213:
Monday: Write your next steps for the science fair in your notebook, under your pre-lab notes.
Wednesday: Complete lab notes up to and including the Procedure section.
Thursday: Complete Results and Conclusion sections in your lab notes (notebooks collected Friday.)
Friday: "Design an Experiment" worksheet.
215:
Monday: Write your next steps for the science fair in your notebook, under your pre-lab notes.
Tuesday: Complete lab notes up to and including the Procedure section.
Wednesday: Complete Results and Conclusion sections in your lab notes (notebooks collected Friday.)
Friday: "Design an Experiment" worksheet.
223:
Wednesday: "Name that machine!" practice questions in your notebook.
Thursday: Complete all notes for the lever lab. Study for test!
Friday: Periodic table review worksheet.
225:
Tuesday: "Name that machine!" practice questions in your notebook.
Wednesday: Complete all notes for the lever lab. Study for test!
Thursday: Periodic table review worksheet.
8A:
Tuesday: Complete all lab notes.
Wednesday: Read "What does ppm really mean?" and answer questions. Quiz next Wednesday!
8B:
Thursday: Complete all lab notes.
Friday: Read "What does ppm really mean?" and answer questions. Quiz next Friday!
Important Documents
Lost a folder? Papers crumpled in the bottom of the bookbag? No worries! Here are some important class-related documents for you to view, download, or print.
General Class Documents
Science Notebook Guide
Lab Safety Rules
How to Write Two-Column "Main Idea" Notes
Science Fair Documents
Research Paper Guide
Display Board Guide
Research Paper Checklist
Materials and Procedure Guide
Science Fair Timeline
Research Paper Rubric
Citation Guide
Abstract Form
Safety Sheet
General Class Documents
Science Notebook Guide
Lab Safety Rules
How to Write Two-Column "Main Idea" Notes
Science Fair Documents
Research Paper Guide
Display Board Guide
Research Paper Checklist
Materials and Procedure Guide
Science Fair Timeline
Research Paper Rubric
Citation Guide
Abstract Form
Safety Sheet
How Much on Mars?
This week, seventh-graders are learning about the difference between mass and weight. Mass is the actual amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the pull of gravity on that mass. So if you were traveling in space, your mass would be the same-- you would still contain the same amount of matter-- but your weight would change, because the pull of gravity on your body would change.
To find out more, click here and calculate just how much you would weigh on the other planets of our solar system.
And if you want to feel teeny tiny, take a look at this.
To find out more, click here and calculate just how much you would weigh on the other planets of our solar system.
And if you want to feel teeny tiny, take a look at this.
Homework for the Week of 9-21-09
213
Monday:
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
--Blog post response due Sunday at 9 p.m. (See last week's homework for details.)
--Lab notes grade signed if you received less than 14/17.
--Quiz Thursday!
Wednesday:
--Complete all lab notes. Please use your Science Notebook Guide to ensure you do the best possible job.
--Study for quiz!
Thursday:
--Begin science fair research. Use your ISP chart!
--Bottom part of science fair timeline signed and returned.
215
Monday:
--Science fair inquiry question due Wednesday
--Blog post response due Sunday at 9 p.m. (See last week's homework for details.)
--Lab notes grade signed if you received less than 14/17.
--Quiz Wednesday!
Tuesday:
--Complete all lab notes. Please use your Science Notebook Guide to ensure you do the best possible job.
--Study for quiz!
Wednesday:
--Begin science fair research. Use your ISP chart!
--Bottom part of science fair timeline signed and returned.
223:
Wednesday:
--Read all science fair documents and write down any questions or concerns you have.
--Bottom portion of science fair timeline signed and returned.
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
Thursday:
--Complete "Parts of an Experiment" worksheet
--Begin science fair research using ISP sheet
225:
Tuesday:
--Read all science fair documents and write down any questions or concerns you have.
--Bottom portion of science fair timeline signed and returned.
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
Wednesday:
--Complete "Parts of an Experiment" worksheet
Thursday:
--Begin science fair research using ISP sheet
8A:
Tuesday:
--Bring in 3 inquiry questions you may want to use for the science fair.
Wednesday:
--Science fair questions due next Tuesday.
--Bottom of science fair timeline signed and returned.
