Feb 21-25: Earth's Changes (Fast & Slow)

It's been a long, but fun week in 8th grade science. Here's what we've been doing:

Monday - Finish fossils notes (p8). Use the rest of the time to make up anything students may need to.
Tuesday - Slow & Fast Changes of the Earth (p9 - we watched some pretty awesome clips showing lava flows, mudslides, glacier calving, etc. - pretty impressive stuff).
Wednesday - Finish p9 & Candy Quakes Lab (p10 - it must be good if it involves smashing candybars as thought they were tectonic plates).
Thursday - Collection of Superhero picture, research, & superhero persona sheet for student led conferences.
Thursday & Friday - In the Shadow of Vesuvius (movie about one of the world's most famous volcanoes and the people who lived, and who live there).

Next week (around Tuesday) we will have our geology unit final - please encourage your students to study, study, study!

Feb 14-18: Fossils & Misc. Stuff

This has been a really strange week... we had a lot of assemblies, schedule changes, and testing.

Monday - Recognition Assembly 3rd period, Figurative Language Valentines 4th period, & continued heart assembly 5th period.
Tuesday - Start fossil notes p8 (honor's assembly during 5th)
Wednesday - Fossils & playdough activity - students made impressions of plastic toy animals in play dough, swapped teams, and then had to figure out what animal the fossils were depicting.
Thursday - Directed Writing Assessment (persuasive essay writing state test)
Friday - Finish superhero pictures

Feb. 7-11: Erosion, Geologic Column, & Hearts

February 1-14 is national "Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week." To be honest, I wouldn't know much about this, except that I work closely with another faculty member who has a son who was born with a major heart defect. She's a great mom who has made it a goal to help others recognize that these problems exist. We're going to have a "Heart Assembly" on Friday where Mrs. Dowdle and Mr. Shaw (both 8th grade science teachers) will talk about their kids who were born under extreme circumstances. I think the kids will find it fascinating - I sure do. Then, during our upcoming Rise and Stretch, I'll be performing a deer heart dissection, thanks to one of the students on our team who donated it for the good of science! (Again... that's a DEER heart, not the student's heart). To learn more about "Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week", click here.

Other than heart stuff, we're still plowing in to our geology unit.

Monday - Stream (Erosion) Table Observation p6 (students watch weathering, erosion, and deposition in real time!).
Tuesday - Relative Dating & Geologic Column Notes p7 (we learned about how usually older layers of rock are near the bottom of the column, and younger are near the top. However, folding and faulting can play tricks on us if we don't look for them carefully!).
Wednesday - Review and take R&S Quiz on Rock Types & Rock Cycle (igneous... sedimentary... metamorphic)
Thursday - Finish Geologic Column Notes p7 (forces between Earth's plates: compressional, tensional, & transversal).
Friday - Heart Assembly during 3rd, 5th & 6th (excused from 6th - but still need to get the work). Because of how it's worked out, students will come back to class during 4th and work on their superhero mineral drawing.

Jan 31 - Feb 4: Rocks & Superheros

This quarter's research project has focused on minerals. Students researched a particular mineral and made a superhero based on their mineral's properties. Many of the minerals have some very interesting properties - some glow, some double in size when they get wet, some have incredible strength, etc. Perfect stuff for making up a superhero persona. They will be coloring a picture of their superhero (or supervillian if that's how your student rolls), and will also be writing a creative short story in English to go along with it. This is a fun activity because our 8th grade teams are all named for superheros - we're the Spiderman Team.

Monday - Rocks & Minerals Movie (I got sick... and had a sub).
Tuesday - Mineral Research
Wednesday - Chocolate Rocks lab (students looked at melted chocolate and rice krispy treats and made comparisons to real igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks).
Thursday & Friday - Earth's Surface Notes p5 (students learned more about specific processes for making a sedimentary rock: weathering, erosion, deposition, & cementation).

Jan 19-21: Rock Types & the Rock Cycle

Only 3 days, but lots of information this week!

Monday & Tuesday - NO SCHOOL!!!
Wednesday - Start rock type notes p3. How are igneous rocks formed? What are the 2 types of igneous rocks and how are they different from one another?
Thursday - Finish rock type notes p3. How are metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks formed?
Friday - Rock Cycle pg3 - How are rocks changed from one type to another?

