In Science, Robins have been investigating all about the digestive system.
The first activity was to discuss where the organs should be. There were some interesting results!
Here is a recap of where they should be.
They then had a go at being scientists presenting a TV program about the digestive system.
Can you remember all the vocabulary?
P.S Well done to Shriya for her extra research in the topic. It’s great to hear you share the knowledge.
In Science we have been learning all about teeth.
We learnt about the different types of teeth in a human’s mouth and what they are used for. Can you remember what are your incisors, canines and molars?
Click here to review the knowledge!
Next we discussed what would happen if we didn’t brush our teeth. We also setup a science experiment to test how different liquids can stain / damage our teeth. We have used: fizzy drinks salt water,milk, tap water and vinegar
Of course.. we couldn’t really use our own teeth as we want to protect them so we’ve used an egg as a substitute. Did you know that the shell of an egg is made of a similar substance to tooth enamel!?
We will observe our teeth (eggs) every day and see what happens!
By the way,
Did you know?
Tuesday is Science Day! Our topic for this half term is Animals including humans and we thought we’d look at….
Your salivary glands are found on the inside of your cheeks, the bottom of your mouth and at the front of your mouth, under your jaw. Can you believe that they can produce between one to two litres of saliva a day? That’s amazing isn’t it?!
There are many advantages to having saliva. Here are a few: saliva aids with digestion, it helps you to taste food, it cleans your mouth and helps to keep your teeth clean.
Just like saliva helps you to taste food, your taste buds are responsible for making your favourite foods taste so good. They are found on your tongue and help you to distinguish between salty, sweet, sour and bitter tastes.
Today, Robins carried out a taste test. They explored whether it was easier to taste things with your eyes closed, eyes closed and nose pinched or eyes open and nose open.
It was hard work taste testing all those sweets!
Finally, they recorded their results.
Extension: Click here to find out more about your taste buds!
Hollie, Krista and Maya wanted to let everyone know we should reduce plastic waste.
In Science, We have been learning all about the classification of living things.
Robins had the Animal Man (Chris) in to show us some different classifications of animals.
Chris told us how we could remember the different classifications of animals by thinking of FARMBI.
F- fish
A – amphibian (which means two lives, one on land and one in the water – think of a frog!)
R – reptile
M – mammal
B- birds
I – insects
The first animal we had to look at was a packman frog called Tank. Chris told us he ate mice, rats, small lizards, bugs, insects, worms and flies.
Then we saw Bernie the African Royal Python, Bernie eats rats, mice, birds and lizards. Bernie is a constrictor, so strangles his prey. Chris told us about how he breathes, he uses his nostrils to breathe, and the two holes above his nostrils to sense heat. And uses his tongue to smell, he is smelling to see if he wants to eat you. Luckily for us, he didn’t and is not venomous, so we could touch, hold and even have Bernie around our necks!
Bruce is a Blue Tongued Skink, Bruce is an omnivore, and eats insects, crickets, mealworms, chicks, mice and also loves cat food! Bruce uses his tongue to smell, and this time to check if you want to eat him! If he perceives you as a threat, he will open his mouth and hiss, he can also turn around and wag his tail… then he would start to urinate, this is another defence mechanism in order to deter predators. Luckily for him, Robins had already had their lunch and were not a threat and luckily for us Bruce decided we were safe too! Blue Tongued Skinks are not venomous, so again, we were able to touch and hold him.
Next up was a tenrec, he is a Madagascan hedgehog, although he doesn’t have any spikes just dry fur. The last litter this tenrec had was 24 babies! So coming to see Robins was a breeze! Tenrecs, a little bit like moles can use their front paws and noses to dig, so their noses can get quite dirty, the dirt builds up and so the tenrecs tend to blow snot bubbles to clear their noses. This tenrec was very well behaved and did not blow any bubbles at us.
We also saw Bert, the skunk. Chris assured us that a skunk will only spray if they feel threatened and they will give warning signs before spraying. The first being a growl or a bark and then the second, putting their front paws in the air and then stomping, then they would turn around, put their tail up and spray! Bert was very calm and docile and we were all able to stroke him. Chris told us that he was sprayed by Bert’s dad once and ended up smelling for 10 days and that was with three showers a day! Yuck!
Chris also brought Alan, a white face scops owl. They like to eat mice, rats and berries. Chris said that the only difference between a bird and any other animal are feathers! Owls have large eyes that do not move, they can only see directly forwards, so it can move its head in order to see all around them. Owls have amazing hearing, they can hear up to 14m away. They have strong, powerful wings that are silent when they fly so they can sneak up on their prey.
The final animal was Miss Fluffy, the tarantula. This particular spider was from South America and was a Chilean Rose hair tarantula. They would usually live underground in the rainforest, they are cold blooded, have an exoskeleton and this one only eats one cricket a week! Chris told us that she was venomous… but only after we held/touched her!! We were all VERY brave and had a fantastic afternoon.
Thank you Chris!
Robins have been investigating the living things.
We spotted various kinds of birds and a cat.
Extension: Can you remember which are cold blooded and warm blooded?
Robins have been learning that over 300 years ago, a Swedish scientist created a system for grouping living things, called classification or taxonomy.
Watch the video to recap.
Some then went outside with Mr Crooks to look for living things in the woodland walk. What have they found?
It’s been a while since Robins have scientifically categorised habitats for living things. Today Robins reviewed their knowledge of what a habitat is and went around the classroom classifying the habitats for a variety of living things.
Since April 1st, Robins have been learning about condensation and evaporation.
As scientists they developed Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
The question (practical enquiry) was , “Which liquid would evaporate the quickest?”
To do this they would compare (comparitive) different liquids. Robins chose, plain water, salt water, oily water, orange squash and chocolate mix!
To ensure it was a fair test the ensured each liquid was the same amount and placed in the same area of the classroom.
Today, they observed,
Which liquid has evaporated fastest?
– Has anything else happened to any of the liquids?
– Is there any separation?
– Have any gone mouldy?
– Or smell funny?
Look what happened over the weekend!
Extension: Read more about condensation and evaporation below.
Condensation and evaporation are two separate changes of state. Evaporation is when a liquid is changed into a gas. The particles in a liquid are moving and only few have the right amount of energy to escape and become a gas. This process is important because we require it for our earth’s water cycle. It can happen on all surfaces at any time.
Condensation is the process in which water vapour (in the air) is turned into liquid water. You can kind of think of it as the opposite of evaporation.
Click here to read more on BBC Teach
P.S Look at cheeky Mr Lo giving Robins an impossible word search to do for the morning activity on April 1st!
In science this week the children have been learning about diluting and dissolving.
Dissolving is a process in which a substance known as the ‘solute’ (e.g sugar) dissolves in another substance known as the ‘solvent’ (e.g water). The solute is completely broken down from larger molecules into smaller molecules after contact with the solvent.
We tested out whether a solid was soluble or insoluble by mixing it with water. Soluble solids included sugar and coffee granules. Insoluble solids included a ruler and scissors!
For diluting, we carried out an experiment to investigate how adding water affects the taste of squash.
