[Grade 4] Learning about the ever-moving ocean currents

What is special about 4A1 is the learning culture of the class. Like any project, we are always proactive, pioneering to “open” that project, ready to receive new information and abstract concepts. Our ability to learn sometimes makes the teacher surprised and proud.

In that lesson, the whole class worked together enthusiastically. Everyone was absorbed in their work. We were very mature and polite when assigning tasks to friends in the group, or proactively taking on the tasks ourselves. Tasks like reading for information, translating, discussing and sharing with others – which are very important because we need to actively research. There are also other tasks such as coming up with how to present boring information in creative ways. With tasks after tasks to finish, we enthusiastically complete the lesson, with an excitement that is only available at 4A1. There were times when, in the middle of drawing and coloring, we encountered a new word and had to leave the unfinished work to call our friends to gather and discuss. Two periods of Green Project per week went by in the blink of an eye ^___^ And every week there were almost always some new product for us to feel proud about, think about, and also for our teacher to post on her blog. ^__^

Cover of the mini book about SDG 14 – Life under water. There are expected to be articles and illustrations on ocean currents, the effects of oceans on climate and weather, human impacts on the oceans, and more.

We illustrate how the ocean affects the climate of the land. Since 70% of the Earth is covered by seas, the Earth’s climate changes with ocean warming. During winter, when the land is colder than the sea, cold, dry winds blow from the land to the ocean. But in the summer, the opposite is true, the land is warmer than the sea, so the winds will change direction from the ocean, causing the weather to become hot and humid, creating showers.

Surface currents are vividly illustrated: circulation is mainly driven by wind, in the Northern Hemisphere, ocean currents flow in a clockwise direction and in the southern hemisphere it flows in a counterclockwise direction.

The circulation of salt heat creates deep sea currents on the ocean floor, like underground rivers on the ocean floor. The difference in temperature and density helps the deep sea currents to circulate. They flow deep under the sea floor so it is difficult for humans to detect, so people call them underground rivers on the ocean floor.

 

After the groups are assigned to learn about different concepts, in the next lesson we will share our knowledge with the whole class after researching it thoroughly.