8B:
Thursday
--Science fair inquiry question due next Thursday.
--Review all science fair documents and write down any questions you have about the expectations.
--Bottom of science fair timeline signed and returned.
Monday:
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
--Blog post response due Sunday at 9 p.m. (See last week's homework for details.)
--Lab notes grade signed if you received less than 14/17.
--Quiz Thursday!
Wednesday:
--Complete all lab notes. Please use your Science Notebook Guide to ensure you do the best possible job.
--Study for quiz!
Thursday:
--Begin science fair research. Use your ISP chart!
--Bottom part of science fair timeline signed and returned.
215
Monday:
--Science fair inquiry question due Wednesday
--Blog post response due Sunday at 9 p.m. (See last week's homework for details.)
--Lab notes grade signed if you received less than 14/17.
--Quiz Wednesday!
Tuesday:
--Complete all lab notes. Please use your Science Notebook Guide to ensure you do the best possible job.
--Study for quiz!
Wednesday:
--Begin science fair research. Use your ISP chart!
--Bottom part of science fair timeline signed and returned.
223:
Wednesday:
--Read all science fair documents and write down any questions or concerns you have.
--Bottom portion of science fair timeline signed and returned.
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
Thursday:
--Complete "Parts of an Experiment" worksheet
--Begin science fair research using ISP sheet
225:
Tuesday:
--Read all science fair documents and write down any questions or concerns you have.
--Bottom portion of science fair timeline signed and returned.
--Science fair inquiry question due Thursday
Wednesday:
--Complete "Parts of an Experiment" worksheet
Thursday:
--Begin science fair research using ISP sheet
8A:
Tuesday:
--Bring in 3 inquiry questions you may want to use for the science fair.
Wednesday:
--Science fair questions due next Tuesday.
--Bottom of science fair timeline signed and returned.
8B:
Thursday
--Science fair inquiry question due next Thursday.
--Review all science fair documents and write down any questions you have about the expectations.
--Bottom of science fair timeline signed and returned.
What Does an Engineer Do?
Without engineers, that bridge wouldn't hold weight, those boats wouldn't float, and those buildings wouldn't stay up!
This week, sixth-graders worked on designing bridges, building them, and testing them to see how much weight they could hold. Their work combined scientific methods, creativity, and practical problem-solving. It was a nice introduction into a type of science that many people don't think of or appreciate enough-- engineering.
What does an engineer do? Basically, engineers design and build things that make our lives easier and safer. An engineer is an inventor, a mathematician, and an artist rolled into one career. Some people say that engineers are not really scientists, because a scientist's job is to figure out how the world works, while an engineer's job is to create brand new things for the world. However, I would argue that to be a good engineer, you need to think like a scientist, because scientific thought is all about asking questions and solving problems.
You probably don't spend much time thinking about engineering. Maybe you've never even heard the word before. But if you look around you, almost everything in our world was created by an engineer! Look at it this way-- if nature didn't make it, an engineer did. An engineer designed your apartment building to be strong and sturdy even in terrible weather. An engineer designed the desks you use at school, to make sure they are the right height for you. A chemical engineer made the shampoo you used to wash your hair. Check the label of your shirt-- is it made from a man-made fabric like polyester or acrylic? Those were created by chemical engineers, too. The planes in the sky were made by aerospace engineers, the CTA trains were designed by mechanical engineers, and our electricity is able to travel from the power plant into our homes because of systems designed by electrical engineers. The fact that the highway doesn't crumble under our weight when thousands of cars go over it every day can be attributed to civil engineers, who also design things like bridges and roads.
To learn more about engineering, visit the Discover Engineering site. Be sure to click on "What's Engineering?" to learn more about what it's like to be an engineer as a job. The show Design Squad challenges kids to work in teams as engineers to solve challenges, and you can watch an episode or two here. If you want to improve your engineering skills at home, the PBS show ZOOM has some great design activities you can try out. For information that is more detailed but not as kid-friendly, visit the National Engineers Week Foundation.
Peanut is Famous!
Our beloved class pet, Peanut, has something to be proud of this week-- her species, the leopard gecko, is in the news! Well... their tails are, anyway.
