Mrs. Kahler's 8th Grade Science Class

The Last Full Week of School!

2009-06-01T09:42:00.002-04:00

Here we are at the last full week of school. It sure did go by quickly. Just a quick reminder that the projects are due on June 4th and they will be saved on Mrs. Washington's electronic file by the hour that your child has her class. Your child has all the parts that they need to do the science portion of the project and it should take them no more than 30 minutes to complete if they have been in class and complete their work for social studies (research) and in science. I can't wait to see them.

Here's the schedule:
Science
Monday, June 1
We will be completing our lesson on Greenhouse Gases and the Greenhouse effect at the beginning of class using a Mythbusters video. Then we will look into the connection between greenhouse gases and building green with a short video on a Green Home. There will be lots of class discussion today.

Tuesday, June 2
We will be watching a video on an architect who has been building green since the 1970's. He has lots of great information. There will be a handout to go along with this to help guide our understanding of the information he will be talking about.

Wednesday-Friday, June 3-5
We will be watching the Al Gore documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". We will be looking at the science the Mr. Gore presents compared to what we have learned in class. Should we believe the theory? There will be a lot of class discussion throughout these three days.

2009-05-22T10:40:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day Week so we have a short one. Also, students were given progress reports last week to share with you. We are going to back that up by sending progress reports home on Tuesday, May 26th also.

Just a reminder also that the team project is due June 4th. We will be discussing this week how they will be turned in. Students have all been told in Science class that all projects must be done on Microsoft Word and only an electric copy since the unit is on sustainability. Paper is obviously not sustainable. We are also in the process of packing our rooms for construction and they want teachers out right away to get in here so we will not be accepting any projects that are not electronic.

Last week, we worked on a comic book about carbon. We began the project on Wednesday and turned it in at the end of class on Friday. Please remind your child how important it is to turn their work in on time. We won't be able to keep grading work past the due dates, due to the end of the year work, 8th grade awards ceremony and dance, final exams and construction.

Here's the schedule:

Science
Tuesday, May 26
We will be using the next two days to create a foldable that will help us to understand the Spheres of the Earth and the movement of carbon dioxide through them. Tuesday is the day we will create the foldable. On Wednesday, we will be putting in any notes needed.

Wednesday, May 27
See Tuesday.

Thursday, May 28
We will be learning about Global Warming and its connection to carbon. We will be moving students around the room to physically re-enact how the greenhouse gases affect carbon and thus global warming. Students will draw a representation of how this occurs.

Friday, May 29
(Mrs. Kahler will be out today)
We will be working on an activity that goes along with global warming.

2009-05-17T20:37:00.003-04:00

Well back to the magnet theme this week. I have given students the rubric that explains what GLCE's that are to be taught that will meet the state standards. All students received this on Friday. Extra copies will be put in the file cabinet for students to get as needed. All students already know that the project is due June 4th. We have explained that due to everything that is going on at the end of the year, there will not be an opportunity to turn in any projects late.

This week, we are going to be getting most of the science portion of Sustainable Systems unit. We will be talking about the different spheres of the earth, carbon, and climate change. Students will be keeping all the materials from class in their binder to use as their class resource.

Here's the schedule:

Science
Monday, May 18
Lesson on Climate Change. Students will be working on some key vocabulary and then reading an article on climate change. We will look at our posters on climate change and circle any information that we found in the article. We will also answer some questions about the article.

Tuesday, May 19
Today's lesson is on Carbon. Students will be gathering information on carbon from a united streaming video and putting it into a worksheet for their own information. This piece is very important for their project.

Wednesday, May 20
Today we will be going to the computer lab. We will be using a site from the Miami Science Museum. This site tells us about the atmosphere, the geosphere (lithosphere), the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. We will be creating a foldable while we are there to demonstrate our knowledge that will also help us with another of the GLCEs.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/carbon_cycle_version2.html
Thursday, May 21
Salamander Points.

2009-05-09T10:01:00.002-04:00

Here I am again writing up the lessons for the next two weeks and it seems like I just did this last week. The last 6 weeks always go so quickly. You all should have received the 5th period report cards by now. If you haven't, please contact the school office.
We are still continuing for two more weeks with Reproductive Health, but we have taken a few minutes at the beginning of class to talk about this marking period's project. ALL PROJECTS MUST BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY! We have all the equipment students need at school and we give after school time Tuesday through Thursday and often can find computers for students during their lunch time. This unit is on Sustainability and using paper is not sustainable, so we are going to practice what we have been learning and use a word document that students will store in Ms. Washington's file. Projects are due on June 4th during their social studies hour. We will not be able to accept late projects due to all the end of the year activities (moving class materials and furniture for construction, 8th Grade Awards Assembly and Dance, exams, report cards, etc.).

Here's the schedule for the next two weeks:
Monday, May 11th
Science
Lesson #14 "Abstinence, Drinking and Drugs". We will be viewing a video called, "The Choice Game". This video allows students to make choices throughout the video and then view the consequences to their choice. We will also be incorporating a class discussion throughout the hour along with the video.

Tuesday, May 12
Science
Lesson #15 "Safer Choices: Using Protection-Part 1". We will be discussing methods of protection. Then we will be clarifying Unsafe, Safer and the Safest Methods of protection. Students will be looking at condoms, vaginal spermicides and birth control pills.

Wednesday, May 13
Science
Lesson #16 "Safer Choices: Using Protection-Part 2". We will be describing the steps for the proper use of condoms and demonstrating this in class. Then we will be working on refusal skills for real life role play situations.

Thursday, May 14
Science
Lesson #17 "Knowing What you Can Do". Students will be discussing their views on when having sex is okay and the homework that they completed at home last week with their parent/guardian. Students will be working on role play situations about what they can do in different situations.

Friday, May 15
Science
Lesson #18 "Review". Students will be working in groups to make an ABC review poster for reproductive health.

2009-04-27T07:05:00.003-04:00

Good Morning! Only 7 more weeks left! Wow! Lots of exclamation points used today. Let me get right down to the schedule.

Monday, April 27
Science
We will be continuing lesson #7. Students had Friday in class to work on their poster and today they will be presenting. Then they will finish the movie, "The Miracle of Life".

Tuesday, April 28
Science
Lesson #8 will illustrate the risk of having multiple sexual partners. We will look at some partner risk stories and rate each story on the risk of getting an STD.

Wednesday, April 29
Science
Lesson #9 is a continuation of lesson #8. We will continue to examine unsafe choices. We will begin by discussing the Then and Now homework from last week. Then we will have an activity that will help us to see how behaviors affect our HIV risk. At the end of the class, we will discuss dealing with a pregnancy.

Thursday, April 30
Science
Lesson #10 is on Adoption and Safe Delivery. We will be discussing adoption in MI and the statistics of a safe teen delivery in MI.

Friday, May 1st
Half Day and Staff vs. Students Basketball Game

Monday, May 4
Science
Lesson #11 Teens with HIV: A Reality. Students will view a video that presents personal experiences of young people who have HIV. Students will then complete a worksheet to personalize their risk.

Tuesday, May 5
Science
Lesson # 12 Practicing the Safest Choice. Students will practice using refusal skills for typical pressure lines, using clear verbal and nonverbal NO statements, alternative actions, and delay tactics. Some groups will perform their lines for the class. They will also practice saying NO, but keeping a relationship using a half-scripted role play. The worksheet helps them to personalize the advantages of not having sex and the use of refusal skills.

Wednesday, May 6
Science
Lesson #13 Abstinence, Drinking and Drugs. Students will view the video, "Everything You Need to Know about Drugs in 22 minutes". We will finish with a class discussion.

Thursday, May 7
Science
Lesson #14 Abstinence, Drinking and Drugs continued. Students will view the video "The Choice Game". Then their will be a class discussion.

Friday, May 8
Science
Lesson #15 Safer Choices: Using Protection- Part 1. Methods of protection from STD and/or pregnancy commonly used by teens are presented and discussed. A small group activity helps students differentiate between methods that offer little or no protection, those that protect from pregnancy only, and those that protect from HIV, other STD and pregnancy.

Welcome Back!

2009-04-10T12:17:00.002-04:00

Here we go for the last few weeks of school. It went by very quickly. We are beginning Reproductive Health this week and so students will be earning credit in class by being present and participating. Participation comes in many forms-adding to a discussion, completing an assignment in class, actively listening, etc. There will not be any way to make up classroom activities for absences so students who are absent will be exempted from the activity. Please be sure that you are discussing with your child what the class topic was each day. Your family beliefs are an important part of this course for your child to know. One of the best places to discuss topics that may be uncomfortable to talk about is in the car. No one has to look at the other person, but everyone is a captive, listening audience-just make sure the cell phone is off.

Well, here is the schedule for the next 2 weeks:

Science
Monday, April 13
We will begin class by taking a few minutes to finalize the Science Binders for this week since I will begin collecting them to take a grade for them. Students were told about this often the week before Spring Break and told what day their class would be handing theirs in. Here's the schedule: Monday-1st hour, Tuesday-2nd hour, Wednesday-5th hour, Thursday-6th hour, and Friday-7th hour. The Binders will be worth about 68 points!

Next, we will introduce the idea of using Peer Leaders for different activities in Repo. Health. Students will nominate students to be Peer Leaders and the student can accept or decline. Then students will vote for anywhere from 4-6 Peer Leaders for the class, depending on the class size. I will take the ballots home with me and count the votes.

Then we will establish the class ground rules. They are posted in the room. We will work in a Kagan Structure "Mix Pair Share" and share why we think each ground rule is important to the class. We will then come back together as a class and discuss why we think each ground rule is important to the class.

We will quickly discuss the Anonymous Question Envelopes that are posted on the side bulletin board and how to use it.

Then I will introduce the Safer Choices paradigm.

Tuesday, April 14
Students will be viewing the video, "The Miracle of Life".

Wednesday, April 15
We will finish yesterday's video, if needed. Then we will begin our review of the male and female reproductive system. This is a review of material that has been presented to them since 5th grade reproductive health classes. Students will complete a Male and Female Reproductive System handout.

Thursday, April 16 (Mrs. Kahler is out, alternate lesson)
Students will be viewing a video on Peer Pressure from United Streaming. They will have an Anctipation Guide to go along with the video.

Friday, April 17
We will begin lesson #4 "Not Everybody's Having Sex!" Students will be moved into same gender teams for this activity. Students will have a recorder in their group and brainstorm: 1) All the reasons that young men or young women choose to have sex and 2) All the reasons young men and young women choose to not have sex. Then we will come back together as a class and list our ideas into four different categories: 1) Why young women choose to have sex, 2) Why young men choose to have sex, 3) Why young women choose not to have sex, and 4) Why young men choose not to have sex. Then we will compare and contrast the lists and identify reasons that are similar to both males and females. Next we will identify differences between the lists. We will discuss why knowing the pressure on a partner can help understand the choices they make.

Next we will review the reasons not to have sex. Students will then be asked to come up with their own two reasons not to have sex. Students will not be pushed to share their ideas, but if they would like to share, they may.

Homework: Students will take home a sheet, Then and Now. They are to interview a parent, guardian or other adult about dating, pressures to have sex, and reasons teens chose not to have sex when this adult was a teenager. Students will also brainstorm other questions they would like to ask this adult. I will not be collecting this sheet, just the signed portion at the bottom of the handout. This is personal information and it should stay as such.

Monday, April 20
Lesson #5 is "The Safest Choice:Deciding Not To Have Sex". We will be referring back to our butcher paper poster our class made in lesson #4.

We will then learn about the 4 parts of a clear NO statement. Then, the Peer Leaders will help with a class role play on an ineffective role play and an effective role play. Students will write down their observations for each role play. Then, we will look at another role play where the student writes the responses to a partner on a handout. They will use the 4 parts of a clear NO statement.

Tuesday, April 21 (Mrs. Kahler will be out, alternate lesson plans)
Students will be viewing "The 11th Hour" to focus on Earth Day which is tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 22 -Earth Day
Students will be working on lesson #6 "Saying NO to Having Sex". We will be reviewing giving clear NO statements. Then we will work on more ways to say NO using alternative actions and delay tactics. We will be using role plays again and observer checklists.

Thursday, April 23
Lesson #7 is on understanding STD and HIV. There is a review of both. Students will be given information on one STD or HIV and they will then create a poster to inform others about it. We will look at the information that is similar about the 6 STDs and then signs of them.

Friday, April 24
In lesson #8, students will complete an activity to illustrate the risk of having multiple sexual partners. Then we will look at some partner risk stories and rate each story on the risk of getting an STD..

2009-03-19T17:22:00.007-04:00

Those of you who were able to make conferences, thank you so much for spending your time with us here at Milwood. This next week there is another half day on Friday for students. Teachers have Professional Development in the afternoon. Also next week on Tuesday is the Skating Party. The bus leaves at 4:30 and returns at 7:00.

This past week, we learned about Biodiversity and what it is. Students are talking about the connections between their core classes which is really good for learning. In class on Wednesday, students were introduced to the Science project for this marking period. They may begin researching and gathering information at any time.

On March 31st we are going on a trip to WMU through the Gear Up Program to see what learning is like at the university. Please be sure that you've filled out a permission slip in order for you child to attend. These were handed out at conferences, and I assume they will be handed out next week to all those who could not attend.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, March 23

Science

We will be finishing up our Lancer notes (foldable) today. Your child should take this home and practice talking to you about biodiversity with this. This will really help them to get a grasp on it.

Tuesday, March 24

Science

There has been a change in plans due to a shortage of time to work on the Biodiversity project. Reproductive Health will begin the day we return from Spring Break so we will be quickly getting through the big ideas for Biodiversity this week. Today, we will be viewing a video on the Zebra Mussel and completing a Cause and Effect Wheel from the video. This is one part of the project that students will need to complete for their project.

Wednesday, March 25

Science

Students will be given an organism card to use with their group. Together they will assist each other to complete their team Cause and Effect Wheel.

Link for Science Connections: http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=29
Thursday, March 26

Science

Students from 1st and 2nd hour will make observations of their Bio-balloons. They will complete their lab reports in class and turn in.

Students will independently work on their own Cause and Effect Wheel for their Invasive Species that they chose in their ELA class on Monday. They will have computers to help find the connections between organisms in their environment. Due Monday.

Friday, March 27th (1/2 day)

Science

Students will complete the same lab as the students did on Thursday last week. They will have very basic instruction on a Bio-Balloon Lab. Students will work together at their table to complete the Lab Report and then follow their procedures to complete their balloons. We will hang them in the hallway windows.

2009-03-15T21:26:00.005-04:00

Here we are at Spring Conference week, your child's last conference in Middle School. We are all looking forward to meeting with you and your child to discuss their progress this year. Your child has sent home an invitation and should have called home to verify the time was good for you. Conferences are on Wednesday this week from 5:00PM to 7:30 (teachers leave at 8:00) and on Thursday from 12:00 to 2:30 (teachers leave at 3:00) and then from 5:00 to 7:30 (teachers leave at 8:00). Please call the office if you are unsure of your scheduled time with your child's advisory teacher. If you are interested in seeing other teachers, please make an appointment with the advisory teacher to meet with this other teacher.

We are beginning a new unit on Biodiversity. This week we will be discussing the project for this marking period and discovering what biodiversity is.

Schedule:
Monday, March 16
Science
We will begin an inquiry lesson on "Biodiversity". We will create a list of biodiversity for each class. Then we will read an article on biodiversity and then go back to our list and circle what we found out about it from our article. Then we will do a "Biodiversity Blitz" in class.

Tuesday, March 17
Science
We will begin by working on our Science Binder. We will begin to put our new unit together and then we will be putting our marker in to signify which piece of work to share at conferences. Then we will be finishing yesterday's lesson.
Homework: Write a summary on the article 6th hour.
Write a summary of the 8th paragraph to the end for all other hours.
Must be at least one paragraph long (5 sentences). Due tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 18
Science
Collect summaries from yesterday. We will complete Word Boxes in class today. They will be due on Friday.
Thursday, March 19 (1/2 day)
Science
Lab to be announced.

Friday, March 20
Science
Students will view a PowerPoint presentation on Biodiversity and take Lancer Notes. These notes will become a part of their Science Binder. Students will then complete an Exit Slip.

2009-03-01T21:46:00.003-05:00

Hopefully everyone had a good Mid-Winter Break. This is a big week for 8th graders on the 8A team. Everyone's multimedia project is due on Friday to their 5th hour teacher. There will be Homework Hub time for more help on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Also Science Binders are due on Friday. We have worked on the Binders in class several times this marking period so everyone's Binder should take no outside extra time.

On Monday, the high school counselors will be here to help students with choosing their classes for next year. They will be bringing a form home for you to sign and it needs to be quickly returned.

Monday, March 2
Science
We will be watching a video that helps to ensure our understanding about stem cells.
Turn in hard copy of Multimedia science project.

Tuesday, March 3
Science
Today we will be working on the idea of "Quality of Life". Students will brainstorm what they know about it and then we will read an article on it. Then we will go back to the class list and circle what is true about it. Then each class will come up with their own definition of the term.

Wednesday, March 4
Science
We will be going into the lab today for a Scavenger Hunt to help students become more aquainted with the equipment from the lab and lab safety. We will begin in the room with a short video.

Thursday, March 5
Science

Friday, March 6
Science
All Multimedia Projects are due to your 5th hour teacher by 2:20 today!
We will be working on a microscope lab in the classroom today. Students will become aquainted with the use of the microscope.

Week of Mid-Winter Break

2009-02-22T21:08:00.002-05:00

Well it's the last week of February already. There is no school on Friday. Hopefully your child has been working on finding their three resources on their topic for stem cell use. This week we will be working on getting the summary written. Some students already have this done, good job!
We have visitors from the federal government here this week on Tuesday. I can't wait to show them and the kids the lesson we will be doing on DNA extraction. I did the experiment this weekend, it was so cool!
You should also be getting a progress report home in the mail this week.
Let's have a great week.

