12/7/2015 0 Comments Guilt, Neglect, and ConfessionsHello Dear Readers! (Or reader, whichever...)
I'm so sorry that I've been absent on here for several months! I don't know if you've missed these posts or not, but I know I have. We have had a fabulous first semester of 6th Grade Science! We have created iMovies, dissected bovine eyes, dissected swine hearts and lungs, created movie trailers, wrote creative stories, and much much more! I will try to post pictures of our activities and write short blurbs about each.
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If you are questioning the amount of time you allow your child to play Minecraft, here is an article to help you feel better!
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-05-26-how-minecraft-and-duct-tape-wallets-prepare-our-kids-for-jobs-that-don-t-exist-yet
If you click the link above, the web article it will take you to is called 'How Minecraft and Duct Tape Wallets Prepare Our Kids for Jobs That Don't Exist Yet'
It really is a good read! 7/3/2015 0 Comments Summer Fun!Hello All!
I hope your summer has been relaxing and fun. My summer has been a time of recharging my batteries and creativity. I have also been learning about the new Science and Social Study standards that Arkansas has adopted. For Social Studies: We will be studying up to the time of 1500 AD. Meaning we will learn about Ancient Egypt, Cave paintings, and Medieval times....probably not in that order...and many more. Additionally, we will be learning about economics and financial literacy by way of a super cool video game! Yes, I promise they will be learning..sneaky, sneaky... For Science: The standards are completely different except for a few tiny things. However, I will spend this coming year (2015-2016, WOW that seems like the future doesn't it?!) teaching the things I have taught in years past. We will have a ton of fun all the while I will be infusing my Science curriculum with even MORE activities and creative challenges! Woot! I wish you all to have an amazing rest of the summer and I cannot wait to see you all at Open House and the first day of school! Until then, remember to wear sunscreen. 5/3/2015 0 Comments Snack Food ResultsHello again! We completed our snack food pH testing and came up with some cool results!
The Takis Nitro were the most acidic as well as having the lowest carbohydrate count. While the Tasty Kake Snowballs had the highest carbohydrate count with the most basic pH. Coincidence? Or Science? 4/24/2015 0 Comments Chemistry Closing Up ShopThis upcoming week will be a cornucopia of Science awesome! One of the activities we will be doing is testing the pH balance of common snack foods. Lots of the kids love hot snacks or super sugary things. Everything we ingest affects our body. We will be investigating how the pH of our foods may treat our stomachs. If you're interested, I'll post our results! Stay Tuned!
4/17/2015 0 Comments Bubbles, Fizzes, and Pops Oh My!With Science Fair wrapping up, our thoughts now turn to Chemistry. Just like with other units we begin, excitement bubbles over with this one! We begin our journey with arguing over whether popcorn is a physical or chemical reaction. Such a tasty start! After that we test lots of substances with pH papers and then head into a bit of writing. Each year, we personify acids and bases, then write about an interaction between them. It's seriously a hoot to read my wonderfully creative students work! Our final stop will be clock reactions. Click on the link to have Steve explain them to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqeWpywDuiY We do our own versions, but you get the idea. Good times! 4/1/2015 0 Comments Science Fair Madness!Well, here we are! We are still standing after inclement weather and spring break. This time of the year is that magical time and space when we all have glitter in our hair, paper bits hanging off our clothing, and something (we'll say it's cornstarch...) is handprinted all over our cardigans. That's right parents and whomever else reads these things...IT'S SCIENCE FAIR TIME!!
This year we are doing things a little differently. Yes, it is still true that each and every 6th grader is required to do a project for a grade. This was put in place before I came along and I'm glad it was! We have some amazingly creative students at Math and Science and this is the specific time of year that it REALLY shines. The big change this year from previous years, for 6th grade, is that while yes, everyone has to a project for an abnormally large amount of grade points, not everyone has to submit their projects for judging. That's right! You don't have to be vacuuming glitter out of your carpets until Christmas (let's be honest, at that point we just call it "festive" and move on) if your child doesn't want to do a Science Fair board, they don't have to. Honestly, the board was my favorite part of projects when I was a student, but I realize they can be thorns in the sides of a super busy parent and can cost money that could buy your student supplies or even, say, their teacher some Tylenol *hint hint* So the board, is your and your student's choice. The due date for all the projects to be submitted to me in Google Docs is Friday, April 17th, 2015. The submission date for entry to be judged is Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015. HAPPY SCIENCE FAIR-ING! 3/13/2015 0 Comments Chemistry!We survived Force & Motion! Well, rather, my colleagues survived marbles rolling around the hallway, dodging balloon cars, and squeals of delight when a robot finally responded to a command! I just hope the Maintenance staff forgives me for all the marshmallows from the catapults in various places and fixtures... I'm so very glad that they care as much about my students and their enthusiasm for Science as much as I do!
