Digital Science Portfolio Samples

Finch 5th Grade ScienceLisa Paine

McKinney ISDMcKinney, Texas

lpaine@mckinneyisd.net2009-2010

Mary Carole StrotherLibrary Media Specialist

mstrother@mckinneyisd.net

Science Notebook

• This year I have learned that the most important science tool that I can learn to use well is my science notebook. It's important because this is where I write all my science experiences . My notebook is where I write all the cool experiments we have done, and where I research to prepare for a test.

Science Notebook

• This year I learned how to use a science notebook really well. I used my notebook to take notes that my teacher, Mrs. Paine, gave us in science class. I also used my notebook to collect data, create scientific pictures, and to review everything I learned this year in science class. I used it to review for a science test if I forgot something. This notebook has been a miracle to my life in 5th grade.

Amazing Science Tools

• This year I have learned how to use a lot of science tools. One of the tools I have learned to use is a hot plate and it is used to heat things. I also learned to use a microscope and it is used to observe very small objects you can not see with your eyes or a hand lens. And what about the triple beam balance? It is used to measure mass in grams or kilograms.

Science Tools Some of the most important tools

in science is the microscope. It is used to see small things like bugs, food,and germs. Another cool tool are science goggles. They are used to protect our eyes during science experiments so the chemicals won’t get in our eyes.

Soil Retention/Absorption

• Like I said in properties of soil, we tested which soil absorbed the most water. Mine held well. It was topsoil. In topsoil there are nutrients for plants to absorb. Plants can use nutrients to grow and they can use water to grow as well. Plants can absorb the sun light to grow. Plants can take in things to make them grow.

FOOD CHAINS/FOOD WEBS

The food chain below goes like this:•The sun gives energy to the plant.•Then the plant’s energy goes to the grasshopper.

Animal Life Cycle

Alike- A parrot and a butterfly’s life cycles are alike because they both start out as an egg and they end as adults.

Different-A parrot and butterfly’s life cycle are different because a parrot’s life cycle only has three stages and a butterflies life cycle has four stages.

Properties of soil

Topsoil: Topsoil is the first layer of soil made of silt, clay, and other tiny pieces of rock produced by weathering.

Subsoil: subsoil is the second layer of soil. It is made of large pieces of weathered rock.

Substratum: substratum is the third layer of soil. It is made mostly of large pieces of weathered rock.

Physical Science Learning about Matter

Some qualitative states of matter are, smell, color, text and sound.

Some quantitative states are boiling point, solubility, hardness, mass, magnetism, conductibility, volume, density.

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up spaces.

Inherited or

Learned ?

• A dog on a computer • How humans know how

to talklearned

• The color of birds feathers

• The color of our eyesinherite

d

Food Chains/Food Web

The sun gives the grass energy. The

grass gives the cow energy, and the cow

gives the human energy.

Space Science

• I learned that our galaxy has a name and its name is the Milky Way Galaxy. In our galaxy there are 8 planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the closest planets to the sun and they are all called the inner planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the farthest from the sun and are called the outer planets.

LANDFORMS• One of the landforms I know

about is a plateau. It is known as a flat top mountain formed by erosion. Also about mountains, an uplift created when two crustal plates crush. Also a canyon is a long narrow deep v-shaped valley that is formed by running water cutting into the canyon.

Properties of Soil

I learned that there are different types of soils like clay, sand and top soil. They are all different because of different color, texture , particle size and amounts of water it holds. Clay, for example, doesn't hold that much water and minerals. Top soil holds just what it needs, so it’s good for growth of plants. Sand is not

good for plant growth. It doesn’t hold water and does not contain minerals that helps the plants grow.

Water Cycle• The water cycle is a cycle that goes on and on. The main

source of energy for the water cycle is the sun. The steps are evaporation, condensation, precipitation , run off, accumulation and transpiration. Evaporation is liquid to a gas. Condensation is gas back into liquid, which is the formation of clouds. Then when the clouds form, precipitation occurs, so it is any type of water that falls from clouds. Run off is water running some where as it falls. Then, when its stops, it gathers in oceans rivers and lakes and forms accumulation. Then the last one is transpiration, the release of water vapor from living organisms into the air like photosynthesis and respiration.

Inherited or Learned

• Let’s begin with inherited traits. Inherited means born with, and traits mean characteristics living things have. For example eye color, hair color, and skin color. Learned traits mean something your parents teach you or you learn from your environment. Example, a dog dancing is learned.

• A dog’s color of fur is inherited from one of its parents.

Learned

inherited

Food webs/Food chains• A food chain is a model of how energy flows from one

organism to another.• In the diagram bellow there are 5 things. First, the plants

are the producers because they make their own food and all consumers get their energy from producers. The 2nd is the primary consumer because it eats the producer. The 3rd one is the secondary consumer because it eats the primary consumer. The 4th one is the predator because it hunts other animals for food. And the 5th one is the decomposer because it breaks stuff down. In other words, it turns dead stuff like animals into healthy stuff that the producers take in to make their own food .

Electricity

• What I learned about electricity is that there are conductors and insulators. Conductors are anything that conducts electricity and insulators are any thing that doesn't conduct electricity. For example:

Conductors:Metal,Steel,Aluminun Insulators:Plastic,Rubber,Glass

Earth Science

• I learned that there are 4 major layers of the earth. The four major layers are the crust,mantle,outer core, and the inner core. Did you know that there is a inner and outer mantle? The crust is the layer of the earth which we stand on. Trying to dig through the crust to the mantle is like playing soccer without the soccer ball.

Landforms • One example of a landform is a beach. It is a

gently sloped shore next to a body of water, washed by waves or tides, often coved by sand and pebbles .

• The next is a glacier. It is a moving sheet of ice by the accumulation of ice in cold areas. Over the years .it makes a u- shaped valley.

• The last one is arches. They are rock formations caused by weathering and erosion.

Animal Life Cycles

• There are many animals to compare but I will choose the two that I think are the best and those are:

Dog Both Human

Fur Mammals Hair 4Legs Play 2Legs

Tail Parents Behind

Footprint Living

Fingerprint No Thumbs Omnivores Thumbs

Collin County Adventure Camp

• Here is what I learned at camp:Prairie Land-I learned that the prairie needs to

have fire to attract animals to go there.Climbing-I learned to look for the best rocks to

step on or you will be trapped where you are.Water lab-I learned that when it comes to

canoeing there is no “I” in team or in canoe.Forest Trail-I learned that some plants might

look harmless but they can be dangerous.

Camp Pictures

These pictures show me at camp learning about nature. In the picture at the bottom, it shows me observing lake insects.

This picture shows me writing down information about trees.

I’m getting ready to do the rock climbing wall.

Collin County Adventure Camp

• At Collin County Adventure Camp we learned lots of things about science. We learned about tree rings, different plant adaptations, what happens in nature when there's not balanced forces and different lake insects. I was with the Bobcats. The 1st thing we learned was about the tree rings. Our guide told us tree rings can tell you how old the tree is and what kind of weather it had in that area. The 2nd thing we learned about are some plants are poisonous, even when they don’t look like it. They can be poisonous if you eat it. We also learned that if there's not balanced forces in nature everything will die in a period of time. The 3rd thing we learned was about lake insects and how they look and are different depending where they live. We also learned how some insects have different heads, legs, and body parts. We also learned about adaptations.