Seals spend much of their lives in water! Some examples are below.

There are lots of ways living things use water, and here are five of them:

Today in Science Class, we are all studying how a specific job relates to or uses water.  The job I studied was a Chemist.  The book says that

I would have translated all this into 5th grade language, but by the time I got half way through the first sentence, I realized the paragraph was really as simple as they could possibly make it.  Therefore, I continued researching on the internet.  The page said,

I decided this part had better be simplified so that I could understand it better.  I came up with:

Water chemists study the effect of water on parts in other ecosystems and how their interactions change water and water quality.  Water chemists also may design and implement processes that manage these ecosystems' interactions more effectively.  These highly trained pros study both groundwater and surface water and look closely at currents, soil infiltration, and the effects that outside sources like weather and soil erosion create on water ecosystems.

You might have noticed that I didn't change much.  That was because I just really couldn't come up with simpler replacements for a lot of those hard words.  Turns out translating to 5th grade language isn't as easy as I thought.  Anyway, using information from all the above paragraphs, I am writing my own summary for this topic...

I think we should let each other know when we said something incorrect, not during the presentation, but afterwards, like at lunch or recess.  We should also tell each other when we thought they did something really awesome.  This also should be after the presentation.  I think it's a strong point that we shouldn't name names.  We could just say things like, "For people doing presentations, it would probably be a good idea to make the slide clearer, so everyone can understand them."  That way, nobody feels like their project specifically was criticized.  Also, there are no hard feelings or anything.

Once, I was in my room reading on my bed.  I wasn't really supposed to be on my bed.  Actually, I wasn't supposed to be reading at all.  But, hey, I was at the good part!  So anyway, I was in my room reading on my bed, when there were random galumphing footsteps on the hall outside my room.  I started to wonder what it was, but I was still at the good part, so I didn't bother putting down my book and going outside to check.  I was about to regret that sorely.  Suddenly, my door, which I had left cracked open, was violently bounced off the wall as my little brother, James, came in with both hands behind his back.
"What've you got?"  I asked him suspiciously.
"Something you want..."
"What?  James, what?"  I questioned eagerly.  James pulled out his hands.  They were empty.  Disappointed, I put aside my book, and found out his hands weren't quite empty.
"Ouch!"  I complained as he flicked his wet hands at me.  I yelled at him, and chased him out of my room, where Dad insisted he actually brush his teeth.  Phew. 

    Sound: When I poured the water from my cup into a friend's cup, it sounded like a plash, or a slosh, like a quiet sort of snake or something.  There was an extra pop! at the end.  It sort of reminded me of the school water fountain, like a smooth "plsssssssh".  Say plsh as fast as you can if you want to know how it sounded when poured quickly, say plsssssssh as slow as you can if you want to know how it sounded when poured quickly.

    Looks: When I leave it alone, it sort of looks calm, cool, kind of serene.  Occasionally the floor or table shakes a bit, and then the surface wavers like jelly.  When I shake it gently, it looks sort of like it's mad.  It splashes about, jumping up and down like it's trying to get out.  When I pour it slowly, little drops fall individually of the whole, then, when the glass gets high enough, the rest all rushes out.  When I pour it quickly, it smoothly transfers, except at the end when it can't resist being just a bit sassy and sends one little drop of water up to surface, where it hovers for a split second an inch or two above the rest of the water, then falls into its depths again.
Smell: It smells pure, clean, and fresh.  There's just a tiny hint of some sort of mineral, possibly salt or something.

    Taste: It tastes pretty much the same as it smells.  There's a feeling of... renewal, I guess afterwards.  I feel like I was starving for days, and that was the only water I've had since breakfast (actually, the latter was true).  I felt like I was being rewarded or something, and the water tasted kind of sweet.

    Feels: When I first dipped my finger in, it seemed colder than I had expected.  I started stirring my finger around, and if I didn't look, it simply felt like I had just licked my finger and then stirred it in the air.  You could try it yourself.  I'll wait... see?  That's what it felt like for me to stir the water.  It's strange, because I'd never felt that way before about water.  Oh, and I guess I should say it felt wet.

Differences Between Water and Ice
    You can hold ice in your hand, not water
    Ice is much, much colder

Differences Between Water and Water Vapor
    Water vapor feels wet and dry at the same time, water doesn't
    Water vapor smells, water doesn't

My Revolutionary War Hero was famous for being first lady, the wife of John Adams, and helping pretty much everybody.  She is Abigail Adams.  I made a Thing Link of my physical poster, which is currently hanging up in the hall outside my classroom.  I took a video and chopped it up, then put each little chop into the different parts of the poster.  I think Mr. Solarz had us do this project so that we could learn cooperation, (we needed a LOT of it to do this project!) and working with technology and new, unfamiliar websites.  When I finished, I was so relieved that I let out a big, "hew!" of breath.  All in all, this was a REALLY fun project, and I hope we can do something like it in the future.

Today in science class, we learned about the nervous system.  We did a really interesting project-game, where we held a transparency in front of our face, and then a partner threw a ball at it.  We got to experience what would happen if a ball WERE being thrown at our faces, and, best of all, without any pain.  We got another partnership to take our picture, posed as at left.  It was really fun, and we had several good laughs when Taylor aimed a paper ball at my face (protected by the transparency) and somehow managed to hit me square in the chest.  I noticed that when the paper ball was thrown at me, even though I was protected, I blinked really hard and took a half step, more of a lean really, back.  I think if the transparency had not been there, this would have protected my eye, because it would not have been hit or damaged.  It was quite different from the last experiment we had done the other day, catching a ruler, because, although I used the same muscles, I didn't have to think about any reactions.  I just naturally, instinctively blinked hard and stepped back.  So the nervous system did not respond in the same way to both situations.