Here's the schedule:
Monday, February 23
Science
B1.1d Identify patterns in data and relate them to theoretical models.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will turn in a completed lab report demonstrating their knowledge of the scientific method.
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have chosen statements that are true statements about DNA.
Students will be completing their lab report from Friday's Cheek Cell lab. They will turn them in. Next, we will do a short review of DNA using an Anticipation Guide and video. We will then talk about the lab for tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 24
Science
B1.1f Describe what would happen if variables were changed.
B4.2B Recognize that every species has its own characteristic DNA sequence.
B4.2C Describe the structure and function of DNA.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, students will be able to tell that all living things have DNA.
At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to describe what DNA looks like.
Students will be starting in the classroom and going over the basics of the lab. We will then move into the lab and completing a DNA extraction from strawberries.

Wednesday, February 25
Science
B1.2B Identify and critique arguments about personal or societal issues based on scientific evidence.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, students will be able to write about their opinion on stem cell use using the CDV, common good.
We will be going over the results from our DNA extraction lab. Then we will go over an article that gives both sides of the argument of stem cell use. Students will then work through a graphic to help them to view both sides of the debate and then take a position. They will write a position statement.

Thursday, February 26
Science
B1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific concept by assessing information from multiple sources.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, participants will have their graphic aid for their summary completed.
At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to successfully complete their summary for multimedia project.
We will work on finishing our Multimedia Science Graphic and then writing our summary of the articles. Students should have their official summary typed by next Tuesday.

Friday, February 27
No School!

Multimedia Project Started

2009-02-15T21:12:00.005-05:00

Well, we began our four content area multimedia project last week. Hopefully your child has talked with you about it and showed you the packet. There was a required parent/guardian signature piece also. It is worth 10 homework points in science. Please get these in ASAP, they were due Friday, February 13th.

Here's the schedule:
Monday, February 16
Science
B1.2 Scientific Reflection and Social Implications.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have completed most or all of a graphic to help them write their science portion of their multimedia project.
We will begin by a short reading activity on what Multiple Sclerosis is. Then we will view a short video on a new breakthrough using stem cells to stop the cycle of MS. Next, we will work on putting together our science portion of of the multimedia project using a mind map to organize our ideas. Students should keep this organizer to help them to complete their project.

Tuesday, February 17
Science
B1.1 Scientific Inquiry
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will identify the variables of the scientific method with this demo.
Class demo: we will create a lab that will demonstrate adhesion. Together, we will put together a lab to encourage cell growth. We will be using the scientific process. When we are finished, we will use the rest of the time to work on our multimedia project.

Wednesday, February 18
Science
B1.2E Evaluate the future career and occupational prospects of science fields.
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will be able to identify a career in studying cells and the work that a researcher does.
We will use the textbook on cells to read about a career in science studying cells. We will complete questions to go with it.

Thursday, February 19
Science
B1.2 Scientific Reflection and Social Implications
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have a basic understanding of the term "quality of life" and form their own opinion on it.
We will view a short video on a child who had severe epilepsy and had stem cell used on him and show what his progress was. Then we will be looking into the idea of "quality of life". There will be a class definition created and an article to read.

Friday, February 20
Science
B1.2 Scientific Reflection and Social Implications
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have a written statement about their own opinion on the use of stem cells.
Students will be reading an article that presents both sides of the argument on Stem Cells. Students will then be using a graphic aid to help them view both sides of the argument. From this point, students will take a position and write a brief paragraph on it.

2009-02-07T11:21:00.008-05:00

Wow! What great weather we have today. Hopefully we can get rid of a lot of the ice on the roofs and sidewalks. Last week in Advisory, students began working on preparing for their Student-Led Conference. They looked at their GPA from 3rd marking period and set their goal for what they would like their GPA to be for the next marking period. Students also looked at their Tier level. They set a goal for what Tier they would like to be on at the end of the 4th marking period. I am really hoping to meet with all Advisory students and their family to look at the progress your child has made.

Last week we worked on Surface Area to Volume ratio of cells. This week we will be continuing our learning about stem cells and beginning to work on our multimedia project on stem cells that overlaps all four core classes. Students will have one project that they will demonstrate their learning for math, science, social studies and English for this marking period with. More information will be coming this week. On Wednesday, please look for the packet on the assignment from your child and sign the sheet stating that you know about the project. Thanks.

Here's the plan:

Monday, February 9
Science
B2.4B Describe how various cells have different specializations and accomplish a particular function.
L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Objective:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to describe the basics of stem cells.
At the completion of this activity, participants will take detailed Lancer Notes and write a complete summary.
Turn in Surface Area to Volume Ratio worksheet.
Last day for the Cell Cycle Comic to be turned in is today.
In class today, students will be gathering information on stem cells from a PowerPoint presentation. We will be taking Lancer Notes.

Science Connections
Today we will begin class with a written warm up piece and then a listening activity. Students are getting really good at these. Then we will be viewing a short video on stem cells using Lancer Notes to gather our information.

Tuesday, February 10
Science
B2.4B Describe how various cells have different specializations and accomplish a particular function.
L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will create a headline that sums up their learning from today on encouraging cell growth.

We will begin by completing the Anticipation Guide: Body on a Bench. Next, we will view the video, "Body on a Bench". Students will be able to change their mind on any statements that they made on the Anticipation Guide throughout the video. Hopefully, we will be able to then complete a class demo on "Encouraging Cell Growth". We are looking for aquariums that are overgrown with algae to acquire 5 cups of water from for this activity to work. Got any ideas, let me know! :) We will end this class with a "Headliner" activity.
Watch the video:
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1209/video/watchonline.htm
Wednesday, February 11
Science
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will understand the expectations for their multimedia project are.
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have narrowed down or decided on the topic for their multimedia project.

B2.4B Describe how various cells have different specializations and accomplish a particular function.
L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Today we will introduced to the multimedia project with a special guest. Look for the packet of material coming home and the sheet to return with your signature.

Science Connections
We will begin with our writing warm up and then completing a listening activity. Students will read an article on Cell Specialization and then work on Lancer Notes as we go through them.

Thursday, February 12
Science
B2.4B Describe how various cells have different specializations and accomplish a particular function.
L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have gathered information on their topic for their multimedia project.
At the completion of this activity, the participant will have chosen their topic for the multimedia project.
Students will be working on their stem cell multimedia project. They will be gathering research on their topic.
Collect Parent/Guardian signature sheets.

Please feel free to find your own sites also. :)
Sites to help you:
http://www.stemcellnews.com/index.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://stemcells.nih.gov/StemCells/Templates/StemCellContentPage.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bBBA86040-3C88-45A1-A1A0-F998F9F8AD09%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2finfo%2fresources%2easp&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest#educ
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/07/science/sci-stem7
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-415156/Stem-cell-cure-heart-attacks.html
http://www.stemcellresearchcures.com/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article1637528.ece
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/health.asp
http://www.xcell-center.com/treatments/overview.aspx?gclid=CPaK3vf80pgCFQkwgwodr1vo0Q
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/stemcells/index.html
http://www.bio-link.org/news.htm
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/
http://www.stemcellscience.org/
http://www.stemcells.wisc.edu/research/
http://www.stemcellresearchnews.com/
Friday, February 13
Science
B2.4B Describe how various cells have different specializations and accomplish a particular function.
L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Objective:
At the completion of today's activity, the participant will have found two to three research articles on their stem cell project.
At the completion of today's activity, the participant will have taken notes on the research they found for their topic.

Students will be working on disseminating the research that they found for their topic. This will be the last in class work date for a while. Be sure to continue working on this project and take it with you to each of your classes.

Science Connections
We will complete our writing warm up and then a following directions activity. Then we will work on reading Super Science, February 2009. We will begin with free reading time and then read the skit together and complete the experiment to be able to solve the mystery.

Report Cards Have Arrived!

2009-01-30T09:45:00.003-05:00

Your child's report card was sent this week and most students received theirs on Thursday. If you have not received one by Saturday, please contact the office to let them know. You can also use your Pinnacle log in information for your student to check what their report card was too.

This week, we have done some review of cells and begun some inquiry into stem cells. The students have lots of questions, but have gathered lots of knowledge. Please talk with your child about what they have learned in class, it will really help their understanding. We are also closing the week with Cell Division, but going more in depth next week. This is a big topic for students that they need for high school.

On Thursday next week, we will be having a midterm, but on the Science Binder. I have been telling the students since Wednesday about this so that they get their Binder in order and are acquainted with it.

Also, students received new planners yesterday and they should be using them in each class.

Next Friday is a District Professional Development day so there is no school for students (2/6/09).

Have a great weekend!

Monday, February 2

Science
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will name the phases of mitosis.
At the completion of this activity, the participant will create a comic to explain and teach others the phases of mitosis.

L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size and/or cell products.

Students will continue with Thursday's lesson from last week on Cell Division. They will be creating a comic strip to recap what they have learned.

Science Connections

We will be completing another following directions activity and then finishing the hydrogen car and the wind mill.

Tuesday, February 3

Science
Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will demonstrate understanding that cell growth, development, and division is a consequence of the following variables: increase in cell number, cell size, and cellular products.

At the completion of this activity, the participant will understand that unlike non-living things, cells do not have the ability to increase in size indefinitely.

B2.1C Explain cell division, growth, and development as a consequence of an increase in cell number, cell size, and /or cell products.

Students will be turning in their comic if they have not already. We will be going on to learning about the surface area to volume ratio of a cell. Students will be calculating the surface area, the volume and then the ratio of a cell and then creating a model of each the cells during class. This will be a two day lesson.

Wednesday, February 4

Science

Objective:
At the completion of this activity, the participant will demonstrate understanding that cell growth, development, and division is a consequence of the following variables: increase in cell number, cell size, and cellular products.

At the completion of this activity, the participant will understand that unlike non-living things, cells do not have the ability to increase in size indefinitely.

B2.1C Explain cell division, growth, and development as a consequence of an increase in cell number, cell size, and /or cell products.

See Tuesday's lesson.

Science Connections

Students will complete another following directions activity and then we will be going to the library to pick out books to bring with us for silent reading in class. Students will also be setting an AR goal and signing up for Go For The Gold.

Thursday, February 5

Science

There will be a short midterm evaluation using the Science Binder that your child has been working on all school year. If the Binder has been maintained and kept organized, it will be a great help to them today on the midterm. (20 min)

We will be looking at some video of what is going on in labs with stem cell research. We will be watching a Scientific America video with Alan Alda and taking Lancer Notes.
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1209/video/watchonline.htm

Friday, February 6

No School for students.

2nd Semester

2009-01-25T21:47:00.003-05:00

Well, grades are all in and the grades are final. It is time to focus on the second half of the year. Can you believe that our kids are now closer to 9th grade than they are to being in 7th grade? This second half of the year goes so quickly.

I will be out of the school on Monday and Tuesday this week. Please talk to your child about what you expect them to do while their is a Guest Teacher in their Science class. I am happy to say that the Guest Teacher in my room is Mrs. Lawrence, a familiar face. I have spent a lot of time planning for these two days so that they go well for her and for your student, thank you for your help in setting the expectations with your child.

We are beginning a Unit 4 this week on Medical Biotechnology.

Monday, January 26
Science
Objective: At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to review the organelles and functions of a cell.

L2.p2A Describe how organisms sustain life by obtaining, transporting, transforming, releasing and eliminating matter and energy.

Students will complete their rubric for their project on Biofuel Advertising and turn them in. Then students will read a short one page review about the function of cells that we learned about in Unit 2. Students will read with their A/B partner at their table. Then they will work together as a table to play "Showdown" to review the article. After playing Showdown, students will then answer questions from a worksheet about cells. These questions are due tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 27

Science

Objective: At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to employ key unit vocabulary.

Students will work together to correct the worksheet from yesterday to correct. Ms. Lawrence will collect this. Students will then work on learning this unit's vocabulary by completing Word Boxes. Words will be found on the Internet in class. The assignment will be due tomorrow.

Science Connections

Students will discuss wind and air. They will have a writing activity upon entry into the classroom and then an article on Wind Power. There will be an Exit Quiz on the reading to check for comprehension.

Wednesday, January 28

Science

Objective:

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to write a summary explaining their understanding of stem cells.

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to define stem cell in their own words.

L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and or/cell products.

B2.1C Explain cell division, growth, and development as a consequence of an increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

B2.4A Explain that living things can be classified based on structural, embryological, and molecular (relatedness of DNA sequence) evidence.

Students will begin by turning in their Word Boxes from yesterday. We will spend a few minutes setting up our Science Binder for Unit 4. Then we will begin by viewing a short video on stem cells. Students will then create a list of what they know about stem cells. We will then, read an article on stem cells. Then we will go back to our list and circle what we found to be true. We will end with our Lancer Notes and writing a summary about our learning. Students will also with their group and then as a class vote on the best definition of stem cell.

Thursday, January 29

Science

Objective:

At the completion of this activity, the participant will name the phase of mitosis.

At the completion of this activity, the participant will create a comic to explain and teach others the phases of mitosis.

L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size and/or cell products.

We will review the phases of mitosis through the use of our Science Binder. We have the Mnemonic devise written down to help us remember the phases of mitosis. Then we will read the text book on Cell Development. Students will review the skit we learned about Mitosis. Then they will create their own comic to teach others the phases of mitosis. Comic is due tomorrow.

Science Connections

Friday, January 30

Science

L2.p1C Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and or/cell products.

B2.1C Explain cell division, growth, and development as a consequence of an increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

B2.4A Explain that living things can be classified based on structural, embryological, and molecular (relatedness of DNA sequence) evidence.

Objective:

At the completion of this activity, the participant will be able to practice the idea of cell specialization through correctly organizing varying stages of cells.

At the completion of this activity, the participants will be able to give their own definition of cell specialization.

Students will begin with reviewing what they already know about cell specialization. They may look in their Science Binder to unit 2 for assistance. Then we will list as a class, everything that we know about cell specialization. Then with our A/B partner, we will read the article, "4h. Specialized Structures and Cells". Next we will go back through our list of cell specialization and circle what we discovered true from the article. Then we will use our Lancer Notes to write down notes and write a summary. Then starting as small groups and going on to a class vote, we will vote on a definition for cell specialization.

Brrrr!

2009-01-16T12:18:00.004-05:00

It has certainly been a cold week, cold enough that we had today off from school. How do the people in Minnesota and the Dakota's do it? Well, since we missed school today and Science Binders and late work were due today, we will be collecting all this on Monday. Hopefully that will give some students some extra time this weekend at home to get caught up.

This week, we are going to be looking at global warming and its connection to the car industry and then doing some research on biofuels for vehicles. What is the current research and how does Detroit need to react to this information? Students will be creating an advertisement on a biofuel that they have been assigned to research with a partner. While they are working on this, I will be interviewing students, one-on-one, to assess their knowledge of gasoline production, the internal combustion engine, global warming and their knowledge of their biofuel.

Students have all of Friday off. It is teacher records day.

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Here's the schedule:
Science
Monday, January 19
Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to... write a definition of global warming.
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to... identify causes and effect of global warming.

E2.3A Explain how carbon exists in different forms such as limestone, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid and animals within Earth systems and how those forms can be beneficial or harmful to humans.
E2.4B Explain how the impact of human activities on the environment can be understood through the analysis of interactions between the four Earth systems.

Today we will be learning about global warming and how Detroit's current trends of cars affect it. We will begin with a vocabulary/prereading activity called "Word Splash". Then we will brainstorm what we know about global warming. There will be a short Bill Nye video on Global Warming and then students will read an article from Super Science, "Planet Disaster. We will then go back to our brainstorming list and circle the things from the video and the article that we found to be true. Students will then write a short summary on what they know about global warming.

Tuesday, January 20 (Inauguration Day)
Science
Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to... identify causes of carbon dioxide distribution in the atmosphere.
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...accurately record data from an experiment on a data sheet.

E2.3A Explain how carbon exists in different forms such as limestone, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, and animals within Earth systems and how those forms can be beneficial or harmful to humans.

Our lab today will be finding where there is carbon dioxide that causes global warming. Again, students must have their assignments from Monday completed and turned in to be able to participate in today's lab. I have been reminding them of this all last week and yesterday.

Science Connections

Wednesday, January 21
Science
Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...compile information into a flyer to convince others that their biofuel is the best purchase.
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...differentiate between the benefits of fossil fuel and biofuel use.

Students will be pairing up with a partner to begin their research on a biofuel for cars. Then each group will pick a card that has a biofuel on it. This will be their assigned biofuel to research. We will be using lap tops in the classroom to find information. Students will be creating an advertisement for their biofuel to convince others to purchase their product. Students will have today and tomorrow to research and create their advertisement-flyer. Students will receive a rubric today so they know how they will be graded and what is expected to be included in their project.

Thursday, January 22
Science
Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...compile information into a flyer to convince others that their biofuel is the best purchase.
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...differentiate between the benefits of fossil fuel and biofuel use.

Students will continue their research on their biofuel today. Today is the last day for research and creating their flyer. I will be taking students into the hallway to talk to them about their knowledge about the biofuels unit- gasoline production, internal combustion engine, global warming and biofuel. Students will be presenting their flyer to the class on Monday.

Science Connections

Snow, Snow, Snow

2009-01-09T18:15:00.010-05:00

Here it is, Friday evening, and here is the snow again. We sure have had a lot of snowy weekends. Well, better for learning by not missing school so we will continue to take advantage of it.

This week, we finished up the Unit 3 Assessments except for a couple of people. We will try to get them finished by next week. We took a day to complete the test reflections which should be included with the test grades by the end of the weekend. We have completed and turned in Biofuel Word Boxes and began the Gasoline Production reading that we will finish on Monday. Ms. Cagle also showed us her website all about herself so the kids could get to know her. It is linked to the class blog on Friday, January 9, if you would like to check it out.

We've had some good discussions about the Big Three Bailout and gasoline. We will continue with these next week.

Have a great weekend.

Next week's schedule:

Monday, January 12
Science
E2.2B Identify differences in the origin and use of renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy.