Students will be looking at a lot of samples of rocks this week - please emphasize along with me the importance of being careful with the rocks that we'll be handling. If you have any cool rocks at home, it would be great to see some from "the field."

Jan 10-14: Minerals

Yes, we are nerds.

We've started a new unit - yay!!! We're moving on to geology (geo = Earth/rocks, -ology = study of). Some people may find rocks boring, but I actually really like geology. It's fascinating to me how the Earth formed all the amazing differences in rocks and structures that we can observe. Utah is a great place for studying geology - so many cool things to see (too bad we don't live closer to Moab...). Might I suggest Arches National Park as a fabulous place to go over spring break (that's where my family always went) - and your students should be able to tell you all sorts of cool things about the rocks found there. The pictures are of myself and my husband while we were dating a few years ago - ah Moab... how romantic!

To begin with, we're starting with the building blocks of rocks - MINERALS! Students will learn how we determine which mineral is which, and what tests help us to differentiate them.

An uncanny likeness, I think...

Monday - Take out important notes from old folder and make new geology notebook. There are some students who need to buy a new folder (I warned them at the beginning of the year to protect and take good care of their folders, but many didn't listen). I would prefer it if they got folders that are the same color as the one's given to the whole class (3rd - red, 4th - blue, 5th - yellow). They need to be thin and be able to put in three hole punched papers.

Tuesday - Begin mineral notes (p1) - what is a mineral, a rock, a crystal... etc.

Wednesday - Finish notes (p1) and practice performing mineral tests.

Thursday - Discover a mineral lab (p2) - students will perform tests to identify 6 unknown minerals.

Friday - Begin rock cycle notes (p3).. you remember... igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic :)

We will not have school Monday Jan 17th because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Plus... no school on Tuesday for teacher-finalizing-second-quarter-grades day (I think there's a more official term for it, but that's the best I can do).

Jan 3-7: Endangered Animal Presentations & Make-Up Work

Ok, ok... I know I've been a bad blogger this last month. It's been a little crazy.

For those of you who don't know - I'm expecting our first baby this April, and found out on Christmas that it's a GIRL!!! Many of your students have been very "helpful" in picking out names for our baby girl. I hope they aren't too disappointed should I decide not to use "Scooby."

Last month we finished up our ecology unit. Students did a lot of research on an endangered species, and wrote a persuasive paper about whether or not to protect it. I hope they learned something about human impacts on the environment and how complicated it can be when we try to make changes concerning the use of habitats.

We took our ecology final just before Christmas, and I was very pleased with how almost everyone did. Every class had an average score in the B range, which is awesome! As a reward, we made ice cream on the last day of class before Christmas Break (a mess, but very fun).

This week we've been busy giving short presentations about the animal that they researched. Soon we will be getting rid of all our ecology stuff and we'll soon start on geology topics.

As a note to parents - I'm offering extra credit to students who can help me with some lab supplies. I have some great activities planned, but getting the materials can be costly. Spreading out the cost among about 100 students makes the burden much easier. So here's what I need within the next few weeks:

• Chocolate, white, and butterscotch chips 
• Fun sized candy bars (not solid chocolate or peanut butter cups - things like Snickers, Kit Kat, etc., something with stuff inside).

Thank you for your support!

Nov. 22-24: Energy & Ecosystems

This week we'll be discussing energy flow through ecosystems.

Monday - Energy in Ecosystems
Tuesday - Ecology Vocab & Model Notes
Wednesday - Animal Book Research

We will also be having rise and stretch on Wednesday, so students who got less than 75% on the chemistry final will need to retake that test on that day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I'm thankful for my job!
I'm thankful for the good days and the good students!
I'm thankful for the times when they make me laugh!
I'm thankful to go home at the end of the day!

Nov. 15-19 : Finishing Chemistry, Animal Research, and Energy!!!

We've done a lot this week!

Monday - Chemistry final review... properties, changes, phases, reactions...
Tuesday - Final Chemistry Exam (40 questions of pure terror!)
Wednesday - New Folder Pages (nope, not new folders, just new insides)
Thursday - Endangered Animal Research (beginning the research project for this term on an endangered species. Students will be working on this in conjunction with English to produce a persuasive essay about whether or not the species they researched is worth protecting.)
Friday - Categorizing Types of Energy (pg7)

Thanks for a fabulous week!

