Week of November 8, 2010

This week we continued dissections in the 7th grade while eighth graders experimented with static electricity as well as series and parallel circuits.  Sixth grade continued working on their group joint modeling project which is due on December 14. They will take an exam of Bones, Muscle, and Skin on Thursday, December 16.

Week of November 29, 2010 (continued)

We did our first dissection in 6th grade this week!  We dissected chicken wings to look closely at muscle pairs, tendons, ligaments, and bones.

In 7th grade we reviewed mollusks and prepped for our Monday dissection of squid.  We will have a guest speaker early next week, and a starfish dissection next Friday.

8th graders worked hard at fine tuning their science fair experimental designs.  Today we reviewed making tables for data collection.  They should be ready to start experimenting!

Week of November 29, 2010

This week sixth grade is studying Bones, Muscle and Skin as part of the Human Health and Biology curriculum that will see us through the end of this semester and all of second semester.  This unit involves a long-term group project in which students research, plan, and model one of four joint types.  Each groups ability to work together as a team will be assessed and included in the final project grade.

Seventh graders dissected earth worms yesterday and will test over Sponges, Cnidarians, and Worms tomorrow.  The lectures for this unit can be found here and here.  We will continue on this week studying Mollusks, Arthropods, and Echinoderms and will be dissecting squid, grasshoppers, and starfish.

In eighth grade we began a short unit on electricity.  We will also continue working on science fair projects.

Week of November 8, 2010

Sixth grade took an exam over the solar system and traded in their astronomy books for human health and biology texts.  Dissections here we come!

The seventh graders received a crash course on the evolution and biology of plants.  We don't have time to study botany in depth, which is disappointing since it is my person favorite subject in biology.  The kids, however, enjoy learning about animals, especially since we will dissect several species along the way.

We started our unit on electricity and magnetism in the eighth grade.  I was astonished at how engaged and interested in magnetism the students were.  Today we discussed the earth's magnetosphere and how it helps to create the aurora borealis.  Time for an Alaskan field trip!  We also continued to work on science fair topics.  Preliminary research should be completed and the first draft of the Review of Literature section of their paper is due on Monday, November 15.

Shabbat shalom!

Solar System prezi

Week of November 1, 2010

The 8th grade continued work on their science fair projects this week.  Most have establish topics and are enjoying the research process.  Today I provided them with a timeline of when different sections are due.  Although the poster and paper are not due until January 31, they will be working diligently on their projects up until that point.  My expectations of them are high.  We will also be working on a unit covering electricity and magnetism for the remainder of 1st semester.

Seventh grade had an exam on protists.  Today we started a crash course in botany but will not be able to spend much time or test do to time constraints.  Next week - on to sponges and cnidaria!

We continued our tour of the solar system in the 6th grade.  We will be modeling the solar system next week and will have our second exam on Thursday, November 11.  We have been addressing study and test-taking skills this week and are hopeful students will be able to use skills learned.

Have a great fall weekend!

6th Grade Writing Assignment (due Monday, November 1)

Read this article.  Write three paragraphs responding to what you wrote.  Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, a couple of supporting sentences, and a conclusion.

You will RETELL in the first paragraph.  This means you should summarize what you have read.

You will RELATE in the second paragraph. This means you will make connections between the information in the article and your own life.

You will REFLECT in the third paragraph.  This can include your judgement and/or opinion of the information you read.

If you need more help, please visit this site.

Your final response should be emailed to me by class on Monday, November 1.  If you have any problems completing this assignment, please contact me using email at cwelton@hbha.edu

Sixth Grade Lecture

Week of October 18, 2010

This week marked the start of second quarter!

Eighth grade started working on science fair projects this week.  They should be doing research on topics that interest them.  They need to be taking detailed notes and recording their sources.  Next week, we will be narrowing their search, as well as addressing measuring and data collection.  We will also be starting  a new unit (and book) on electricity and magnetism.

Seventh grade continued a unit on protists and fungi.  Today we collect water from the Sprint pond and viewed live and preserved protist specimens.

Sixth graders were given the results of their first exam.  We began to learn about the sun and will continue learning about the different planets in our solar system next week.

Have a great weekend!