Today, we will continue reading the Gasoline Production article. We will be using Lancer Notes and answering questions. The questions are due tomorrow.

Science Connections

Tuesday, January 13
Science
P4.2D Explain why all the stored energy in gasoline does not transform to mechanical energy of a vehicle.
We will finish yesterday's lesson and put one last time into completing our Science Binder to be turned in on Friday.

Wednesday, January 14
We will be discussing the Four-Stroke Internal Combustion Engine. We will use our Power Teaching and a PowerPoint to learn about and draw the engine.

Thursday, January 15
Science
E2.3A Explain how carbon exists in different forms such as limestone (rock), carbon dioxide (gas), carbonic acid (water), and animals (life) within Earth systems and how those forms can be beneficial or harmful to humans.

E2.4B Explain how the impact of human activities on the environment can be understood through the analysis of interactions between the four Earth systems.

Today we will be learning about global warming and how Detroit's current trends of cars affect it. We will begin with the Bill Nye video clip on Global Warming. Next, students will complete a vocabulary/prereading activity called "Word Splash". Then they will read the article from Super Science, "Planet Disaster".

You can view the video clip on Global Warming below on Friday, January 16.

Friday, January 16
Science
E2.3A Explain how carbon exists in different forms such as limestone (rock), carbon dioxide (gas), carbonic acid (water), and animals (life) within Earth systems and how those forms can be beneficial or harmful to humans.

Our lab today will be finding where there is carbon dioxide that causes global warming. Again, students must have their assignment from Wednesday completed and turned in to be able to participate in today's lab.

Monday, January 19
Science
E2.2B Identify differences in the origin and use of renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy.

Today we will research biofuels. We will see a short video clip on biofuels and then we will spend the rest of the class period using laptops and researching different biofuels. This work is due at the end of the hour.

Science Connections

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:43:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone has had a good Winter Break with an extra day added in there :). Before Break, we finished our Unit on the Advanced Rock Cycle and took the assessment on Thursday, December 18th. There was an assembly that ran longer than expected that day so 7th hour has 30 more minutes to finish their assessment on Monday, January 5th. If your child missed the assessment, please remind your child to take care of getting it finished after school at Homework Hub on Tuesday. I would like to be able to hand the assessment back to students quickly so I need all students to take the assessment quickly.

We will be beginning 2009 with a new WMU intern, Ms. Tracie Cagle. She came in and observed for two days before break started so most students have met her. Welcome to Milwood, Ms. Cagle!

If you did not know, we have been holding Homework Hub after school during the last two weeks of school. All the team teachers rotate through doing this and the schedule is posted in the team hallway each week. Students must sign in and also get a ditto slip that they fill out what they did and if it is finished or not. Then the teacher initials it and hands one sheet back to the student so they can show the parent/guardian and the teacher files the rest of the copies. Lots of kids have been taking advantage of this program either to just get their work done or get help.

We are now beginning our unit on Biofuels. What an opportune time to look at biofuels and how they affect Michigan and Detroit's Big Three! If you run across any information on the changes that Detroit's automakers are making to vehicles in order to improve sales please forward it to our classroom for discussion. Thanks.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, January 5
Science
Today, we will be getting our Science Binders in order so they are ready to turn in within the next two weeks for a final grade. We will also be beginning to see how the Biofuel unit looks and completing our Mind Map. In Science class, we are also responsible for reviewing hallway behaviors for the new year.

Tuesday, January 6
Science
Hopefully all assessments will be finished so that we can pass them back, look over them and then complete our test reflection and earning 1/2 points back.

Science Connections
We will be continuing the article on "Petroleum" that we began on Wednesday before break. (See December 17th and 19th).

Wednesday, January 7
Science
We will begin class with a reading strategy called, "BKWLQ". We will have a short article on what is occurring in MI currently with the automobile industry. Then we will create a list of things we already know about the situation with a partner at our table using the Kagan Strategy "Rally Table". Then we will share our ideas as a class using the team/student selector. After sharing, we will then go back to "Rally Table" to brainstorm all the things we want to learn about the topic during this unit. Again we will use the team/student selector to pick people to share their ideas for the class list. We will then read an article on the plight of the auto industry in Michigan independently and Rally Robin at our table ideas from the article. Students will complete an Exit Slip to leave class.

Thursday, January 8
Science
We will begin learning the vocabulary that will help us with this unit of study by completing Word Boxes. If they are completed in class today, students may turn them in, but they are due by tomorrow. Here are the words: biofuels, carbon dioxide, combustion, crude oil, emissions, global warming, hybrid, hydrogen, innovative, nonrenewable, oil refining, petroleum, renewable, and sustainable.

Science Connections

Friday, January 9

Science
We will begin our study of biofuels with a study of what the production of gasoline entails. Students will be given a primer, "How Gasoline is Made". We will work in pairs to read portions of the text and then come back together to take our Lancer Notes. This activity will be finished during Monday's lesson and there will be questions assigned to students to turn in on Tuesday, January 13th.

Ms. Cagle's Link: http://ms.cagle.tripod.com/

One Week Before Winter Break!

2008-12-14T19:50:00.005-05:00

Hey All! Sorry this is coming to you so late on Sunday. I have had a jam packed weekend and it looks like there is no end in site. I'm sure you are all going through the same.

This week we will continue with the game we are going to create for our Plate Tectonics Theory and Rock Cycle review. Students were introduced to the game at the latest by Friday, some on Thursday. Fifth hour had a meeting on Friday so they are a day behind. Please do not go out and buy anything for your child to create this game. One thing that I have asked them to do is create the game using things they have already at home, reduce, reuse and recycle. All games are due when students walk into class on Wednesday. They will have time in class to work on them on Monday and Tuesday. Students will rotate through the room on Wednesday and play each other's games and give feedback to the group. Students may fix anything last minute at home on Wednesday night and bring it back on Thursday.
We will then take the assessment on Thursday. Then on Friday, we will be working on making sure that our Science Binders are in the order they should be.

Please watch for your child's progress report to come home in the mail early next week.

Have a great Winter Break!

Monday, December 15
Science
Today, students will get the hour to work on creating their game on the Rock Cycle and Plate Tectonic Theory.

Science Connections
Today, students will be introduced to me since Mr. Allie has been their Connections teacher and he has now graduated. We will be looking at an article on biofuels and playing a game called Two Truths and a Lie. During the last 15 minutes of class, all students should have their silent reading book and be reading.

Tuesday, December 16
Science
Students will continue with Monday's game creation. The game is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

Wednesday, December 17
Science
Today is game day! All games will be put out and other groups will be each take turns play the games and giving feedback to each group. This is also our assessment review.

Science Connections

Thursday, December 18
Science
Turn in any improved games from yesterday. Assessment for unit 3. Please bring a book to read in case you finish early.

Friday, December 19
Science
We will spend today working on getting all papers back and putting our Science Binder in the correct order. Students will work with a partner and give feedback to them about their Binder.

Science Connections

Mr. Allie's Last Week

2008-12-05T17:41:00.007-05:00

Well, this is Mr. Allie's last week with us. He has been quite helpful to me and the students. Hopefully he has learned a lot and ready to go into the world and teach. We still might see him around as a substitute teacher. Thanks Mr. Allie!

This week we will continue to focus on the Advanced Rock Cycle. Probably next week we will be ending this unit.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, December 8

Science

E3.1A Discriminate between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks and describe the processes that change one kind of rock into another.

We have a short video on the Forces that shaped the Earth. There will be a short worksheet to check for student understanding to go along with it. Then Mr. Allie will be finishing his Webquest on Sedimentary, Igneous and Metamorphic rocks and how they are formed.

Tuesday, December 9

Science

I will be working at WMU today and Mr. Allie will be in charge. He will be finishing the second part of the Word Boxes for Unit 3. This should be turned in before students leave.

Science Connections

Mr. Allie will be writing this lesson.

Wednesday, December 10

Science

E3.1B Explain the relationship between the rock cycle and plate tectonics theory in regard to the origins of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

We will be doing some Power Learning to help us remember the Tectonic Plate Theory. Students will learn a kinesthetic way to remember the plate boundaries and the land mass they form. They will then practice with a partner.

Next, students will work with a partner to read about the Rock Cycle p. 164 to 166 in our "Inside Earth" text book. We will work together to take Lancer Notes and write summaries. Then with a partner students will answer questions, 1a-2c. We will finish the questions in class tomorrow.

Here's an online rock cycle activity:

http://phschool.com/

Web code: cfp-1056

Thursday, December 11

Science

E3.1B Explain the relationship between the rock cycle and plate tectonics theory in regard to the origins of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

E3.1A Discriminate between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks and describe the processes that change one kind of rock into another.

Finish questions from Wednesday. See above. Turn in questions.

Students will be given a rubric on creating a game that shows the rock cycle and tectonic plate theory. They will be given class time today to begin to plan and put the game together. This process will assist students in reviewing for next week's assessment. This project will require team work (students will be responsible for their own performance with a group) and the actual game board. Students should NOT go out and purchase things to create their game, but instead, be creative about what things they already have that they could use instead (Unit 6-Sustainable Systems). I don't want anyone to feel they must go out and purchase things. We will be working in class on these games for three days (Thursday, Friday, and Monday). On Tuesday, we will be playing each other's games.

Students will have a rubric on how they are being graded on this project. They will be carrying this in their Science Binder so they can work toward the grade they would like.

Science Connection

Mr. Allie will be creating and teaching this lesson.

Friday, December 12

Science

Students will continue working on their gameboard from Thursday. See state standards from Thursday.

Web-quest

2008-12-04T22:27:00.003-05:00

Today we are working on a web-quest on Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks. To begin your web-quest click on this link and follow the directions of the webpage.

http://www.mcsdk12.org/curr/webquests/rocks/rockswebquest.htm

2008-11-30T20:42:00.004-05:00

Hope you all had a great holiday break and had plenty of delicious food. Last week was a short week where the students had the ACT prep testing on Tuesday. With the Magnet curriculum evaluators coming in we have not had that much time to work on our new unit on the Advanced Rock Cycle. This week we will get deep into the unit and begin doing some activities and labs with rocks and minerals.

The Ed Performance testing is this week so make sure everyone is well rested and eating a healthy breakfast. Also, everyone is getting a new connections class, the schedule will go home on Monday.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, December 1st

Science

We will be learning about the Plate Tectonic Theory and taking Lancer notes.

Tuesday, December 2nd

Science

We will work on a foldable activity to learn more about the three types of plate boundaries. We will also begin Minerals.

Wednesday, December 3rd

Science

Ed-Performance Testing

Thursday, December 4th

Science

Ed-Performance Testing

Friday, December 5th

Science

We will be doing an activity on the rock cycle and how igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks form.

2008-11-16T19:09:00.001-05:00

We had a great week as we wrapped up our unit on Cells. The next unit we are beginning is on the advanced rock cycle. This unit includes rocks and minerals, tectonic plates, and many other topics. We will begin the new unit this week as well as learn more about Biotechnology. The new unit is a chance to get a fresh start as we close towards winter break.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, November 17

Science

We will begin our advanced rock cycle mind map. We will also have a chance to make some test corrections to our past assessment.

Tuesday, November 18

Science

We will do our unit 3 word boxes today. These are a great way to continue to study for the rest of the unit.

Wednesday, November 19

Science

We will be learning about DNA, traits, and genes as part of our genetically modified organisms unit.

Science

Thursday, November 20

We will learn about the theory of plate tectonics as part of our unit on the advanced rock cycle.

Science

Friday, November 21

Today we will be learning about GMO's that are in our daily life. How do different people feel about GMO's? How do my peers feel about them? There will be group work and partner work today. An Exit Slip will be the piece need to check for student understanding.

2008-11-09T21:43:00.003-05:00

What a great week we had with the field trip on Thursday! It was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed the trip to Detroit and Ford Field. The Science and Engineering Fair had all types of unique displays and demonstrations available, as well as some great hands on activities. Overall, the field trip went very smoothly and the students had a wonderful time.

We are at the conclusion of our plant unit, and the assessment is Tuesday. Make sure your child is looking over the study guide and continues to study.

Picture day is this Thursday (November 13th).

The Uglies is coming to a conclusion and we will be reading up to page 414 in class this week. The last eleven pages will need to be read by the students on their own.

We will begin to learn about GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) this week as part of our magnet curriculum on Biotechnology.

Wednesday is a very exciting day as we will have many great speakers from many different professions for our Career Day!!

Monday, November 10

Science

The Uglies page 389-397. Students will use the class Jeopardy game to help review for their assessment tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 11

Science

Unit 2 Assessment. Students should bring some reading material with them for after the test.

Wednesday, November 12

Science

Career Day will take up the first four hours of the day. Hours 5, 6, and 7 will begin learning about GMO's by doing a simple experiment on isolating DNA from wheat-germ.

Thursday, November 13

Science

The Uglies page 398-414. Students will watch a video entitled History's Harvest from united-streaming as an introduction to genetically modified organisms. Students will discuss the Pros and Cons of GMO's.

Friday, November 14

Science

Students will use the laptop computers to learn ore about Genetically Modified Organisms. The website is entitled Seeds of Fear and it is from PBS.

2008-11-01T00:05:00.003-04:00

What a GREAT week we had with Spirit Week! It was a lot of fun and the pep assembly on Friday was terrific! Please be sure that your child has brought his/her progress report to you for a signature and return it on Monday for a homework assignment.

Remember that there is no school for students on Tuesday due to teacher professional development. Then on Thursday, there is the trip to Detroit's Ford Field for the science and engineering fair. Your child had to have their field trip permission trip slip returned today (Friday) to attend. Teachers will be making the teams on Monday during their plan time.

This week we will be finishing up our work on cells and reviewing for the assessment which will be on November 11th.

Picture Day is November 13th. Students were given their picture packets in Advisory on Thursday.

Here's the schedule:
Monday, November 3

Science
Lab Day. Students will be going into the lab to view different slides on plant and animal cells. We will be collecting progress reports.

Tuesday, November 4

No School for Students, Teacher Professional Development Day.

Wednesday, November 5

Science
We will be working to organize our planner by fixing the Table of Contents and then the pages. Be sure to bring all papers. The study guide for the assessment will also be handed out. We will be creating a Fold-able to help with our studying for the test.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be using an article on Genetically Modified Organisms to teach a reading strategy for students. There is on more group to create their Podcast today.

Thursday, November 6
Detroit Field Trip! 8:00-4:00.

Friday, November 7
Science
Students will work in pairs to complete their study guides. The assessment will be on Tuesday, November 11th. We will also work with our Fold-able study guide.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be using an article on Genetically Modified Organisms to teach a reading strategy for students.

2008-10-10T18:36:00.004-04:00

Here we go, we are all ready for our Student-Led Conferences next week. We hope that you and your child can make it. It is so important to work together as a team to endorse student learning. I am excited to see all my advisory students and their parent or guardian.

Next week is also a big week because it is MEAP week. It is critical that all students are to school on time and ready to take their test on Tuesday and Thursday. There are new rules from the state on how the test is administered and how many students have to take the test on that day for it to count. Let's get a good night's sleep and a great breakfast and tackle that MEAP.

Monday, October 13

Science
Mr. Allie will be teaching a continuation of Thursday's lesson on Nanotechnology. Students will use their sticky notes from last time to write a short summary of what they learned. Next students will work in teams to read about a new Nanotechnology innovation. They will then use a strategy called, "One Strays". Students will be in charge of teaching other groups about the innovation that they read about and then learning about other group's innovations.

Science Connections
This is one more day of research to gather information on the innovation that students are researching to begin creating their podcasts.

Tuesday, October 14
MEAP Testing from 7:30 to 10:30
1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hours will have class in the PM.

Science
We will begin our next unit on Cells. We will be working on a vocabulary activity to help students have fluency and knowledge of new science words. Then we will begin reading in our NEW science text book on "Cells and Heredity". We will be starting with Chapter 1 section 2 and taking Lancer Notes.

Wednesday, October 15 (PM classes, 1/2 day)

Science
We will continue yesterday's lesson for today's classes.

Thursday, October 16
MEAP Testing 7:30 to 10:30

Science
Students will be using inquiry to learn about water tension with Mr. Allie. They will be testing two different substances for tension. They will complete a worksheet to show what they are learning.

Friday, October 17
Science
Students will be creating cells in their teams to demonstrate their knowledge of the cell's organelles. After they dry, they will be hung from the ceiling. We call this, "Cells on the Ceiling".

2008-10-03T18:04:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday! We have just completed the 1st Science Unit on Atoms. It was a tough one to start with, but the kids have done pretty well. We took the assessment on Friday and will get the tests back on Monday. Students will be given a one time only opportunity to correct make corrections on their test for half credit. I will be sending home a sheet that has exactly how to obtain those points. To get any points back, students must follow the directions exactly. Students must have the Test Reflection Sheet completed and turned in by Tuesday.
Our main focus this next week will be on Nanotechnology. It should be really fun.

Remember: October 10th is a half day for students.

Watch for your child's time for their Student Led Conference in the mail.

Monday, October 6

Science
We will be going over the test and the Test Reflection to earn back 1/2 points from the test.

Tuesday, October 7
Science
Today we will be organizing our Science Binder, completing our Nanotechnology Mind Map and beginning our Nanojournal.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be working with students to begin some research on Nanotechnology so they can begin their work on their podcasts. We will also view a short Nanotech video from Brainpop.

Wednesday, October 8
Science
Mr. Allie will be leading the lesson today. There is a short video on nanotechnology. Students will be completing a worksheet to go along with the video.

Thursday, October 9
Science
In class, we will be using a magazine called, Big Picture on Nanotechnology. Mr. Allie will be taking half the class and I will take the other. We will use reading strategies to obtain information and discovering the positives and negatives about nanotech.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be working with students to begin some research on Nanotechnology so they can begin their work on their podcasts.

Friday, October 10 (1/2 day)
Students will attend their Advisory class all day (1/2 day) to prepare for their Student Led Conferences.

