Grade 5: Week of January 30th to February 3rd

On Monday we saw a wonderful presentation on Shakespeare, put on by the Burning Coal Theater. This meant that 5C will receive their Newton's Laws Nine Weeks test on Tuesday. 5B and 5A have already received theirs. If students made below 77%, they will retake the Nine Weeks test on Wednesday for a maximum retest grade of 77%, or C. Students will receive a review sheet on landforms either Tuesday or Wednesday, and will begin making their land form model on Wednesday or Thursday. Students will need to make a draft of the land forms they want to represent for their regions before making their 3D model. The regions they can choose from are ocean, desert, plains, and mountains. We have already made up a chart showing all of the possible land forms that may be in each region.

Homework:

Monday night: restudy for the Newton's Laws Nine Weeks test (those below 77% only)

Tuesday night: restudy for the Newton's Laws Nine Weeks test, front page of the land forms review sheet

Wednesday night: all of the review sheet (if not already finished)

Thursday night: draft showing land forms for the 3D land form project

Grade 6: Week of January 30th to February 3rd

Students made great models of plate boundaries on Monday and explained how their subduction, sea floor spreading, or mountain building models worked. I was quite impressed by the depth of many explanations. This week we will learn about earthquakes and vocabulary associated with earthquakes such as: Ring of Fire, fault, epicenter, seismic wave, Richter scale, and tsunami. Students will draw diagrams, read, do a study guide, and watch short video clips to explore the exciting world of earthquakes.

A number of students have not turned in their introductory letter or Science fee of $5.00. Please have your child do this as soon as you can. Thank you.

Homework for the week:

Tuesday: Pg. 423 Review #1, 3, 4, 5
Wednesday: pg. 423 Reflect #1-3
Thursday: Finish the plate tectonics study guide - definitions and certain pictures (words to be written in agenda)

Grade 8: Week of January 30th to February 3rd

Grade 8s did very well on their Property of Matter Tests! They will receive them back on Tuesday due to the amount of students needing to still take the test.

We will begin our chapter on the Periodic table. Students will learn how to interpret this table based on the families, valence electrons in the outer shell, and amount of electron shells. I will teach students using power points and then they will practice in class and have homework on the day's lesson. Students may go to the website www.middleschoolscience.com, click on the Chemistry link and then scroll down to the Periodic Table for resources used in class. Under the periodic section, the following power point presentations and interactive sites are useful:

• PPT: Coloring the Periodic Table Families

• PPT: Determining Shells and Valence Electrons

• PPT: How to Draw Bohr Diagrams

• PPT: How to Draw Lewis Structures

  • The Visual Elements Periodic Table: Wonderful graphics!!! Provides chemical data for each element.

    Homework for the week is as follows:

    Monday: finish the Property of Matter lab

    Tuesday: Pg. 265 Reflect; find the atomic number, isotope, and symbol of Sodium, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, Phosphorus, and Lead.

    Wednesday: Pg. 265 Review; Draw the electron shells and nucleus of Helium, Magnesium, Neon, and Calcium

    Thursday: Pg. 272 Review, Reflect #1, Draw a Lewis Dot Diagram of Lithium, Titanium, Nitrogen, Argon, and Calcium

Grade 5: Week of January 23rd to 27th

Our unit on Newton's Laws is coming to a close. We will review on Monday and then have the Newton's Laws Nine Weeks Test on Tuesday. We then begin our new unit, landforms, on Wednesday. Reading, drawing, classifying, and then creating a model of landforms in a region will allow students to learn about landforms in a variety of ways. We will first read about landforms, draw their pictures/symbols, and give an example of where they are found. Then we will classify landforms according to the regions of desert, ocean, plains, and mountains. Early next week students will create a model of landforms in a region with clay, cardboard, and other materials. Students will need to purchase their own clay and should bring in markers and pencil crayons.

Homework for the week: Students may bring in clay with their name at any time this week or Monday of next week, and any cardboard too

Monday night: study for the Newton's Laws Nine Weeks Test

Tuesday night: bring home mini letter about clay (presented as a handout or written in the agenda with my signature).

Wednesday night: Competitive Edge pg. 193 #1-3; write 5 landforms you can find in North Carolina

Thursday night: Competitive Edge pg. 193-194 #6,7,8

Grade 6: Week of January 23rd to 27th

This week students will continue to examine how plates move through the theories of Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics. We will first examine evidence for continental drift and write down the evidence in the form of a web and then through a student inquiry activity where students piece together the continents and discover the evidence themselves. We will observe how convection cells move plates through a lab where we heat up food coloring and water. This models how magma rises and sinks underneath the plates. Our final topic for the week is the three types of plate boundaries: convergent/mountain building, subduction zones, and divergent/sea floor spreading. Students will need to bring in clay to make a model of one of the boundaries with their group. If students have any cardboard at home to bring in that is appreciated as well.

