Friday, December 2

Hey!!! It is me again!!

We are changing our plans for next week. I am going to review with the kids on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This will make our test on Thursday. The kids will have plenty of time to practice this way. I am hoping it will help them. I, also, changed the vocabulary quiz, too. I have deleted the quiz from this Wednesday and it will be included in on the test next Thursday. I have given the students the directions for what they need to be successful. They have the list of terms, too. I have the directions and words posted on the boards in my room. These words are so important and I am hoping this extra time and practice will help them. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at tphipps@minfordfalcons.net.

Thursday, December 1

Hello to all!!

After we started working on our activity for today, that we labeled LAB #4, I have decided that our test over genetics will be next Wednesday. We will finish our activity from today on Monday and then I have a review sheet that I want to do with them the rest of Monday and Tuesday. This sheet will be like what the test is going to be like. If something happens and we cannot through the review by the end of Tuesday, then we will move our test to Thursday. I want to make sure that we go over that review sheet very well, since the test will be modeled like it. Tomorrow is Friday and it will be our vocabulary day. Some of the students will be performing their songs for us. The others have already done so. I have to say that the songs have been very good, so far. I am looking forward to hearing the rest of them. Have a good weekend and I will be on here again next week!

Wednesday, November 30

Hello!

We had a pop quiz today over six of the vocabulary terms I gave them two weeks ago. I have been telling them since then that they need to know these terms very well and be able to use them in conversation. When we started class yesterday, and they still had trouble with them, even after I had been working with them with the kids, I decided they needed to realize that I was not joking around. They really do need to be able to use these words as they discuss genetics.

I am working on trying to start digital storyboards with the kids, if I can find the right programs for them to use. It would be such a great experience for them to get to use another computer tool. We will try to start it next week. Lucky for us, they have to do drawing and writing at first and then go to the computer. I will have a little more time to find the right program.

When we have our test over genetics, it will be part on paper and part on the Smart board. I can see them in action on the board. It is very cool! The kids love it, too! It may be Monday or Tuesday of next week. It just depends on how long it takes us to get all the review completed. Well, have a great weekend and I will talk to you again next week. Don't forget that we do our vocabulary on Friday's. The songs we have been working on are turning out so good!!!

Thursday, November 17

Hello, All!!!

Sorry I have not been on here before now, but I have been out sick the past two days. I wish I could kick whatever has gotten a hold of me, but it has me good. This week we started the reproductive system and heredity. We are looking at the reproductive system as it relates to heredity and not a sex education class. This is what I have told my classes. They still giggle at some of the terms, but at least they know what we are going to study. Monday, we started on the terms we will be using, but didn't get to finish them. I had the sub show them videos on genes and heredity Tuesday and Wednesday. We are going to try and finish up the terms today, but some classes may not. If that happens, then we will finish them on Monday, November 21st. Remember that Friday's are our vocabulary day, so tomorrow they will be working on their vocabulary. This time around they are writing a song to sing using their words. I have to say that it has been very interesting to hear some of the tunes and lyrics they have come up with! They can be very creative, when they want to be.

Now, next week will be a short one because of Thanksgiving break. We will only be here Monday and Tuesday. We will finish up any of the vocabulary that was started this week on Monday, if we have to, and then I have some heredity activities for them. On Tuesday, we will do some more heredity activities. There is a Punnett square activity that is really fun. It shows all the possible combinations for offspring based on the parents genotype. You will have to ask your child what genotype means. It is one of our vocabulary words. :-) I do NOT send home any work over the break. I don't give homework anyway, but just to make sure you know that there will not be work during our break. Oh, the body systems project turned out very well for our first computer tool project. I am really looking forward to the next one and what the kids can do!!! I need to get the grades in the computer, though, so bear with me. I am playing catch up from being out those days. Well, have a great Thanksgiving and I will talk to you again after the break.

Monday, November 7

Hello! I am trying to get a post in early this week. It is going to be a short week this because of veteran's day on Friday. There is no school. We will not be doing any vocabulary this week, since we will not be here on Friday. The kids are working on their body system projects today and tomorrow and, hopefully, will be completed tomorrow. I would love to start presentations on Wednesday. It should only take Wednesday and Thursday to complete the presentations. I hope you get the time to have your child show you their class wiki. The pages are really exciting. Next Tuesday, November 16, we will be having a 2-hour delay for a teacher in-service. Have a great week and I will talk to you next week!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Hello, to everyone!

