Making Snowflakes-from NPR Science Friday

Here is the model that we looked at in class!

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/wave-on-a-string

Test Corrections for Homework!!!

All students are required to do test corrections for the test we took right before break. Students are to write out the question and the answer for each question they missed 3 times each. If a student missed question one, it would look like this:

1. Which of the following is a good conductor of heat? cast iron

Which of the following is a good conductor of heat? cast iron

Which of the following is a good conductor of heat? cast iron

Since this test was graded digitally, students were each given a strip of paper that had showed which questions they answered correctly or incorrectly. The letters in the darker font on the strip are the questions which were answered INCORRECTLY.

This is due on Monday, but must be turned in by Friday to be reflected on the upcoming progress reports.

The plan up to Thanksgiving.

Thursday(tomorrow)-- finish going over "What is Heat?" assignment. Students have a quiz over the two chapters. Students should focus on vocabulary.

Friday--in-class activity to reinforce different types of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation)

Monday--Chapter Review from green Study Guide handed out today. p. 168-172 (omit 23-26) needs to be complete.

Tuesday--Test over "Temperature" and "What is Heat?"

Temperature

SUMMARY

• Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles of a

substance.

• Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin are three temperature scales.

• Thermal expansion is the increase in volume of a substance due to an increase

in temperature.

• Absolute zero (0 K, or –273°C) is the lowest possible temperature.

• A material may be chosen for a particular purpose because of the way it

responds to heat or cold.

• Some materials, such as metals, conduct energy well.

• Some materials, such as air or ceramics, do not conduct energy well.

VOCABULARY

1. temperature

2. thermal expansion

3. absolute zero

4. expand

5. contract

What is Heat?

SUMMARY

Heat is energy transferred between objects that are at different temperatures.

• Thermal energy is the total kinetic energy of the particles that make up a substance.

• Thermal energy will always be transferred from higher to lower temperature.

• Transfer of thermal energy ends when two objects that are in contact are at the same temperature.

• Conduction, convection, and radiation are three ways thermal energy is transferred.

• Specific heat is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C.

• Energy transferred by heat cannot be measured directly. It must be calculated using specific heat, mass, and change in temperature.

VOCABULARY

1. heat

2. thermal energy

3. thermal equilibrium

4. thermal conduction

5. thermal conductor

6. thermal insulator

7. convection

8. radiation

9. specific heat

What is heat? Homework.

Tonight my 4th and 5th periods have science homework!!! Students who did not finish the in class assignment need to complete the guided reading sheet for homework. Students can access the textbook on-line here:

Science Text Book On-line

Students can access our textbook at home. There are a number of links to interactive sites and objects as well as some links to reading for better understanding and going beyond what we do in class. I have it set to open in a new browser window. If you are having problems getting the page to show, you may have to temporarily allow pop-ups for the page to show up. username: rbulldog1. password: r8x8v I have also created a youtube playlist of videos related to our current topic of study. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8CD2ECDDDDE7B228 Right now we are focused on "Heat vs. Temperature." Next, will be looking at conduction, convection, and radiation.

We are studying temperature right now.

Here is a video we watched in class today.

States of Matter

Kids were asking about the interactive we were working with today in class here it is.

In addition, here is a link to many more science interactive programs. http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new There is a file that is downloaded to your computer that you will have to accept. So, KIDS...ASK YOUR PARENTS FOR HELP WHEN USING THESE INTERACTIVES.

Click to Run

Tonight's Homework

On Monday, we did a little question about mittens for our warm-up. It went something like this:
Sarah's science class is investigating heat energy. They wonder what would happen to the temperature reading on a thermometer if they put the thermometer inside a mitten. ......

What do you think Sarah's group will discover from their investigation?

A) The thermometer inside the mitten will have a lower temperature reading than the thermometer on the table.

B) The thermometer inside the mitten will have a higher temperature reading than the thermometer on the table.

C) Both thermometers will have the same temperature reading.

Today we performed a lab where students tested the temperature inside a "warm" item and the temperature outside the item (room temperature). Many were surprised to find that the temperature was not warmer inside the warm item. Students are to write a reflective paragraph about what they learned and how their thoughts have changed based on this experiment.

Last (and only) chance for missing work.

I am going to offer students a one time deal of turning in assignments that are missing. All missing work MUST be turned in by THURSDAY. There will be no exceptions to this! I will be completing and turning in my grades on Friday morning. Therefore, Friday is too late. Students will receive a list of assignments (progress report) tomorrow. Parents, please look for this so there are no surprises when it comes to grade time.