When people first meet Peanut, one of the first questions they ask is why her tail is so funny looking. Her tail may be fat, purple, and generally kind of weird, but it serves a purpose! We already knew that the tail can come off and flop around to distract predators, but recent research has brought out new details. Scientists used a high-speed camera to record exactly how the tail moves. If the tail just moved in a simple back-and-forth pattern, predators would understand that it was a trick, and chase after the poor gecko instead of being distracted by the tail. But it turns out that the tail actually has special neurons (nerve cells) to make its movements more complicated and realistic. Amazing!
Check out the video:
When people first meet Peanut, one of the first questions they ask is why her tail is so funny looking. Her tail may be fat, purple, and generally kind of weird, but it serves a purpose! We already knew that the tail can come off and flop around to distract predators, but recent research has brought out new details. Scientists used a high-speed camera to record exactly how the tail moves. If the tail just moved in a simple back-and-forth pattern, predators would understand that it was a trick, and chase after the poor gecko instead of being distracted by the tail. But it turns out that the tail actually has special neurons (nerve cells) to make its movements more complicated and realistic. Amazing!
Check out the video:
Missed the Science Fair Info Session?
In case you couldn't make it to the Science Fair information session, click here to view the slideshow I presented.
Why Water?
The 8th grade will be beginning the year with a unit on water, and we'll be studying water for about two months! That seems like a long time to learn about something so simple! But there is more to water than meets the eye. In fact, the quest to solve the world's water problems is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century.
You probably remember learning about the water cycle. (If not, here is a quick review.) There is never any new water made on Earth; the same water just loops around and is "recycled" over and over again. This means that water is a finite resource, meaning there is a limited amount of it that is available for us to use. So, it is very important that we take care of the water we have!
"But wait, Ms. Ewing," you may be saying. "When I look at a map, it seems like the whole world is covered with water!" You're right, of course. About 70% of our planet is covered with beautiful water. But 97.5% of it is salt water! We can't drink that! So only 2.5% of the Earth's water is even freshwater, and most of that small amount is frozen in the icecaps at the North Pole and the South Pole. And some of it is trapped as moisture in the soil under our feet, so we can't drink that either. At the end of the day, less than 1% of the water on Earth is available for us to drink. No wonder so many places on Earth are threatened because they don't have enough water.
This is a problem, because we all need water to live! When we don't take care of the water we have, people's lives are at risk. In previous centuries, people didn't know what to do to keep water clean, and in Chicago and other cities many people died from cholera and other diseases spread by unclean water. Now, we have the knowledge and the technology, and yet people all over the world are still sick dying because they can't get safe water. One out of five people in the world population lacks clean water, and 80% of diseases in developing nations comes from unsafe water, killing over 25,000 people every day. Children are especially at risk, because their bodies are still growing and can be vulnerable to these diseases. Click here to see how children in other nations are affected by this issue. Of course, in addition to needing water to drink (a lot-- about 16,000 gallons in your lifetime), we also need it to grow our food and produce goods in our factories. The last time you turned on a faucet, did you ever imagine how important that simple, familiar substance is?
Still want to know more? For a crash course on water, how it works, and why it's so important, visit the U.S. Geological Survey's water information page.
Or, if you think you're a water expert, take this quiz and see how much you really know....
You probably remember learning about the water cycle. (If not, here is a quick review.) There is never any new water made on Earth; the same water just loops around and is "recycled" over and over again. This means that water is a finite resource, meaning there is a limited amount of it that is available for us to use. So, it is very important that we take care of the water we have!
"But wait, Ms. Ewing," you may be saying. "When I look at a map, it seems like the whole world is covered with water!" You're right, of course. About 70% of our planet is covered with beautiful water. But 97.5% of it is salt water! We can't drink that! So only 2.5% of the Earth's water is even freshwater, and most of that small amount is frozen in the icecaps at the North Pole and the South Pole. And some of it is trapped as moisture in the soil under our feet, so we can't drink that either. At the end of the day, less than 1% of the water on Earth is available for us to drink. No wonder so many places on Earth are threatened because they don't have enough water.
