Winter Olympics III

Today marked the third consecutive year that South Williamsport Jr/Sr High School has held the Winter Olympics.  After drawing some gold medals for prizes and watching Dr. Seuss' "Grinch" movie, students in grades 7-12 gather in the gymnasium to compete against one another in friendly games and activities.
No homework is assigned over break.

Holiday Pictionary

Students got back their news articles and speed quizzes back today.  With the remaining time in class, we played Holiday Song Pictionary.
No homework was assigned and news articles will not be due when we return from break.

Speed Quiz

After reviewing today's 15th news article, students took the speed quiz, which they did really well on. 
There is no homework due tomorrow.

Speed Quiz Practice

Students did problems 1-4 on worksheet 5-3 today before checking their answers on the board.  Students then took the practice quiz on page 5-16 to guage their readiness for Monday's real quiz.
News article #15 is due on Monday, and the speed quiz will be on Monday, as well.

Speed, distance and time

Today in class we reviewed worksheet 5-2 in class.  Students had the opportunity to show their work on the board for extra credit.  Students then worked with their partner to complete worksheet 5-5, which we also reviewed on the board.
Students should continue to bring a calculator to class for the remainder of the year.  No other homework was assigned.

Speed vs Velocity

Students distinguished between speed and velocity.  Speed is how fast an object is moving, while velocity is the speed in a given direction.  We completed worksheet 5-1 and students began and finished most of worksheet 5-2.
No homework was assigned.  A quiz on calculating speed will be on Monday.

Frame of Reference

Today marked our 14th summary of news articles.  Students continued their success at the periodic table quiz following the news article summaries.  We discussed section 5-1 notes on Frame of Reference and calculating speed.  We watched the http://www.brainpop.com/ video on speed, distance and time before doing the top half of worksheet 5-1.

No homework was assigned.

Good oral hygiene

That was the message today as Carol Kirol, the school's dental hygienist, came in to speak to each of the five classes.  Students learned about the dangers of smokeless tobacco use and how it is just as careless as smoking.
Homework is news article # 14, due tomorrow.

Chapter 3 Notebook Check

Today in class, students had their Chapter 3 notebooks checked for 100 points.  During this time, we watched a holiday-themed episode of Mythbusters.
The school's dental hygienist will be a guest speaker in this room on Monday, and news article #14 is due on Tuesday.

Chapter 3 Test

Students took the Chapter 3 test today online using the my Moodle site.  There were 28 questions worth a total of 118 points. 
The notebook check will be tomorrow and worth 100 points.  News articles are due on Tuesday.

1st Snow Day

Students and teachers got to enjoy a mid-week break today due to the weather.  The Chapter 3 test will still be tomorrow.

Atomic Forces

Today students had another opportunity to take the periodic table quiz.  Students volunteered to draw their atoms on the board from the pages we did in class yesterday (3-19 & 3-20).  We finally completed section 3-4 notes in discussing the forces within an atom.  We ended class by watching a video that reviewed this chapter's main topics.
Students are encouraged to study for the Chapter 3 test which is Thursday, December 10th.  No other homework was assigned.

Drawing Atoms

After reviewing the summaries of our 13th news article day, we discussed the part of section 3-4 notes pertaining to energy levels and electron clouds.  I showed students how to draw the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus of an atom.  Students watched the http://www.brainpop.com/ video on the Periodic Table.  After taking the quiz following the video, students worked with their partner to complete activity 3-19 and 3-20.
Students should begin studying for Thursday's Chapter 3 Test.  No other homework was assigned.

Molecular Mass calculations

Today in class we went over worksheet 3-16 from yesterday.  I introduced the concept of molecular mass and used worksheet 3-18 as a demonstration.  Students worked with their partners to complete pages 3-17 and 3-18.
Homework is news article #13 for Monday.  The chapter 3 test will be on Thursday, December 10th.

ions and isotopes

Not as many students opted to take the periodic table quiz today.  Those that did all earned over a 100%, though.  We continued our topic of atomic structure today by introducing ions, or charged atoms that have either gained or lost one or more electrons.  We watched a third straight http://www.brainpop.com/ video today, this time on ions.  We ended the period by completing worksheet 3-16, which we will check at the beginning of tomorrow's class.
No homework was assigned.  Test on Thursday, December 10th.