I am so very sorry that I have not been on here in such a long time. I got sick the week after my last posting and missed a few days of school. I feel like I have been playing catch up ever since. We completed our cell models and I have to say that there were some very interesting models created! I really enjoy seeing what the students come up with. We are now working on the various body systems. I did my seating charts again, so the students are sitting with new people in here. Each group was given a body system to research and the directions for the project. Here is where the fun part starts! I introduced them to a new way of presenting their projects. It is a computer tool called a wiki. This is a place where they can put images and video clips on the page. It is a web address, so they can access it from home, when they are absent or want to work on it at home. Each class period has their own wiki. They are set up using the class period. For example, my first period class will use www.mmsfirstperiod.wikispaces.com/ as their wiki address. The other classes just change the number of the class period. My fourth period will put fourth where first is, fifth will put fifth where first period, sixth will put sixth where first is, and seventh will put seventh where first is. It would be so nice for you to ask your child about the wiki and have him/her to show it to you! What better way to learn more about something than to teach it to someone else. The directions for their project are on the wiki, too, so they will always be close by. I hope to finish the wiki by Tuesday of next week and do the presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. Do not forget that we do not have school next Friday because of veterans day. Well, I hope all of you have a great weekend and I will talk to you next week!

Friday, October 21

Hello! Wow, have we been busy. We finished up our look at the scientific method and started working on plant and animal cells. The students will be making models of the two cells. I have given them the directions for what they need to do and the analysis sheet to the models. The models will be put together Monday and Tuesday of next week. After that, we will start our body systems projects. These will be put on our class wiki. I am so excited to have them start using another computer tool. This one is very fun. They can even open it from home and work with it. The first nine weeks ends today, so report cards will be out next Friday. The plays that the students have written and performed, using their vocabulary words, have turned out very well. The only mistake was with asexual reproduction. We discussed it after the play were finished, so that they can see where their mistake was. I have to say that it is a hard concept to understand, since there are no males or females involved. They have a hard time understanding an organism can have offspring without a male and a female. Well, have a good weekend and I will talk to you next week!

October 12, 2011

Hello, on this wet Wednesday. We are finishing up with lab safety and moving to the scientific method. I gave the kids the list of steps and had them write down, from the Smart board, what those steps mean. I tried to help them see the connection between the steps and how they are all connected to each other. I think it worked out very well. We will be starting to look at the science fair and what all that means. For those that participate in the fair, their projects will have to be completed on their own time. We will not be using class time for working on projects. The first big obstacle for them is going to be coming up with a question that will work. They need to have an experiment to test something and not a demonstration that shows something. They want to do more of the demonstrations. After our discussion on the scientific method, I am hoping they have a better understanding of the difference between the two. Don't forget that our field trip to Bob Evans Farm Festival is this Friday the 14th of October. Students will need to bring a sack lunch or money to buy lunch there. Crafts are available to buy, as well. I am hoping for good weather that day and it is not too muddy. Well, that is about it for now. Talk to you next week.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Hello!!! What an interesting week we have had. The students have been working on a safety pamphlet in class. I got some very interesting pamphlets returned to me after two days of working. They are really getting into the plays for vocabulary day (Friday). Any free time they have, they want to practice. I think that is totally awesome! Tomorrow, we are going to work with the Smart board and practice with more lab safety situations. Next week, we will begin the scientific method and start talking about the science fair. The science fair is optional. I do give extra credit to those who participate, but the student has to follow the scientific method and it has to be an experiment and not a demonstration. This seems to be the hard part for students to understand. We will discuss it next week. Have a great weekend.

Friday, Sept. 30

Hello! I am sorry that it has been such a long time since I have been on here. I was sick last week and then I have been playing catch up this week. We are working on lab safety right now. Interims came out today, so be looking for them. I only need them signed and returned if your child's grade is a 'D' or an 'F'. We have not included the extra credit, yet, so don't forget those points. They will be added at the end of the grading period. The students will be creating a lab safety pamphlet next week in class. I have a lab safety activity for them to complete on Monday. They will get to use the safety goggles for it. I am sure they will have fun getting to wear them. Since it is Friday, we working on our vocabulary. They are writing a play and using the eight words in their play. This really challenged their creativity and imagination. Some of the students really got into it, though, and worked very hard. It is funny to listen to them work out their plays. I will be back on track with posting on Monday's or Tuesday's next week. Hope you have a great weekend.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hello!