This is a problem, because we all need water to live! When we don't take care of the water we have, people's lives are at risk. In previous centuries, people didn't know what to do to keep water clean, and in Chicago and other cities many people died from cholera and other diseases spread by unclean water. Now, we have the knowledge and the technology, and yet people all over the world are still sick dying because they can't get safe water. One out of five people in the world population lacks clean water, and 80% of diseases in developing nations comes from unsafe water, killing over 25,000 people every day. Children are especially at risk, because their bodies are still growing and can be vulnerable to these diseases. Click here to see how children in other nations are affected by this issue. Of course, in addition to needing water to drink (a lot-- about 16,000 gallons in your lifetime), we also need it to grow our food and produce goods in our factories. The last time you turned on a faucet, did you ever imagine how important that simple, familiar substance is?
Still want to know more? For a crash course on water, how it works, and why it's so important, visit the U.S. Geological Survey's water information page.
Or, if you think you're a water expert, take this quiz and see how much you really know....
Homework for the Week of 9-8-09
213:
Wednesday: Parent letter signed, lab safety contract signed, scientific method practice worksheet.
Thursday: Anti-venom article-- read and respond to questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Friday: Lab safety rule drawing (choose one and illustrate it).
215:
Tuesday: Parent letter signed, lab safety contract signed, scientific method practice worksheet.
Wednesday: Anti-venom article-- read and respond to questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Friday: Lab safety rule drawing (choose one and illustrate it).
223:
Wednesday: Read "Who was Isaac Newton?" and answer questions. Parent contact letter and lab safety contract signed.
Thursday: Read article: "Finding a Scapegoat When Epidemics Strike" and respond to questions.
Friday: "Back to Newton's Cradle" worksheet.
225:
Tuesday: Read "Who was Isaac Newton?" and answer questions. Parent contact letter and lab safety contract signed.
Wednesday: Read article: "Finding a Scapegoat When Epidemics Strike" and respond to questions.
Thursday: "Back to Newton's Cradle" worksheet.
8A:
Tuesday: Read "Why Water?" blog post and post a comment in response. Your response must:
Wednesday: Read article, "Bottled Water Boom Appears Tapped Out" and answer questions. Blog post comment due next class period! (See above.)
8B:
Thursday: Read "Why Water?" blog post and post a comment in response. Your response must:
Friday: Read article, "Bottled Water Boom Appears Tapped Out" and answer questions. Blog post comment due next class period! (See above.)
Wednesday: Parent letter signed, lab safety contract signed, scientific method practice worksheet.
Thursday: Anti-venom article-- read and respond to questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Friday: Lab safety rule drawing (choose one and illustrate it).
215:
Tuesday: Parent letter signed, lab safety contract signed, scientific method practice worksheet.
Wednesday: Anti-venom article-- read and respond to questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Friday: Lab safety rule drawing (choose one and illustrate it).
223:
Wednesday: Read "Who was Isaac Newton?" and answer questions. Parent contact letter and lab safety contract signed.
Thursday: Read article: "Finding a Scapegoat When Epidemics Strike" and respond to questions.
Friday: "Back to Newton's Cradle" worksheet.
225:
Tuesday: Read "Who was Isaac Newton?" and answer questions. Parent contact letter and lab safety contract signed.
Wednesday: Read article: "Finding a Scapegoat When Epidemics Strike" and respond to questions.
Thursday: "Back to Newton's Cradle" worksheet.
8A:
Tuesday: Read "Why Water?" blog post and post a comment in response. Your response must:
- be a paragraph of at least 8 sentences
- reference at least two facts from the post or one of the links
- mention something you found interesting from one of the links
- include a personal opinion you feel in response to the post or one of the links, or a classmate's post
- have correct grammar and spelling
- be signed with your first name only
Wednesday: Read article, "Bottled Water Boom Appears Tapped Out" and answer questions. Blog post comment due next class period! (See above.)
8B:
Thursday: Read "Why Water?" blog post and post a comment in response. Your response must:
- be a paragraph of at least 8 sentences
- reference at least two facts from the post or one of the links
- mention something you found interesting from one of the links
- include a personal opinion you feel in response to the post or one of the links, or a classmate's post
- have correct grammar and spelling
- be signed with your first name only
Friday: Read article, "Bottled Water Boom Appears Tapped Out" and answer questions. Blog post comment due next class period! (See above.)
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