2008-09-26T17:37:00.003-04:00

Well here we are about done with our first unit on Atoms. I think the students should do pretty well. The assessment for this unit will be on Friday, October 3. Next week students will be given a study guide to help them prepare for the test. Our main job next week is to be reading our part of the Uglies and then each day we will be doing some review. I can't wait to read with the class.

Please remember that progress reports went home Friday, September 26 and need to be signed and returned with any late work on Monday.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, September 29

Science
The Uglies page 136-146. Teach class routines for a class read. Read pages 136- 146.
Mr. Allie will then teach a short lesson on covalent and ionic bonding.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be using an article on Nanotechnology to use a reading strategy to help students become better readers.

Tuesday, September 30

Science
The Uglies page 147-155. We will have a mini lesson on strong forces and electromagnetic forces. We will also review the states of matter and some very basic pieces that 8th graders already were taught. Students will also receive their Review sheet. Please be sure it comes back to class each day.

Wednesday, October 1

Science
The Uglies page 156-163. Students will be working in pairs to use the Review sheet for the test on Friday.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be using an article on Nanotechnology to use a reading strategy to help students become better readers.

Thursday, October 2

Science
The Uglies page 164- 171. Students will use the class Jeopardy game to help review for their assessment tomorrow.

Friday, October 3

Science
Unit 1 Assessment. Students should bring some reading material with them for after the test.

Science Connections
Mr. Allie will be using an article on Nanotechnology to use a reading strategy to help students become better readers.

2008-09-21T17:25:00.003-04:00

We are making lots of progress learning about Atoms. We are hoping to wrap this unit up this week and have the assessment on October 3rd. This week, we will be looking at organic elements, reviewing atomic mass and isotopes, talking about compounds and elements and the Periodic Table. Learning this week is very important since our class will be reading from Uglies the following week and then having the assessment on Friday.

Very Important Information: Pinnacle has been down since Friday, September 19th. Progress Reports will now go home on Friday, September 26th.

Monday, September 22

Science
C1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific concept using information from several sources.
Students will be completing the Vocabulary activity from last Friday.

Word Boxes are due today at the end of class.

Tuesday, September 23

Science

B2.2B Recognize the six most common elements in organic molecules (C,H,N,O,P,S).

Mr. Allie has created this lesson. It will be a PowerPoint containing short video clips on the organic compounds. Lancer Notes will be used.

Science Connections

Students will read an article on Nanotechnology and use a reading strategy to gather information from the non-fiction piece. Mr. Allie will begin teaching the connections class today.

Wednesday, September 24

Science
C4.8A Identify the location, relative mass, and charge for electrons, protons, and neutrons.

Students, by request, will review the concepts of atomic mass and isotopes. This should be a very fun lesson and I don't want to give away the surprises. Please ask your child about this after school today.

Thursday, September 25

Science
C4.9A Identify elements with similar chemical and physical properties using the periodic table.
C4.2A Name simple binary compounds using their formula.
C4.2B Given the name, write the formula of simple binary compounds.

Students will use a mind map to help grasp the idea of atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds. Material will be presented on a PowerPoint. Students will take Lancer Notes.

Science Connections
Students will read an article on Nanotechnology and use a reading strategy to help them gather information from the non-fiction piece. Mr. Allie will again be taking over the Connections class for the rest of the rest of the semester.

Friday, September 26

Science
Mr. Allie and myself will be putting a review together for students that should address any areas that we feel need to be reviewed. This is also a day to catch up on any lessons that have not been finished.

2008-09-12T19:46:00.003-04:00

Well, week one has come and gone, and things went well. We learned about the structure of an atom and how to use Lancer Notes. There really hasn't been any formal homework yet, but we will be getting more into the curriculum next week. This week, we have also been working on putting together our Science Binder. We will be keeping all our work in the binder and notes. The Science Binder will then be used for your child to show you their learning for the marking period during their Student-Led Conference.

Remember that September 19th there is no school for students. Open House is Thursday night September 18th 6:30 to 8:00.

Here's the schedule for this week:

Monday, September 15

Science
C4.8B Describe the atom as mostly empty space with an extremely small, dense nucleus consisting of the protons and neutrons and an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus.
C4.8C Recognize that protons repel each other and that a strong force needs to be present to keep the nucleus intact.
There are a few hours that need to finish up lesson 10.2 this week, they are 1st and 5th hour. The other classes will be working on lesson 10.2 on Masses of Atoms.

Tuesday, September 16

Science
C4.9A Identify elements with similar chemical and physical properties using the periodic table.
C4.8C Recognize that protons repel each other and that a strong force needs to be present to keep the nucleus intact.

1st and 5th hour will be completing the lesson on the Masses of Atoms (10.2). Lesson 10.4 on the Periodic Table of Elements will be taught in 2nd, 6th and 7th hours.

Current Events in Science (Connections)
Students will continue to work on the Nanotechnology reading from Friday and make a few of their important facts into quiz questions for their peers. Bring the Uglies to class.

Wednesday, September 14

Science
C4.9A Identify elements with similar chemical and physical properties using the periodic table.

Students in 1st and 5th hours will be working on lesson 10.4 on the Periodic Table. 2nd, 6th and 7th will be working in teams on an activity to create their own Periodic Table of Elements.

Thursday, September 15

Science
All classes will be working on a vocabulary activity, Word Boxes, which will be turned in at the end of the hour.

Current Events in Science (Connections)
Students will be reading an article on fashion and beauty and how it is connected to Nanotechnology. We will be working on pre-, during, and post reading activities.

Friday, September 16

No School for Students, Teacher Professional Development.

2008-09-07T16:21:00.003-04:00

Welcome Back Everyone! It should be a great first full week of school. Our team's syllabus should be going home this week, so I will not spend the time on that here. I can't wait to begin the exciting work with Biotechnology and Student-Led Conferences. More information will arrive about those things later. Let me get to this week's schedule.

Monday, September 8

Science

MI Content Standard: C4.8A Identify the location, relative mass, and charge for electrons, protons and neutrons.

Students will be working on an activity called, The Atoms Family that will assist them in learning the parts of an atom. We will use story, drawing and a song to help with the lesson. There will be a short video to help students connect The Atoms Family lesson with the science.

Science Connections

Students will be adding to their list of science ideas they would like to research or learn about. We will begin today with reading about Nanotechnology from the middle school magazine, Nanooze. We will be working on discussing the reading and using reading strategies to assist in reading comprehension.

Tuesday, September 9

Science

MI Content Standard: C4.8A Identify the location, relative mass, and charge for electrons, neutrons and protons.

During the first half of the period, students will be getting their pictures taken for photo IDs. During the second half, we will be setting up our Science Notebooks and creating the mind maps for the overall unit.

Wednesday, September 10

Science
MI Content Standard: C4.8B Describe the atom as mostly empty space with an extremely small, dense nucleus consisting of the protons and neutrons and an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus. C4.8C Recognize that protons repel each other and that a strong force needs to be present to keep the nucleus intact.

Students will begin gathering reading information from lesson 10.1 in the Glencoe Physical Science Book. Lancer Notes will be introduced and they will be put into their notebook. A PowerPoint will also be used to help with student understanding. Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies will be used to allow students to demonstrate their learning throughout the lesson.

Science Connections
Students will continue to work on their list for science research. We will continue to use reading strategies to read our Nanooze magazine. During the last 15 minutes of class, we will read our assigned reading for the week from, Uglies.

Thursday, September 11

Science
MI Content Standard: C4.8B Describe the atom as mostly empty space with an extremely small, dense nucleus consisting of the protons and neutrons and an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus. C4.8C Recognize that protons repel each other and that a strong force needs to be present to keep the nucleus intact.

Students will be reading about lesson 10.2 Smaller Particles of Matter. They will use Lancer Notes and put them into their notebook. A PowerPoint will also be used to help with student understanding. Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies will be used to allow students to demonstrate their learning throughout the lesson.

Friday, September 12

Science
MI Content Standard: C4.8B Describe the atom as mostly empty space with an extremely small, dense nucleus consisting of the protons and neutrons and an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus. C4.8C Recognize that protons repel each other and that a strong force needs to be present to keep the nucleus intact.

Students will use their Lancer Notes and use PowerPoint lesson 10.3 on Masses of Atoms. They will use the Glencoe Physical Science Book. Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies will be used to allow students to demonstrate their learning throughout the lesson.

Science Connections
Students will continue to add to the science research list. Today, students will determine what type of science they would like to research. If there is any Nanooze to finish, that will be done today and any reading that needs to be done with Uglies, will be done also.

2008-06-05T12:58:00.003-04:00

Here are the review Jeopardy Games, I hope. I have been having trouble getting things to download on here lately.

Ch%208%20Jeopardy%20R1.ppt
Ch%208%20Jeopardy%20R2.ppt
Jeopardy%20assessment%201%20physics2.ppt
Jeopardy%20assessment%201%20physics3.ppt
Jeopardy%20ch%2010%20chemistry.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R1.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R2.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R3.ppt
Jeopardy%20chapter%2010%20part%20duex.ppt

These are out of order, but they are here. If I missed one, let me know.

2008-06-01T11:18:00.003-04:00

We are down to the last full week of school. It really has gone quickly. Lots of different activities will be going on this week, so please check the calendar with your child. I also have activities posted on last week's blog.

This week, we will be continuing Reproductive Health and then reviewing for the final exam. Students began the year with a Science Journal and then were given a second journal when we began Chemistry. These are wonderful tools for them to study from for the exam and they will be allowed to use them on the final. We have talked about this through out the year so students were told to keep them or keep them in their class crate in the room. If your child has lost their journal, they need to purchase a notebook and find a friend to get the notes from on their own time, not during class. What we are doing right now in Reproductive Health will also be on the final. If your child has borrowed another child's notebook, please help them keep track of it and return it to their friend in a timely manner so that they can study for their own final and have the journal for their exam too.

Science
Monday, June 2
Collect Progress Reports that were sent home on Friday with every class.
Session 7 "Understanding STD and HIV". Students will describe common symptoms of STD in males and females. They will describe how HIV and other STD are transmitted. There will be a discussion on the short term and long term consequences of both HIV and STD. They will describe ways to reduce the risk of getting HIV and other STD. They will also identify places to get tested and treated for STD, including HIV.

Tuesday, June 3

Session 8 "Examining the Risk of Unsafe Choices". Students will analyze the risk of having multiple and overlapping partners. They will also rate the risk of different partner scenarios.

Wednesday, June 4

Session 9 " Examining the Risk of Unsafe Choices (Continued)". Students who volunteered earlier in the week, will describe what it is like to call an HIV/AIDS or other STD hot line for information. They will work on personalizing their vulnerability to HIV and the impact of a pregnancy on their lives.

Thursday, June 5

IMAX trip!

Friday, June 6

There will be a Guest Teacher here today. Biotech video will be shown.

Ecosystems
Monday, June 2; Wednesday, June 4; and Friday, June 6

Students will have class time to complete their ABC books which are due to show others on Tuesday, June 10. Research should already be done so now we are working on just creating the book pages, coloring them and putting the book together with their group. Please bring all your materials to class.

2008-05-23T17:17:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend! It's nice to have that third day off. Hopefully we'll have great weather all weekend! Progress Reports went home on Friday and should be returned on Tuesday with a parent signature for a homework assignment. There will be no late work this marking period so REMEMBER to bring it back.

Next week, we will be returning to the Reproductive Health Curriculum. The kids seemed to like the work with Sustainable Systems that we did, but they are really motivated to be in Reproductive Health, imagine that.

There are also lots of different activities happening at Milwood and field trips coming To the best of my memory, here is the list:

May 29th - Speaker for Repo. Health and Last day of Homework Hub
May 30th - Milwood Talent Show 1:30 to 2:20
June 2nd or 4th - Field Trip to WMU for student who purchased tickets (100 Milwood Tickets
and Tier 1) 9:00 to 2:00
June 5th - IMAX theater in Lansing for Tier 1 and students with official ID. Shows "Amazon"
and "Hurricane on the Bayo" we will be watching to go along with our Biotechnology
theme.
June 5th - All work should be turned in.
June 10th - Farewell Awards Ceremony from 6:00 to 7:00. Students must report by 5:45 or
they will be seated in the bleachers so they do not interrupt the ceremony.
June 10th - Farewell Dance to immediately follow the Awards Ceremony. STUDENTS MUST
BE IN SCHOOL ALL DAY TO ATTEND THE DANCE!
June 11th and 12th - Exams!!!! 1/2 day schedule.
June 12th - Last day of school! Hurray for summer!

Hope this helps!

Science
Tuesday, May 27th

Return signed Progress Reports for homework grade. Finish lesson-"Not Everyone is Having Sex". We will finish the reasons why chart with 2nd period. Then we will discuss what influences these decisions. Students will create a list of ways to show affection without having sexual intercourse. Then students will be given the homework assignment: Then and Now.

Homework: Then and Now (work with a parent or guardian).

Wednesday, May 28th

Session 5 "The Safest Choice: Deciding Not to Have Sex". We will discuss "norms", list 4 characteristics of a clear "No" statement, distinguish between ineffective and effective No statements, and use clear "NO" statements effectively.

Thursday, May 29th

Speaker, Tiffany Ankley, Family Court Referee, will be speaking with the classes today.

Friday, May 30th

Session 6 "Saying No to Having Sex". Give examples of alternative actions and delay tactics, respond to pressure with clear "NO" statements, and identify refusal skills.

Ecosystems

Tuesday, May 27

Students will be conferencing with me to show me how much they have completed of their Ecosystem ABC book. Meanwhile, they will be working on completing their book pages.

Thursday, May 29

Students will work on their books.

2008-05-16T21:05:00.007-04:00

Time is really getting the best of us here. We really need more of it. This coming week, the talent show will be viewed by Tier 1 students on Friday. On Monday, we will be having our team's Spring Fling for Tier 1 students. Also, remember to have your ID to attend either activity.

We had quite a few visitors to our school last week and our teachers celebrated having completed one of our new biotechnology units to submit to the government for the Magnet Grant. Now we are on to writing the next 5 units. It may be a very short summer!

Students seemed really excited about their high school Open House visits and shared in Advisory class about them.

That's all that I can think of for now. Keep watching for changes during the week.

Science
Monday, May 19

Students will finish their brochures in class and have them printed up to present tomorrow to the class.

Tuesday, May 20

Students will present their brochures and get feedback from peers and me. We will then begin to look at "What buildings/homes in Kalamazoo County are sustainable? " We will look at the Gibbs House and Manitou Ecovillage.

Wednesday, May 21
Monday's lesson took longer than planned so we are completing Tuesday's lesson today.

Homework: Talk to your parent or guardian about how many miles you travel per year in a vehicle that uses gasoline. We need this information for Friday.

Thursday, May 22
We will review the three elements need to maintain a sustainable system. Then we will brainstorm what we have learned so far about sustainable housing and create our own sustainable home blue print.

If you are looking for the PowerPoint lesson from Wednesday to be down loaded, for some reason, it still will not download. Come see me tomorrow for the handout version. Sorry!

Friday, May 23
Students will spend a few minutes finishing their blue prints (15 minutes). Then we will take our Ecological Footprint on line.
http://www.myfootprint.org/en/
Tuesday, May 20
Students will continue their research on their Ecosystem.

Thursday, May 22
Students will continue their research on their Ecosystem.

2008-05-10T10:34:00.016-04:00

We've had a good week with in Reproductive Health. Lots of good discussions going on. Be sure to look for some homework from your child on Monday. There will not be a lot of grades when it comes to this class, I'm hoping to get one per week. We will be dispersing some of our learning about sustainable systems throughout these lessons also for our Biotechnology Unit to begin.

Science

Monday, May 12

Objective: Students will discuss ways to show love and affection without having sex.

Objective: Students will begin to look at what a sustainable system is and create a collage to show their understanding.

We will be finishing lesson 4 "Not Everyone is Having Sex". Then we will be moving on to learning about Sustainable Systems. We will discuss the definition and then work in groups to create a collage of what a sustainable system is.

Tuesday, May 13

Objective: Students will discover what Green building is and describe how Brown building affects the environment and human health.

Students will read about Green building and then begin to work in teams to research the effects of buildings on the environment and human health. They will be on a team that is going to create a public service announcement to inform the public about how buildings affect 1)energy and water consumption, 2)amount of land use and 3)atmospheric alteration.

Wednesday, May 14

Continuation from Tuesday. Students will use the lap tops to research their topic.

Helpful sites:

http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/ Go current issue on stands and look through pages 12-24.

http://greenbuilding.com/

http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm

http://www.globalgreen.org/greenbuilding/index.html

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes.aspx

http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-02/americas-50-greenest-cities?page=1

http://www.sciam.com/search/index.cfm?q=green+building

http://css.snre.umich.edu/

http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-08.pdf- Very specific!

Please feel free to find others and share them with us!

Thursday, May 15

Continuation from Tuesay. Students will be putting together their final piece to present to the class tomorrow. This should be a publishable piece of work.

Brochure template: http://h10050.www1.hp.com/activitycenter/us/en/maker/brochure.html

brochure%20template.doc

Assignment: Project%20Day%21.ppt

Friday, May 16Students will present their promotional pieces and the class will give feedback through the Carousel Feedback process.

Ecosystems

Monday, May 12

Students will view Blue Planet part II to observe the interaction of producers, consumers and decomposers in the ocean. They will then complete the "Who Eats Who in MI Ecosystems" project from last week. Due today.

Wednesday, May 14

Students will go over the Ecosystems ABC project. We will answer any questions in class. Then we will get into groups and students will choose the ecosystem they would like to work on. We will begin work today.

Friday, May 16

Students will have today to work on researching their ecosystem.

Wednesday, May 14

Objective: Students will examine

2008-05-02T12:11:00.002-04:00

Here we go, the last marking period for the 2007- 2008 school year. The weather is improving too. This is so exciting. All the end of the year plans are coming together too.

