How+the+World+Works

Our Current Unit of Inquiry is about **How the World Works **. Our central idea is "People have developed techonologies to slow down or alter the process of decomposition." We will be learning more about the Learner Profile words "Inquirer " and "Thinker " as well as the concepts of "form ," "function " and "change ."

Final Assessment Week 25- Preserve a piece of raw meat for 5 days Here is the rubric the students helped create for the final assessment. There are 4 components: How fresh the meat is after 5 days, there is a poster advertisement that shows their understanding of how the process works, and their work habits and presentation on Friday are also assessed.

[|Meat Preservation Rubric.docx]

See the final advertisements here: [|MeatPreservationGlog.pdf] [|MeatPreservationGlog.pdf]

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Polish Pickles March 19

A huge thanks to Mateusz's grandmother for coming in and showing us how to make Polish pickles. The technique was very different from our pickled carrots. She showed us how to put the cucumbers, garlic and dill into the jars and mixed some water with pickling salt (1 Tbsp for every 1 Liter) and poured it to cover the pickles. These don't need to be refrigerated if you eat them in the first couple of weeks and change color and are ready to eat in 5 days. All the students were risk takers and tried a taste of some pickles that were made this past summer, even if they said they didn't like pickled cucumbers!



Pickling Carrots <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">March 14

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">We followed a recipe to make pickled carrots in 4 medium sized jars:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> Ingredients: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">1 kilogram peeled, quartered carrots <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1 cup cider vinegar <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1 cup white vinegar <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1 1/2 cups water <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1/2 cup sugar <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">3 Tablespoons pickling salt <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Optional: garlic cloves, spicy peppers, spices

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Directions: Wash peel and cut the carrots in quarters lengthwise. Boil them for about a minute and put into clean jars with the optional ingredients. Boil the rest of the ingredients and then simmer for 2 minutes. Pour the liquid into the jars to cover the carrots. Let them cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator for up to one month.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The students really enjoyed washing and peeling the carrots, taking them out of the hot water with tongs, choosing their flavors and measuring ingredients for the liquid. Some of them even decided to put prices on their labels to sell them to their families!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">During the discussion beforehand, I was very impressed that students could accurately name the ingredients and directions that help to extend the life of the carrot and explain why. For example, the dirt on the carrots has a lot of bacteria, so we have to wash and peel them. Boiling the water kills bacteria. The sugar and salt and acid make it hard for the bacteria to grow. We have to put it in the fridge because we haven't formed an airtight seal like in canning.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Students making pancakes, March 7.

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They followed a video and made the pancakes independently. For each stage of the process, one student was the leader (setting up/measuring, making the batter, cooking, and serving/cleaning up). It was great to see students stepping up as leaders and cooperating when they were given tasks to do.

Student reflections about the changes observed:

//"The butter had to melt. We broke eggs. The colour of the pancake became brownish."//

//"Before it was watery there was flour and sugar, salt and after that it went to watery, and after we put it in a pan it went to solid, and then the pancake was ready."//

//"The egg was in a shell, then it changed its form into some liquid."//

//"When I cracked the egg and I put it in a bowl and I mixed it, and the color was yellow. We melted butter."//

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Decomposition Station <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">Finished March 6

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Students recorded their observations of three different foods put into three different environments. We put slices of banana, grape and bread into open air containers, closed containers, and wrapped in wet paper towels. They observed the changes and recorded the information in charts over a period of one full week. They made hypotheses about what would happen. They had to use some good thinking skills to analyze all of their information. Here is an example of a student's organization naming constants, variables and effects on the form of the food.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">They asked some good "What if" questions: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we put the banana in water?"// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we let the apple stay for 619 years?"// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we put the food in the fridge?"// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we put a different kind of bread in the container?"// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we used a pear, peach or apple?"// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">//"What if we squashed it, kept it normal and cut it in many tiny parts instead of the open air, closed and wet towel?"//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">This experiment led to many discussions of bacteria and mold and the process of evaporation.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"><span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Boiled Milk Experiment February 29

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Students studied milk in three forms: liquid, condensed and powdered which led to a discussion about how and why the milk was changed to a different form. We reconstituted the powdered milk and boiled the liquid milk until there was only a jelly that dried out into a powder by the end of the day. Students hypothesized that it would separate into layers, that a solid ring would form around the pan as it cooked, and that the milk would turn to a powder. They were all correct to some extent!

............................................................................................................................................................................................................. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Here are some videos that we've watched:

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