Sorry I am late this week, but it has been a hectic week. I was not here on Monday and then we had to get things all finished up yesterday. We are currently working on a packet of questions over observation/inference that I put together for the students. We should finish it tomorrow (Thursday). Friday will still be our vocabulary day, so they can finish up the descriptions for any terms left over from last Friday and we can play games using these new terms. Tomorrow, I am going to play Jeopardy with the kids to review observation/inference. I really do not like giving tests on Monday, but the schedule just worked out that they will have one this coming Monday. I will let them work together on it, since we have done everything else together over observation/inference. If you have any questions, please ask me. Have a good weekend.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Hello, All!!

This week we are studying observation and inference. Tuesday will be the day we take down the definitions and discuss examples of them. We will look at qualitative and quantitative observations, too. Wednesday will be a day for activities over observation and inference. The students will be keeping these in their folders. On Thursday, I am going to take the kids to the computer lab so they can work on their class blogs. This blog will be used for classroom purposes only. Don't forget that Friday is our vocabulary day. The students will be getting new terms this week. Next week, we will work on some more examples of observation and inference and then have a test. It will be a different type of test, though. I let them work on this one together. Sometimes, I do tests this way. It just depends on the type of test. Have a great week!

Tuesday, August, 30, 2011

Hello!

This week we are looking at various search engines and what it takes to make good keywords. I am going to show the students this blog, so that they know that it looks like and how to post replies to it. We started our vocabulary last Friday and will continue it this Friday. I will have them play a couple of games with the words to check for their understanding. Remember that Friday is our vocabulary day. I did give the students credit in the grade book for completing the search engine activity they completed on Tuesday. The points are posted on Progress Book. I believe that is about it for this week. Have a good one!!!!

August 25, 2011

Hello to all of my Parents!

This has been our first full week of school. We have started our computer skills building by looking at a few sites to see if they were real or not and found out that we can't believe everything we see on the internet. Ask your child about the Victorian robots or the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus! They will probably laugh. We started a computer activity on search engines to see how they give us different results and which ones we would rather use. Tomorrow, Friday, we are going to begin our vocabulary. This is something we will do every Friday. Every grade and subject is doing this because vocabulary is so very important to a students success. Right now, I have 49 terms the students will be getting throughout the course of school year, but that list will probably grow. Once we finish up our computer skills building, we will move to science skills. I would say that after next week, we will be ready to move on. I am getting those students who have forgotten their passwords all taken care of and those who need the internet, permission forms. Well, I believe that sums up this week. I will be on here again next week to give you an update on what we are doing. Have a great weekend!!!

Terms

These are the terms that we are going to be working with this school year. There is the possibility that I may add to this list, but I will put it on here for you to see. Fifty terms are on here. We will do a few at a time each week.

energy habitat observation density food chain

food web graduated cylinder herbivore mineral oil

omnivore organism pollution population predator

recycle rock cycle asexual reproduction cell

chemical change decomposer ecomposer egg cell

gene hypothesis igneous rock metamorphic rock

multicellular organism mutulism organ prey

scientific method sedimentary rock sexual reproduction

skeletal system species sperm tissue

unicellular organism cell membrane cell nucleus cell wall

chloroplast chromosome cytoplasm DNA

dominant trait fossil fuels vacuole

Welcome 2011-2012

Welcome to 6th grade Science! I am so excited for this school year to start. I have so many new computer tools to teach your children. Please write on this blog or email me your ideas as the year goes by. Your child will be exposed to various technology tools that they have not seen or used before. We will take things slow so that everyone can learn how to use the tool. The first few weeks of school will be all about computer skills. If you have any questions, please ask me. I look forward to talking to you!!!

Friday, May 21, 2011

Well, we did it!!! We made it through another school year. I have to say that I think this has been the fastest school year yet. It has just flown by so quickly. I will be keeping the blog going next year, but it will start as soon as school does. I didn't get to do that this school year. I hope to be able to get the kids on here, too, next school year. I will find out all the safety issues that we need to address before we start, though. I really did enjoy using the new technology with the students. I hope to continue with the students this fall and introduce a couple of new ones, as well. I wish all of you a wonderful and safe summer!!! See you in the fall! :-)

Friday, April 8, 2011

Hello, The students have been working on their scientist/inventor project this week. Most of the students decided to present their person in a power point, instead of one of the new technologies we learned about in class. That is okay. Starting on Monday, April 11, my class will turn into math class. We are working on something new in the 6th grade. I will be doing reinforcement math for the upcoming OAA. This will take place from Monday till OAA testing. After that, we will be back to our science curriculum. At that time, we will begin our scientist/inventor presentations. These will probably begin on Monday, May 2. I will not be here on the Thursday and Friday after the OAA, and that is why presentations have to wait until the following Monday. This year, the OAA is only for Math and Language Arts, so the 6th grade will be testing on Tuesday, the 26th and Wednesday, the 27th. I hope this helps to let you know what will be going on the next few weeks. Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!!!