Atomic Structure 2

Today in class students got their first crack at taking the periodic table quiz.  Everyone of the 12 students that attempted the quiz earned over a 100% (with the extra credit elements).  What a great start!!!
After the quiz we discussed what information could be determined by looking at an element on the periodic table.  By the end of the period, students had to know the atomic number, atomic mass and the number of protons, neutrons and electrons for any element on the periodic table.  Students practiced this on page 3-14.  We then discussed the existance of isotopes and watched a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on the topic.  We ended the class by completing worksheet 3-15.
No homework was assigned. 
Remember that the test is a week from tomorrow, on Thursday, December 10th.

Atomic Structure

After listening to the summaries of the 12th news article week, I returned the rubrics for the VoiceThread assignment back to students.  We then began a discussion of section 3-4 notes of subatomic particles.  I described how the atom is so unbelievably tiny, yet contains even smaller particles within (protons, neutrons and electrons).  We watched a Tim & Moby video on atoms before practicing the periodic table quiz.
The test date was announced as Thursday, December 10th.
No homework was assigned.

Parent/Teacher Conferences Day-2

Tuesday in class I only had periods 5, 6 & 7 due to our Act 80 schedule. We discussed another round of news article summaries before watching a Discovery Channel video on the periodic table.  We ended our day by taking the kids to the auditorium to watch the movie, "The Mighty", based on the book, "Freak, The Mighty", which was read in Mr. Molino's room.


Assigned homework was to have a news article summary for the day we come back from Thanksgiving break.

Parent/Teacher Conferences Day-1

I am so late with this posting.  It is Tuesday night and this post is meant to describe what took place MONDAY in class.  Those parent/teacher conferences just wiped me out.
Monday in class I only had periods 2 & 3 due to our Act 80 schedule.  We discussed another round of news article summaries before watching a Discovery Channel video on the periodic table.
Assigned homework was to have a news article summary for the day we come back from Thanksgiving break.

Back to using technology

Sorry that this post is a day late. 
Yesterday (Friday) in class students used the laptops for the first time in nearly weeks in science.  Students were asked to go to the Moodle site and work through the matter quiz, practice balancing equations, rehearse their chemical symbols, and do simulation on Discovery Education.
News articles are due on Monday for periods 2 & 3, and Tuesday for periods 5, 6 & 7.

Done with Chemical Equations

Today, after four grueling days, we finally finished our lesson on stoichiometry, or balancing chemical equations.  I got the feeling that by the end of class, probably 95-100% of students had a high level of understanding for balancing equations.  We also completed Activity 3-6 together in class before I assigned and explained the homework.  Finally, I distributed the second half of the chapter 3 packet, pages 3-13 to 3-23.
Homework was pages 3-11 and 3-12.

More Chemical Equations

Today students finished worksheet 3-9 on balancing chemical equations.  By the end of the period, I would say that about 80-90% of students had a good understanding of how to balance equations.  Most students were able to get at least half of worksheet 3-10 done before the bell rang.  We will finish stoichiometry tomorrow and move onto atomic structure.
No homework was assigned.

Chemical Equations

Students handed in their 10th news article summary today.  Following news articles, we continued to work on Activity 3-9, balancing chemical equations.  I worked several problems out on the board for students to model.  Some students were able to finish this page before the bell rang, but most still had a couple problems left to do. 
No homework was assigned.

Technology & Academic Integrity

Today I stayed home to take care of my son, who was not feeling well.  In my absence, substitute teacher, Mrs. Keithan, a retired SW Algebra teacher, showed the ABC News video, "Cheating in America's Schools".  The video explored how technology is used both to cheat and to detter cheating.  It talked about how students are using texting and camera options on cell phones to cheat on tests, and how teachers are using websites, such as http://www.turnitin.com/ to  check research papers for plagiarism.  The video ended by discussing the business of a college student who considers himself a "term-paper-writer" for hire.  For a substantial fee, he will gladly write your major paper on any topic of your choice.  He feels that he is providing a valuable service where he sees a need, all the while making a profit while doing so.
News articles were postponed today and therefore are due tomorrow.

Balancing Chemical Equations

Stoichiometry.  Hard to say, and even harder to spell, and harder, still, to do.  Students learned how coefficients are used to balance chemical equations today.  We practiced counting atoms using coefficients on page 3-8.  After watching a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on balancing equations, students worked with their partner to begin worksheet 3-9.  We did the first problem together on the board, and most students had time to finish maybe 2-3 more before the bell rang.  We will be continuing this topic next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Homework assigned is news article summary # 10.

