Thursday and Project Northland

Today the students listened and participated in Project Northland, a project designed to encourage the students to stay away from unhealthy addictive substances.

The homework is to take home the Slick Tracy comic book and do the assignments with your family. This will receive a grade.

Wednesday

Students corrected their homework. Then we watched the cold fall from colored ice cubes and discussed pressure and changes in states of matter. We wrote down what the different changes were called and watched as liquid formed from boiling water.

Tomorrow we will be having our anti-drug and alcohol class.

Tuesday

Students have homework tonight and it is the same homework they had last week, E63 1-5. The goal is that students will understand the questions better and improve their grade by demonstrating that they have learned the material. The homework is due at the start of class in the morning.

Today we reviewed heat energy transfer and kinetic and potential energy by watching on Youtube; Eureka 24, 27 and 29 and then a clip of Hoodwinked which shows potential and kinetic energy. We also studied thermal expansion by placing a balloon in cold water. We observed that the balloon shrunk. Then the students came forward and placed the cold balloon in warm water. They could feel the balloon expand as it warmed up. Students were told that this is called thermal expansion.

Monday

After reviewing kinetic and potential energy on a youtube called Eureka 9 and Eureka 10, we went into the lab to learn about how heat energy can be transferred. We learned that electromagnetic radiation is the heat we feel from the sun. We learned the conductive energy transfers due to direct contact. Students felt a spoon placed in boiling water and noticed that the spoon became warmer. We also used a lava lamp to show convection. Students were asked about other types of convection in our homes and some realized that many furnaces uses convection to move heat around in our homes. Students also learned that the water cycle is based on convection. To study more about these three types of energy transfer read pages E 58-E59.

Thursday

Today students took the survey about drugs. We discussed different types of addictions. We also touched on pornography and bullying using cell phones and computers. We warned how important it is not to get involved in either of these issues.

Wednesday

Our new area of study has to do with work, energy and heat. Students are learning the difference between kinetic and potential energy. We discussed what a variable is and students were reminded to use their index and glossary so they can become learners. We learned about the properties of tin, a metal and a conductor of heat and foam, an insulator, which does not conduct heat. We discussed temperature, heat and radiation.

There is no homework tonight.

Tomorrow we will fill out the drug survey. This survey is to find out what students know about drug and alcohol abuse. We will talk briefly about avoiding things that can become addictions.

Tuesday

We learned about measuring volume today. Students were given different objects, a meter stick, a graduated cylinder and water. They were to find the volume of each object. Regularly shaped objects were measured length x height x width. The irregularly shaped objects were placed in a graduated cylinder that had water in it. Students recorded the height of the water before the irregularly shaped were placed in the graduated cylinder. Then they subtracted the first number of the water from the second number. The answers for volume were recorded in cubic centimeters.

There is homework tonight. Students are to read pages E50-E63 and, in complete sentences and correct spelling, answer the questions 1-5. This should prepare the students for our discussion in the next few days.

On Thursday we will begin with our unit on drugs. All students who have handed in the parent permission slip will take a survey to determine how much they know about the effects of drug abuse. They will take the same survey at the end of the unit to discover how much they have learned.

Monday

It is certainly a cold day to come back to classes. But it is nice to get things moving along. We are working on finishing our biomes and periodic tables today. Students are checking to make sure their work passes muster and then turning it in. We will be starting on E50.

Wednesday Merry Christmas

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful time with family. Merry Christmas!

Tuesday

Those students who have not had their parents sign the permission slip for Project Northland need to get it signed and turned in.

Today we corrected E48-E49. Students then worked on finishing their biomes and started on the periodic table.

Tomorrow students will have a movie and a dance. It will cost $1.50 for any student who would like pop and a candy bar.

Monday

We are working on finishing up a few things. First, we went to Plato and finished the presentation and worksheet. Next students worked on pg E48-49. When that is done they were to finish their Biomes. And finally, students started working on their periodic table. They are coloring it to show the different properties of each section.

The final decision for activities on Wednesday has not been made yet. I will post that as soon as we are sure. School on Wednesday will get out at 1:00 p.m.

Thursday

Students began working on answering questions on pg 48-49. Complete sentences are required. This is NOT homework as I am sure everyone will be too busy this week-end. We will complete it on Monday. We also went to askteacher.blogspot.com and reviewed the songs; A Mole is a Unit, Acids and Bases, and Something Called S.I.