April 1, 2011

Hello! Today is April Fool's Day. Mr. Lloyd told the students we would have to stay in school two hours longer today because we were short some hours. It was funny. I have to say that the voice threads turned out fairly well. Some of them were very impressive, considering it was the first time they had worked with that particular computer tool. You could tell who put in the effort and who didn't. It is just like any other project. We have now started a new project. The students drew the name of a famous scientist or inventor and will do a research project on that person. They can use a Power Point, their class wiki, or a voice thread to present their information. Every student was given a paper with all the requirements on it. I will have to put it on here on Monday. I don't have that paper on this computer, since I am home right now. The students can do some research at home, but I don't want them to do all of it there and then do nothing at school. Starting April 11 and going till April 25, I will be helping out the Math department and working on math to help prepare the students for the OAA. Ms. Bond will be doing Language Arts during this time period. I will pick up with my science after the testing is over on April 28. Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather to come. I think we could all use some. Talk to you soon!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hello!

The students have been working on their voice threads all week and let me tell what a wild trip that has been. My laptops are so old that they have a tendency to just shut off in the middle of whatever the students are doing. There is only one PC that the students can record on, so we have to use three of those old laptops. I hate it, but we use what we have. When the students really focus, they can put together some very nice threads. I am curious to see what they come up with. Next week, we will be starting a new project, but it will be an individual one. I think it will be easier because they will not have to worry about another person or people in the group. I will give you all the information on it one day next week and put up the directions for it on the home page as an additional page you can just click on and see. We still have seven vocabulary terms to finish up from our big master list. I need to get those in next week and the week after, so that they have them all before the OAA. There will not be an OAA test in science this year. They are only tested in the 6th grade in Math and Language Arts. Well, I guess that is all for now. I will talk to you again next week. Please email me or call me, if you have any questions. Have a good weekend!

Tuesday, March 22

Hello!!!

I have put up a new page today. It has on there the directions I gave the students for their energy project that will be completed using a voice thread. This is a very cool computer tool where they will be recording their information, instead of typing it. I need to go get the paper copied for them, so I am getting off here, but I will be back.

Monday, March 14

Hello!

Here is an update on what is going on in our class. We are having a test Wednesday over physical and chemical changes. I put the review notes on the previous posting. Today, I gave the students the list of labs that they can turn in for extra credit. It is the same list we discussed and looked at on Friday. The labs are due on Wednesday. We started a new project today. I put the students into eight groups and gave each one a topic on energy. If you want to know your child's topic, just let me know and I can tell you. I will be showing them how to use the voice thread on Thursday. We saw a few examples today and discussed what a good one sounded and looked like and what a not so good one sounded and looked like. We talked about making sure that they keep things on their level and not try to say the big words that they can't pronounce and don't know what they mean. We, also, talked about not plagiarizing or copying things right from the computer or book. The students will be working at the site www.voicethread.com/. We are using my email address from school and the password falcon to get onto the site. I look forward to letting you know how things are going. Have a great week!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Hello, on this Sunday afternoon!

I need to put on here that there will be a test over physical and chemical changes on Wednesday, March 16. I told the students about it last week and we have been working on various examples of these. There were some slides I created and went over with them to review a view key points that I want to share here, too.

1st slide:

4 states of matter:
1. solid
2. liquid
3. gas
4. plasma

2nd slide:

Physical changes:
these are changes in size, shape, and state of matter; can sometimes be reversed; examples include melting, freezing, boiling, slicing, chopping, coloring, cutting. For more examples, please see the paper we worked on in class Thursday.

3rd slide:

Chemical changes:
these changes involve a reaction and cannot be reversed; a new product is created; signs include bubbling, fizzing, foaming, heat, and a gas created; examples include burning, rotting, rusting, baking (cooking), baking soda and vinegar. For more examples, please see the paper we worked on in class on Thursday.

