5/29-6/1
Last day of science will be 6/1. We are continuing to work on engineering.
5/21-5/25
We have concluded engineering bridges. We will continue understanding the
engineering process and
applying it to different challenges each day. In addition we will be doing a
semester review of
concepts, examine the scientific method, and brush up on our experimental design.
5/14-5/18
We continue to engineer bridges. There will be a test on Bridges on Friday of
this week. Students have
been reviewing daily as part of class but should continue to review at home too.
4/30 - 5/4
On Monday students have a required assignment they were given on Thursday.
Students must
calculate how many gallons their shower uses. We went over this in depth in
class and modeled
how this experiment would look. We will also continue to learn about energy
and begin
engineering.
Test 4/26 and 4/27 on waves.
In class we have finished up our presentations about light waves and finished
a sound wave webquest. We will be finishing wave interference and seismic
waves in our book and doing a review before the test next Thursday and Friday.
4/9-4/13
Test Monday on force and motion. Students reviewed as part of class projects
last week but extra review should have taken place at home. We modeled in
class how that may look and strategies for studying. We will do a webquest on
Monday and Tuesday about sound and then we will move on to learn about waves.
Students will use a simulated virtual environment to create a presentation
about light. Work will be done in class unless a student is behind because
they did not use their time appropriately.
4/2-4/6
This week we will be learning about force. Expect a test next Monday on force
and gravity. Students did get a new packet to work from. We are working on it
in class.
3/12-3/16
SCIENCE TEST NEXT TUESDAY 3/20
We are working on motion, reference point, and acceleration. As part of our
labs we are building go carts. A test will occur some time before spring
break. We have a few more labs and review to complete before we are ready for
a test.
2/27 - 3/2
We have been learning about changes in the state of matter. We have done a lab
each day this week that ties into the reading done in class. We have also been
filling out our guided reading packet. Students should be reviewing concepts
nightly. There is a text next Wednesday, February 29. Students have been aware
of it all week, and we have continued to talk about ways to review for the test.
2/20-2/24
This week we are working on states of matter. This will take us approximately
two weeks to complete. Students can start reviewing for a test on this unit
right away by practicing a little every night.
2/13-2/17
Students have been aware of the test that is coming on Wednesday and Thursday
on describing matter. We have been reviewing in class. Students also logged in
to the online text and did go to the online study guide and self quiz, so I
know they all can find it again. Sample problems have also been done in class.
1/30 - 2/3
We will be starting measuring matter. We will be doing our density lab where
students will determine mass and volume and use their results to calculate
density. We will also learn about conservation of mass.
We discussed in class what safety goggles are appropriate. All safety
contracts must be handed in, in order to do a lab.
Vocabulary is all new for this chapter and students will have to review
frequently for the first test even though we take time to review daily in class.
1/24 - 1/27
Welcome to second semester! We will be starting our Chemistry Unit on
Introduction to Matter(describing matter, measuring matter and changes in
matter). Students will be given an online version of the textbook. In
addition, hard copy text books are in the library available to check out. In
addition to books, students will receive a helpful packet that summarizes our
reading and labs done in class. Each day as part of class students will review
material as part of instruction, but studying outside of class will be
required to be proficient with these rigorous science standards.
1/16-1/20
There will be a test on engineering bridges on Thursday, January 19. Students
are aware of this and have been reviewing for the last week in class and
hopefully at home too. There are two sections to the test. Section one has
students name the seven types of bridges studied in class. In addition,
students must know the following vocabulary:
dead load, pier, span, deck, tower, anchor, and abutment. Section two is about
Engineering. Students will need to identify the impact a bridge has on the
life for humans, describe how bridges make lives more productive, describe the
trade offs in using different materials to make bridges in terms of
performance, durability and cost. Key terms students need to know in section
two are: force, compression, tension, torsion, shearing, buckle, stress,
engineer, keystone, barrier, and materials. Semester one ends on Friday.
Second semester students will not have science but instead will have social
studies with Ms. Steinkraus.
1/9-1/13
We are continuing to work on engineering bridges. The test will be the week of
January 20th. I have not determined which day yet. Students have been given
vocabulary and concepts and taken notes in class. It is acceptable and
encouraged that students begin studying for the test now. There are two
sections to the test. Section one has students name the seven types of bridges
studied in class. In addition, students must know the following vocabulary:
dead load, pier, span, deck, tower, anchor, and abutment. Section two is about
Engineering. Students will need to identify the impact a bridge has on the
life for humans, describe how bridges make lives more productive, describe the
trade offs in using different materials to make bridges in terms of
performance, durability and cost. Key terms students need to know in section
two are: force, compression, tension, torsion, shearing, buckle, stress,
engineer, keystone, barrier, and materials.
