Tuesday

Today the students started working on their posters for Bear Lake Soil and Water Conservation. Only a few students finished the posters, so we will try to get them done a little here and a little there. The posters are worth 50 points.

Reading should be done to finish the chapter. So all students need to finish to F-92 by the end of this week.

Monday

Today we began learning about simple machines. We discussed the incline plane, the wedge and began on the lever. Tomorrow we will work on our posters for Bear Lake Soil and Conservation. Students will have one day in class to work on the poster. If they do not finish in class they will have to take the posters home and finish there. Posters are due April 21st.

Thursday

There is a meeting tonight at the middle school for any parents who want to meet with the State of Idaho Superintendent of Schools, Tom Luna. The meetings will be held from 5-6 p.m. in the auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss education issues.

In class today we figured out some acceleration problems. Students were able to understand that to find the velocity they need to know the formula for speed and know the direction the object is traveling. Then the realized that if you can find velocity you can also find acceleration.

We will be working on our posters on Tuesday. A good site for ideas is //forces.si.edu/soils/ The theme for the poster is Digging It - The Secret of Soil.

Those students who did not pass their graphs will have another chance. They took their papers home and they will be due again on Monday. We will keep at it till they are successful.

Wednesday

We re-did our graphs today, a few will need to take them home for homework over the week-end and try again. Then we reviewed on Plato the formulas that deal with speed, velocity and acceleration. We are now reading to page F-45. We hope to finish the entire chapter next week.

Tuesday a little late

Today we used the data that we gathered on the 19th. To review, we raced two cars down a track and recorded the time and distance. Today we plotted that data on a graph. We also reviewed the dangers of drinking and driving and texting and driving due to an accident I saw in California. Two small children were placed on stretchers while the policeman retrieved a teddy bear from the car and gave it to one of the children. The driver of the car that hit them was texting while driving. We speak so much about not driving drunk, we forget there are other ways that drivers can be distracted.

Monday

We had the people from Bear Lake Soil & Water Conservation come today to teach the students about soils and animals. It was a nice transition from vacation to learning. The students tried to identify different animal pelts. They learned about the uses of soil in our lives. Then they made molds of different animal tracks. Then it was topped off by making our own soil out of some very delicious substitutes.

Thursday Welcome to Spring Break

Today we practiced what we have been learning. We used a huge floor map of Fredonia Arizona to discuss position, motion, speed, velocity and acceleration. Then we went into the lab and race cars down a track. We timed them at different positions. When we come back to school we will graph the information and learn how to plot the positions and read the graph.

Wednesday

Today we worked with the formula for speed. The students went out front and timed each other walking and running for 20 meters. Then we came back into the classroom, and with the formula, figured out at what speed they moved. Students are to be reading F17-F29.

Tuesday

Today was a little depressing. We took most of an entire class time to learn how to find the answers for the review. We did half of them during that time. Imagine my sadness when a few students did nothing more than we did during classtime. Those students who got less than a 75% will be taking the paper home for a parent to sign and then return it to me. Perhaps this will encourage them to do their homework. Those few that didn't bring their work to class got a zero. One girl realized she left hers at home and sat down and got right to work and redid most of it before class started.
We are learning about motion, velocity, speed and acceleration. We watched a Plato section on these today. Tomorrow, after we finish, we will go outside and learn more about these things.
Tomorrow is school colors day, blue, white and black.

Monday - tomorrow is pajama day and St.Patrick's

In first and fourth hour the class displayed their cartoons. They worked on their homework E-140-141 1-20 and took some time to read F1-F15. The review is due tomorrow.

In fifth hour we went ahead and practiced on how to do the review properly. The review is also due tomorrow in fifth hour.

The attire for the second day in spirit week is to wear pajamas. As it is also St. Patrick's day, a touch of green would also be a wise choice.

Thursday - next week is spirit week - wear a jersey

The Energy Hog paper was due with a parent signature. Today was a little different. 1st and 4th hour we opened our Science book and re-learned how to do the review on E140-141. I was a little concerned after the last review that the students were in too big of a hurry to get done. Today we learned how a little extra effort and a few extra minutes could help them get the answers correct.
In 5th hour almost 1/3 of the class was gone so I didn't want to do the teaching. We will try it again on Monday. Instead the students displayed their cartoons on electricity and lightning safety. Then we talked about how reflector ovens are saving lives in some parts of the world.
We do have an assignment, but it isn't due until Tuesday and the students will be given a little time in class on Monday to complete it. It is E140-141. All the answers must be in complete sentences and handwriting must be legible.
We had the hypnotist assembly today.

