Well we've hit the last week of October. I can't believe it is already November. This week is a short week due to the fact that we don't have school on Friday. The big news for this week is the technology field trip to Detroit at Ford Field. We are in the process of selecting 10 team members to go. To be eligible you need to have 70 blue tickets, be on tier 1 and have a permission slip filled out by Tuesday. Slots are filling up fast so you might be put on a waiting list. Don't worry though we may be getting more slots if other teams can't fill up their ten person list. This is an awesome opportunity and we hope you can make it.

Progress reports go home next week.

Here is our schedule for the week.

Science

Monday Oct. 29

Today we will be having our first assessment. This will cover all of our material we have gone through since the beginning of school. Make sure to look over your old work, review your notes in your science notebook (you can use your notes during the test), and any other study materials you have. Remember to check out the Jeopardy Review game posted on the blog for some more help.

Tuesday Oct. 30

We'll start chapter 4 today in the book. We will be exploring accelerated motion especially Newton's Second Law. Which should be review because we covered it when we were learning about gravity. We will also be talking about air resistance and terminal velocity. We'll be using the formula F=ma. We will also be doing a "huge physics problem" that ties all the formulas we have worked with together. A link to the problems is found below this paragraph.

If you weren't here on Tuesday for the worksheet use the variables d= 6.84m and t= 3.36s. Those were the variables we found during class and with those you can find the force it took to stop Mr. K from hitting the wall on the skateboard.

HOMEWORK:Huge_Physics_Problem.pdf

Wednesday Oct. 31

To celebrate Halloween we will be watch films about animals that are prominent during Halloween time. Have fun and be safe after school.

Thursday Nov. 1

Today we will be working on making Word Boxes for the new chapter we are starting. This chapter is about Acceleration and Momentum.

Homework: (This may have been completed during class.) The words we are using for Word Boxes are:air resistance, terminal velocity, projectile, centripetal acceleration, centripetal force, artificial satellite, momentum, law of conservation of momentum, Newton's second law of motion, Newton's third law of motion, horizontal motion, vertical motion, action force, and reaction force.

This vocabulary activity is a big one-42 points! It is so important to do your best and get it turned in on time.

Students were also given their assessments back from Unit 3. They were given a Test Reflection and Correction sheet to earn back 1/2 of their missed points. Below is another copy if they need it.

Test%20Reflection%20AND%20Corrections.doc

Friday Nov. 2

No School! Enjoy your day off.

Ecosystems

Tuesday Oct. 30

We will start the day with a little bit of time to finish up our team project we started last Friday. During this time pairs will finish any other drawings and prepare material for their presentation they will be giving on their location they picked to demonstrate succession if the school were abandoned.

Thursday Nov. 1

We'll finish any presentations we missed on Tuesday. If we have time we will a few short films about animals and their behaviors. The animals we will be looking will be Halloween centered.

Hi Everyone! Mr. Korchnak and I wanted to thank you all for the great student/parent conferences that we had with you last week. All of us working together will truly make the difference for our kids. Thank you again!

Our trip to Saugatuck was fabulous! The weather wasn't the best, but it didn't even matter. Seeing the kids helping one another to make the hike and then to experience the huge waves on Lake Michigan and all the wonder that goes along with it, is quite a gift that I will always cherish. Sharing a cook out together was fun too. We had some perfectly grilled hot dogs from Chef Washington along with chips, pop, fruit, warm cider and donuts. It was FUN!

Our MEAPS were finally finished on Thursday and we are looking forward to some uninterrupted learning again. This week we will have an assessment in science over all that we have learned so far. Watch this blog for the review sheet or game to help your child get ready. Also, all student science journals should be completed and turned in by Friday, after the assessment.

Here's our schedule:

Science

Monday, October 22nd
Today we will be working a lab exploring the force of gravity. We will be testing the shear strength of different kinds of papers by testing how much weight they can hold. For this lab we will need to understand the formula F=ma to find the weight of the sand each paper sample can hold before ripping. We will be working as tables to do this experiment the lab hand out can be found on the link below.

HOMEWORK: The data sheet will be turned in the following day as homework

Gravity%20Lab%20Data%20Sheet.pdf

Tuesday, October 23rd
Today, we are going to work on a vocabulary activity to help students get ready for their assessment on Friday. Students will use a Kagan strategy to work with their team to draw a picture to represent each of the vocabulary words. After 20 minutes, teams will switch tables and look at another teams pictures and work as a team to label that team's vocabulary pictures. After 5 minutes, teams will switch again and work on another team's pictures. We will work on this as long as time allows.

Vocabulary-for-Assessment-1.doc

Wednesday, October 24th

We will complete the chapter 3 review in the Physical Science book on pages 89-91. Students will work on Reviewing Vocabulary 1-10, Checking Concepts 1-10, Understanding Concepts 11-15 and Thinking Critically 16-20.

Thursday, October 25th

We will finish the chapter 3 Review and check in class. 7th period did not have class yesterday so they are to finish this at home tonight. See Wednesday's assignment.

Friday, October 26th

Jeopardy game today to review for the assessment which has been moved to Monday. Be sure that your journal for science is complete and ready to turn in on Monday.
Jeopardy%20assessment%201%20physics2.ppt
Jeopardy-assessment-1-physics3.ppt
Ecosystems

Monday, October 22nd
Today we will be exploring the idea of ecosystem succession. This will be done with a teacher guided presentation on over the projector. We will be using forest succession as our example and we will discuss the stages that is goes through to become a climax forest. During the presentation students will fill out a worksheet based on the information provided this will be turned in at the end of class and the information will be needed for use during the rest of the week. The notes worksheet is linked bellow.