The paper from Thursday should be in the students' folders. On, Monday, I will be giving the students the list of labs we have completed this grading period that they can turn in for extra credit. These labs will be due on Wednesday at the beginning of the class period with the student's name on the first one. I want the labs put in order starting with number one and going to number seven. They cannot be out of order or they will not get credit for them. Students get five points for each lab they turn in to me. Students are only allowed to turn in the labs late, if they have an excused absence. We looked at the labs on Friday and most students got them together then, but a few were still looking for some.

We are going to be starting a new project on Monday. It will be over energy - renewable and nonrenewable. For this project, the students will be using a new computer tool called a voice thread. It will be a lot of fun for them because they will be recording their voices and saying their information, instead of typing it. I am excited to teach it to them. I will keep you up to date on how things are going with it. Hope you are having a good weekend. Talk to you soon. If you need anything or have any questions, please let me know.

Monday, March 7

Hello!

Today some of the classes had to finish the activities from last week where they got behind because of the testing during the morning. The other classes watched a couple of videos on matter. Tomorrow, we are going to get those classes all caught up, so we can all watch the physical/chemical changes demonstrations on Wednesday. The classes not getting caught up will be working on a couple of worksheets dealing with these changes and maybe even some matter and mass. I will be giving some notes for their test on Thursday, if things go like I hope. If we don't get to start them on Thursday, then it will be on Friday. I will put the notes we take on here, so that the students will have access to them, if they loose what they write down in class. The test will be one day next week. It depends on the day we take the notes. I don't like to give tests on Monday, so I know it won't be then. More than likely, it will be Tuesday or Wednesday. I will put on here as soon as the kids and I decide which day would be best. We will be ready to start our next topic from here. It is renewable and nonrenewable resources. I will probably have them do this as a group project. I have a new tool available for them, in addition to their wikis and power point. It is a voicethread. They will put in images and then record their voices with the information needed. Others can respond to their project with recordings of their own, therefore creating this voice thread. The students have never created one before, so I will have to teach them how. It will be a lot of fun. I am looking forward to it. Well, if you need anything, please let me know by emailing me or calling me here at school. Have a great week!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Hello, to all!

I am sorry that it has been so long since I last was on here, but we have been taking the InView and Terra Nova test this week. With the test going on, the two morning periods have had to alternated, so I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I did the other classes. We finished up our study of rocks and minerals and reviewed matter, mass, and volume, then began physical/chemical changes. We have been using Smart board lessons to review and cover these topics. The students have been taking notes off the board and keeping them in their folders. Here are the notes on "Equal Volume Different Mass" that they took off the board. The classes are in different places, so some classes took these notes on Wednesday, some on Thursday, and some will on Monday. The learning goal is "Objects with Equal Volume CAN have different mass". There are five facts on matter has volume:

1. Volume is the amount of space that an object takes up.
2. Things with volume cannot share the same space at the same time.
3. When you measure the volume of liquid in a cylinder, you should look at the meniscus (this is the lowest point of the line on the cylinder).
4. A liquids volume is usually expressed in liters (L) or milliliters (mL).
5. 1 mL = 1 cm3

Gas = cannot really find the volume of a gas because it expands to fill the container. We usually measure the container and the pressure inside the container.

Matter has mass - put these into order from least mass to the greatest:

hamster
elephant
skyscraper
moon

The difference between mass and weight:

1. All matter experience gravity because all matter has mass.
2. The force of gravity is greater when two objects get closer together.
3. Weight = A brick weighs less in space than on Earth because the gravitational force pulling on the brick decreases as it gets farther away from the Earth.
4. Mass is not the same as weight. Mass is not dependent on gravity.

Students created a table with 9 rows and 4 columns. The headings of the 4 columns are materials, mass, volume, and density. Under the materials is listed AL, Brass, Copper, Steel, Wood, Acrylic, Nylon, and PVC. We filled out the table together as a class. The volume is the same for each material - 14.71. The mass for AL is 44g., Brass is 50g, Copper is 80g, Steel is 13g, Wood is 13g, Acrylic is 19, Nylon is 18g, and PVC is 22g. We discussed where steel and wood are the same and how that does not seem right. I got these numbers off the internet and I don't think that the steel one is for a one inch cube, so it is going to be off. I gave each group a calculator and they divided mass /volume to find the density. We were very close to the known densities, except for brass, copper, and steel.