Quiz tomorrow for 4th and 5th periods

Tomorrow students in my 4th and 5th periods will have a quiz about matter, atoms, and elements. This will include vocabulary (cut and paste activity on p. 35 of the notebook), being able to use a periodic table to identify elements and their abbreviations/symbols, and 4 general questions about matter and atoms in true-false/multiple choice format.

Have a great evening!

A science event in China Grove

Hi!

YOU are invited to attend a FREE exciting fall fun science event! We hope you and your entire family will join us on Sunday, October 23rd at 2:30 p.m. in the J. C. Carson High School auditorium in China Grove, NC for an exciting and energizing Science Extravaganza!

Mr. Dennis Regling, an educational entertainer based in Freeport, Ohio, will provide a program filled with the magic of science! Mr. Regling’s shows are funny, engaging and filled with audience participation. Young and old alike will have a wonderful time. In the past 10 years he has performed over 3000 programs at schools, fairs, festivals, camps, churches, private parties and company events in 22 states. He is a regular performer at the historic Victoria Vaudeville Theater in Wheeling, WVa.

This event is FREE for everyone. Bring your entire family for a great science event where everyone enjoys games, fun and a great way to experience the magic of science! The flyer with directions is attached. Don’t miss this exciting Catawba Conservation Camp presentation!

See you on October 23rd!!

Director, Catawba Conservation Camp
On behalf of Catawba College
Salisbury, NC

Meet the Elements by They Might Be Giants

Matter...it matters!

We have begun our next unit which is on matter.

p. 26 EQ: What is Matter

p. 27 "What is Matter? (Everything is, OK!)" hand out.

p. 28 EQ: What are the states of matter?

p. 29 "What State Are We In?" hand out

Students should be able to answer the Essential Questions (EQs) at the top of the page. Students were given a handout of a bubble map titled "Matter: A Graphic Organizer" about matter to put on p. 28 for their left side activity.

Yesterday and today we read and discussed the article "The History of the Atom Theory: In the Beginning..." As we read, we took breaks to process what we read and created a flow map of the information (kind of like a timeline with some additional details added).

p. 30 EQ: "What were some important moments of scientists learning about the atom? Why were they important?"

p. 31 "History of the Atom Theory..." article

p. 31A flow map of "The History of the Atom Theory..."

p. 31B Second page of flow map (if they have a second page). Otherwise, this should be left blank.

Thursday's homework: Students should complete the questions on p. 17 of the handout using the notes we took. Also, students will write a short paragraph on p.30 starting with "The important thing about the history of the atom theory is...." I hope that this will not include details about different scientists, but show an understanding that scientific ideas develop and change over time.

Bully Prevention Day

http://www.stompoutbullying.org/blueshirtday.php

Scientific Method Test

The scientific method test which was to be on Friday needed to be moved to Monday. My apologies for any inconveniences this may cause.

Science meets art.

A former student shared this on his facebook. I thought it was pretty cool!
https://picasaweb.google.com/102099273027921501065/ScientificArt2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCJut7aa9yYGp4AE&feat=directlink#5595519288695724386

The symbol μm used on these pictures is a micrometre, 1/1,000,000 of a meter. The more common term that is used is "micron". Just imagine how tiny that is. Just imagine if you could take a meter stick and break it into, literally, a million pieces that are all the same size. That's very, very small

Finishing first lab

Today we wrote our conclusion to our first lab as a class. Students may need to add a couple of last sentences about why their data may be inconsistent (if they had any spikes in their graphs). Also, a number of students still needed to finish their graphs. This was specifically mentioned to my 4th period class that it needed to be completed as homework if it was not done.

Next week we will be finishing up our basic science skills unit and will have a test at the end of the week. More on that next week. Until then, students should be reviewing with their notebooks and making sure that all essential questions are answered. An updated table of contents will be posted on my website soon.

Have a great weekend!

First Lab!!!

Recently, we did a short lab to determine if the distance a rubber band is stretched affects the distance it flys. Day one was setting up and performing the experiment. Day 2 is analyzing our results, including creating a line graph of our data. Day 3 is a short discussion about the results and writing our conclusions.

My classes are slightly off timing and not all are doing these steps on the same day. Here is a presentation we are going through to help us make our graphs. We are only using slides 1-15 of this presentation.

How to Create Bar and Line Graphs

View more presentations from Jeremy Mularella

Skills Scientists Use

Yesterday's field trip to the Agricultural Building at the Cabarrus County fair was great!