Chemical symbols and formulas

I prepared students for what lies ahead.  Students today were introduced to the periodic table and learned what all those one and two-letter abbreviations stood for.  I demonstrated how two or more chemical symbols are used together to create a chemical formula, which represents a compound.  Students worked with their partner to complete pages 3-5 and 3-7.
No homework was assigned.

Elements and Compounds

Today in class we reviewed section 3-2 notes.  We discussed the differences between compounds and mixutres.  We demonstrated how the atom is the smallest part of an element and a molecule is the smallest part of a compound.  We watched the http://www.brainpop.com/ video on mixtures and compounds and collectively took the quiz that followed.  Students then worked with their partner to complete worksheets 3-3 and 3-4.
No homework was assigned.

Separation of Mixtures

How would you separate a cup of oil and water?  of sand and gravel?  of lead and aluminum pellets?  Well you start by knowing the physical properties of the substances.  Students faced these and other situations today in class as we discussed the process of separating mixtures, both homogeneous and heterogeneous.  Students worked in pairs to complete this activity on worksheet 3-2.  Upon completion and review, we discussed the remaining vocabulary in section 3-1 notes, followed by an open discussion on technology issues in science class.
No homework was assigned.

Begin Chapter 3

As we do every Monday, we began today by allowing students to summarize their news articles out loud.  Students then received the new chapter 3 notes and packet, and we went over about half of Section 3-1 notes.  Students then worked with a partner to complete Activity 3-1.  In periods 2, 3 & 5, we were able to begin Activity 3-2.  However, periods 6 & 7 did not have enough time to begin that particular page.  We will finish 3-2 in all classes tomorrow.
No homework was assigned, and report cards will be distributed tomorrow at the end of the school day.

Final Day for VoiceThread Project

Today was the final day for students to work on their Chapter 2 VoiceThread project.  Having started this project last Friday, students therefore had 8 days to complete the assignment.  They handed in their scoring rubrics when they were done.
Their only homework is to have their 9th news article summary for Monday's class.

Chapter 2 Notebook Check

Today's notebook check was worth 120 total points.  50 of those point were dedicated to the online lab on gas particles.  The other 70 points was for the Chapter 2 worksheets and hands-on labs.  During the notebook check, students had the opportunity to work on their voicethread project, which is due tomorrow.
The only homework that students have is to complete their voicethread project.

Chapter 2 Test

Today in class, students took the Chapter 2 test on Moodle.  After the exam, they had the option of working on completing their notebooks for tomorrow's notebook check or working on their VoiceThread project which is due on Friday by the end of class.
The only homework assigned was to complete the above two assignments by their respective due dates.

Chapter 2 Review

Students were given the entire period to prepare for tomorrow's test on Chapter 2.  Students went to the moodle site to work through the various tutorials and simulations.  Extra emphasis was placed on understanding phase changes in matter.
Tomorrow's test will be taken electronically on the laptops.  The notebook check will be on Thursday, and VoiceThread projects are due by the end of class on Friday.

More VoiceThread work/ Test postponed a day

Today we began class by reviewing our 8th news article summaries. Afterwards, I explained to the kids that because the Moodle site was down all weekend, the test would be postponed until Wednesday. That means that notebook check will be on Thursday and their VoiceThread assignment is now due Friday by the end of the period. To that end, we spent the rest of today's class working on their voicethread project. They learned how to embed the finished product into their science wiki page. They now have the tools to work on it independently before or after school in my room or at home at their convenience.

Assigned homework was an advisement to study for Wednesday's test.

Chapter 2 Project- Voicethreads

Today in class students were given a rubric to guide their creation of a voicethread.  The voicethread is a web-based digital storytelling tool to which students each have their own account.  Students know that they will have next Thursday and Friday yet in class to work on this assignment, and it will be due on Monday, November 9th.
News article summary # 8 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 2 test will be on Tuesday, November 3rd.  Their notebooks will be checked on Wednesday, November 4th.  Students are encouraged to go to the moodle site to review for the exam.

State Survey

Today in class students took the Pennsylvania State Youth Survey in class.  As it was a 45-minute survey, no other material or lessons were covered.