Off to new adventures! This time we are diving into Chemistry. We begin slowly by playing with density. Dropping things in water and creating Lava Lamps are fun in the name of Science! This sets us up for the fun stuff, chemical reactions! So far, I haven't had any major mishaps (fires, chemical burns, dogs and cats living together in harmony. You know, pandamonium) and I think that has to do with our safety training. Before we ever begin, each child has to sign a Science Contract, initially the rules and proceedures that are to be followed at all times. They are happy to do so because this means that they are the "Lab Masters" and benefit by experiencing the hands-on awesomeness of Science! Stay tuned viewers! Force and Motion within Physical Science is honestly one of my favorite things to teach. Actually, scratch that. I don't teach it. I facilitate the exploration of it. I council the frustration during it. I channel the creativity of it. I give my students the tools and just enough support to watch them fail, and then fail again, and sometimes fail again. Then, when they are at the brink of frustration, I am lucky enough to see those wheels turn one last time and their 'Eureka Lightbulb' flash on. It's exhilarating for them, and it's the same for me!
I think following the directions is an important skill. If you buy the parts for a bookcase and you accidentally build an ottoman, you may be in a pickle. We work on reading diagrams and directions first in our Simple Machines Rotation Unit. Ensuring we have all the necessary parts before we begin and then working step by step through the instructions. Simple Machines is a 6 day unit with 6 different stations. Each station has 4-6 simple machine projects for the students to build and the k'nex to make that happen. The students spend 1 day at each station and build all the projects. After they are finished building the projects and have time, they are encouraged to build something of their own creation fitting with the theme of their station. The stations are Inclined Plane, Wheel & Axle, Pulleys, Gears, Levers, and a motorized station. I'm lucky enough to have 90 minute class periods to do this in! On the 7th day, we have a quiz with a paper component and a building component. Also, a little Bill Nye the Science Guy always rounds out the unit and preps them for the more advanced concepts they will cover in the next few weeks. (Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! Science Rules!) Of course I want the kids to ultimately build their own creations. I feel that creativity and inquiry will serve them well as they progress, but they also need to know what to do with that creativity and inquiry when they have it! Finding on-task outlets for that creativity and inquiry will also help! Learning to draw a diagram or jot down their idea to build later is a biggie! We cannot abandon our Science Notebooks! In the next few weeks we will have 3-1 week long rotations consisting of 1 week of Robotics, 1 week of Roller Coasters, and 1 week of Inquiry Engineering and Activities. During Robotics, the students put together Lego Robots and program them to do certain tasks. In Roller Coasters, the students are given a roll of tape, lengths of foam pipe insulation and marbles. They are required to complete certain tasks and compete with the other classes (for the slowest coaster, for instance). Inquiry Engineering is always amazing. The students will complete tasks such as: create a free rolling vehicle out of found objects (tape, post-it notes, paper clips, etc) that will roll down 3 different ramps without your help; balloon car races in the hall then compare ratios of distance/balloon circumference to see what was the optimal output of Kinetic Energy for the Potential Energy you gave it (will it go further the more air it has?); Create 30 identical clay spheres, mass them, then smash them with differing forces and compare results; etc...good times had by all... As always, even amidst the 3-Ring Circus, we love visitors. If you are in the area, please come by! We adore seeing other Teachers, Staff, Parents, Guardians, Administrators, and/or Volunteers! Bring on the Creative Chaos! |
AuthorScientist, Writer, Answer Addict, Artist, Connoisseur of the Absurd, Educator Archives
January 2019
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