What’s Happening in Science – 10/20 to 10/24

This week we are learning about motion in our Week 8 Newsletter. We will test on Thursday. Our test will consist of 15 questions. It will be 9 questions from the newsletter and our six vocabulary words.

Monday —

Today we are going over our six new vocabulary words pictured below or on NB page 32. We are also reading page 1 of our newsletter and the portion about Robert Goddard.

Tuesday –

Today we are reading about how fast waves travel and reading A World in Motion. We will create a notebook page on NB 33. This will be our first daily work grade of the nine weeks.

Wednesday –

Today we are reading the Speeding Up and Giant Tractors section of our newsletter. We are also learning about Gravity. We will complete NB page 34 today.

Thursday –

Week 8 Quiz

Friday –

Today we will make a sundial if weather permits. Pictures to come 🙂

Conductor/Insulator Lab — 10/16/14

Today in class we made closed circuits to complete our Conductor/Insulator Lab. I loved seeing the kids expressions and hearing their squeals as they lit their light bulbs for the first time! Here is an example of a completed closed circuit.

After students completed their circuits, they worked on their conductor and insulator page in their notebook.

Here are some pictures of our lab groups. I was so impressed with how hard they worked, and how fast they put their circuits together!!

Electromagnet Lab — 10/9/14

Today we made electromagnets in class. I loved seeing our groups work together and hearing their squeals as their electromagnets started becoming magnetic.

Background – Electromagnets are different from regular magnets in a few ways. They can be turned on and off and their strength can be controlled. This makes them useful in many different technologies like headphones, washing machines, and electric motors.

Here are some pictures of groups with their electromagnets.

These students were the first in fourth period to make their electromagnet. 🙂

Magnet Investigation #1 – 10/7/14

Today in class we did our Magnet Investigation #1. This page was located on NB 25. Each student got a magnet, and they investigated to see if each item listed was attracted to the magnet or not.

This page was located on TPT here.

Here are some of my precious kiddos during our investigation.

What’s Happening Sept. 29 – Oct. 1

We are finishing our Week 6 Newsletter this week. We have been learning about Light and Sound, and we will test on Wednesday.

Monday –
Today we reviewed our Vocabulary words on page 20 in our notebook. We looked through the Rainbow Glasses and spectroscopes that the Science Lab at the high school were kind enough to let us borrow.

We also looked at a fiber optic light.

Tuesday –
Light Stations .. I’ll post pictures and labs tomorrow.

Wednesday –
Today we are taking our quiz and I will be checking our Science Notebooks. I will be checking notebook pages 14 – 23.

Thursday –
We will begin Week 7 Magnets and Electricity. More information to come!!

Sound Lab Stations – 9/24/14

This week we have been learning about Sound. Today we had our Sound Lab Station day. Students rotated between two stations. The first station was using straws to make duck calls. We talked about how the differing lengths of the straws affected the sound the straw made. My 4th period worked the best together of any of my classes — so I snapped their pictures as they worked and videoed one of our Duck Call lab groups. Enjoy!

http://instagram.com/p/tV5BAssZmx/?modal=true

Here are a couple of pictures of other 4th period kiddos working on their duck calls. I know parents will LOVE me for this!! 🙂 The information for this lab, and the link to the lab pages are in the post below or located here.

The next two pictures are from our other lab station. This lab was called Vibrating Ruler station. We’ve been talking about the different pitches of sound in Science — and this lab was a great test for listening to the different pitches of sound from different lengths of rulers. I found this lab activity here.

 

 

What’s Happening in Science for the week of 9/22 — 9/26

This week in Science we are studying our Week 6 newsletter – Light and Sound. We will spend eight days on this unit. We will test next Wednesday, October 1. I will also check our notebooks that day.

Monday – We will go over our new vocabulary words and read page 1 in our newsletter. Our words are below or on page 20 in our Science Notebooks.

Tuesday – Today students will get a sound homework sheet that is due by Friday. This will be their Daily Work grade for the week. They have to draw 5 sounds they hear inside and outside and describe it. We will begin reading about light and sound, sound in outer space, and we will learn about our ear on notebook page 21.