We did begin Reproductive Health last week on Thursday. The kids are so excited.:) We went over the classroom ground rules and I am encouraging them to go home and talk to you about what they learned in class each day. It is so important to know where our kids thoughts are on these topics and sometimes in a classroom some students will not share their thoughts on the matter.

Have a great week!

Science
Monday, May 5 -Happy Cinco de Mayo

We will be reviewing the ground rules for Reproductive Health and voting on Peer Leaders. Then we will begin the video, The Miracle of Life.

Tuesday, May 6

We will be finishing the video, The Miracle of Life.

Wednesday, May 7

Today we will be reviewing the Male and Female Reproductive System. We will review the function and the location of each and place it in the correct location on the worksheet.

Thursday, May 8

Today's lesson is, "Not Everyone is Having Sex." Students will be listing reasons why teens choose not to have sex and identify other ways of showing love and affection without having sex.

Homework: Then and Now worksheet p. 3. Due May 9th.

Parents/Guardians, please note that this worksheet is only asking for you to return the bottom section of the worksheet saying that you and your child discussed the questions. What a great opportunity for you and your child to talk. If it is uncomfortable looking at one another, may I suggest completing this while riding in the car. No eye contact needs to be made, but you have a captive audience.

Friday, May 9

Collect homework sheet p. 3. Today's lesson is, "The Safest Choice: Deciding Not to Have Sex".
We will be discussing what a "norm" is and its effect on personal decisions. Then we will be discussing characteristics of NO statements, effective NO statements, and how to use NO statements effectively.

MI Ecosystems

Tuesday, May 6
We will be welcoming back students who have been working with Mr. Koch on a short project for WMU today. We will review what has happened while they have been gone and pick up lesson 2 on "It's All Connected". Students will be using Lancer notes.

Thursday, May 8
We will be finishing up lesson 2 and actually finding food webs on the DNR posters that show MI Ecosystems.

2008-04-28T06:44:00.003-04:00

Wow! What happened to the Spring weather? Hope to see it back soon. We are going to begin Reproductive Health May 1st. This is a fun class for students because they get to talk about their lives and beliefs more than in a typical science class. I'm looking forward to it.

Have a great week!

Science
Monday, April 28
We are going to be working in groups on creating our own shortened version of the periodic table of elements. Students will be using the Bohr's model and dot diagramming with it.

Tuesday, April 29
Mixtures day! Today we will be looking back at a chemistry section on solutions, solvents and mixtures and putting them to use in real life.

Wednesday, April 30
Chemistry Scavenger Hunt on line. There will be a guest teacher here today (unless I don't get called for Jury Duty). Please remind your child of your expectations for him/her when there is a guest in the classroom. I will remind them also. Thank you. Students will hopefully be working in the computer lab today.
http://campuses.cleburne.k12.tx.us/wheat/Science/chemistryscavenger.htm
Thursday, May 1
Reproductive Health begins today. We will go over the routines and expectations for class and look at what the outline is for this unit.

Friday, May 2
Lesson 1. More to follow on this. The TE is not at hand this moment.

MI Ecosystems
Monday, April 28
Students will be looking at lesson 2 "It's All Connected". They will be using ecosystem posters to help explain food chains. Students will also take Lancer Notes to put into their folder.

Wednesday, April 30
Continue Monday's lesson.

Friday, May 2
We will view a portion of "Blue Planet" on food chains. Students will discuss examples from the movie and then take different MI Ecosystems and begin working on food chains within it.

2008-04-18T19:02:00.005-04:00

Hello All! It was the first week back from break and the first week without Mr. Musser. We really do miss him.

Students were given a Periodic Table Word Search activity today to work on some over the weekend. If there are any questions on how to complete parts of this, please leave those parts until Monday. We will work on this for about 10 minutes on Monday before we correct them. Students also asked for me to link a Periodic Table to the site. Here it is:

http://education.jlab.org/beamsactivity/6thgrade/tableofelements/index.html

Please check with your child, to see that they turned in their high school class choices with your signature. If it has not been turned in yet, please get it to us by Monday.

Science

Monday, April 21

We will be completing the Foldable Study guide. Remember to bring page 45 to class and turn in.

7th Period will be finishing lesson 10.4.

Tuesday, April 22

Students will be working in class on completing the Ch. 10 review to prepare for the assessment on Thursday. Assignment during class is p. 293-295, Reviewing Vocabulary 1-10; Checking Concepts 1-10; Understanding Concepts 11-15; and Thinking Critically 17 and 18. Students can work with partners at their tables and should not have to bring any homework home. This assignment is due at the end of the class period.

Wednesday, April 23

We will answer any review questions from yesterday and play Jeopardy to review for tomorrow's assessment.
Jeopardy Game Review
Jeopardy%20ch%2010%20chemistry.ppt
Jeopardy%20chapter%2010%20part%20duex.ppt
Thursday, April 24

Assessment 10 in class.

Friday, April 25

Students will play Chemistry Bingo today in class. This is to help them get better aquainted with using the Periodic Table.

Ecosystems

Tuesday, April 22

This is going to be a study period due to most of the class working on an activity with Mr. Koch.

Thursday, April 24

Students will complete their riddle sheets and go on an outdoor scavenger hunt to find parts of the ecosystem.

2008-04-10T14:50:00.006-04:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. Mine was very restful. Only 9 weeks left before Summer Vacation. Four of those weeks will be spent on Reproductive Health so we only have a little time left for chemistry. We have lots to learn to be ready for high school. Let's dig in for the last few weeks.

Also, many of you already know that Mr. Musser's last day was on April 3rd. He is being offered a long-term subbing job here at Milwood and WMU has allowed him to graduate a few days early. Congratulations Mr. Musser! We will miss you.

Science

Monday, April 14

We will be reviewing what we have learned from chapter 10. To do this, we will be creating a foldable pamphlet to help us. If you are absent this day, please see the class model or better yet, get with a friend and make your foldable. This item will be a good help in studying for the assessment too.

Tuesday, April 15

Please push back Monday's lesson to Tuesday. Lesson is taking longer than expected.

Wednesday, April 16
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=2113C4B6-CECB-42E5-B8E4-1244EB5EC32F
Students will view video with a guest teacher. This video should help prepare students to learn about the Periodic Table of Elements. There will be a short worksheet at the end of the video. Worksheets should be handed in before students leave class.

Thursday, April 17

Students will read lesson 10.4 The Periodic Table. They will put notes into their journal. 7th hour will work on 10.3-they are one class behind due to the assembly before Spring Break.
Homework: worksheet page 45

Friday, April 18

We will correct last night's homework. Students will work in partners to review chapter 10. On Monday we will have a class review and on Tuesday, we will have the chapter 10 assessment.

Ecosystems

Monday, April 14

We will begin class with an "Inside/Outside Circle" as a classbuilding activity. Then we will move to our new seats. With our new groups, we will work on a teambuilding activity called, "I'm Outta Here!" This will take ~15 minutes. Then we will begin our Ecosystems Vocabulary activity with our group. Students will work in their teams using "Fan-N-Pick" to review vocabulary.

Wednesday, April 16

Students will be viewing a video on ecosystems. There will be a worksheet for students to complete with it.

Friday, April 18

Students will review vocabulary using Monday's Fan-N-Pick activity. Next they will be given cards to complete a classbuilding activity "Find-Someone-Who". We will complete 3 rounds of this one with new cards each time. We will then begin our Powerpoint lesson on "It's All Connected". Students will be using Lancer notes and keeping them in their folder.

Ecosystems%20Lesson%202.ppt

2008-03-28T16:16:00.008-04:00

Well here we are another week into spring and there is still a little snow on the ground! We are hoping for some warm temperatures so that we can get outside and also for a fun Spring Break. Remember that there is no school on Friday April 4th. Wish a happy Spring Break to all!

Science

Monday, March 31st

Today we will be finishing up the notes from Ch. 10.1 Structure of the Atom. Students will then be working on "Structure of the Atom" worksheet.

Notes: Ch.%2010.1%20Structure%20of%20the%20Atom.ppt

Tuesday, April 1st

Happy April Fool's Day! We will making a concept map about atomic structure. Students will be reading through Chapter 10.2 "Smaller Particles of Matter". We will be taking a few notes about the readings.

Wednesday, April 2nd

Today we will be looking at Chapter 10.3 "Masses of Atoms ". We will be taking notes on the chapter.

Ch%2010.2%20Smaller%20Particles%20of%20Matter.ppt

Thursday, April 3rd

Students will be doing a Design Your Own Experiment Lab called "Candy Covered Isotopes". They will be making a model representing the average atomic mass calculations of isotopes.

Notes:

10.3.ppt

Friday, April 4th

NO SCHOOL! Have a great Spring Break!

Ecosystems

Monday, March 31st

Students will be learning about what a habitat is, along with examples. We will be distinguishing between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem. Students will also determine which systems are human managed as well the interdependence of the organisms.

Wednesday, April 2nd

Students will be given examples of wildlife riddles from which they must determine the animal being described along with its ecosystem.

2008-03-21T12:58:00.003-04:00

Snow, snow GO AWAY! The first full day of spring and we have a snow storm! Hopefully this is the end. Reminder: Chapter 9 Assessment is on Monday and we are weening ourselves away from using our journals on tests. Using the Journals to study should be very helpful. Also using the Jeopardy study guide on this blog and last week's blog should also be helpful.

I will be attending a conference next week, but learning is expected to continue in my absence. Mr. Musser will be the teacher and all the planning has been done to accommodate students. Please remind your child of your expectations when there is a Guest Teacher in the room. Thank you.
Here is the review for Monday's Assessment:
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R1.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R2.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R3.ppt
Science
Monday, March 24th

Chapter 9 Assessment.

Tuesday, March 25th

We will begin to work on the model of the atom. We will be reading "The Atom Family Album", drawing the faces of these family members and learning a song to go with it.

Wednesday, March 26th

Students will be learning the vocabulary for chapter 10. This is the list:
chemical symbol
nucleus
electron
proton
neutron
atomic number
electron cloud
quark
mass number
isotope
average atomic mass
periodic table
group
dot diagram
period
metal
nonmetal
metalloid

Thursday, March 27th

There will be a PowerPoint presentation on lesson 10.1. Students will take notes from the presentation. Students will be able to list the names and symbols of common elements, describe the present model of the atom, and describe how electrons are arranged in an atom.

Friday, March 28th

Students will complete the Rainbow Lab from last week due to the half day (4-7th hours).

Ecosystems

Tuesday, March 25th

Students will be looking at the multiple levels of environmental organization that exists. We will be differentiating between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem.

Thursday, March 26th

Students will be using their definitions of an ecosystem in order to distinguish whether or not an example is really an ecosystem. Students will then look at human manged ecosystems versus non- human managed ecosystems.

2008-03-14T16:56:00.007-04:00

Here we are done with one more marking period. Conferences are next week March 19th and 20th. We are really hoping to see as many of you as possible to celebrate your child's learning, discuss their future goals and moving to high school.

We had a great Science Fair/Literacy Night on Monday Night. Lots of displays to show and activities to enjoy here at Milwood. It was a fun night.

Here we come Spring!

Science

Monday, March 17th

Today we will be finishing up lesson 9.3 with all groups. Mr. Musser and I were both gone on Thursday and so now the classes are all in different places. We hope to all be in the same spot by the end of today.

Notes:
Ch.%209.3%20Describing%20Matter.ppt

Tuesday, March 18th

We will be in the Lab working with "Is it a Substance?" Students will be mixing vinegar and baking soda and vinegar with steel wool. They will also see a demo on the weight change of a burning lighter and decomposing water.

Wednesday, March 19th

We are going to be using a Kagan Strategy (Rally Coach) to review for next week's test on lesson 9.

Thursday, March 20th

Half day. We hope to be making Rainbow Cylinders. This will focus on accurately measuring.

Friday, March

Jeopardy Review for Monday's Assessment.

Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R1.ppt
Jeopardy%20Ch.%209%20R3.ppt

Ecosystems

Monday, March 17th

We will be welcoming our new class into Ecostystems. There will be a class building activity followed with a short pretest to see what students already know.

Wednesday, March 19th

We will be looking at a PowerPoint presentation about what makes Michigan such a special place to live in.

Friday, March 21st

We will begin looking at what an ecosystem is and what different types of ecosystems exist here in Michigan.

2008-03-06T17:11:00.006-05:00

Hello to all! We are all anxious for spring to get here. Students have been working very hard on finishing up their Science Fair Projects. Students have been working during lunch hours with Mrs. Kahler and Mr. Musser as well as after school. We have some great projects under construction and all are looking forward to the Science Fair/ Literacy night on Monday, March 10th from 5:30-8:00.

Please note that conferences will be March 19th and 20th. We look forward to sitting down with you to discuss your child's progress.

Science

Monday, March 10

We will be doing Activity 9.1 "Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures". In this activity we will be looking at a number of substances in order to determine whether they are an element, compound, or mixture. We will follow up this activity with a DVD about the scientific method. Don't forget that we also have Science Fair/Literacy night from 5:30-8:00.

Tuesday, March 11

We will be working on Lesson 9.2 "The Colloid Connection". There will be a PowerPoint and some short notes. Students will learn about colloids in relation to air and water pollution.

Wednesday, March 12

Lab Day! Students will be conducting a lab called "Is it a new substance?". In this activity the students will learn to write good and accurate descriptions of four reactions and use the descriptions to find evidence for the formation of new substances.

Thursday, March 13

We will be working on Chapter 9.3 " Describing Matter". Students will be learning about physical properties, chemical properties, as well as how to distinguish between them. Students will also learn about the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Friday, March 14

Today we will be finishing up the notes from Thursday on Ch. 9.3.

Global Warming

Tuesday, March 11

Today we will be having our Global Warming Summit. At the summit we will have students present their perspectives such as auto maker, conservationists, etc. Each group will present their ideas for a solution to slow Global Warming.

Thursday, March 13

We will be reviewing our Global Warming Summit and discussing what we discovered from the various viewpoints.

2008-02-29T08:29:00.006-05:00

Here comes the snow AGAIN! I hope you are enjoying the weather. This is the last week before Science Fair Projects are due (due March 7th during class). I had a few students who stayed after last week to get work done in the lab. Hopefully everyone is on course.

Please check HAC for missing work since we are really down to the wire here. The last day for late work is March 7th. Science Fair Projects will be posted the following week since it takes quite a while to grade these.

Please note that conferences will be March 19th and 20th. We look forward to sitting down with you to discuss your child's progress.

Science

Monday, March 3

LAB day! We will be going into the lab. Students will have the opportunity to explore, observe and describe some reactions involving common substances without providing scientific explanations. They will be sharing their observations with the class.

Tuesday, March 4

Today we will start ch. 9 on Classification of Matter. We will be working on vocabulary with Word Boxes for lesson 9.1.

These are the words:

element

compound

substance

heterogeneous mixture

homogeneous mixture

solution

colloid

Tyndall effect

suspension

These are due by tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 5

We will be working on Lesson 9.1 "Composition of Matter". There will be a PowerPoint and some short notes. Students will distinguish between substances and mixtures. They will also compare and contrast solutions, colloids and suspensions.

Ch%209.1%20Composition%20of%20Matter.ppt

Homework: Composition of Matter p. 39.

With the assembly today, there is no homework. This lesson will be finished tomorrow.

Thursday, March 6

Turn in homework. We will be working on Activity 9-1. This activity is to help students to classify materials based on their appearance and chemical makeup.

Friday, March 7

All Science Fair Projects are due today! Students will be bringing in their projects to class and we will have a Carousel Feedback session. Teams will rotate from project to project to give feedback to other students.

Global Warming

Monday, March 3

Students will complete their chain reaction list for global warming and then be rating each global warming effect. They will work in their groups and then work on preparing for their Global Warming Summit.

Wednesday, March 5

Last day to finish preparing for the Global Warming Summit.

Friday, March 7

Global Warming Summit. Students will play the parts they chose and represent their constituents.

2008-02-22T15:16:00.007-05:00

What a fun week in science! We learned about buoyancy, pressure, and several other principles. There was a lab on gas that we got to go into the lab for. Next week we will be in the lab again with a lesson on why we need to wear goggles in the lab. We will also be reviewing lesson 8.1 through 8.5 for an Assessment on Friday.

I will be here after school on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday until 3:20 to help students who need to use science tools, books or computers to complete their Science Fair projects. Students should bring their work and supplies with them. Students will also need to be picked up at 3:20, walk home, or go to their afterschool program.

Science

Tuesday, February 26

We are going to be creating a tab booklet to help us remember the gas laws and the fluid principles. The book will contain the definitions, the example we used in class and a mneumonic device to remember it with. These books will go into our journals so we can use them on the assessment on Friday.

Homework: Uses of Fluids worksheet

Wednesday, February 27

Mr. Musser will be running a lab on "Why We Wear Goggles in the Lab". He has received donations from the community for this one and it may have a musical score to go along with it. It should be fun.

After this lesson, we will be review the names of items used in the lab that the high school teachers feel would be helpful for students to know when they get to 9th grade.

Thursday, February 28

We are going to be playing Jeopardy to review for Chapter 8 Assessment. Jeopardy game will be posted here after classes today.

Ch%208%20Jeopardy%20R1.ppt
Ch%208%20Jeopardy%20R2.ppt

Friday, February 29

Chapter 8 Assessment.

2008-02-15T16:37:00.005-05:00

Happy February All! We have been plunged right into the middle of lots of learning. You should have received a Science Fair Packet on Tuesday last week, with things to help your child with their project. We dug deeper into Chemistry this week, had Valentine's Day and Mr. Musser is beginning to take on more of the teaching. There is a lot happening here.

If I haven't received a parent/guardian signed Science Fair Sheet from you, I am trying to contact you to be sure that you know about it.

Progress Reports went home from all 8+(Awesome) core teachers today. Please have your child return any missing work in to me as soon as possible. Also, return the progress report to me on Monday signed for another assignment grade. Thanks.

Let's have a great week!

