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.