Students have been told for the past week that their online lab is due tomorrow.  It is imperative that they have their three graphs completed and saved digitally for Friday's in-class project.  If students choose to work on the lab at home, they must ensure that digital copies of the graphs make their way to the classroom, either via email or a thumbdrive.  Printed copies will not be any good for this project.

Also, our second chapter test will be this coming Tuesday, November 3rd.  Students are encouraged to study early and often for this exam.

Finished the packet

Today in class we did the final lab for this chapter from page 2-8 & 2-9.  It's purpose was to identify the relationship between temperature and pressure.  This lab will take 10-15 minutes to make up, and can only be done before or after school.  After the lab, students watched a 20-minute video about the different propeties of matter.  Worksheet 2-11 went along with the video, so students answered those questions as the video progressed.
No homework is assigned.  However, the online lab from last week MUST BE DONE BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30th.  Also, we have a test on Chapter 2 on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Section 2-3 Notes

Today in class we discussed section 2-3 notes, which focused on differentiating between physical vs chemical properties, and physical vs chemical changes.  We then watched a http://www.brainpop.com/ that focused on this topic, followed by a quiz using the student responders.  This quiz MUST BE MADE UP, as it is worth 20 points.  After the quiz, students worked in pairs to complete activity 2-3, where they had to decide whether the examples were physical or chemical properties.  We ended the class by completing activity 2-5 together.
No homework is assigned, but the online lab from last week is due this Friday.

Changing states of matter

After reviewing our 7th series of news articles, I asked students to open up to section 2-2 notes.  Our topic of the day was changing states of matter- learning how a solid changes into a liquid and eventually into a gas, and vice-versa.  After discussing the notes and the accompanying diagram (the 2-sided diagram that is right after section three notes), I showed the BrainPop.com video on the same topic.  Finally, students had five minutes to work with their partner to complete Activity 2-2 in class.  We reviewed the answers shortly thereafter.
No homework was assigned.

PVT Lab

There were 20 8th grade students absent today (22% of the total grade).  Please get healthy soon :-)

Today in class we watched the http://www.brainpop.com/ video on States of Matter.  After taking the quiz that followed the video, students opened to worksheet 2-10 and worked in small groups to complete the lab.  Its focus was on relating volume, pressure and temperature of a gas.
News article #7 is due on Monday.

Finish the online gas lab

Today in class students had their final chance to complete the 3-part online lab on behavior of gas particles.  Throughout the lab, students had to develop an understanding of the relationship between pressure, volume and temperature.  They are responsible for creating and saving one graph for each of the three parts, as well as answering all of the questions within the lab packet.
No homework is assigned.

Online Gas Lab- Day 4

Well it was great to be back in the classroom after two days of conferences.  I was very pleased with the effort of each of my classes while I was out.  Today in class students continued where they left off yesterday, working on the online virtual gas lab.  Most students that were here both days were somewhere around the second graphing activity, which required three data lines.  Tomorrow in class will be the last class time that will be devoted to this assignment.  Students have been informed that they have until Friday, October 30th to complete this assignment in its totality.  They know that they can come to my room for help any day between 7:10 - 7:40 or 2:30 - 3:10, or during their daily study hall in the computer lab.  Not having a computer or internet access at home will not be valid excuse for not completing this assignment.
No homework is assigned.

Conference Day 2

Today was my second day in a row away from my class due to a conference at Penn State.  I must say, I actually miss them.  Even more impressive is that I am 99.9% certain that they are now showing enough responsibility that if I was to be absent one more day, they probably would not even notice (don't worry, I'm back tomorrow).  From what I have witnessed through their online work and read through moodle messages and email, everyone has been completely engrossed in the online lab assignment.  I could not be more proud of their effort.
No homework is assigned.

Thanks, guys and gals...

My 1st absence

Today I was at a conference at Penn State on creating the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for students with special needs.  In my absence, students began their second day of the online lab relating pressure, volume and temperature of a gas.  They must have a good grip on things because nobody has sent me any messages needing help or tech support.  Great job, guys.
No homework is assigned.

Pressure, Volume & Temperature Lab

Today students began an online investigation into the relationship between pressure, volume and temperature of a gas.  Collectively, these variables compose the Ideal Gas Laws.  Students will be collecting data through simulated experiments online and using it to create a graphic visualization of the interrelationships.
Due to my absence this coming Monday and Tuesday, news articles will not be due this next week.