After we completed this activity, we looked at physical and chemical changes and examples of those. Once that was done, we completed an activity on the four states of matter and examples of those and more examples of physical/chemical changes. The students wrote down the four states of matter, which are solids, liquids, gases, and plasma. Then, the class would decide on what a physical and chemical change is and how to know. Each class's definition looks a little different from the other. I will have to put those on here next week, because those are not all done, yet.

That about covers all that we have been doing. If you need anything, please let me know. Hope you have a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 23

Hello, All!!!

Well, the wiki presentations on rocks/minerals will finish up today. We are going to take the vocabulary quiz over numbers 21-25 at the beginning of class, then finish up the presentations. I have a very exciting activity for the students to complete, after the presentations. They are going to use the information from their wikis to identify three rocks. There is one each of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. I gave them each a hand lens so that they could look more closely at the crystal structure of the rock. We have a mineral activity to complete, when this one is done. Next week, we will pick up with the last of the terms. There will be seven (7) this time. They will start with #26 - predict, and go to #32 - trait. The quiz will be over those seven (7) this time, instead of five (5). This is what we have going on this week. If you need anything, please let me know! Have a great rest of your week!

Thursday, February 17

Hello All!

Today we got the definition for term #24. Tomorrow we will get #25. The test over terms 21-25 will be next Wednesday, February 23. Only those five terms will be on the test. We are also working on our rocks/minerals projects. I am hoping to get those finished up on Monday, so that we can start presentations on Tuesday. If you have not had the chance to see what your child is doing, please have them get on and show you. I guess that is all for today. Tomorrow is Friday!!! Have a great weekend!

Monday, Feb. 14

Hello, everyone and Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope everyone is having a good day today. I just wanted to give you an update on what we are doing in class. Today, I gave the students term #22. As of today, I am planning on the next vocabulary test over numbers 21-25 being next Wednesday. That will give me time to remind the students of the test and them to study. We, also, continued work on our rocks and minerals project. I showed all the classes their class wiki and each group's page, where they will put all their information. I showed them the page with the directions on it. This page has our class blog address on it, too, in case they need the directions for putting images or video clips on their wiki pages. Those directions are on the home page to this blog. They can just click on which on they need and the directions will come right up. They don't need to be signed in at all. I showed them how to do this today in class.

I discussed with the students today that each person in the group needs to contribute to the wiki page and put their initials on what they type on the page. I want everyone researching and typing on the page. Everything should be equally done. I don't want just one person doing all the typing or research. The students can get to their wikis from home, too, and work. If you want help with the addresses to the wikis, just let me know. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Hope you have a great week!

Thursday, February, 10, 2011

Hello, Everyone!

Yesterday we started Earth and Space science. We took a few notes off the board, so I wanted to put them on here for you. The first thing we wrote down was that there are three types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Then, we wrote down that rocks are made of minerals. The last thing we wrote down was what we were going to be researching first for our rocks/minerals project. I started the project off with a story. The story was that I came into my room on a Monday morning to find all of my rock and mineral samples had been dumped out all over the floor. The problem was that none of the samples were labeled, so I had no way of knowing what samples were what. The students are going to help me identify them and put them back where they belong. With that in mind, we have three questions to answer here at the beginning. They are going to be put into new groups tomorrow (Friday). The three questions are:

1. What are minerals?
2. What are their characteristics?
3. What are sedimentary, igneous, and metamorhic rocks?

They have to comlete numbers 1 and 2 before they move on to number 3. Everything will be put onto their class wiki, so they can work on it from home. I hope they will show it to you. If you have any questions, please ask me. This is all I have for right now. I will let you know when we add something new. Have a great weekend!

Week of February 7th

Hello Everyone!

We are going to start this week off reviewing for the test over genes and heredity. The test is scheduled for Thursday, but you know how things can change. I don't think there will be anymore bad weather this week, so the test should be on time. I gave the students a review sheet yesterday (Monday) to work on and we are going to go over it today (Tuesday). We have been completing various activities that they can use to help them remember the concepts we have been studying. It would be a good idea to have them explain what we did on those to you. What better way to learn than to teach someone else! We are also going to be starting rocks and minerals this week. I have a lesson on that I created for my college classes. It is a real-world lesson and my instructor said the students should really get into it. Don't forget that the terms for reproduction and heredity are on this home page under "Reproduction." As of right now, there are no plans to have just a vocabulary test, but that may change, too. Well, I believe that is all for right now. If you have any questions, please email me or leave me a posting here. Have a great week!

