Wednesday and now . . . Spring Break

We finished our movie today and discussed how to be prepared. We discussed the different catastrophes that could happen here and talked about the fact that if we are prepared we do not need to be afraid. Students told of different things they could do so their families would be prepared. It was a good discussion. We also cut out the continents of a world map. We will use those next week when we talk about continental drift and Pangaea.

Spring Break is upon us. We will be out Thursday and Monday. Remember to do your sundial when it is sunny. Anchor a paper to the ground or other stationery object. Anchor a stick or pencil oo the paper. (clay works good - or just stick it in the ground) Every hour draw the line your stick makes. Make sure to draw to the end of the shadow. Label the hours. It must have five markings on it. Remember, this might be the last good weather we have so get it done now.

Have a great break!

Tuesday - fix tests due tomorrow

We watched a movie today that teaches about earthquakes. Students took notes writing down the names of the scientists and what their jobs were. We recorded four different earthquakes and their magnitudes. We discussed how an earthquake in California would affect people in Idaho. We will finish the last few minutes of the movie tomorrow.

The tests from last week were returned today. Students that want to fix their tests will be required to hand them in at the start of class tomorrow. All the sentences must be complete sentences, (even on the a-b-c-d questions) The reason for this is to teach the student the information they did not know. Correct spelling is also required. The test must be stapled to the new answer sheet or I cannot correct it fairly. Students will receive 1/2 points on each incorrect answer. Students will lose 1/2 point for each misspelled word. Remember, the answers need to be correct.

Monday - started Weed Essay

Today, after taking notes on D1-D17, students began working on their Weed Essay. The final essay is due on April 7th at the start of class. The essay must be five paragraphs and discussing what students have experienced with weeds, how to know more about weeds, how to get rid of weeds, and how weeds affect the world we live in. Spelling, punctuations, originality will all be judged. Then, the ten best essays will be sent off to be judged. There is a class grade for the essay. Any essays not in on time will not be eligible for the judging and will be graded at 60% or less.

Reading to be finished this week includes D1-D27. We are studying earthquakes.

I hope to send home the tests tomorrow. It will depend if one student finishes his test today.

Thursday

This morning the people from Bear Lake Soil and Water Conservation came to teach our students about animals and taking care of our planet. They had people from Soda and maybe Preston come too. The students get to make paw prints and learn some important information about nature.

This afternoon we will have a speaker telling students about a weed essay that will be required for them to write. We will take one day in class to work on it, after that, it is homework. They are also to make a poster. The poster will be done only in class. Please be cautious while working on your essay. Plagiarism will earn a zero.

Wednesday

We took our test today. We prepared for it yesterday so if the students took notes and studied the information from yesterday's class, they should do well Tomorrow the students will have a class taught by the Bear Lake Soil and Water Conservation District. They will have a weed paper to write and a poster to draw. They should also have a lot of fun.

Remember to do your sundial - it is due April 26th.

Tuesday - test tomorrow

It was picture day today and we were just fortunate, with all the snow, that the photographers arrived. And even better, we were done with first hour test prep before they called the 6th grade. We did review for the test today. Students were given every test questions, in their teams, they had to decide on the answer, write it down, and get it into the bucket before time ran our. Then I read the correct answers and the teams received points.

The purpose of a test is to determine if a student learned all that is required. Knowing this information is much more important than the grade. The grade just shows if they learned the information completely enough. This information will help them as they progress to the different years of science. The more they learn now, the easier life will be in their future science classes. It just takes time and effort, as do all worthwhile things.

Monday - pictures tomorrow

We reviewed what we have learned about Newton's three laws of motion and the simple machines. Tomorrow we will review the information that will be on the test. Wednesday is the test and on Thursday we have the people from Bear Lake Soil and Conservation coming to teach the students. The only homework we have this week is to study for the test so make sure you bring your books and notes home so that you can study.

Thursday - sundial assigned

Students received their instructions for the sundial. The sundial is not due until April 26 so that we can find a few good sunny week-ends. This Friday is supposed to be good and that is why I assigned it so early.

Basically the instructions are: Put a short stick, pencil or other straight object in the bottom of a paper. Turn the paper so that the straight object makes a shadow on the paper. Mark North South East and West Set a timer and every hour go and mark the shadow - mark from the stick to the end of the shadow and write the time down. Five markings are required. Make sure the paper is in a safe place and anchored so it doesn't blow away or is not attacked by the family pet.