Graph to Wiki

Today we had shortened classes due to a clubs schedule.  Students took the data they collected from yesterday's "Weight of Air" lab and used it to create a line graph.  Students saved that graph to their "Documents".  After logging into their wiki site, their final task was to upload that graph and paste it into their science wiki page.  Any remaining time left was used to finalize their glog.
No homework was assigned, other than to finalize their glog before the end of school on Friday.

Weight of Air Lab

It's all around us and we need it to survive.  What is it?  Air!  Air really seems to be weightless...or is it?  That's what we had to find out.  In today's lab, students investigated how much, if anything, air weighed.  They performed the lab from pages 2-6 and 2-7 and discovered that air does, in fact have mass, albeit VERY VERY little.  They discovered this by forcing (pumping) small amounts of air into a sealed 2-liter bottle and measuring the change in mass from the empty bottle.
No homework is assigned, however, their glog/wiki is due on Friday.

Solids, Liquids, Gases & Plasma

Students were given their new packets for Chapter 2.  I used a PowerPoint show to present the notes for section 2-1.  The focus of today's lesson was to distinguish between the particle arrangements within the 3 basic states of matter.  Students logged onto Moodle and went through several tutorials, participated in a Discovery Education simulation and took an online practice quiz.  We ended class by going over worksheet 2-1. 
No homework was assigned.

Columbus Day

Today was a half day for students, with an 11am dismissal.  We only had 25-minute classes, so we tried to do quite a bit in a little time.  We first reviewed our sixth news article of the year.  I handed out the rubric for students' wikis, which will be graded on Friday.  Students also were given a password "cheatsheet" so that they can organize their collection of eight usernames and passwords.  Finally, students created accounts for Discovery Education.
No homework was assigned.

Tech Week, Day 5

On our final day of tech week, students learned about a great application called voicethread (http://www.room104science.ed.voicethread.com/).  It allows students to upload a picture, video or document and leave a text, voice or video comment on those uploads.  For today's example, students uploaded pictures of objects that measure mass, volume, temperature and length.  They then left text and/or voice comments that identified how the object is used and why it would be used.  After saving their voicethread, students have the ability to leave comments for each other and even embed their voicethread onto their wiki.  The potential is limitless.
Back to science topics on Monday.  News article #6 is due on Monday.

Tech Week, Day 4

Wow...what a week this has been.  These students are drinking this technology like it's a ice-cold Pepsi.  Today I demonstrated how to use Windows MovieMaker software to editing and creating digital videos.  Students were given small clips of video from our recent measurements lab.  They were shown how to create special effects on a video, use cool transitions between clips, include titles, captions and credits throughout the video and cut/splice the video clips.  Although they only had about 40 minutes to learn the software in this crash course lesson, I think they all realize that their finished movies are only limited by their own imagination.
Tomorrow:  The district premier of VoiceThread.

Tech Week, Day 3

Well on Monday we introduced wikis, and yesterday we introduced glogster.  Today in class we combined the two applications into one interactive website.  Students demonstrated the ability to create new wiki pages, copy a hyperlink to those pages into their glog, and embed that glog into their wiki frontpage.  A successful wiki frontpage should allow the viewer to see a link to each of a student's five core classes clearly and without having to scroll down the page.  The rest of the glog is limited only to the creativity of the author.
The last two days of tech week will deal with editing digital movies and creating voicethreads.

Tech Week, Day 2

Now that students know how to log into their wiki page, they need to have content to fill it.  To that end, today's topic was creating a "GLOG".  Using http://www.edu.glogster.com/, students created accounts that allowed them to make virtual posters to pin on their wiki's main page.  They were instructed to create 5 blocks that would be used to provide future links their 5 core classes.  There is a lot of new and intuitive technology out there, and students are starting to get a huge of all the potential.
Tomorrow we will be finishing up the glogs and wikis, and hopefully begin creating voicethreads.

Tech Week, Day 1

After reveiwing our 5th week of science news articles, students were given the keys to their own brand new wiki.  Using PBworks.com, students created a front page off of my science page.  They learned how to hyperlink an image or text to another wiki page, outside website or email address.  We demonstrated how to grab an image off of the web and embed it into the wiki page.  There was no concrete homework assignment except the option to "spice up" their own page.
Tomorrow in class, we will show how to create a "Glog" and embed that onto the wiki page.

