On November 17, 2003, the students in Ms. Quinty’s and Mrs. Ellie Walko’s Second Grade Nixon School classes shared with the Roxbury Board of Education and community members a Nixon School Science Review.
These second grade students performed songs and recited poetry. They impressed those in attendance with their knowledge of matter and the water cycle.
As part of their presentation, they also conducted experiments, which had them demonstrating the properties of solids, liquids and gases. At one station, the students were capturing air in a bag to demonstrate that air exists even though we cannot see it. At another station, the students were pouring colored water into various vessels to demonstrate that water takes on the shape of the vessel it is poured into. At another station, students were weighing and measuring different shapes to show that solids have weight and have a definite shape. Finally, students were using straws to blow bubbles in a dish of soapy water. This demonstration showed that air could be captured in the soapy substance to form of a bubble.
According to Mrs. Walko, “Science is all around us. The children’s knowledge is expanded through the use of hands-on activities, making science come alive.”
This spring, Mrs. Walko and Ms. Quinty will further demonstrate the children’s science knowledge through demonstrations and the use of the Smart Board. The second grade unit, animal habitats, will be the subject.