Science News 03/02-03/06

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With an impressive 469 XP, Michelle (7th) is AdVENTURE's Top Blogger!

5th Grade: Rocks and Minerals

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.  
• MS-ESS3-1. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

Mineral project week. You will design an entry form for the AdVENTURE's Rocks and Minerals Museum. I can't wait to see what you come up with. All projects are due at the end of the week.

BirdBrainScience reading: "Break it and Move it"

6th Grade: Eco-detectives

• MS-ESS3.A: Natural Resources Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

Don't jump to conclusions this week as we continue to explore the Grey Bay Mystery. This week you will perform tests for chlorine and discover just why acid rain is so damaging to fish. Is the water slide still looking as guilty as before? Make sure you substantiate all claims with evidence.
BirdBrainScience reading: "What's your job?"

7th Grade: Genetics

• MS-LS3-1.   Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2.   Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Panel discussion on Monday. This is where all the hard work pays off. Do you have enough information to convince us? On Tuesday we begin a mini-unit on geologic time. Did you know the earth is 4.6 billion years old?
BirdBrainScience reading: "Tic-Toc-Time"

8th Grade: Forces and Motion

• For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). (MS-PS2-1)
• The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (MS-PS2-2)

Now that we have speed down, we will add the concept of acceleration to our knowledge base. Do you think you can accelerate without changing speed? Is acceleration a scalar or a vector, and what do graphs have to do with any of this?
BirdBrainScience reading: "Keep it Moving"

Science News 02/23-02/27

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Blogs resume this week. Don't Forget

5th Grade: Rocks and Minerals

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.  
• MS-ESS3-1. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

This week we will discover how the Earth recycles materials as we follow the rock cycle, and talk about the difference between weathering and erosion. We will then play a fun game that will teach you how scientists go about identifying minerals. Wear your hard hat, we are going into the mines!

BirdBrainScience reading: "The Force it Takes to Break Rock"

6th Grade: Eco-detectives

• MS-ESS3.A: Natural Resources Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

On Monday we will finish the river studies presentations. On Tuesday you will be introduced to the Mystery of the Gray Bay, and become environmental detectives as we analyze the factors that could have led to the dying fish. You will meet the first two suspects and create a timeline of events. Don't jump to conclusions. Wait until all the evidence is presented.
BirdBrainScience reading: "When All Parts Come Together"

7th Grade: Genetics

• MS-LS3-1.   Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2.   Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

We are in the final stretch of our Genetics unit. Your presentations should be about ready. Make sure you participate actively during presentations on Wednesday and Thursday so you can be ready for the panel discussion on Friday.
BirdBrainScience reading: "Genetic Disorders"

8th Grade: Forces and Motion

• For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). (MS-PS2-1)
• The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (MS-PS2-2)

This week it is all about speed. What is speed? What is velocity? How is average speed different from instantaneous speed? Most importantly, why do we care about it? These are just some of the ideas you will be discussing this week. On Friday, we will have fun outside during the Speed Challenge. Don't forget your running shoes!
BirdBrainScience reading: "Kung-Fu Vectors"

Science News 02/09 -02/13

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No blogs this week!

5th Grade: Matter and its properties

• MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. 
• MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. 
• MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

We are in the final stages of our Matter unit. This week you will develop an Element baby book. Show your creativity and have fun. You have worked hard during this unit; it is time to put your knowledge to work.

BirdBrainScience reading: "IT'S NOT MAGIC . . . IT'S JUST A PHASE"

6th Grade: River Studies 

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
• MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.

It's filming week. You should have all your information, your model and your script ready. You will begin presentations of your documentaries on Friday.
BirdBrainScience reading: "BREAK SOMETHING, BUILD SOMETHING ELSE"

7th Grade: Genetics

• MS-LS3-1.   Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2.   Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Are you ready to discuss your topic? In order to be able to vote on a specific aspect of genetics for your final project, you should have all your information by Monday. After the vote, each team will step up to develop their own persuasive presentation. It's all about those 21 century skills of communication and collaboration.
BirdBrainScience reading: "GREGOR MENDEL"

8th Grade: Forces and Motion

• For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). (MS-PS2-1)
• The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (MS-PS2-2)

The motion and forces unit begins with the study of just how do we know that something is in motion. Who determines that, and what is the difference between distance and displacement, are just some of the questions you will be able to answer before the week is done.
BirdBrainScience reading: "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

New Websites and Practice Opportunities

As a way to provide opportunities for all students to practice what they have learned, as well as obtain materials to enrich the curriculum, I have given access to all students to a couple of new websites.

BirdBrainScience: Students will receive one reading assignment a week. These articles are directly tied to what is going on in class or to concepts that students might need to review. Each article has a quiz assigned, and the objective is that the student attempts the reading and quiz as many times as he/she needs until they score 100% on the quiz. The readings are assigned on Monday/Tuesday and the "final score" obtained by Friday at 2:30 is what will be reported on schoolloop.

NewsELA: These are current events articles, that have been modified to different reading levels. Great source for students doing article blogs. Most of these articles also have a quiz. I am offering 1 extra credit point for each quiz passed at 100%. These will be tallied at the end of the term, and added to whichever project the students are working on. If you are a member of 5A, you will receive your class code on Wednesday, February 4th.

Zondle; This is only open for 5th and 8th graders. This is a site for practicing CST-like questions that motivates the students to take the quizzes by attaching them to minigames. I have created a variety of question sets for the students in these two grades. Since it is about practicing, I have offered 5 extra credit points for each topic where the student averages 100% in three consecutive tries. Why three attempts? Well, because this is the data the site provides for me. If you are a member of 5A, you will receive your class code on Wednesday, February 4th.

Science News 02/02 - 02/06

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I am now using two different websites to increase science literacy. Every class will have at least one BirdBrain Science reading assignment a week. The score on the quiz will go in the gradebook. NewsELA will be used for interest readings. Every NewsELA quiz score of 100% will give one EC point at the end of the term. 

5th Grade: Matter and its properties

• MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. 
• MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. 
• MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

We are done with our background research on Matter. We now know what matter is made of, what is the difference between a compound and a mixture, and even how to separate mixtures. We will move on to opening the Mystery Boxes and begin developing our Element baby books. The baby books are due February 12.
ZONDLE Extra Credit Opportunity: Students that create a zondle account this weekend (head over to Edmodo to see the class code), and start studying will receive 5 EC points for each topic mastered at 100%.

6th Grade: River Studies 

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
• MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.

Most of you have moved on to building the model of your river. Yay! If you have not, you should consider stepping up the pace. By the end of this week, I should be able to see the scripts/storyboards for your documentary. We will begin the presentations for your documentaries on February 12.

7th Grade: Genetics

• MS-LS3-1.   Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2.   Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

One last lesson on Epigenetics before we move on to our EOU project. You will have an opportunity to decide on an aspect of genetics to focus on, and become the expert for your group. This will be your research week.

8th Grade: Chemistry-Bonding

 

• MS-PS1-2 Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. 
• MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. 

You are finishing up your chemistry projects. Chemical Spill Newscasts and Chemistry for dummies books have to be ready by Friday, February 6th (Due date). Come prepared with props and whatever you need to film as there will not be another opportunity to complete the project.
ZONDLE: Students that average 100% on the last three plays in any given topic earned 5 EC for each.
Zondle EC totals this week :
Valerie- 5
Chris- 35
Nick- 5
Kaitlyn- 40
Anthony- 10
Lauren A- 35
Carlo- 5
Antonio- 5
Trevor- 30
Anna- 15