Science

Monday, February 18

We will be finishing any hours that did not complete all of lesson 8.3 on Behavior of Gases. Then we will be reviewing the Scientific Method by using two activities, "Bursting Balloons" (Charles's Law) and "Amazing Marshmallows" (Boyle's Law). During each of these activities, we will focus on our hypothesis and variables.

Tuesday, February 19

Today, we will be preparing to begin working in the Science Lab. We will be going over lab safety and signing a lab contract. It is so important that we follow the rules in the lab so that EVERYONE is safe. Please remind your child that you expect them to follow the rules and routines of a lab. Thank you.

Homework:
We are running about 1 day behind on the Science Fair Calendar. Please turn in your Hypothesis and Variables Worksheet from your Science Fair Packet.

Wednesday, February 20

All class periods except 3rd will be going into the lab today. We will be completing a simple Design Your Own Lab on particles in a gas responding to temperature. Our focus will be on practicing our Lab Safety and using the Scientific Method for the Science Fair.

Thursday, February 21

We will begin lesson 8.5 on Uses of Fluids. We will be learning about buoyant force, Archimedes principle, Pascal's principle, Bernoulli's principle, and Venturi effect. We will work on this lesson for today and tomorrow. During today's lesson, we will take information off the PowerPoint and make clay boats to explore buoyancy.

Notes: 8.5%20Uses%20of%20Fluids.ppt

Friday, February 22

Today we will continue with lesson 8.5 from Thursday (see Thursday). We will learn about Bernoulli's principle with a toilet paper launcher and a paper demo. What fun!

Global Warming

Tuesday, February 19

Finish the video, "An Inconvenient Truth".

Thursday, February 21

Begin student summit on Global Warming.

2008-02-07T20:19:00.003-05:00

Hello all! I hope this blog finds all of you well. Lots of illness going around so take care. On Monday you should receive your Science Fair packet from your child. We have talked a little about this in class so far and you should have seen your child's project choice and signed it already. I hope that packet is helpful to you. Please watch the due dates to help your child and I will continue to remind them here and model the process.

Science

Tuesday, February 12

We will be learning about thermal pollution and what happens to fresh water. There will be a short 5 minute video and a miniLAB on dissolving chemicals. Students will then have time to finish their word boxes from last week. They will be turned in today.

We ran out of time to work on Word boxes, we will work on them for a few minutes tomorrow and then turn them in.

Class Notes and LAB:

8.2%20lesson%20fresh%20water.ppt

Wednesday, February 13

We will begin to look at 8.3 Changes in State. We learned about the Kinetic Theory of Matter last week and we will be applying it to this lesson. First, we will give students a few minutes (5 minutes) to finish the word boxes they started last week. Then we will do a reinforcement activity on Kinetic Theory of Matter. There will be a PowerPoint and notes in our new journals.

Thursday, February 14, Happy Valentine's Day

Begin with the MiniLAB to demonstrate evaporation and energy loss. We will then continue on with the lesson on PowerPoint and notes. This will rap up lesson 8.3.

Notes: 8.3%20Changes%20in%20State.ppt

Homework: p. 36.
worksheet%2036.gif

Friday, February 15,

Students will be completing a group activity on the Heat of Fusion and the Heat of Vaporization. We will be collecting data for the entire class period. In the meantime, we will work on a group vocabulary activity. There is a great deal of vocabulary to know.

Global Warming

Wednesday, February 13

This week, we will be viewing "An Inconvenient Truth". Students will be gather more information on how Global Warming will affect them and the world.

Friday, February 15

This week, we will be viewing "An Inconvenient Truth". Students will be gather more information on how Global Warming will affect them and the world.

February 06, 2008

2008-02-06T14:26:00.000-05:00

Here is the homework for the night. You may use your Science journals, but remember to put them in a safe place so that you have them for tomorrow!!

Ch%208.1%20HW.jpg

February 06, 2008

2008-02-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Here are the notes from today!!

8.1%20Matter%20and%20Temp.ppt

2008-02-03T13:36:00.000-05:00

Wow! Two snow days in one week. How did that happen? I hope everyone is rested and healthy (we had strep throat) and ready to learn. You should have received a paper from your child choosing what Science Fair Project they would like to do. Please return that on Monday so I know that they have shared it with you.

The midterm will now be pushed back until Monday. Hopefully everyone had more time to study. On Tuesday, we will begin Chemistry. I will be out on Tuesday and during the afternoon on Wednesday so appreciate all your reminders to your students about behavior expectations. Also, on Wednesday, teachers from Loy Norrix's Freshman Academy will be coming over to Milwood to see how things work over here and what expectations are for students.

Have a great week!

Science
Monday, February 4th

We will be taking our Midterm that we missed on Friday due to the Snow Day. Students need to turn in their homework, "Science Fair Project".
Science%20Fair%20%2708%20problem%20and%20question%20sheet.doc

Tuesday, February 5th

Students will complete Word Boxes for Lesson 8.1.

These are the words:

states of matter, kinetic theory of matter, crystal, plasma, thermal expansion, solid, and liquid.

Word boxes should be complete before students leave the room. They will have the entire time to complete them.

Wednesday, February 6th

Students will receive their new Science Journals. Do not loose the old one! It may be used on the Final Exam. If your child loses their journal, they can purchase one at the school store or from any store and get notes from a peer.

We will be looking at examples of solids, liquids, gases and plasma. We will be gathering information from the book lesson 8.1 and modeling information as we go. Students will have their journals to take home to answer the homework.

Homework: p. 34 Matter and Temperature worksheet

Thursday, February 7th

We will be working on an activity in class, 8.1 Properites of Liquids. Students will be observing the properties of materials and classifying it according to state. Students should also be working on gathering research on their Science Fair Project. They should have at least three different resources. Their three note cards are due on February 11th.

Friday, February 8th

No school for students. Professional Development Day for teachers.

Global Warming

Monday, February 4th

We will be completing the lab from last week on Thursday, January 31st.

Wednesday, February 6th

Finish Monday's lab on CO2.

2008-01-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, here is time two at trying to post this blog. Sorry, I copied the blog for the class, but then went back to post some Jeopardy games for the kids to study for their midterms and found that it wasn't there. It says at the top of my printed blog, "Could not connect to Blogger.com. Saving and publishing may fail" I should have checked the printed blog pages.

Here's what I had:'

Can you believe that we are half way through the year?! this year, as every year seems to, is going quickly. The class took their assessment on Waves on Friday to end the Physical Science section of science. Scores were put into the computer on Friday. Overall, students did pretty well.

If your child has received an "I" on their report card, it means that there was something "big" that they did not turn in. They have until February 7, to turn it in completed. Students who were absent on Friday have an "I" so that they can complete their test on Monday of this week to receive their grade. I have any work that they may need to complete in the same spot as always, the shelf by the door.

This week, we will be reviewing for the midterm which will be on Friday, and getting ready for the Science Fair/Literacy night. All 8th graders will be required to complete something for the Science Fair which will be March 10th.

Here's the schedule:

Science

Monday, January 28th

Students will be receiving their assessment back on waves and we will go over them in class. Assessments will be returned to the teacher. Then, students will take a science interest survey to begin to narrow down what they would be interested in exploring for the Science Fair. These surveys will be kept in the classroom.

Tuesday, January 29th

In class, we will begin to review for the midterm by looking over what we learned, asking any questions to clarify and then playing a class review game. This will be over the first assessment. The other portion of class will be used to work on the computers to find research and/or get ideas for the students' Science Fair projects.

site: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

review games:
Jeopardy%20assessment%201%20physics2.ppt

Jeopardy%20assessment%201%20physics3.ppt

Wednesday, January 30th

In class, we will continue with the model for review from yesterday for Assessment 2. We will be looking at also who has their Science Fair Ideas.

Homework: Complete the Science Fair topic sheet. A parent signature on the sheet is required.

Thursday, January 31st

In class, we will continue with this week's review model for assessment 3. All Science Fair ideas should be solid and turned in for a grade with a parent signature.

Homework:

Science%20Fair%20%2708%20problem%20and%20question%20sheet.doc

Science Fair Timeline:

Science%20Fair%20Timeline.doc

Friday, February 1st

Science Midterm.

Global Warming

Tuesday, January 29

Complete the lab from Thursday on Finding Carbon Dioxide.

Homework: Surprising Increase in Atmosphere's CO2 worksheet

Lesson:

Global_Warming_Lab_Instructions.ppt

Thursday, January 31st

We will begin session 5 on Sources of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere. This activity will take more than one class period.

Students will:

1) Improve their abilities to apply a chemical testing technique in conducting an experiment.

2) Practice sampling and testing procedures like those used in scientific studies of the atmosphere.

3) Draw out the distinction between "natural" and "industrial" sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

4) Communicate the relative contributions of the industrialized and developing nations to the global warming

Science%20Fair%20%2708%20problem%20and%20question%20sheet.doc
Science%20Fair%20Timeline.doc

Jeopardy Review Game

2008-01-23T17:08:00.000-05:00

Waves_JeopardyR1Revised.ppt

Waves_jeopardyR2Revised.ppt

2008-01-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

Last week we started using center learning in the classroom. It seems to have gone over fairly well. We have our assessment on Waves coming up on Thursday so you should see your child preparing.

Remember that Friday is records day so there is no school.

Students were all made aware that late work for class was due on Friday, January 18th. If they took any extra credit work, it is due on Monday, January 21st. Each marking period, your child may complete extra credit that is posted in the classroom.

Have a great week!

Science

Monday, January 21st

2nd hour will be finishing lesson 19.4 today. The other classes will be working at their tables on the study guide for Thursday's test.

Tuesday, January 22nd

Students will work in centers and will work with the teacher in small groups to review the test.

Wednesday, January 23rd
Students will work in teams to play a Jeopardy Review game to prepare for the test. The review will be posted on line after classes today.

Thursday, January 24th

Wave Assessment. Please bring reading materials to class or other work in case you finish early.

Friday, January 25th

NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!

Global Warming

Tuesday, January 22nd

Students will be using a lab to detect carbon dioxide. This lab will be in the classroom and take both days this week.

Thursday, January 24th

See Tuesday.

2008-01-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well, it sounds like the classes had a good week. I am so glad. Thank you for communicating with your child your expectations while a Guest Teacher is here.

It looks like students are really grasping the concepts on electromagnetic waves. Hooray! We will be working on wave behavior and color and light this week. Let's have another great week!

Science

Monday, January 14th

Mr. Musser will begin the class period with a short activity to introduce himself to the class. Then, we will complete a webquest on Wave Properties of Light. We will look at these over the next two days working with a partner or partners. Students will be graded using a rubric that is attached to the webquest. There are 11 points possible that are worth a quiz grade.

http://www.webquest.hawaii.edu/webquests/webquest6/

State Benchmarks

P4.8A Draw ray diagrams to indicate how light reflects off objects or refracts into transparent media.

P4.B Predict the path of reflected light from flat, curved, or rough surfaces.

Tuesday, January 15th

See Monday's lesson.

Wednesday, January 16th

Students will learn about the Law of Reflection and explain how diffraction and interference patterns demonstrate the wave behavior of light. Students will read 19.4 and put their notes in their journal.

Homework:
19.4%20Wave%20Prop.%20of%20light.doc

Notes:
19.2%20Wave%20Properties%20of%20Light.doc

Thursday, January 17th

Students will be introduced to Centers in the classroom. They will be responsible to complete all of the centers by the end of Friday.

Centers will give students another opportunity to review their understanding of Waves and to enrich their understanding by exploring further.

The centers will include the following state standards:
P4.4 Wave Characteristics
P4.5 Mechanical Wave Propagation
P4.6 Electromagnetic Waves
P4.8 Wave Behavior-Reflection and Refraction
P4.9 Nature of Light

Today will be critical for students to learn the routines and procedures for completing the centers, how they will be assessed, how to get help, etc. Whatever class time is left we will begin the centers.

Friday, January 18th

Thursday's centers continued.

Global Warming

Monday, January 14th

Students will act out the interaction between photons and molecules and discuss. We will then go over the rules for the Global Warming Game. Students will then begin play.

Wednesday, January 16th

Students will play round 2 and 3 of the Global Warming Game today.

Friday, January 18th

Students will discuss the results of the Global Warming Game and complete a worksheet, "Global Temperatures and Carbon Dioxide During the Past 160,000 Years".

2008-01-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome Back from Winter Break! I hope everyone is rested up and ready to learn. I will be out during the mornings this week and all day on Friday, please review with your child what you expect of them when a Guest Teacher is here. While I am out, I have planned lessons for them that are, as always, meaningful and not busy work. The learning must continue even though there is a Guest Teacher here. Thank you for your support.

We have a new intern teacher beginning this week, Mr. Musser. He is a science major from Western Michigan University. He will be with Ms. Washington in the mornings during my absence and in science with me during the PM schedule. I will let Mr. Musser tell you more about himself in an upcoming blog.

Let's have a great week!

Schedule:
Science

Monday, January 7th

P4.6A Identify the different regions on the electromagnetic spectrum and compare them in terms of wavelength, frequency, and energy.
P4.6B Explain why radio waves can travel through space, but sound waves cannot.

Students will begin their lesson on Electromagnetic Radiation 19.1 with a teacher led explore activity using prisms, light, bubbles, and a compact disk. They will then read the information from 19.1 and put important notes into their science journal. Throughout this lesson, their are short videos and websites to help explain concepts.

19.1%20notes%20electromagnetism.doc

http://www.brainpop.com/science/energy/electromagneticspectrum/

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cordless-telephone1.htm

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/learn_ir/

Tuesday, January 8th

Students will finish yesterday's lesson and then complete the following questions from page 535 from the book to turn in tomorrow. Question should be answered in complete sentences.

Questions:
2) Using figure 19-2 (Students put this in their science journal) rank the six main types of electromagnetic radiation by wavelength, from shortest to longest.

3) Describe at least one helpful use for each of the six main types of electromagnetic radiation.

Wednesday, January 9th

P4.9A Identify the principle involved when you see a transparent object.
P4.9B Explain how various materials reflect, absorb, or transmit light in different ways.
Students should correct yesterday's homework in class and turn in. Today, they will learn about light and color using lesson 19.2 as a guide. Students will read in A/B Pairs at their tables decide what they feel are important notes from that section that they just read and then share with the class as the teacher writes the notes on the overhead for everyone.

The teacher will demo an investigation on how the color of light strikes an object and what color the object appears p. 539.

Students will then work with their A/B partner and Use Rally Coach to answer the following questions.
1) _____________ objects reflect or absorb nearly all light.

2) The three primary light colors are ______________.

3) The three primary pigment colors are ______________.

4) The three primary pigment colors mixed together form _______.

Contrast, opaque, transparent, and translucent materials. Give an example of each.

Thursday, January 10th

8A Draw ray diagrams to indicate how light reflects off objects or refracts into transparent media.
P4.8B Predict the path of reflected light from flat, curved, or rough surfaces.

Students will look at the Wave Properties of Light 19.4. They will put important notes into their Science journals and participate in class discussions. There will be a mini lab on how water bends light.

19.2%20Wave%20Properties%20of%20Light.doc

Friday, January 11th

Students will take a short quiz over this week's objectives.

The rest of today's lesson will be determined after observing student learning with the help of the Guest Teacher.

Global Warming

Tuesday, January 8th

Students will analyze the data from their greenhouse lab. There will be a class discussion on how this lab relates to the greenhouse effect on the Earth.

Thursday, January 10th

Students will review the Greenhouse Experiment and apply it to today's lesson and over the next few days. Students will also make their Global Warming Game.

2007-12-14T17:26:00.000-05:00

One week left before Winter Break begins. Hip-Hip-Hooray! We are all in need of a break. Can you believe that we haven't had a snow day so far this year? Wow! I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

Thank you for all the nonperishable food items that you sent in to Advisory. Milwood had a nice amount brought in to help the local food banks.

Have a wonderful break!

Schedule:

Science

Please note that as of Sunday afternoon, each day's lesson will be moved back one. Students need Monday to go over their last assessment and make some corrections. Your child will receive their test back on Monday and should make any changes according to the test reflection and return on Tuesday.

Progress Reports will be printed on Wednesday and sent in the mail no later than Friday.

Test reflection and Correction Paper:

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

Monday, December 17th

Students will finish the lab from Friday on "Making Waves" p. 502-503.

Benchmark: P1.1h Design and conduct a systematic scientific investigation that tests a hypothesis. Draw conclusions from data presented in charts or tables.

Tuesday, December 18th

We will be viewing a short video titled, "Elements of Physics: Waves: Sound and Electromagnetism". Before the video, we will start with a short Pretest. During the video, we will gather information on the information and then after the video, we will take a short quiz on it.
Benchmark: P4.4B Identify everyday examples of transverse and compression waves.

P4.5A Identify everyday examples of energy transfer by waves and their sources.

P4.5B Explain why an object does not move forward as a wave passes under it.

P4.5C Provide evidence to support the claim that sound is energy transferred by a wave, not energy transferred by particles.

Wednesday, December 19th

Students will view a PowerPoint on Electromagnetic Waves. They will put some notes in their Science Journal.

Homework: Electromagnet Radiation

P4.6A Identify the different regions on the electromagnetic spectrum and compare them in terms of wavelength, frequency, and energy.

Thursday, December 20th
Students will view a PowerPoint on Reflection and Refraction that contains short video clips in it and put important notes in their journal.

P4.8A Draw ray diagrams to indicate how light reflects off objects or refracts into transparent media.

P4.8B Predict the path of reflected light from flat, curved, or rough surfaces.

P4.9A Identify the principle involved when you see a transparent object in a clear liquid.

P4.9B Explain how various materials reflect, absorb, or transmit light in different ways.

Friday, December 21st

Students will complete a lab, "Make a Light Bender".

P4.9A Identify the principle involved when you see a transparent object in a clear liquid.

Global Warming

Monday, December 17th

Finish video from Friday, December 14th.

Wednesday, December 19th

Students will complete a lab on " Modeling the Greenhouse Effect". They will construct a physical model of the atmosphere and discover that air trapped in a container will heat up more than air in an open container.

