We are finishing up our unit this week. Today we completed a fun weathering walk were students got to see weathering and erosion in action. Tomorrow students will write a plan to address 2 of the issues they observed. I will also give out a study guide that will be due on Monday. We will go over it in class and students will break into collaborative groups to study. Students will be able to decide where they would like to go to get specific help to prepare for the test. Below is a game we played in class. Students can play with it to get more practice. Also, I have 2 PPT's under the Science Units tab along with a video.
Extra Credit - If students bring in their study guide completed on Monday / Tuesday...they can earn extra points on their test. http://www.kineticcity.com/mindgames/warper/
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We have been working on stations and learning more about erosion and weathering. The students have done a good job of staying on task and completing the lab work. I see some of them really learning. I hope this exercise will tie the process together for them.
EXTRA CREDIT - We took some time out today to review some awesome astronomy lessons. We will be experiencing a Super Blue Blood Moon early in the morning. I have offered extra for anyone who takes or sends me a picture of the moon. This is a once in a lifetime experience. I hope weather will cooperate and we can all enjoy the show. We had a great turn out for the informational meeting and have had several students already sign up. Below is a link to the EF Tour site. You will be able to sign up and view the complete itinerary. When we get a better idea of the number of people who have signed up, we will be contacting you regarding fundraising.
https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2090232HK Today we read an article that directly relates to the phenomena of deposition. Due to the rerouting of the Mississippi River, Louisiana is shrinking. Students were asked to answer 6 questions and write a quick CER. If they did not get done, they were asked to finish it as homework. Below is a URL so students can read it online.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-23/louisianas-coastline-disappearing-rate-football-field-hour We are still working on the engage phase of our unit. It is designed to last 4 days but with the snow and holiday it has taken over a week. We are diligently working on comparing and contrasting the surface features of Earth. Today we completed a presentation linking weathering, erosion, deposition, and plate tectonics. You will begin to see some grades entering the grade book. Students needed their graphic organizers to use on the poster so I have not entered them in the grade book yet. We will have a little quiz over the information so far tomorrow. We will then dive into a cave and see what the Earth looks like on the inside.
Meeting: Don't forget there is an informational meeting about the trip to Ecuador Thursday at 6:30 in the theater. We will be able to discuss pricing and possible fundraising ideas. Donations: The class is out of tissues. If you have some you would like to donate... please do. Students at Griffin have the opportunity to go on the trip of a lifetime to Ecuador. We we will be visiting the Galapagos islands, trekking over volcanoes, and rafting down the Amazon River. We will be traveling with EF Tours. They are the same company that is taking the group to Italy this Spring Break. They work with High Schools around Cobb County and have very high quality educational tours. Many of your students expressed interest in going (who wouldn't want to go, right)? Those who expressed interest received a personal letter inviting them to the informational meeting January 25th. I asked them to return a ticket at the bottom of the letter so we can get an idea of the amount of room we will need for the meeting. If you are planning on coming, please return that ticket to me. If you did not receive a letter and would like to attend the meeting, leave a comment and I will add you to the list. Question: How much? Well, I'm not sure yet. We will have a hard amount by the 25th. Also, it is very important to us that students who want to go can. Therefore, we will be offering many fundraisers as well as payment plans. Again, we will have more information at the meeting. Question: What is included? EVERYTHING...Almost everything. All airfare, lodging, transfers, breakfast, dinner, and over half the lunches. The only money needed after the payment is a few lunches and money for souvenirs. (Pictures are free!) Please review this link for more information. I hope to see you on the 25th.
We have started our new unit, Dynamic Earth. This is a huge piece of material. As with all Earth systems, it's all connected. We will be learning about how the Earth is shaped from the inside out. We are also looking at time sensitive events that shape the Earth and why they happen (CA mudslides). We are also comparing features in GA with features around the world. I will be asking the students WHY a lot and ask them to communicate their answer.
Extra Credit - Take a picture of weathering and / or erosion, bring it in and share with the class (emailing me is fine), and receive 5 points on next formative grade. First of all, I hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating break. My family did! We had a short lived stomach bug make it through the house but all and all it was a restful time with friends and family.
Second, thank you for all the wonderful treats you brought into the class for me. They seriously helped me survive the early release days... Third, it is cold in my room right now. I am very hot natured and even I got cold. So, your student may want to wear a layered light pull over (just something on their arms) plus their larger jacket to school. (They can leave the heavier jacket in their locker.) Finally, we are finishing up water on the ocean floor and will be moving on to the dynamic earth. Our next units will be focusing on Next Generation Science Standards where we incorporate the 5-E learning model. We will engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. This is a new and challenging skill they will learn. If your student is running out of room in their interactive notebook, please get them another as they will need it quite a bit coming up. Quiz: We will have a quiz on the ocean floor on Monday. They have notes and diagrams to study. Today be began a project that will be our last summative grade for this 9 weeks. Students are traveling through the water cycle and creating a 1st person story or comic strip that describes what they experience. Students are beginning to understand that the water cycle is not a circle. Water can move in many different directions.
Missing work: I am in the process of updating Synergy. If you see your student has 'missing' work. Please have them turn it in ASAP. We have used technology quite a bit in the past few days and I would like to continue the trend. Yesterday, we used interactive books, Lightbox, to investigate the Earth's rivers and oceans. I think the students enjoyed learning from such an interactive source. The books have lots of videos and tutorials. It would be beneficial if students had earbuds that they could use in class. It would enable them to listen to the videos easier.
Homework: I am missing the water distribution lab and the ground water labs. Grades will be due soon and I want to make sure all students stay on schedule. Please check with your students and make sure they are turning in their work. |
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