Thursday, January, 27

Well, I did get the reproduction and heredity terms on the home page for those students who need them. You can get to them by clicking on the word "Reproduction" at the top of the home page. I hate that I could not get the pictures that were on the slides at school on here, but at least they will have the terms and definitions. We started looking at a couple of Smart board activities dealing with heredity and reproduction. The students really liked it. The second one is on Gregor Mendel, who is considered the father of genetics.

Today, we got term #20 from the main vocabulary list. There will be a quiz over terms 16-20 on Tuesday of next week. I have told the students and it is written on the little white board in my room. I hope everyone studies. Well, I guess that is all I have for right now. I will let you know of the next project we have.

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Hello, everyone!!!

I am trying to put the terms for reproduction and heredity on here, but it is not working out. So, I have to do it the old-fashioned way. I will be typing them on a separate page and putting that page at the top. Now, there will not be the pictures that go along with the terms, like the students saw in class, but at least the definitions will be there, in case they loose them. I have a couple of Smart board activities for the students to complete and then a couple of hands-on activities, too. I hope that they enjoy them, while they learn about reproduction and heredity. I hope to have the terms on here this evening, but I have a college assignment due, too, so it may be tomorrow. Just to keep you up to date on my college work, this is my last class!! There are about five weeks left and then I am done! I will have my second master's degree all finished. It has been a long 20 months, but I feel that I have learned so much about using technology in the classroom. I hope your children have as much fun with the technology as I do. Talk to you soon.

Review for 2nd Quarterly Assessment

Hello All!

Here are the things we went over in class to review for the 2nd quarterly assessment test. Since the weather kept us out of school on Friday, the test will be tomorrow (Monday). The kids were told this on Thursday. Here are the items we reviewed:

Plant/Animal cells: plant cells have a cell wall, larger vacuole, and chloroplasts.

Body systems: the cells are organized in this manner....cell->tissue->organ->organ systems

Biotic - living parts
Abiotic - nonliving parts

Food Chains - Producer --> Primary Consumer --> Secondary Consumer --> Decomposer
An example is plant --> mouse --> snake --> hawk (the state of Ohio loves this one even though there is no decomposer in it).
Next, we drew an energy pyramid and put these in it. The plant is on the bottom, then mouse, then snake and hawk is at the top. Sorry I can't put the image on here.

Scientific method - hypothesis is an educated guess about the answer to your question.
conclusion is the answer to your question and includes whether your hypothesis is right or wrong. You are allowed to be wrong.

If you want to check someone's project for accuracy and see if they are right, then all you need to do is do that project for yourself, following the exact same procedure that the person followed. If you really want to be sure, then have several people complete the project and see if all of you get the same results.

I hope this helps you study for the assessment. There will not be many questions on it, since it only covers what we looked at this quarter. Good luck!

Monday - Jan. 10

Hello! Today we are going to start finishing up the biome posters that the kids were working on while I was gone. There is just one part left - symbiotic relationships. I went over the types using a Power Point presentation with the kids, so we could discuss what each type meant. I was hoping to cut down on research time, as well. We only have this week to complete these posters. Here are the four terms we looked at:

predator/prey - the organism that gets eaten is called the prey. The organism that eats the
prey is called the predator.

mutualism - a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.

commensalism - a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is
unaffected.

parasitism - a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed.

The students picked one of these relationships and looked up an example from their biome. They will be drawing that example on their poster. Hopefully, the weather will hold out and we can get these finished by Thursday.

We are going to be starting up the vocabulary next week. We will be starting with number 16. It has been several weeks since we looked at that list. There are 32 terms altogether. Don't forget that the list is on this blog, in case your child has lost it. If you need anything, please ask me.

Happy New Year!

Hello to all of you!

I hope that you had a wonderful Holiday! I am so very sorry that I have not been on here to let you know what is going on, but I was having a hard time typing after my elbow surgery. I am back at school, now, and typing is much easier. The students and I have decided that they will finish up the big science projects this week and then the biome posters next week. I gave them the sheet that tells them what they need to have for the oral presentation on their projects yesterday and they spent today rehearsing. Don't forget that there is extra credit that goes along with these projects, if the students receives an A, B, or C on their presentation. I will get back in the swing of posting on here, now that I am back. Again, I apologize for being gone so long, but appreciate your understanding. Talk to you soon!