Today we completed a fun exercise where we categorized rocks. If they did not finish the exercise, they were to finish it at home. I am attaching a picture as a resource.
Tomorrow we will begin a workstation lab were they will be further exploring rocks.
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Thank goodness Milestones and makeups are over. However, we are still on odd schedules for the rest of the week. We have had some fun with climates and STEM . We studied the most extreme places on earth and students worked with their groups to create a habitat that can support life in some of the most inhabitable places on earth. It was a fun STEM activity that really broke up testing.
Tomorrow we will begin rocks. Students will begin the engage phase of the unit by observing rocks and attempting to categorize them. It should be a fun exercise. Missing work - Progress report grades are due Friday and I am still missing a great deal of work. I have a good deal of work turned in today that is not in the grade book. Please check Synergy and speak to your student about anything they may have missing. I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Spring Break.
I have spent a great amount of time grading the labs students completed the week before break. All in all, the students did very well. I am proud of how they are progressing as scientists. We have a crazy schedule for the next few weeks. This week I will only see 1st and 2nd periods. We have some fun STEM activities planned for after testing. I think the kids will have a great time. Missing work: Please check Synergy. There are many students who have missing work. I have copies of all the packets available. Also, many students have not turned in their labs. This was a performance assessment that is worth 3 grades. If your student has not turned it in, please ask them to. Testing: We will be conducting Milestone testing this week. Students will be testing in the morning Tuesday - Thursday and in the afternoon on Friday. Please ask your students to have a balanced breakfast and get plenty of rest. Please try to have your students be on time for school and refrain from checking out early on Friday. We have been working on plate tectonics for the past few days. We have watched a great deal of videos illustrating the movement of the plates. The scale of the energy that it takes for these pieces of earth to move is mind blowing! We have been practicing concepts in class and will have a short quiz on Monday. Homework: Students are coming home with homework if they did not complete the concept map in class. On Wednesday we will be completing a lab that will illustrate what the students have learned about the unit. This lab will serve as their summative assessment for the unit. They will be asked to create a model, justify their choices of materials, and illustrate the movement of those plates. If you would like to donate supplies that would be great. I could use: red icing, wax paper, graham crackers, saltines, hard chocolate chip cookies, and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Movie: As a science department, we would like students to compare and contrast the movie San Andreas. They will complete a graphic organizer comparing the science from fiction. I am asking the form to be returned by Wednesday (March 28th). Your student will be bringing a permission form home today. However, if it is misplaced, you can click on the link to download another copy.
We have been working on a CER for several days. I asked the students to finish for homework, however, I have changed my mind. I think students are struggling with the writing and I think it would be best if I am handy to help when needed. We will finish tomorrow in about the first 20 minutes of class.
We are working on a project that will compare the layers of the earth. Students are comparing the depth, density, chemical composition, and physical characteristics of each layer. We began yesterday and will have all class tomorrow to work on it. If they do not finish by tomorrow, it will be homework.
Today we worked on note-taking strategies while reading about the chemical and physical layers of the earth. Many students don't know how to read nonfiction material, pick out the important information, and create a way to remember the information. So, today we worked on note-taking strategies as a class. After we worked for a bit, students were allowed to read the next 2 pages (192-193) and were asked to take notes the best way they see fit. The only requirement is that they include: name of the layer, general purpose of each layer, and the size of the layer. If they did not finish in class, they were asked to finish it at home. Some students took pictures of the book, however, you can always access the online textbook. The online text information is directly to the right.
We have just started our new unit on the Dynamic Earth. I am so excited as this is my favorite unit to teach. Today we dissected eggs. Students worked in groups to carefully take hard-boiled eggs apart. Tomorrow we will go over the lab write up and connect the dots. I think they learned more than they thought they did. We will be learning about the layers of the earth for the rest of the week and into next week.
Tomorrow we will be playing in soil again. Students have been manipulating wet and dry soil to determine it's properties. They seem to enjoy it. (We even had several worms to play with). We should finish up the stations tomorrow and begin working on building a soil profile model.
Homework: Today I handed out a study guide for a test we have on Thursday. Some students finished it in class. If they did not, please finish it for homework so we can go over it tomorrow. PBIS: There will be a PBIS party Friday afternoon. If your student has enough points to attend, please send money if you would like them to purchase snacks or Brewster's ice cream. We have had a lot going on this week. Tuesday we took the unit test on weathering and erosion. We needed to use part of the class period on Wednesday to finish the constructed response portion. Thursday we had a great opportunity for test corrections and extension activities. If students scored less than an 80%, they were allowed to read additional information and complete test corrections to earn points back on the test. Students who scored an 80% and above were able to experience the outdoors. We decided on several areas around school and collected soil samples that we will further investigate next week.
Next weeks will be CRAZY. We will be conducting several labs and making soil horizon models. We will have a summative quiz on Thursday and another COOL extension for students to who well. It will be a great interactive way to spend the week before break. (If you have any empty water bottles, please send them in. We will be using them to create out soil horizon models.) |
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