothetical situations with parallel and series circuits. They should be in a good place to explain and/or draw at home how these circuits work :)
Students will test on this topic next week, September 26th or 27th.
Important vocabulary:
- energy
- electrical energy
- conduct/conductor
- insulate/insulator
- current (electrical current)
- circuit
- complete/incomplete circuit
- open/closed circuit
- parallel circuit
- series circuit
- switch (noun)
- load (noun)--as in, anything that is powered by electrical energy
- power source
- battery
- wire
- buzzer
- produce
- consume
- transform
- power (verb)
- moving electrons
- mechanical energy
- thermal energy