Nov. 8-12: State Testing, Wiki & Chemical Reactions

It's kind of a crazy week with some state testing we have going on... I'm sure the kids can tell you all about it.

Last Friday - (3rd Period) State testing survey and interest inventory. And chemical reaction notes (pg14).
Monday - (4th period) English and math state testing. And chemical reaction notes (pg14).
Tuesday - (5th period) Reading and science state testing. And chemical reaction notes (pg14).
Wednesday - Finish the Wiki day. This is it! The last chance to get this done!
Thursday - Chemical Reactions Review.
Friday - Chemistry Review (Big Test on all things chemistry on Monday)

There we have it. A fun, busy week ahead of us.

Nov. 1-5: Phase Change Graphs & Chemical Reactions

This week we're finishing talking about phase changes and moving on to some specific chemical reactions.

Monday - No school
Tuesday - Discuss phase change graph of water (pg 18)
Wednesday - Review matter notes and phase changes
Thursday - R&S quiz (matter & phase changes) & start chemical reactions

Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are going to be weird days since students will be doing some state testing (EXPLORE). On Friday students will take a survey as part of the test in 3rd period and then will spend the rest of the pod time in 3rd period. On Monday students will take another part of the test and stay in 4th period, and on Tuesday they will stay in 5th period. That way, all students get the testing done, and get about 55min. of class time in each core class (science, history, and English).

In science for those 3 days, students will be finishing the chemical reaction notes and we'll do ... something else... that's totally awesome...

Oct 18-22: Matter and Research

Here's what's on docket for this week!

Monday - R&S Quiz on Physical & Chemical Changes
Tuesday - Matter Notes (pg17)

Wednesday - Boiling and Melting Point Lab (pg18)
Thursday & Friday - Substance research in the library (computers)

We postponed our Rise and Stretch activity this week because of training for many of the teachers on Wednesday. So... instead we'll be having Rise and Stretch next Monday. I'm particularly excited about this one, because my husband who is an RN will be here with some other nurses to introduce the students to some cool medical stuff. They'll be demonstrating CPR, Hymlich, how to take a blood pressure, and how to wash your hands properly (which will definitely come in handy this flu season). I'm excited to have them come and share some useful skills with those who can come to the stretch activity.

Thanks for checking in!

EXTRA CREDIT: What molecule is in the bubbles formed at the bottom of the beaker in the picture of boiling water? Post your answer in a comment for extra credit.

Oct 11-13: Chemical Change Lab & Intro to Research

Another short week....

Monday - Chemical Change Lab
Tuesday & Wednesday - Book research in library about a substance
Thursday & Friday - FALL BREAK!!!

Oct 4-8: Physical and Chemical CHANGES

Now that students have mastered the physical and chemical property part of the curriculum, they get to move on to how those properties change.

EXTRA CREDIT - What is this a picture of? Post a comment!

Monday - Physical and Chemical change notes (back of pg 11)
Tuesday - Demonstrations pg15 (students looked at 5 different substances and how they behave when mixed and burned... which is why I did this, and they just watched)
Wednesday - Finish up lab and notes

Thursday - Matter HW
Friday - Grading stuff... yay...

It seems like this has been our first full week of school in a really long time... I'm not sure I'm used to it.

Sept 27-30: Finishing Phys/Chem Properties

We're done with the properties part now, and will be going onto physical and chemical changes!

Monday - We finished pg 11 in their notebooks and talked some of the more "different" physical properties like; malleability, ductility, solubility, the phases of matter, mass, weight, & density, etc.

Tuesday - The day for the much anticipated cornstarch lab. Good times. Hopefully your student had a good time getting a little messy and learning about a very interesting substance with some pretty cool properties at the same time.

Wednesday - R&S Quiz on physical and chemical properties. Actually they only took the quiz for the last few minutes of class. Most of the class we played a review game involving bean bags, four square, and hot potato... it got a little crazy, but it seemed to work since most kids passed the test!

Thursday - Finish matter vocab pg 10. We'll get in a quick review of atoms and how they work before we get into physical and chemical changes so that when we talk about H2O they remember what we're talking about. Funny how they forget things like that. Do you remember when you learned what H2O was? I don't... it's one of those things that it seems like you've always known, but there must be some point where you learn it, right? Maybe it was 8th grade science.

Friday - NOOOOO SCHOOOOOL!!! Since it's student led conference week, you can thank your teachers for wanting a teacher comp day at the end of the week. Enjoy your time off!