P1.1A Generate new questions that can be investigated in the laboratory or field.

P1.1.C Conduct scientific investigations using appropriate tools and techniques.

P1.1D Identify patterns in data and relate them to theoretical models.

P1.1.E Describe a reason for a given conclusion using evidence from and investigation.

Friday, December 21st

Finish Wednesday's lesson.

2007-12-07T18:19:00.000-05:00

Well, this is Mr. Korchnak's last week with us. He has been so helpful to the students, families and to me. We are really going to miss him. He will be moving to NY with his wife after Christmas and substitute teaching in Albany, NY. We know that he will do well, but still wish him the best of luck.

I do apologize for anyone using my blog last week. I tried to complete my blog from home and the blog was a mess. So I made sure to also post on the board in my classroom the important dates for the next week. Students know that their science assessment is moved to this Monday instead of last week.

On Wednesday, all eighth graders at Milwood will be taking the Explore test. It is a test for students and their families to see how they are progressing. It is similar to an ACT test, but for 8th graders so they can see where they would score on the ACT. This will not affect their grade, but give them a preview of what a nationally normed test would be like.

We are still collect food for our drive. Our advisory group is running a little behind in cans so donate what you can. The top three classes will receive a pizza party. That sure would be nice.

Here's our schedule:

Science

Monday, December 10th

Students will take the unit assessment on Chapters 4, 5, and 6. Bring a book for when you finish. If your class did not get a visit from Mr. Campbell, he should be coming in to talk with you about the Explore test, Recovery, and Tardies. If this takes too much of our assessment time, you will have some time on Tuesday to finish.

Bring your science journal to help you on the assessment and turn in today to receive your grade for it.

Tuesday, December 11th

Students will create flashcards for this units' vocabulary. We are going to begin to study Waves. Here is the list of vocabulary for the unit:
wave,pitch,medium, intensity
transverse wave, loudness
crest, ultrasound technology
trough, music
wavelength, noise
amplitude, resonance
frequency, quality
compressional, wave interference
reverberation, acoustics

These flashcards will be due on Thursday, December 13th.

Wednesday, December 12th

No science class since students will be taking the Explore test.

Thursday, December 13th

Teacher will check your vocabulary flash cards. We will view a PowerPoint on the characteristics of waves (Physical Science ch. 18.1 page 498). Students will put the notes they take into their journal. Students will have guided practice on how to calculate the velocity of a wave and how to calculate the frequency of a wave. They will then have a worksheet to complete at home and to return tomorrow for a grade.

Presentation:

Waves-18.1.ppt

Homework:

Hang%20Ten%20lesson%2018.1.doc
Friday, December 14th

Collect and correct the homework from last night. Students will write and complete their own experiment concerning which wave quantities they can influence when making transverse waves in a spiral spring. They will also see what happens when this spiral spring hits an immovable barrier. Students will turn in their lab sheets at the end of the period.

Design%20your%20own%20experiment.doc

Global Warming

Tuesday, December 11th

Students will get their Global Warming folders back today. They will complete a class building activity using Inside-Outside Circles. Then we will go back to our seats and watch: Biomes: The Threat of the Sea. This will help us in our research on Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect.

Thursday, December 13th

We will sit in teams and complete a team line-up activity. Students in their teams will line up by finding where they stand relative to their teammates on some questions on the greenhouse effect and global warming. Students will then finish the rest of their video from Tuesday. Global Warming folders will be collected and graded.

2007-11-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

Happy December! It's good to be back. Thank you for all the cards and well wishes. My prognosis is excellent and I will be starting radiation treatment soon. I have a great team of doctors who must have loved science in school.:) I will be scheduled more appointments with my team of doctors so I greatly appreciate your patients and support in encouraging your child's hard work when I am out in the future.

On Monday, the district will be printing the second semester report cards so watch for them this week. If your child receives an "I", incomplete, they will have 10 school days to make up the work.

lass="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Milwoodpan> is holding a holiday food drive from now until December 12th. Please send in store bought canned goods or boxed foods to your child's advisory class.

If anyone can donate clear, noncolored 2 liter bottles for our Global Warming class to create greenhouse environments, I would greatly appreciate it. I would love to have them by Friday to prep. them. Thank you!

Schedule:
Science

Monday, December 3rd,

Students will be learning about three types of conventional heating systems, discussing how solar energy heats buildings, and identifying the difference between passive and active solar heating systems. This is lesson 6.2 in the physical science book. Students will work in pairs using Rally Coach to partner read the lesson with breaks for group discussion led by the teacher. They will then answer questions in class and finish any at home they did not finish in class.

Tuesday, December 4th,

Students will be learning about how the internal and external combustion engine works. They will also be able to explain how a heat mover can transfer thermal energy in a direction opposite to that of its natural movement. They will take notes on a power point presentation and sketch an engine and label the parts.
Students will also be able to explain the four stroke cycle. They will see a demo on what is needed for combustion.

Wednesday, December 5th,

Students will explain how differences in ocean temperatures can be used to operate a heat engine that changes thermal energy to mechanical energy. Also, they will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of ocean thermal energy conversion.

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Thursday, December 6th,

Students will be working with their tables to look over their notes and what they have learned for Units 4, 5, and 6. They will work on writing their own test as a review for tomorrow's test. They will give their test to another group to take and they will grade it also.

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Friday, December 7th,

Unit 4, 5, and 6 Assessment. Bring a book to read.

Global Warming

Monday, December 3rd,

Welcome students to Global Warming class. Show students routines of classroom. Assign seats and complete a get to know you activity.

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Wednesday, December 5th,

Review classroom routines. Begin discussion on Greenhouse effect and Global Warming.

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Friday, December 7th,

Review classroom routines, complete a team building activity and complete Wednesday's Greenhouse effect and Global Warming discussion. Put posters up in the room.

2007-11-25T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a great break! I can't wait to get back into learning about physics. This week we will be talking about temperature (fitting isn't it) and how it moves around and circulates. Also remember that this Friday is a half day and the end of the second marking period. Make sure you have all your work in. Let's have a great week Lancers!

Science
Monday Nov. 26
Due to the fact that we are coming off of a long break today we are going to be doing some review from chapter 5. This will be done by working as groups to answer the review questions on pages 147 and 148. At your tables you will be doing:

Reviewing Vocabulary 1-10
Checking Concepts 1-10
Understanding Concepts 11-15

During this period of time Mr. Korchnak will walk around the room and answer specific questions that students may have. Also on Tuesday we will grade the assignment as a class.

Tuesday Nov. 27
We will start the day by grading the work done in the previous day. Afterwards we will being chapter 6 by doing a vocabulary assignment. We are going to break the mold a bit and do individual crossword puzzles. On one page you will have the drawn out crossword with clues. On the second page you will have the answer key. A template for the crossword is linked below.

Chap. 6 Vocabulary Words

Conduction
Fluid
Convection
Radiation
Insulators
Radiator
Solar Energy
Heat Engine
Combustion
Internal Combustion Engine

Crossword Template: Vocab_Crossword_Template.pdf

Wednesday Nov. 28
Today we will start on chapter 6 from the book. We will begin with section 6.1. This sections deals with the movement of thermal energy. Concepts we will be discussion are conduction, convection, radiation and insulation. We will be talking about how we use an understanding of heat transfer to make things warm or keep them cool. We will pair read this section and answer question supplied by Mr. K in our science notebook. We will also make a class list of things we wouldn't be able to do without an understanding of movement of thermal energy.

Here are the questions we will be answering:

How is thermal energy transfered between solid objects?
How is thermal energy transfered in a liquid or air?
What is more dense hot water or cold water? How does this concept apply to a hot air ballon?
Draw an example of convection?
Using the example of boiling water where is heat transfer occurring? Please draw this.
How does heat travel from the Sun to the Earth?
Give two examples of good insulators and why they are.

Thursday Nov. 29
Today we will be working with concepts what we learned in the previous day. This will include a lab were we will place colored ice cubes in normal and salt water and observe how the cool water from the ice moves in the different types of water. This will help us understand the concept of convection and movement of thermal energy. We will do this by having each table preform two experiments and filling out data sheets. The data sheet is found below.

Ice Cube Lab: Ice_Cube_Convection.pdf

NOTE: Quiz retakes from chapter 5 will be today during lunch.

Friday Nov. 30
Half day- Lesson TBD

Ecosystems
Tuesday Nov. 27
Today we will be reading an article about why in some places leaves are changing color later due to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. To do this we will use a combination of teacher lead reading and pair reading. After the article is read by the students they will write down 5 interesting facts from the article and a short response to the reading.

Article: Leaves_Changing_Color_Later.pdf

Thursday Nov. 29
The topic of discussing today will be genetically modified crops. We will be talking about the benefits and the shortfalls of using GM crops. To do this we will be reading an article from the BBC about a study done on GM crops. Students will be asked to read the article and list 3 pros and 3 cons of GM crops. Then they will be asked to write down their opinion on them whether they are for or against using them. There are links to the articles we will be reading in class.

GM Crop Article: BBC_GM_Crop_Article.pdf

Ice_Cube_Convection.pdf

2007-11-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

We're almost into December already as we enter Thanksgiving break. This week is a short one being only two days long. I just want to quickly talk about last week. Going into last week as a class we knew things were going to be a little different with Ms. Kahler being gone. I just want to say that change in class you all handled it perfectly and made the week absolutely spectacular. I'm very proud of you as learners and hopefully we can carry on the enthusiasm we showed last week into the coming weeks. Keep up the good work everyone. A lot of you worked hard last week and it shows.

Science
Monday Nov. 19
Today we are going to pick up from were we left of on Friday last week and discuss what Thermal Energy is. On Friday we read in groups at our tables and answered questions based on the reading in our science notebooks. Today in class we are going to go over those questions and move on to Sec. 5.4 on measuring thermal energy.

Tuesday Nov. 20
Being the day before Thanksgiving recess we are going to have "Physics Game Day". During the course of the class I have given examples of web based games that are centered around specific principles of physics. Today we are going to play those games and describe which aspects of physics they display as a class. To find the games at home in Google type the name of the game followed by the phrase "flash game". The games are Orbits, Red, N3wton and Roll. For each of the games students will have to give a brief summery of the physics involved to play the game.

Worksheet: Physics_Game_Day.pdf

Ecosystems
Tuesday Nov. 20
Today we are going to start a segment we'll try to do every week on unique ecosystems from around the world. Today we will watch a short 5 minute video about the Altiplano in South America. After the video we'll talk about what was interesting in the video and what makes it such a unique ecosystem. Afterwards we'll spend the rest of the class period getting caught up with late work.

2007-11-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

Looking back at the beginning of the school year and reflecting what we have done as a class and where we are now I am so proud of all of you. This last few weeks have been tough material wise and we are working so hard to understand all this new material. For a lot of you the effort is paying off, and you have grown as physics learners. The hardest part is behind us and the work will get a lot easier for you if you put in the time to understand how to use and work with formulas. The goal of this week is to build on that and introduce a few new formulas and integrate them with our older ones. Keep up the good work because it is paying off. Let's have a great week Lancers.

Science

Monday Nov. 12
Remember that progress reports are due today. Today's lesson is going to continue with working on Newton's Third Law. We've been reading about it and taking some notes, but today we are going to do some labs on it. Students will be working in groups at their tables and will be doing various projects depicting Newton's Third Law.

Tuesday Nov. 13
Since we will be starting a new unit on Wednesday we need to first learn the vocabulary we will be using. Today student will be working on word boxes on chapter 5 vocabulary. We will be working on this all day in class and if students are unable to finish this assignment it will need to be done as homework.

Homework: (If students are unable to finish their word boxes in class) Here is the vocabulary words for chapter 5.

Energy
Kinetic Energy
Potential Energy
Work
Mechanical Energy
Law of Conservation of Energy
Temperature
Thermal Energy
Heat
Specific Heat
Celsius (unit)
Kelvin (unit)
Joules (unit)

Wednesday Nov. 14
Since we wrapped up chapter 4 on Monday we will be moving on to chapter 5 which deals with energy. Today we will be learning about energy and work. We will also introduce a new formula for work, w=Fd. For homework students will have to do a few example with the new formula.

Class Notes: Energy_and_Work_Notes.pdf
Work Examples Worksheet: Time_to_Go_to_Work_Worksheet.pdf

Thursday Nov. 15
Today we are going to continue working on energy. We are going to do another large physics problem where we connect multiple formulas together to solve an every day situation. For this problem we will be finding the amount of force it takes to lift a stack of books and how much momentum some one has if they were to fall backwards into a chair with the books if they were too heavy. The worksheet is linked bellow.

Slightly Smaller Physics Problem: Slightly_Smaller_Physics_Problem.pdf

Friday Nov. 16
Today we are going to start learning about thermal energy and what it means. We will be talking about the different phases of matter and how they relate to temperature, and that heat is a form of energy transformation. There will be a short quiz at the beginning of the hour based on the material we have covered this week. There is also be a homework assignment on the units we use in physics and how they explain what is happening in a physics problem.

Questions from Reading: Section%205.2.doc
Homework: Follow_the_Units_Worksheet.pdf

Ecosystems

Monday Nov. 12
Today we will be working with current topics in environmental news in the Great Lakes Region. To do this we will be listening to a 20 minute news report from Michigan Radio, Michigan's NPR station. A link to there website is found below. Students will be expected to write down information based on what they are listening to and give a short reaction to them afterwards.

Also progress reports will go out today and will be due on Wednesday.

Notes and Response Handout: Michigan_Environmental_News_Nov12.pdf

The Environment Report Website

Wednesday Nov. 14
Today we will be learning about our ecological footprint and it's impact on ecosystems. To do this we will be taking an online quiz that calculates your footprint. Students will be using the laptops in class to do this. We will be comparing our results to averages around the world.

Progress reports are due today.

My Ecological Footprint Quiz

Class handout: Ecological_Footprint_Worksheet.pdf

Friday Nov. 16
Today we will be learning about PCB clean up in the Kalamazoo River. We will go over what PCBs are and how they were released into the river. How they effect the local wildlife and what is being done to clean it up. This is based on the debate that occurred earlier this year about how to clean it up and who is responsible. We will be connecting this to what we have been learning about in ecosystems and how this effects the food chain.

2007-11-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

Happy November All! We are just crusin' along in Physics. All tests were given back last week and students were given the weekend to regain some of their missed points and they had vocabulary homework (see last week's blog).

Progress reports will go home on Friday and should be returned on Monday signed by a guardian with any late work.

There will be a quiz on Friday to assess what we have learned so far from unit 4 on lesson 4.1 through 4.4.

Have a great week.

Science

Monday Nov. 5
We will begin a two day lesson on 4.2 "Projectile and Circular Motion". Students will be able to explain why things that are thrown or shot follow a curved path. They will also compare motion in a straight line with circular motion and define weightlessness. We will read pages 100-105 and take notes in our science journals.

Tuesday Nov. 6
We will finish any notes that were not finished yesterday and complete a Mini Lab to answer the question, "Do Projectiles fall more slowly than dropped objects?" There will also be a demonstration on "free-fall". Students will then go over the questions from the Section Wrap-Up on page 105 in their groups using the Rally Robin approach. Then we will use the student/team selector to have teams answer the questions.

Wednesday Nov. 7
This class period will be dedicated to looking at artificial satellites and how we send them in orbit, why they are useful and why they don't say in orbit. To do this we will read section 4.3 in the book and have a presentation with questions from the reading and previous lessons. Notes will be taken in our science notebooks through out the day and a follow along worksheet with the problems will be collected at the end of the hour. A link to the presentation and worksheet follows.

Presentation: Sending_up_Satellites.pdf
Worksheet: Sending_up_Satellites_Worksheet.pdf

Thursday Nov. 8
We will work on Lesson 4.4 "Action and Reaction". Students will read and take notes in their Science Journal from pages 110- 116. There will be a Mini-lab to demonstrate, "How to deliver a payload with a rocket." Then students will work in their teams to complete the Problem Solving activity on page 115.

Friday Nov. 9
Quiz today over what we have learned the last two weeks. Progress reports go home today also. Please return them signed by a guardian for homework credit. Students should also return any late work with the progress report on Monday. Yesterday took longer than expected so we will continue finishing Thursday's lesson.

Ecosystem

Tuesday Nov. 6
Today we will be looking at how important bees are to many ecosystems and agriculture. We will be reading about Colony Collapse Disorder by reading an article from the New York Times.Students will be asked to write down 5 facts found in the article and reflect on how it relates to ecosystems. There is a link to the article bellow.

Colony_Collapse_Disorder_NYTimes_Article.pdf

Thursday Nov. 8
We will continue to look about how plants are and how those interactions between plants and their different pollinators effect their ecosystem.

2007-10-27T11:31:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-10-19T19:01:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-10-13T14:17:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-10-05T08:09:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-09-30T18:29:00.000-04:00

Here we are in October already. Hopefully we will have a sunny, comfortable month. There has been an issue with the printer working so progress reports are running a little behind. Please remember to check your child's grades online and email me with any questions that you may have. If all goes well with getting the printer fixed, progress reports will go home this week. I am also working on calling everyone who needs some extra support in bringing those grades up. Mr. Korchnak and I have called three classes and are still working on getting through to the rest. If your phone number has changed, please contact the office so we can make note of it.

Also, all grades are closed on October 8th. Remember that I am here on my lunch time to help students who ask and there is Homework Hub for more help on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week.

Have a great week!

Science

Monday, October 1st

Today we will be going over the Paper Airplane Lab data sheet. We'll be talking about how we use the data to support our hypothesis and answer our question stated in the purpose. We'll also talk about how to write a conclusion and work with d=rt.

HOMEWORK (Due Oct. 4 Thursday):
1. Paper Airplane Lab Handout
2. Data sheet with 10 missing rates filled in.
3. Typed or handwritten conclusion answering the six questions on the data sheet.

Tuesday, October 2nd

Students will be working on practicing the formula for speed (D=rt). The rest of the hour will be spent on finishing this section's vocabulary.

