8th Grade:
Working with atomic structure currently. We have spent several class periods learning about protons, neutrons, and electons. We have also spent some time learning about the scientists that were involved in coming up with the atomic theory. We have made electron cloud diagrams and haveworked with different isotopes of elements to understand how the number of protons and neutrons make this up. The students had also worked with the different states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma) and learned what happens when molecules speed up or slow down. They also discussed the different phase changes and what they are called. We will soon be learning about the periodic table.
7th: Right now it is all about photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and mitosis. The 7y class recently did claymation videos of mitosis and the 7ph class will be making videos next week. We talked a lot about how animals and plants give each other what they need to survive. Examples include: photosynthesis creating oxygen and glucose by using water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide with carbon dioxide and water coming from animals. We have done a lot with internet activities to help further our understanding of this.
6th: Boats, Boats, Boats! We have worked with boats for some time now and have discovered how they hold more passengers. They get BIGGER! We also spent some time working with density and did an internet activity (that I thought was amazing) to help understand how things float and sink. They really seemed to get a grasp of how things with large volumes and smaller masses float and things with large masses and smaller volumes sink. Ask them about what they learned.