1/3-1/6
About half of the students completed the brochures on conduction, convection,
and radiation. If your child did not finish they will need to work on it over
break. They had an opportunity during the afternoon of 12/22 in addition to
the 1.5 hours of work time provided in class on 12/21.
After break we will begin learning about engineering bridges.
12/19-12/22
STUDENTS WILL HAVE 30 MINUTES TO WORK ON THEIR PRESENTATIONS ON MONDAY.
Most
students are very close to being done. We will finish up with light and then
study conduction, convection, and radiation this week. There will be no
switches on Thursday.
12/12 - 12/16
Yes, there is a test on Monday. We reviewed all of last week in preparation of
the knowledge base test Monday. Tuesday is an application based test. Review
will be done in class on Monday. After studying waves we will understand more
about light.
12/5-12/9
We have been learning about sound waves. This has been a great springboard for
learning more about waves and energy in general. Students should be reviewing
objectives covered in class nightly to make studying for the test easier. I am
hoping to give the wave test the beginning of next week, hopefully Monday, but
will need to continue to monitor progress. Last Friday we worked on a webquest
in class for the entire science block. Students continue to develop their
stamina in directing their own learning. If students were off task they had
homework over the weekend. It is not typical to have "homework" but given the
lack of using class time well some students may have to finish their webquest
outside of the school day. If your child finished their webquest and started
the next assignment, please praise them abundantly for their effort! They did
exactly what was expected :-)
11/28-12/2
We will begin learning about waves and sound. In class readings, labs, and
activities will support learning.
11/14=11/18
We will continue working with motion, force, and friction. There is a test on
force and motion next Monday. 20 questions. Vocabulary tested is as follows:
newtons
mass
friction
force
acceleration
weight
inertia
Isaac Newton
gravity
direction
velocity
spring
In addition to review done by students at home, we review each day in class.
Students have started to star key terms in their packet to focus their studies.
11/7 - 11/11
No school on Monday. We are working on Models and Designs this week again.
We will be
constructing go-carts.
10/31-11/4
This is the last week of the quarter. All late/missing assignments are due by
Thursday to make sure
we are able to get a grade entered. We will continue working on models and
designs this week and
the students will be working on creating their Hum-dinger. Students need to
engineer a machine
that hums and dings when you pull on a string. They will be sharing their
inventions with the class.
There is no school next Monday for teacher workshops.
10/24 - 10/28
We will be learning about a little engineering this week. Students will have
hands-on activities to
create paper airplanes, designing prototypes, and developing plans. They will
also be creating a
paper box to hold books, again creating a prototype, etc. This should be a
really fun week.
10/17 - 10/21
This is a short week due to Fall Break. We only have science for two days.
We will be reviewing for
our test on Monday and taking the Motion and Speed on Tuesday. Next week we
will begin
investigating engineering. There will be lots of hands on activities.
10/10 - 10/14
We are starting a new unit on speed and acceleration. Students are learning
to calculate average
speed and acceleration. We also completed a lab called "Stopping on a Dime".
We were testing
reaction times of different activities and students used their data to analyze
and make calculations.
We will have our test next Tuesday on the Speed and Motion Unit. We do not
have science switches
on Friday because of our field trip to the Capitol.
10/3 - 10/7
We will take what we learned last week and we will learn how to graph gas
behavior. Students will
then be completing a lab called "It's a Gas" where they will complete a data
table and then graph
their results. We will have our Chapter 2 Test this week on Thursday.
9/26 - 9/30
This week begins our Chapter on Solids, Liquids and Gases. Students are
learning about the
different states of matter, what happens during changes between states of
matter and we will look at
gas behavior. Students will be learning about Boyle's Law and Charles Law.
We will have a quiz on
vocabulary and the first sections of this chapter on Friday.
9/19-9/23
We will continue working on our first Chemistry Unit of matter by looking at
energy and matter.
Students will learn about the six forms of energy. We will have several class
activities and
demonstrating energy and energy transformations. Our first Chemistry test is
this Friday.
9/12 -9/16
We will be starting our Chemistry Unit on an Introduction to Matter
(describing matter, measuring
matter and changes in matter). We will be doing our density lab where students
will determine mass
and volume and use their results to calculate density. We will also learn
about conservation of mass.
We discussed in class what safety goggle are appropriate. All safety contracts
must be handed in, in
order to do a lab. Vocabulary is all new for this chapter and students will
really have to study quite a
bit for the first test. Our first big test will be on Friday of next week.
September 6-9
Monday: Holiday
Tuesday: First day of school no switches
Wednesday: Possibility thinking, safety contract due by Friday, September 9.
Thursday: History and Nature of Science
Friday: Contract due, graphing and analysis