Wednesday

The reports were due today. Most of the students turned them in on time, a few got zeros. Tomorrow the energy hog paper is due. It must be signed by a parent or guardian. Today in class we made a water magnet. We saw how the magnetic force moved around the iron shavings and we had a dilmena about a needle that was repelled by a magnet. Students then finished their cartoons on electricity and lightning safety. The cartoons will be displayed tomorrow and we will finish the chapter. All students should have read through page 140.

Tuesday

Today was a split kind of day. The students who needed to finish typing their weed essay were allowed to go to the computer lab and get that done. The other students in the class watched five short videos on lightning and electricity safety. Then they created their own cartoons to encourage safety.

The weed essays are due tomorrow.

Monday

Today we talked about how to determine how many watts and energy different appliances use. The students went through the classroom and wrote down, from the appliances how much wattage each thing uses. On Wednesday we will use that information in figuring out how to save energy.

Tomorrow students without a working computer or printer will be given time to go to the computer lab to finish their paper. All students have been strongly cautioned, if at all possible, to turn their papers in on Tuesday. This will prevent the panic of, "My printer ran out of ink!" or whatever else happens to the printers. They will be able to type tomorrow, but not on Wednesday as the papers are due at the start of class.

Thursday

We had the weed assembly on Wednesday February 25th and I told all of the classes on Wednesday that we would be doing the weed essay. We put up a brainstorming chart on the board on Thursday, February 26th and came up with many different ideas for the essay. On Monday, March 2nd students were told to have their outline ready by Tuesday, the next day, so they could go and type the essay. On Tuesday, March 3rd we again took class time to work on the essay. The assignment was on the homework board and also on the Internet.

Today many students were gone because of the play. Those left in class joined me at www.energyhog.org where they learned different ways to conserve energy at home. The students in class got a paper to do with their families about energy. Those who were gone will get the paper on Monday. The paper needs to be signed by the parents and turned in by March 12th.

Wednesday

The weed essay rough draft and outline were due today. You might check with your student to see if he or she remembered. In one class only five were turned in. The other classes did much better. We did some experiments today. We turned a nail into a magnet. We also did a magnetic experiment with a balloon, a piece of paper and a paper clip. It was quite fun. We discussed the magnetic field around the Earth and then saw a few short youtube videos on the Aurora Borealis. If you want to see that, go into youtube and type Aurora Borealis into the search. There are some beautiful pictures. We learned that it is caused by the sun particles being caught in the Earth's magnetic field and then interacting with our atmosphere. It is possible to see these in our longitude during the summer months. The website www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/ has some good information about seeing these spectacular lights. Or click on the link in my list under Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights)

Homework: begin reading E94-E115.

Tuesday outline- rough draft due tomorrow

After spending some time watching a short video on electricity, the students were allowed to use the remainder of the class time to type their essays, write their outlines or get help if they felt stumped. The students have been told that they can come to the computer lab after school, during SSR time, or during lunch if they make an appointment with me. The rough draft and outline are due tomorrow at the start of class. I will get them read this week-end so the students have time to fix any errors before the papers are due on March 11th.

For students who were absent today, check out Bill Nye the Science Guy Electricity on You tube, there are three sections. If that isn't possible read E94-E113

Monday

We learned where lightning comes from and why we get shocked when we touch certain things. We also learned about circuits and currents. Student's rough draft and outline are due on Wednesday at the beginning of class. The essay is to be 5 paragraphs, and less than 750 words. The title is "Spread the Word Not the Weed." Students, make sure you read your rough draft outloud to someone to make sure that your sentences make sense and that the essay flows. I will correct the rough draft over the week-end, get them back to the students on Monday. That will give them Monday and Tuesday to make any corrections. The final copy must be turned in on Wednesday March 11. Mr. Belnap requested that the essays be in before the 12th.

Thursday end of the trimester

We graded last night's homework. A number of the students lost it, or left it at home, or it was in another backpack, or it was in their locker. Unfortunately it was due at the start of class. Some students didn't write complete sentences. That has been a requirement since August. They lost points. We had a lively discussion with some of the questions. Then we moved into the next project. We talked about the five paragraph essay that would be due on March 12th. The subject is "Spread the Word Not the Weed." The first paragraph is the introduction, then three paragraphs talking about the subject, then a concluding paragraph. The outline and rough draft are due on Wednesday March 4th. I will correct them over the week-end and then the students will have the opportunity to fix any errors. There will be a prized for the best three essays.

Tuesday

Today we discussed renewable and non-renewable energy sources. We talked about the positive and negative aspects of nuclear, fossil fuel, hydroelectric, solar and wind power. Then we watched some short clips about wind power and nuclear power.

The students have a homework assignment that is due on Thursday at the beginning of class. They are to do all of the problems on pages 92-93. The students are to write complete sentences to answer their questions. All words in the book must be spelled correctly. Some of the questions require some real thinking. The idea is for the student to come up with some logical ideas. Maybe the ideas aren't perfect, but were they well thought out and do they have some logical merit.