HOMEWORK: At the end of class a chapter of the book The World Without Us by Alan Weisman will be handed out. This should be read for next class period.

Succession%20Handout.pdf

Wednesday, October 24th
Today we will be looking at the chapter from the book The World Without Us and how succession occurs at an abandoned house. We will be discussing what is happen over time and what the main players are as the house is reclaimed by nature. We will also be connecting this information with content from previous weeks. There will be a quick write at the end of class asking about what was most interesting about the succession occurring at the abandoned house and how does it tie into what we have been talking about. There will be a worksheet we will work through during class. A link to it can be found below.

The-World-without-Us-Worksheet.pdf

Friday, October 26th
Today we will finishing up our unit on succession. We will tie up any loose ends from Wednesday and talk about how succession is a process that is always occurring. We will go through some more examples and students will be coming up with their own example of succession by explaining what would happen to the school if we were to abandon it. Student will work on this in pairs and during next week we will present our stories and posters with drawings about succession happening in an abandoned school.

HOMEWORK: Write a short story of what would happen if the school was abandoned over an extended time period.

MEAP week 1 done! One more to go. Good job families helping your child to get a good night rest and a good breakfast. Also, thank you for getting them here on time since we started testing right away.

Last week we also had a study day to make up any late work or work that we wanted to get a better grade on. Good work guys!

This week is conference week. We have conferences on Wednesday night from 5 to 8, Thursday from 12 to 3 and again from 5 to 8. Please bring your child with you to their conference, it is their time to show off!

On Friday, October 19th, we will be going to Saugatuck to explore Lake Michigan and Mount Baldhead. Students must be on Tier 1 to go or Tier 2 students can go with a parent, but the parent will have to provide transportation (not enough seats on the bus).

Mr. Korchnak and I are looking forward to seeing you this week at conferences. Have a great weekend.

MEAPs October 16, 17 and 18 from 8-10.

Science
Monday, October 15th

(Mr. Korchnak) 2nd and 7th hour

During 3rd, 4th and 5th hour, we will be finishing up our lesson on Forces Connected with Motion, Lesson 3.4. During class, we will work on the review questions from page 82, #1-3.

For 2nd and 7th hour we will be starting on Gravity and Newton's Second Law. We read through and took notes from Section 3.5 in the textbook. A worksheet was handed out that will be worked on in class and finished on Tuesday.

Here is a link to the Gravity Worksheet Gravity%20Worksheet.pdf

Tuesday, October 16th

2nd Period
We will finish up our 2 day lesson on gravity and Newton's Second Law by finishing up the worksheet handed out on Monday. The main focus on the lesson will be the formula F=ma. The worksheet will be due at the end of the period.

3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Period
We will be starting on Gravity and Newton's Second Law. We read through and took notes from Section 3.5 in the textbook. A worksheet was handed out that will be worked on in class and finished on Wednesday.

Here is a link to the Gravity Worksheet Gravity%20Worksheet.pdf

Wednesday, October 17th

3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th

We will be starting on Gravity and Newton's Second Law. We read through and took notes from Section 3.5 in the textbook. A worksheet was handed out that will be worked on in class and finished on Wednesday.

Thursday, October 18th

No class.

Friday, October 19th

No class.

Ecosystems

Tuesday, October 16th

We will be finishing our unit on cycles. We have gone through the water and carbon cycle. Today we will finish with the decomposition cycle.

Happy Friday! I hope that everyone saw their child's progress reports this week and sent them back signed for a grade. Overall, the kids are doing pretty well. I am looking forward to seeing all of you during conference week to discuss your child's progress October 17th or 18th. Please bring your child with you to their conference. Watch for more details to come.

Next week is MEAP week. Please help your child to come to school every day and to be well rested. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Picture day is October 11th. Students are given picture packets in Advisory class if they choose to take one.

Science

Monday, October 8th

We will be finishing our lesson from Friday on Velocity and Acceleration in class. This is lesson 3.2 from the text book.

Tuesday, October 9th

MEAP Testing!

Students will then work on Lesson 3.3 on the social issue of Seatbelts and Inertia. They will have a discussion that connects them to science and the core democratic values.

Wednesday, October 10th

MEAP Testing!

Students will work on Lesson 3.4 on Forces. We will have a mini lab to demonstrate force. This is a review lesson from 7th grade.

Thursday, October 11th

MEAP Testing!

Students will be working on the force of Gravity. This is lesson 3.5 from the text book.


Friday, October 12th

1/2 day of school!

Students will finish the lesson from Thursday on Gravity.


Ecosystems

Monday, October 8th
The theme of the week is cycles in nature. Today we will be looking at the water cycle and it's role in making ecosystems sustainable. We will also start a lab based on transpiration today. Students in their table groups will tie a gallon plastic bag around a group of leaves on a tree to measure the amount of transpiration taking place over the next two days.

Wednesday, October 10th
Working again with cycles today we will be looking at the carbon cycle and how photosynthesis fits into it. We will also be concluding our transpiration lab today.

Friday, October 12th
Finsihing up with cycles we will be looking at how decomposition cycles nutrients back into an ecosystem.