The only homework is for students to notice physical and chemical changes happening around them. Physical changes, as I am sure you remember, are when the substance keeps its identity. But a chemical change is when a new substance is formed. Be ready to discuss this on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday

On Tuesday the substitute showed the student a Plato lesson on Atoms Elements Compounds and Mixtures. On Wednesday she helped the students make an atom and, if there was time, they should have started on coloring in their periodic table of elements. They also watched the high school play on Wednesday.

Monday

Today students had the chance to show what they knew about atoms. We discussed the parts of an atom, energy levels, how to draw an atom, and reviewed covent, ionic and metallic bonding. Then we reviewed acids and bases in the song and S.I. measurements.

I will be gone for two day. Students will study tomorrow using Plato and a worksheet. And, if I can find enough pipe cleaners, they will be making atoms and making a periodic table of elements on Wednesday.

Check out my links. A Mole is a Unit, Something Called S.I., and Acids and Bases are good songs to review your knowledge,

Thursday - bring back parent signed paper on Monday

We covered a lot of ground today. We lost the fight with the Internet and so went through the song, "Acids and Bases," by talking through it. Then we went and looked at our acid and bases experiment from yesterday. We observed chemical changes including color change and a precipitate was formed.
Then we came back to the class and learned about the parts of an atom, electron clouds and their energy levels. Then we talked about valences, which led into covelent bonding, ionic bonding and just a brief minute on metallic bonding. We will review this information on Monday.
Students have an opportunity to earn 10 points of extra credit on Monday only. They were all given a paper asking permission of the parent to allow them to participate in a survey. If it is returned on Monday 10 points, Tuesday 5 points, Wednesday 3 points Thursday 1 point. We really need the permission slips back.

Wednesday

We learned about Acids and Bases today. We watched a video on youtube to teach about acids and bases. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF40cI2O16U
We learned that acids turn blue litmus paper red, acids are sour and they neutralize bases. Bases turn red litmus paper to blue, is slippery and bitter to the taste.

Then we went into the lab. We had a pH solution made of the water from boiled red cabbage. We poured different substances into the pH solution to see if they were acids, bases or neutral. It was especially interesting to watch Tide detergent change the purple liquid to yellow and orange juice changed the purple liquid red. Students would guess which color the pH solution would turn. They filled out a sheet to help them learn to recognize the pH scale.

Tuesday

We reviewed physical properties and physical changes today by correcting the assignment from class yesterday. Then we finished the ppp on atoms and elements.

Tomorrow we will be doing a rather interesting experiment on acids and bases.

Please remember to contact your family and friends to sign up for the school fund raiser. It is a nice way to do it just before Christmas as people will be shopping anyway.

Monday

We spent today reviewing the physical and chemical changes and physical properties of matter. Students completed a worksheet reviewing these concepts. Most of the students finished them in class. If they did not, the homework should be written in their planner.

Students also started a power point presentation on Atoms and Elements. We will finish that tomorrow and begin on pages E16-E27. This should take until Wednesday.

Students will be watching a play today, "The Christmas Carol."

Thursday

We discussed physical properties of objects. Physical properties are properties observed through the use of our senses. Some physical properties are color, hardness, luster, density, odor, conduction of electricity and sensitivity to magnets. We played a game, "I spy with my little eye," using the physical properties of objects.

Next we went into the lab and studied the difference between physical changes and chemical changes. Physical changes mean that the object does not lose its identity. Ice cubes melting, water boiling into steam, water freezing, tearing paper, drawing on paper, all of these are physical changes because the object is still paper or is still water.

Chemical changes create a new identity. Metal rusting, rust has different properties than metal, it is less dense and it changes color. We put baking soda in a bottle and vinegar in a balloon and then attached the balloon to the bottle. It was fun to see the balloon grow as a gas was given off. Then we answered the question, Why is the gas given off by boiling water not a chemical change, but gas given off by the baking soda and vinegar was a chemical change. Go to My Links on the right side and review the links of physical and chemical changes.

Please remember to get your fund raiser emails done. All people have to do is shop at the places listed and the school will earn money. It is so much safer than going door to door selling wrapping paper!

Wednesday

Today students were to bring in their fixed test. If you were ill yesterday, it is due tomorrow. Students whose grades were below a C came in during study academy to start work on their paper to assure they were doing it correctly.

Today we began studying on mixtures. We saw different mixtures and how they interacted with each other. Students then read in their teams about the physical properties of matter.

Report cards were handed out today. Students will also be taking home information on a fund raiser. I believe it is the one where you can register at specific sites and they will give money to the school.