Homework for the week:

Monday night: Pg. 416 questions Review #1-4

Tuesday night: Pg. 416 questions Reflect #1-4; finish continental drift evidence if not finished

Wednesday night: Study guide definitions and pictures of the first column of vocabulary words on pg. 439 (lithosphere to plates); bring in clay if ready (and cardboard if you have it)

Thursday night: Bring in clay (and cardboard)

Grade 8: Week of January 23rd to 27th

Students did really well overall on their small Chemistry test. This week students will test the properties of matter from boiling point to density. We will finish our study guide chart on Monday so that students can study it in preparation for a small test on the Properties of Matter Friday. On Tuesday and Wednesday students will be in stations exploring the properties of matter. They will receive a review sheet on Wednesday, we will go over it on Thursday, and students will have a small test on Friday.

Homework for the week:

Monday night: 1. Study the study guide chart, testing yourself, and making flash cards as necessary 2. bring in materials for the lab such as magnets, vinegar, baking soda, alkaseltzer, menthos, Coca cola.

Tuesday night: 1. Finish up any lab questions of the stations you visited. 2. study the study guide chart *If requested I will give the grade 8s the review sheet to complete early because of Middle school basketball games on Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday night: 1. Complete all lab station questions. 2. Complete Part A - vocabulary section of the review sheet (we will do the rest in class). *Students who are in tutoring on Wednesday will have my support to complete as much of the review sheet as possible.

Thursday night: Study for the Properties of Matter test using the review sheet and study guide.

Grade 5: Week of January 18th to 20th

Welcome back grade 5s! Unfortunately due to the exam schedule we did not have as much time together as usual. However, this week we are in full action! Students will receive back their Newtons Laws Test. We will mark the Nine Weeks Review, continue to learn about simple machines, and review. Students have the Nine Weeks Test on Newton's Laws this Tuesday.

Homework for this week:

Wednesday night: See the Chapter 6 Review answer key to study for the Nine Weeks Test
Thursday night: Simple machines review sheet - no test on simple machines but this material will be tested on the Nine Weeks Test

Grade 6: Week of January 18th to 20th

I am looking foward to seeing all Grade 6s in Science! Parents and students, please expect an introductory letter on Thursday welcoming you to Science which will explain expectations and grading. This semester will be a very exciting one filled with adventures, exploration, and research. We will learn about space, soil, earthquakes, rocks, and photosynthesis. This term students will study all aspects of space from the moon, to the planets, to the universe itself. Students will choose a planet to investigate and present on it to prepare for a visit from the Planetarium in April. We will examine the rock cycle, soil, and plants during spring and then plant a garden to incorporate our knowledge. Our first unit deals with plate tectonics and the study of earthquakes!

Homework for the week:

Wednesday: complete homework on safety symbols in the Grade 6 Science textbook

Thursday night: parents read and sign the introductory letter; complete diagram of the core of the earth

Grade 8: Week of January 18th to 20th

Welcome back Grade 8s! I did not see grade 8s as much because of the exam schedule last week, but we reviewed and students wrote the "Matter and Chemistry Test". Students did quite well overall:) We will go over this test Wednesday. This week we begin our study of the properties of matter including: acidity and alkalinity, density, specific heat, rigidity, specific heat, and much more. Students will receive a study guide and be responsible for definitions, pictures, and specific examples. Students will use this information to test various objects for their properties in the laboratory as part of rotating stations. Next week students will receive project information to take home. The project will involve researching a specific element and will begin in two weeks.

Homework for the week:

Wednesday night: fill in pictures for acids, bases, kinetic energy study guide (possibly density).

Thursday night: Fill in examples for the rest of the properties and finish the study guide.

Grade 5: Week of January 9th to 13th

Students will study their review sheet on Newton's Third Law on Monday and take their test on Tuesday. The rest of our schedule is tentative as we are reworking this week's schedule for high school exams. I will put the homework of the week on Monday night when I know the schedule.

Grade 7: Week of January 9th to 13th

We are finishing up our unit on genetics. This will be the last week Grade 7s take Science before the semester ends on January 13th :(

Students will make their own Punnett Squares to present to the class on Monday, and then we will review for our Genetics test until Thursday. Please note there will be no retests for the genetics test as we are ending the semester and grades need to be in asap. Finally, students will watch an informative video, The Incredible Human Machine, on Friday.

Homework for the week:

Monday: Finish part A (and possibly B) of the review sheet

Tuesday: Study for Thursday's test

Wednesday: Study for Thursday's test

Grade 8: Week of January 9th to 13th

We will do a lab involving sweet tea and sugar as a solution. We will add sugar to show "unsaturated", "saturated", and "supersaturated", focusing on how when we heat up molecules we can add more sugar (molecules spread apart when heated, allowing more space for sugar). Students will receive a Matter and Chemistry review for their small test on Thursday. Finally on Friday we will begin to examine properties of matter, such as acids and bases.

Homework for the week:

Monday night: finish all of the study guide

Tuesday night: Finish the Matter and Chemistry Review

Wednesday night: Study for the Matter and Chemistry test