Extra Credit: Post a comment describing the physical and chemical properties of YOU!

Sept 20-27: Physical & Chemical Properties

This week we will be looking at the physical and chemical properties of some common substances. We'll review some stuff from 7th grade about matter (p10) - then jump into physical and chemical properties and changes notes (p11). Then we'll do a fun activity with candy, and something with cornstarch, some easy chemical reactions.

On Wednesday, we'll have our first rise and stretch activity day. If your students didn't pass the 3 quizzes given in science, history, and English, with a 75% or higher, then they will be retaught and re-quizzed during Rise on Wednesday. If they passed all three classes, they will get the opportunity to go to a stretch activity... I'm thinking of doing more with bubbles, since our bubble lab was so fun!

Thanks for all your help and support so far. Please be keeping up on your student's grade with Skyward (I have completed the first grading of their notebooks, so you should be seeing more "stuff" in there than the safety contract now).

Sept 13-17 : R&S Quiz & Physical & Chemical Changes

We finished up our unit on the scientific method this week. We analyzed and discussed the famous experiment of Alexander Fleming who discovered the antibiotic effects of penicillin. Then we spent Tuesday reviewing for our rise and stretch quiz which we took on Wednesday. If your student was absent they will need to make it up ASAP (they need a score before next Wednesday when we do our rise & stretch activities).

Thursday and Friday we spent reading about the first state 8th grade science core standard - chemistry! They read about physical and chemical properties, and changes. Plus more about energy and how it changes in chemical reactions. This was just a quick overview of what we'll be discussing more in depth over the next few weeks (the rest of the quarter actually). They filled out pg9 for this assignment.

REMINDER - The first homework assignment (designing and performing an experiment), is due Tuesday, 9-21. This will be their portfolio item for this class during student led conferences.

Sept 7-10 : Scientific Method

This week we will be reviewing the scientific method! We will be doing our first lab, so if your child hasn't turned in their safety contract they will not be participating... please check Skyward.

Monday - No School - Labor Day!!!

Tuesday - Scientific Method Notes - pg5 (should be completed today).

Wednesday - Variables practice pg6 (should be done by Friday)

Thursday - Bubbles Lab

Friday - Discussion and finish things up.

Our essential questions this week (what they should be able to answer by the end) are:
1. What is science?
2. How am I a scientist? Who can be a scientist?
3. How do you set up a good experiment?

EXTRA CREDIT: Post a comment explaining why the figure in the picture is not representative of a scientist. Make sure you put your name and period.

First Days of 2010-2011 School Year

Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Aug. 26-27

Welcome to 8th grade science!!!

I really really really really enjoyed teaching 8th grade last year, and I'm looking forward to another great year with a group of new students.

First a few announcements:
1. Back to School Night is next Wed. (Sept. 1) at 5:45. Everyone will start in the auditorium then you will go through each of your student's classrooms to meet with each teacher. We ask that you stick to the schedule which you wll be given.
2. Students will be bringing home a letter for you that describes what we're doing in class.
3. Probably the most important part of this letter will be the description of the folder (YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY ONE - IT WILL BE PROVIDED). This folder will contain ALL of their work for the quarter, so it is imperitive that they don't lose it, and that they treat it well.

And I think that's it on announcements - yay!

On the first day students made up -ology definitions. We discussed how biology, geology, psychology, etc. all simply mean "the study of..." life, rocks, the mind, etc. So they were assigned to make up their own -ology word and definition that describes something that they think is awesome. I've seen quite a few musicology, footballology, danceology, and many more (even more creative). I think it's a fun way to bring science terminology to something they already enjoy.

On Friday Aug 27th we'll finish our -ology papers, and we will be voting for our team name for the Superhero Pod. We'll see which superhero we'll end up with... (I hope it's Spiderman)

June 1: LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!!

Believe it or not, teachers are probably more excited for the summer break than the students are. I can't believe we've made it through a whole year of school! Here's what we're doing this last week:

Monday - Memorial Day (No school)
Tuesday - Test complex machines (should be completed and will be graded)
Wednesday - Cleaning, softball game, memory books
Thursday - Activities, more memory book signing
Friday - I won't be here, so don't even think about coming

All grades will be in by Tuesday after school.

Thanks for a fabulous year!!!