We have been working on measuring length using the metric system (meters) on Friday, Monday, and today. Today we specifically worked on converting measurements from one unit to another (for example: meters (m) to centimeters(cm) or kilograms(kg) to milligrams(mg). Students took notes on p. 11 of their notebook. They were also given a "Metric Conversion Worksheet". Students will have some time to work on this in class on Thursday and Friday, but numbers 1-30 need to be complete by Monday, so they may have to work on it some outside of class.

Tomorrow we will discuss two other skills a scientist uses--observation and making inferences.

Friday will be about types of variables in a science experiment. Check back for more information on that.

Guidance Day

Today the students met one of the guidance counselors, Mrs. Lane, in class. She gave them a basic introduction about what guidance counselors do and how to meet with one, should they need to

Tomorrow, we will resume science and will finish up our flip charts about measurement and units. Then, we will look at length measurements and use rulers to become familiar with how we read and write metric units.

Scientific Method

Yesterday and today we discussed the scientific method. We watched a short video of a young surfer who wanted to find out which type of beach had the best surfing waves. He then used the scientific process to determine which of two beaches is better for surfing.

We then discussed and took notes about the scientific method in a yellow foldable which we put on p. 5 in our notebooks. I also shared a mnemonic device to help them remember the 7 stages of the scientific method.

Peter = Identify a Problem

Rabbit = Research

Hates = Form a Hypothesis

Peas = Design and Perform an experiment

And = Analyze results

Carrots, = Draw a Conclusion

Carrie = Communicate results.

Here is a link to the video we watched. This may or may not work. I haven't tried this before, so let me know how it works.

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?blnPreviewOnly=1&guidAssetId=bdef8d10-922e-4d82-adf5-aedb952b16cb

Homework: Students should respond to the Essential Question on p. 4: "How do scientists learn about the world around them?" This written response should include a couple of sentences about how the scientific method works, how Carsten (the young surfer) used it, or how it can apply to something they might need to learn about. In addition, students should create their own mnemonic device to help them remember the steps of the scientific method on the bottom half of the page.

Interactive Notebooks

Today we discussed how the interactive notebooks are done and why we use them. The booklet about the notebooks should be glued in on page 3 of their science notebooks.

Homework:
Answer Essential Question on p. 2 "What are interactive notebooks and how do we use them?" Also, write an acrostic poem using the words "left side" at the bottom of page 2. Each of the words or phrases they use to complete the poem should be ideas or activities associated with what is put on the left side of there notebooks according to the "Introduction to Interactive Notebooks" handout.

There are also a number of students who have not returned the Cabarrus Science Inquiry sheet that must be returned before they will be permitted to participate in labs.

Summer Reading List For Rising 6th Grade Science and Social Studies

Fiction

Why?: The War Years.@ dePaola, Tomie.

Without Warning: Ellen's Story 1914-1918.@Hamley, Dennis.

Don Quixote and the Windmills. Kimmel, Eric A.

The View from Saturday Konigsburg, E. L.

Esperanza Rising. Muñoz Ryan, Pam.

A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket, Lemony.

The Mysterious Benedict Society. Stewart, Trenton Lee.

Useful Fools. Schmidt, C. A.

Eli Remembers.@ Vander Zee, Ruth.

Archie's War: My Scrapbook of the First World War, 1914-1918.@ Williams, Marcia.



Non- Fiction

The World Made New: Why the Age of Exploration Happened and How It Changed the World.@ Aronson, Marc and John W. Glenn.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow. Bartoletti, Susan Campbell.

Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa. Chambers, Veronica.

Over the Mountains: An Aerial View of Geology.* Collier, Michael.

Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon.@ DeSaix, Deborah Durland and Karen Gray Ruelle.

Map: Satellite.* DK Publishing.

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot With a Caribou Herd.# Heuer, Karsten.

The Race for Space: The United States and the Soviet Union Compete for the New Frontier. Kuhn, Betsy.

Come Look with Me: Latin American Art.@ Lane, Kimberly.

Rockets.* Miller, Ron.

Tycho Brahe: Pioneer of Astronomy.* Nardo, Don .

Adaptation.* Silverstein, Alvin; Virginia Silverstein; and Laura Silverstein Nunn.

The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain.@ Sis, Peter.

Isaac Newton: The Scientist Who Changed Everything.* Steele, Philip.

Great Inventions: Microscopes and Telescopes.* Stefoff, Rebecca.

The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb.# Sullivan, Edward T.

Circulating Life: Blood Transfusion From Ancient Superstition to Modern Medicine.* Winner, Cherie



Books marked with “*” are from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) list of outstanding trade books for students.

Books marked with “@” are from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People” list.

Books marked with “#” are on both the NSTA and NCSS lists.

Perseverance and Creativity