Grade 5
Pendulums match the swing of “Grandfather’s Clock”
In fifth grade, science can become a real “swinging” occasion. Swingers and Variables, activities in a FOSS module, use pendulums to introduce students to variables. The students systematically investigate weight, release position and length of their pendulums to find out which variable affects the number of swings a pendulum completes in a given time.
Students begin the activity by constructing pendulums using a string weighted by a paper clip and penny. After conducting a controlled experiment, they change the release position, weight and string length to observe differences in the results. Hanging their pendulums on a “Swinger Number Line,” they notice a pattern and relationship between the length of the string and the number of cycles per 15 seconds. The kids graph the results of their class experiments in two ways: using a picture graph and a two-coordinate graph. They learn that the independent variable (what is known before the experiment) goes on the X-axis, and the dependent variable (what is learned as a result of the experiment) goes on the Y-axis.
In a final activity, the class makes several hypotheses regarding which pendulum length will match the tempo of a recording of “My Grandfather’s Clock.” Observations and comparisons bring continual questions about where the beat will fall on the pendulum’s arc. Many students notice that some pendulums seem to keep the beat in half-time while others seem to use double-time. All of the students’ hypotheses, observations, questions and conclusions are carefully recorded in their science notebooks.
Models, Maps and Music
The beauty and splendor of the Grand Canyon is an inspiration for the fifth graders as they learn about landforms and how nature carves them. Using the FOSS Landforms module, students learn that patterns of change take place when earth and water interact. Experimenting with water tables and earth material, they observe the processes of erosion and deposition and watch their miniature model streams build new landforms. In these experiments, the teams of young geologists vary the conditions of their models by changing the size of the water source from stream to flood and also by changing the slope of the land from flat to steep. Along the way they keep notes of measurements they make and changes they observe.
The fifth graders also use some of the tools and techniques used by cartographers to depict landforms. Students create models of the Bear Creek school site with plastic cubes to indicate the location of objects. They transfer the information from their model to a grid and draw maps of the model using the grid as a guide. Later the students use a model of Mt. Shasta in California to create a topographic map and a profile of the area. Using US Geological Survey topographic maps, they learn to interpret maps and see how they can be valuable tools for either scientists or the weekend hiker.
The classes listen to Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite and try to imagine the landforms that this American composer must have had in mind when he wrote his music. The students talk about Grofe’s life and passion for composing his vivid impressions into more tangible form. Grofe wrote, “The richness of the land and the rugged optimism of its people had fired my imagination. I was determined to put it all to music some day.” Through this study fifth graders realize that many landforms have inspired the composition of great musical works, poetry and essays.