In class we corrected last night's homework. Then we did a review of simple machines on Edhead.

Wednesday - homework due tomorrow - at the start of class

The rain is really making the snow melt fast, but we are learning about Newton's laws and simple machines. Today we finished the last on Newton's laws on Plato. We also began studying about simple machines. We discussed levers, incline planes, screws, wheel and axle, gears, pulleys, and wedges. Tomorrow we will go more into depth on these simple machines.

We watched a short clip on a mechanical engineer who works for NASA. This is an effort to show students different types of work that a good science background can lead to.

Students had about twenty minutes of class time to start their homework. The homework is F 46 1-15 and F 92 1-15. All answers must have complete sentences and the words must be spelled correctly. This is due at the start of class tomorrow. Any student who does not have their homework completed will call home so that parents are a part of this learning process.

Tuesday

Students watched Plato today to review Newton's laws. We only managed to review two of the three laws of motion. We learned how to calculate momentum and more about inertia. I will put this plato page up for students to access.

Spring pictures are coming next week. Students do not have to pay for these before hand. A paper will be sent home today or tomorrow.

Monday

Today we talked about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Then we began our work on Newton's laws of motion. Each team was to come up with an example of each of the three laws and then act them out in front of the class. The students did quite well. Then students finished their graphing of the motion of the cars.

Wednesday - homework due tomorrow!!

Today we got a lot of checking done. Students checked their test/activity from last week and Monday's homework assignment. We did it this way as the school play is this afternoon and we will be missing some students.

Don't forget the work sheet on Force and Motion that is due tomorrow. You also need to have read from F1-F31.

Spelling does count. The first tri-mester you were warned to spell words correctly. In the second trimester you lost 1/4 point for each misspelled word. This trimester you will lose 1/2 point for each misspelled word. The words are right there in the book, take the time to spell them correctly. You are always thanked when you ask how to spell a word. Take the time and the trouble to do it right.

Tuesday - homework due Thursday -Force and Motion worksheet

We covered a lot of ground today. Students were handed homework that will be due on Thursday. Many students are in the play and will not be in class tomorrow, so I gave them the homework today so they will have time to finish it. We did a tug-o-war and learned about net forces, balanced forces and unbalanced forces. Then we started the first part of a two part assignment. We raced cars down a track. Students took the time of where the cars were at different distances from the start. The information was written on the back of their graph. Tomorrow we will plot this information on a graph. Students that will be gone tomorrow will need to make this up during study hall.

Monday - homework due tomorrow

This week will be a little confusing. Today many students are out working on the play. Wednesday those same students will be gone all day and our classes will be shortened so the students can watch the play. The play does look quite good, in the little bit that I have seen.

Today we watched a "touch table" online. It was created to help students learn geography, but it is also helping in defense, medicine and many other areas. The students were quite impressed with the touch table.

In class we reviewed finding speed, velocity and acceleration. Next we went to the lab and demonstrated the effects of gravity and force on a little toy car. We could see that although the law of inertia tells us that an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by another force, there are many unseen "other forces."

Homework tonight is to read F5-15 and do 1-5. If your student needs help, please guide them, but make sure they are doing the actual work. Check their spelling, check for complete sentences and legible handwriting, but they need to do the work.

Thursday

We finished our activity test today. Monday we will be going ahead on speed, distance, acceleration and velocity. We are also starting to talk about the different jobs people who learn science might want to do. I want students to know that there is a reason to learn, a reason other than grades. Grades just measure what we were supposed to learn, but what we actually learn is what matters.

Wednesday

We are ending one unit and starting a new one today. Students joined with their team to answer 25 questions concerning the areas of physical science that we have covered so far. The questions ranged from pH levels, to electricity, heat and magnets. We are continuing to cover atoms in class with our notes.

While the students were working I took one team at a time into the hallway to teach them about calculating average speed. Students predicted how long it would take them to walk, and then run, 20 meters. Then with two team members at the end of the 20 meters timing them, the students first walked and then ran the 20 meters. In class tomorrow we will determine the average.

Tuesday - end of unit

This is the end of the unit on matter, mass and energy. Today we will review the electricity side of the unit. We will not have a test on this unit, instead, tomorrow we will do a team investigation on electricity and magnetism. We will also start the new unit on motion, work and machines.

Students do have homework tonight. They are to read F6 - F15 and be able to verbally answer the questions at the top of each page. They also are to understand the yellow words, it will come in handy tomorrow as they participate in an activity.