Homework: d=rt worksheet is due on Wednesday

Wednesday, October 3rd

Today we will start learing about vectors and how they convey both magnitude and direction. Mr. Korchnak will give a short presentation about vectors and the remender of the time we will spend working on problems as both a class and in our A-B pairs at our tables.

Thursday, October 4th

We will be working on this unit's vocabulary. We will use the entire class time to complete the Word Boxes.

Homework: Word boxes due tomorrow, October 5th.
Homework: Questions 1 and 2.

Friday, October 5th

Quiz today over speed and vocabulary. Collect Word Boxes. We will begin to read about Velocity and Acceleration in the text book. We will finish this on Monday.

Ecosystems

Tuesday, October 2nd

Today we'll be talking about all of the different types of consumers in an ecosystem and how they relate to eachother. We'll be working at our tables with the Michigan Ecosystem posters filling out the It's All Connected worksheet (This will be turned in at the end of the class period). We will also start working on our Ecosystem Character. Each student will be assigned an organism within the poster they were working on. They will have to fill out a question sheet and tell a story about a day in the life of the organism they selected.

Thursday, October 4th

We'll start the period finishing up our Ecosystem Character stories and then the rest of the period we will present them to the class.

2007-09-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

September is quickly coming to a close. Can you believe it? Hopefully it will cool down a little bit so it is slightly more comfortable in the classroom. We took our second metric conversion quiz this week and we will be moving on to Linear Motion this week.

I have had several students who have come in during their lunch time to receive more help with metrics last week and to retake last week's quiz on Thursday. I wanted to say, "Good Job Guys!" I am really proud of your hard work. Homework Hub also started this week and many students attended. Students can attend Homework Hub on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights after school. I am there on Wednesday nights, but students can get help with any subject every night.

Open House was a great evening and I enjoyed meeting all of you. I am looking forward to seeing all of you again mid-October for conferences. If you need to get in touch with me, please email me using the Milwood Magnet School site or leave a voice message at 337-0670 ext. 236.

Let's have a great week!

Science

Monday, September 24th

Students will be reviewing their quizzes that they took on Thursday. Then we will review the team procedures for taking a reflection. We will then work on Scientific Notation. Students will take notes in their journals about the steps needed to do this and then be given some practice.

Homework: Complete Scientific Notation practice sheet.

Tuesday, September 25th

Students will be going over their homework with Mr. Korchnak as their lead teacher. They will work in groups to be sure everyone understands how to do Scientific Notation. Then students will be given a card that has a number or a number in Scientific Notation. They will be given some think time to figure out how the number could be written in the other form. Then they will do a Kagan structure called "Find Someone...", to find the other student who has the number that is the same as their own. We will practice this several times and with different cards.

HOMEWORK: The Conversion Factor worksheet from last week will be handed back. Students will be asked, if they choose, to correct their mistakes and turn it in on Thursday to get some points back.

Wednesday, September 26th

Mr. Korchnak will be teaching about how distance, rate and time relate to each other. We'll explore this by doing a quite introduction in front of the classroom and then start a two day lab designed to look at how distance, rate and time relate to each other. We'll also work with the scientific method.

Thursday, September 27th

Mr. Korchnak will continue from the previous days activities by conducting our paper airplane experiment from the day before. We'll collect our data and on Monday we will be graphing and working with the data. Students should begin to think about their conclusion for the lab because after we look over the data they will be turning in a short write up on the lab. Making sure to relate it to the relationship between distance, rate and time.

Friday, September 28th

Students will arrive in class and then be taken to work in the Library Classroom! We will be taking our quiz and then working on vocabulary words. Students will then be taken in small groups to work on their Interest sheet to find an article or two that is about the science of the item of interest that they chose.

Ecosystems

Monday, September 24th

Today we will be going outside to do a scavenger hunt in the 8th grade courtyard. Students will be asked to fill in a sheet by finding examples of what we have been talking about in class over the last few weeks.

Wednesday, September 26th

Today we will be using the Michigan Ecosystems posters to solve riddles about plants and animals that are found in each ecosystem. Students will walk around the room going from station to station trying to solve their riddle cards. Afterwards we will take a few examples from the cards and do a short exercise about how populations change based on changes within the ecosystem.

Friday, September 28th

Today we will be exploring the idea of life out of balance. We will watch a few short clips from the documentary Koyaanisqatsi and writing about the contrasting images of nature and human civilization.

HOMEWORK: Students will be asked to write a short story about how live on plant Earth is out of balance and relate it to the images they saw in the clips from the film.

2007-09-14T19:02:00.000-04:00

Well, we made it through our first full 5 day week of school. Thankfully it has also cooled off and it is easier to be in school. Planners should be coming home this weekend to be signed by parents and returned to school. Planners should be checked to see homework, work done for the week and when assessments or other important events will take place.

Student IDs will come out on Monday. Students must always wear them for security reasons.

We are having our Open House on Thursday, September 20th from 6:30 to 8:00. During this time we will have a ribbon cutting to open the new library at 7:30. It is truly a beautiful room.

Remember that students do not have school on Friday, September 21st. Teachers will have all day professional development.

I will also be listing the weeks lessons slightly different. The week will be by subject and Advisory can be checked by going to the Advisory blog @ http://milwoodmiddle.org/staff/blogs/advisory/ .

Science

Monday, September 17th

Students will see their quizzes that they took on Friday. We will then work with the planner for the week. Next, we will be looking at practicing using graduated cylinders and beakers. The rest of the hour we will complete a "Metric Smile" lesson using the Kagan structure "Rally Coach".

Tuesday, September 18th

Mr. Korchnak will be working with the class on metric conversions using algebra. We noticed that not all students understood the Metric Staircase/Ladder method so now we will introduce conversions in this manner.

Homework: Try to complete a couple problems off the metric conversion worksheet and we will work on the rest in class tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 19th

Students needed more time to work on doing the metric conversions algebraically so we will work on them again today.

Thursday, September 20th

We will be working on scientific notation. Students will list the steps to scientific notation in their science journals. Then we will practice with a partner. We will use the Kagan structure Rally Coach. Students will share their answers with the class.

Quiz over metric conversions.

Friday, September 21st

NO SCHOOL!

Ecosystems
(Mr. Korchnak)

Monday, September 17th
Today we will be discussing food webs and chains. I will also be introducing the class word wall. During the lesson we will work in both table teams and as a whole class. The first activity is built around understanding food chains by demonstrating the food chains involved in eating a chicken sandwich. The second activity will be done with the whole class. Each student will have a specific name card representing their role in an ecosystem. We will then use string to show how interconnected an ecosystem is.

Wednesday, September 19th
Today’s lesson will revolve around how energy flows through out a system and how it is returned. We’ll go over cycles that work within a system and the parts of an ecosystem that are responsible for the cycles.

Homework: Pick 10 words from the word wall and be able to explain what they mean and how they help define an ecosystem.

2007-09-09T15:39:00.000-04:00

What a great week we had here. I am so happy to have met everyone and excited about what our future year will hold for us. This week, we are beginning to work on the Skills Development unit which will last three weeks. Along with skills needed, we will also be working on classbuilding activities and team building activities. These should be fun! I am also going to begin to slip in activities to get everyone ready for our Science Night coming in March. Have a great 5 day week!

Monday, September 10th,

Advisory

Monday will be a class meeting. Discussion will include announcements about the week, discussion of the weekend, Kids Chat question and the video announcements. We might also have time for the quote of the week.

Science

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the threshold activity, complete a team building activity called, "One Million Bucks" (Rally Table structure), and finish their project "Welcome-to-Science" collage.

Homework: Finish collage. Students checked out any materials they needed. Due tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 11th,

Advisory

We will be watching video announcements. Students will finish announcing their goal for the week and do a Hands up, pair up, share activity with it. We will work on getting an 8th grade representative and discuss the Kids Chat question.

Ecosystems (EOD)

(Mr. Korchnak)

We will be exploring what an ecosystem is and some of the elements that compose one. Students will be working in groups to construct an ecosystem that they are familiar with and may be asked to present their system to the class and explore the parts of their team's system.

Science

Students will begin with demonstrating their knowledge of the threshold routine. We will be using our text book Chapter 2 lesson 2 on the Metric System. Throughout the reading, we will see short segments of a video on metrics. Then we will practice measuring with metrics in the classroom.

Homework: Complete Metric Worksheet p. 11. Return tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 12th,

Advisory
Students will receive their planners and have their first video lesson on using it. Our Advisory Representative will go to their school meeting today (Holden).

Science

The Threshold activity for students will be a hands on review of metrics. Then students will work in their groups to go over their homework before turning it in. Then we will work on the Metric Staircase and how to convert metrics. We will then discuss using beakers and graduated cylinders. Students will be given the opportunity to read liquids in both.

Thursday, September 13th,

Advisory
Planner scavenger hunt. Also, go over student handbook.

Ecosystems

We will continue to work with the idea of what an ecosystem is and work from the ideas we brainstormed on Tuesday. Today we will be looking at specific examples of ecosystems around Michigan and using those to continue building understanding of the components of an ecosystem.

Science

Students will review measurements we have been studying during their threshold activity. Students will learn a mnemonic device to help them to remember the order of metrics. We will practice metrics with different bases, practice using graduated cylinders and beakers also.

Homework: Reading Graduated cylinders.

REMEMBER THERE IS A QUIZ TOMORROW OVER WHAT HAS BEEN TAUGHT THIS WEEK!

Friday, September 14th,

Advisory

Science

Students will take a quiz over this week's work. There will be a short review. After the quiz, students will complete an activity called,"What's your interest?" Then students will work in teams to complete a teambuilding activity called "The Perfect Weekend" (Round Table).

2007-08-31T12:41:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back Milwood Students!

I am really excited to start our new year in science. We also have a new intern here. His name is Mr. Korchnak and he is from Western Michigan University. He will be a great help to all of us this year.

Each week you can check this site to see what we are doing during the week. I try to have the blog completed for the next week no later than Sunday evening.

This year, 8th grade is going to be working on prerequisites for their high school science classes. There is lots to learn so attendance will be crucial.

We are in need of magazines for science classes this week. Any that you can send in would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Here is the schedule for our first week of class:

September 4th, Tuesday

Advisory

Staff will greet students at the basketball courts on the side of the building. Students will locate or be helped to locate their Advisory teacher. The teacher will then go over entrance and exit procedures with students before they enter the building. Once Advisory groups have entered the building, teachers will then discuss the hallway expectations for Milwood with students. Students will then proceed to their classroom for attendance.

Students will remain in their Advisory class for the remainder of the morning. There will be getting to know you activities, first day of school packets handed out to go home, school video announcements, and practicing school assembly expectations. Then there will be dismissal.

September 5th, Wednesday

Advisory

Students will work on expected behaviors for Classroom and Instructional Areas.

Creation Station

Students will practice the routine for entering the classroom and completing the threshold activity. They will be introduced to their classroom teachers (Kahler and Korchnak). Then students will learn about the classroom norms and create a folding book to learn the norms. Then they will complete a short get to know you activity.

Science

Students will complete the same activity as during Creation Station.

September 6th, Thursday

Advisory

Students will review Arrival and Departure expectations.

Science

Students will review the Threshold expectations and then complete one. There will be a classbuilding activity called, "Find a Partner Who...". Then, we will review the classroom norms by completing the Norms worksheet with a partner.

September 7th, Friday

Advisory

We will review the threshold activity. Students will then work to complete a getting to know you activity (Find Someone Who...), watch the school announcements, and review Bathroom expectations.

Creation Station

Students will review the classroom norms and then complete a teambuilding activity at their table called, "On A Deserted Island with Only a Belt". Teams will work on their social roles during this activity by utilizing the jobs of: Speed Sergeant, Chief Support, Sultan of Silly, and Synergy Guru. Teams will share their ideas.

Science

Students will review and demonstrate for their teachers, their knowledge of correctly crossing the Threshold and completing the activity. They will then work on a classbuilding activity (Find Someone) and share with them which Norm will help them during science class. Students will then go back to their teams (tables) to complete with their partner a "Welcome-to-Science Collage". Collages will be hung in the room.

2007-06-08T06:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I forgot to blog last week. We basically just worked on completing our Science Review ABC books. The ABC Science books are due on Tuesday, June 12th when students come into class. Please be sure that you are checking your child's grades on line. There will obviously be no make up time for grades and many students have seemed to check out already. I did send home progress reports already so I hope that you saw them.

The trip to Chicago was great! I hope your child had a great time also. The CSI exhibit was really interesting and went well with the trip to K-College for the Forensic Workshop. Be careful what you do at home because your CSI may catch you with the evidence!

Reminder that this week on Tuesday starting at 6:00 PM is the 8th grade Awards Program and immediately following is the dance. Lots of talk about this!

Exams are on Wednesday and Thursday and they are half days. Wednesday, June 13th will be 2nd through 4th hour exams. Thursday, June 14th will be 5th through 8th hour exams.

I also just wanted to tell you all how fantastic it has been to be able to work with your children. There have been many laughs and lots of "lights coming on" thinking. I wish the best for you and your child. Hopefully our team will be able to visit Norrix next year in the Fall to see how all the kids are doing.

Science

Students will be turning in their ABC books to me on Tuesday and studying for their final in class. Everyone was encouraged all year to keep their journal for the final exam. This is what they should use to study from and bring to their final to use also.

Creation Station

All 6 week project books are due by the end of the class today! I will give them back to a teacher on team to return to students the following day.

2007-05-29T13:03:00.000-04:00

Hello All. Wow it is a hot one today. Sorry that this blog is a couple of hours later than usual, but better late than never. The last day to get a permission slip in for Chicago is tomorrow (5/30/07). If you cannot locate a permission slip at home, please just write the information on a piece of paper with your signature and your child's name on it.

The last day for the take home chemistry test to be returned is this Friday, June 1st.

Have a great week!

May 29 - June 1st

Science

All classes are working on creating a book called, "The ABC's of Science for 8th Grade". All students are working in groups during class unless they have asked not to work in a group or have lost the privilege of working with one. Each class period is devoted to students creating this book and to help them review for the final exam. If students are working hard in class, there will be no homework.

Creation Station

All this week, we will be working on topics already assigned on the blue sheet. Next week, we will be working on the cover of the book.

2007-05-17T17:05:00.000-04:00

Hope you all had a great weekend! THIS THURSDAY IS OUR SCHOOL'S SCIENCE FAIR. I am still waiting on details of the times, but your child's class project is coming along. We will also be having student demos for the family to observe and participate in. I hope that your family can make it.

This Friday evening, students will have an opportunity to attend a Forensics Night at Kalamazoo College from 4:00 to 5:30. Students in grades 6th through 8th grade from Milwood Magnet School are invited to attend. We will provide supervision after school and transportation to Kalamazoo College, but students must be picked up by their guardian by 5:30. We are truly lucky to be offered this opportunity! I know that it is a holiday weekend, but I am hopeful that many students will be able to attend. The maximum number of students able to attend is 65, so please return permission slips that went home on Friday immediately.

We finished Chemistry on Friday with the Chemistry Assessment. Next week we will finish up our science fair projects and then finish up Reproductive Health. The year really is going by quickly! Have a great week!

Monday, May 21st

Science

Students will work to finish their Science Fair Projects and create their demonstrations.

Creation Station

Students will be working on their "Importance of..." paper. This is due on Wednesday. Progress Reports should also come back today.

Tuesday, May 22nd

Science

Students will work to finish their Science Fair Projects and create their demonstrations.

Wednesday, May 23rd

Science

If we are finished with the Science Fair projects, we will go back to finishing Reproductive Health. We will begin on lesson 10 "Reasons for Abstinence". Students will watch a short video and list reasons why abstinence will benefit them and reasons why it may be difficult to remain abstinent.

Creation Station

Students will turn in their typed, "Importance of..." paper and then work on their two poems for their book. We will have a mini lesson on diamante poetry.

Thursday, May 24th

Science

Students will watch a short video on the Scientific Process. I will be absent during the day today. Science Fair is tonight!

Friday, May 25th

Science

We will discuss the Science Fair from the night before and then begin Lesson 11 "Making Abstinence Work".

Creation Station

Students will turn in their two poems from Wednesday and work on their last poem. We will have a short mini lesson on acrostic poems.

Students who are going to Kalamazoo College for Forensics Night stay after school for their program. Students will need to be picked up at Kalamazoo College at 5:30 PM.

2007-05-11T12:58:00.000-04:00

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. We are coming up on the last week of Chemistry and we will be continuing our Science Fair classwork. Progress Reports will be going home on Friday, May 18th. As always, please sign and return them to me on the following Monday for a class homework assignment. Have a great week!

Monday, May 14th

Science

Students will complete Lesson 15 "Atoms in equals Atoms out: Vinegar and Baking Soda". They are building models of molecules as the products and the reactants and getting very good at it. The will complete the Think and Write questions on page 73, 1-5. If there is any time left, we will work on our Science Fair project.

Tuesday, May 15th

Science

Students will complete lesson 16 "Atoms in equals Atoms out: Burning Butane". They again will be building models of the molecules and also looking at the chemical formulas. Students will be totally independent for this activity today. We have practiced this type of lesson 4 times now and everyone should know what to do. The Think and Write questions from page 76 #1-8 will be assigned and due tomorrow.

Creation Station

Students will continue to work on their Final Book Project. Their 10 quotes are due at the end of class today.

Wednesday, May 16th

Science

Students will complete lesson 17 "Where Does It Go?" The key question will be "Where do all the materilas and substances we use go when we are finished with them and throw them away?" This will be our last model making opportunity. The assignment is Think and Write page 79-80 #1-8.

Thursday, May 17th

Science

We will be preparing for the Chemistry test that will be tomorrow. We will either use a study guide or a game show to study for the test.

Creation Station

Students will be working on their final project. Due today is their, "Importance of ..." paper.

Friday, May 18th

Science

Students will be assessed on their Chemistry unit today. Progress reports will also go home today.