Wednesday – Today we will have our Sound Lab. Students will work in small groups to make duck calls. I found this CUTE lab on teachers pay teachers for free. The link is located here for anyone interested.

Thursday – We are reading about Thomas Edison and Rainbows. We will complete pages 22 and 23 in our Science Notebooks.

Friday – Our Sound Homework is due today. We will watch Bill Nye Light and Sound. Students may also work on their crossword puzzle on the back of their newsletter and/or catch up on any unfinished pages in their notebook.

Lab Day — 9/5/14

In Science during our Week 2 and Week 3 Newsletters we have been learning all about Matter. I have been so excited for this lab — and I know the kids were excited also. On Thursday we learned about Physical and Chemical Reactions … Which led us perfectly into our Lab Day on Friday!!

The picture at the top was of all of our Diet Coke and Mentos — and the geyser tube that Mrs. Tinch was so kind to let us borrow. I already have one of my very own ordered from Amazon!! This gadget made our experiment fantastic!! If you would like to order your own, the link is here.

This is our video of the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. Note my gracefulness getting out of the spray! One of my kiddos said I was like the Matrix with my moves. Ha!! 🙂

http://instagram.com/p/smuBaTsZtY/?modal=true

The picture at the bottom was of one of our 2 lab tables that were set up for our Exploding Baggie Experiment. Each class was divided into 4 to 5 groups. Each group had to place 1 and 1/2 tablespoons onto a small piece of paper towel then fold it into a little packet. Then students measured 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 cup of vinegar and put these both into a small sandwich bag. Afterward, we went outside and placed our small paper towel into our bag. We had to carefully shake it and zip our bag up all the way. Students threw them onto the ground, and waited for the pop of the bag. What happened was the baking soda and the vinegar had a chemical reaction and built up a gas. The gas would fill the bag – then the bag would pop open. This lab was a tad disappointing to some — if the instructions weren’t followed to a T, and if the bag wasn’t sealed all the way then the bag didn’t pop. I’m including the links to these labs from Pinterest, and I’m also going to include a lab that I’m curious about. It may be in the plans for next year 🙂

The link for the Exploding Baggies is here.

The link for our Diet Coke and Mentos experiment is here. After we completed the experiment, I found out from an “expert” that the Sam’s Choice Diet Coke is the best to use for the experiment. I will try that out next time!!

The link to the lab that I’m curious about is located here. If I had a balloon – I would be testing it out right now!! 🙂

Tall Cup Challenge — 8/22/14

Today in Science, I passed out our Science test from yesterday. We looked at our Bananas from our experiment, and then we split up into groups for our Tall Cup Challenge. My homeroom had already done this — and it was so much fun! Each group got 48 small plastic cups. They were given the instructions that the tallest tower would win at the end of the specified time. It was very interesting to see these kiddos work together!!

2nd Period winners!! Look at those proud faces!!

5th Period 2nd place winners 🙂 .. Only 2nd place group ALL day! They worked so very hard!!

4th Period winners — Loved this group!! They built their structure and it tumbled at about three minutes before the timer went. They built it back — and won!!

5th Period 1st Place winners!!

6th Period — LOVE these girls!

My 8th Period bunch!! 🙂

What’s Happening in Science – 8/18 – 8/22

This week in Science we are starting our Weekly Newsletters. We are on week 1, and our focus will be on the Scientific Method and Science Tools. As we read our newsletter in class, we will highlight important information. We will take an Open Newsletter Quiz on Thursday in class. Students will be able to use their Newsletters to help them answer questions. Students have the newsletter in their Science pocket.

Monday – Students got their newsletters. I introduced their 4 vocabulary words for this week – investigation, prediction, hypothesis, and experiment. We read page 1 and completed page 4 on Science Tools.

Tuesday – We will learn about the Scientific Method today.

Wednesday – In class today we will begin ‘The Great Banana Experiment.’ More information to come .. Isn’t it cute though?! We will also learn about thermometers.

Thursday – We will take our Week 1 Science Quiz.

Friday — All classes will participate in The Tallest Cup Challenge. I will post pictures on Friday!!