For 8th graders

Read this and this over the weekend.  Email me a Venn diagram comparing the two articles by Monday.

6th Grade Project Rubric (ch.3)

Science Fair links.

Here is the presentation, ideas, and helpful sites.

You should also visit Science Pioneers science fair web pages for more info.

Sixth Grade study guide answers

8th grade exam postponed

Tomorrow, we will finish the lab and revisit momentum since many students seem to be struggling with the concept.  The exam will now be on Monday 10/11/10.  Here are the answers to the study guide.

You're welcome!

Prezi test

Study guide test

Study Guides

Seventh grade, here is yours.

Week of October 4, 2010

Now that we are finished with the High Holidays, middle school classes will really dial in on covering material.  We spent much of our limited classtime over the holidays doing work that students will now be expected to do at home.  If your child is spending more than 30-40 min on science homework, please let me know.  One of our goals as middle school teachers is to help children learn to work efficiently and effectively.

Sixth grade is continuing to learn about the earth and moon.  We will have our first astronomy viewing this Thursday.  We will also be addressing study skills in preparation for our first exam next week.

Seventh grade is finishing a unit covering viruses and bacteria.  Their 2nd exam is on Friday.

Eighth grade is finishing a unit on motion.  Their 2nd exam is on Friday.  We will also start prepping for science fair by addressing the scientific method and resources to help them choose an appropriate project.

Week of September 13, 2010

In 6th grade, we wrapped our Metric Unit by competing in the Mini Metric Olympics.  These are fun competitions like Paper Plate Discus and Cotttonball Shot Put that give the kids practice in estimating and measuring using SI units.

Kate Delehunt of the Blue River Water Conservation program visited the 7th grade on Monday, then led a field trip to Indian Creek on Tuesday.

The 8th graders were introduced to Newtonian physics.

Here are some pictures of our field trip.  Have an easy fast.

Week of September 7, 2010

In 6th grade, we continued to learn about the metric system this week.  Due to the shortened holiday schedule, 7th and 8th graders went over last week's exams and worked on unfinished projects.  No homework over Rosh Hahanah!  Shana Tovah! 

Wednesday, September 1

7th Grade
Living Things Lecture (Ch. 1), handed out Ch. 1 study guide.  Answers are here.

8th Grade
Worked on Motion labs, handed out Ch. 1 study guide.  Answers are here.

Size of Universe

I showed this video to my seventh graders today in order to draw an analogy between the size of the universe and the earth's geologic timescale.  Both deal in scales that are really beyond human comprehension.

New year, new mission

I've decided to try something different with this space this year.  Since HBHA no longer uses Edline, individual classes really don't have a web interface.  I would like to have one for my classes.  I decided to use this blog as sort of a weekly (or more) newsletter for all of my classes.  I intend to update with homework assignments and test dates and to encourage parents to check this space.

I am teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science this year, as well as a first semester US elective on Contemporary Issues in Science.  Since we are starting our 3rd week of school, I'll share our MS progress up to this point.  In 6th grade, we have been learning how to use the metric system through a series of mini-labs.  This will continue into next week, after which we will began a unit on astronomy that will last through the rest of the quarter.

The seventh graders were introduced to microscopes and have started working through the text.  They are expected to take reading notes on assigned section of the book and are required to complete and use vocabulary flash cards.  We are almost through the first chapter so they have done Reading Notes and Vocab (rnv) on sections 1-4.  Their first exam is on Friday, Sept. 3.  They will be given a study guide (practice test) on Wednesday (9/1).  The study guide answers will be posted on this blog (hopefully!).

In eighth grade we have been studying physics, specifically motion.  This is a math-intensive unit in which students learn how record and manipulate data - a perfect precursor to the upcoming science fair.  Their assignments so far are Reading Notes and Vocab (rnv) for Ch. 1, sections 1-3, a chapter project (already complete) and a review packet that was assigned yesterday (8/30) and is due on Weds.  Their first exam is on Friday, Sept. 3.  They will be given a study guide (practice test) on Wednesday (9/1).  The study guide answers will be posted on this blog (hopefully!).

Hopefully my posts will become more efficient and effective as the year progresses.  If parents or students need to contact me, the quickest way is by academy email at cwelton@hbha.edu.