Primary – Transdisciplinary Connections in Grade 4

Grade 4’s most recent unit of inquiry led us to explore reversible and irreversible changes of state. The students were excited to be allowed to go to the senior science laboratory to do experiments with Ms. Shepherd.

  They will now be making transdisciplinary connections with how changes in states of matter i.e. liquid to gas (steam), led to the invention of the steam engine which was one of the catalysts for huge changes in technology during the Industrial Revolution. Grade 4 observed a miniature model of a steam engine to see how this worked. We were also fortunate enough to have two guest speakers: Mr. Wilson and Mr. Masse, come into the class and talk about civilizations and the development of technology as well as the history of the computer and its use of binary numbers.

The children learned about the passage of time and are now making time lines of inventions over the years. They have explored different aspects of the unit using their multiple intelligences to deepen their understanding.