Notebook Check

Today in class students had their chapter one notebook's checked for completion.  During this time students were shown a "Mythbusters" episode that focused on scientific method to confirm or deny societal myths.

News articles are due on Monday, and all next week has been proclaimed "TECH WEEK".  Details to follow...

Returned the tests

Today we had limited time in class due to the Thursday Clubs schedule and our afternoon showing of "The Outsiders".  We had only 20 minutes per class.  In that time we were able to go over yesterday's test in its entirety and students were able to see any mistakes that they made.
Tomorrow's class will be used to check their chapter one notebooks.  During the notebook check, students will watch "Mythbusters", a show on the Discovery Channel that uses the scientific method to test the validity of common societal myths.
News articles are due on Monday.

Chapter 1 Test

The only thing that students did in class today was take their Chapter 1 test using the student responders.  Because graphs and charts were incorporated into the test, a paper version was also given to students.
Tomorrow, since we have shortened classes due to a PM assembly, we will only have enough time to go over the test in class.  Friday we will have our Chapter 1 notebook check.

Chapter 1 Review

We began class today by checking and reviewing the homework, activity 1-19, that was assigned yesterday.  Students were then directed to organize their notebooks for Friday's pending notebook check.  Using the laptops, I than asked students to go to my moodle site.  Within the site was a list of topics from this past month in chapter 1.  Each topic contained a collection of websites, tutorials and lesson that students engaged in independently to review for tomorrow's test.
The only homework assigned was for students to study and prepare for tomorrow's test.

Finished with Graphs

After reviewing and collecting our 4th news article summary, students worked with their partner to complete pages 16-18 on creating and interpreting graphs.
Students were assigned page 19, a study guide, for homework, due tomorrow.
The chapter one test will be on Wednesday.

A graph is worth a 1000 words

Our final topic of this chapter is about graphing.  We discussed section 1-6 notes which included the use of pie, bar and line graphs.  After viewing examples online, students went to a website that allowed them to create a graph online.  We used this website to create a pie graph using the data on worksheet 16.  This was a challenge because the website kept sending everyone each other's graph.  It obviously took much longer than expected to print out this first graph, so some classes did not get a chance to create their bar graph in time.  We will finish up this worksheet on Monday, as it is NOT homework.
News article summary # 4 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 1 test is on Wednesday.
Have a great weekend, and hope to see you at tonight's dance.

Coke vs Diet Coke

Students came into science class today to find a can of coke and a can of diet coke swimming in an otherwise empty fish tank.  We discussed and demonstrated why the coke sank to the bottom, while the diet coke floated to the surface.  It all has to do with their relative densities.  Since water has a density of 1 g/mL, any object with a density greater than 1 g/mL will sink in water.  All objects with a density less than 1 g/mL will sink in water.  Since both cans have the same volume (take up the same amount of space), the difference must be in their masses.  It turns out that coke has a mass that is 15 grams more than that of the diet coke.  That makes the coke more dense than the diet coke, and more dense than the water, causing it to sink.
We then used the student responders (in some classes) to take an online practice quiz on density mass and volume.  We ended class by doing an graphing exercise (all but 5th period) on plotting mass and volume.
Tomorrow we will cover graphing, our last topic of this chapter, more in depth.
There is no assigned homework, and the test is on Wednesday, September 30th.
Have fun at Ocean City, Maryland and Jamaica (you know who you are).

Complete the Density Lab

Today in class, we began by watching a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on density.  Students learned that density is a physical property that takes the mass of a substance and divides it by its volume.  After answered the video questions using the student responders, students were given a reference chart of densities of known liquids and metals to compare the results of their lab.  Students calculated the results of their three unknown liquids and three unknown solids from yesterday's lab and compared them to the chart to predict what the substances were. 
Overall, I believe it was a very successful lab.  Students got to practice their measuring skills again in a practical application.  Math skills were applied to determine volume and density.  Students had to compare, predict and evaluate their results.
There is no assigned homework, and the Chapter One Test is one week away.

Density Lab

Today we had shortened classes due to the assembly.  Our topic de jour was density.  I designed a hands-on lab exercise that reinforced the skills that students had learned over the past couple of days, those being measuring with metric tools and units.  Students needed to determine the mass and volume of three unknown liquids and another three unknown solids.  Tomorrow, students will finish the lab by calculating the densities of the unknown substances and use those densities to predict  what those substances are based on a reference chart of known densities.
There is no homework, and the chapter one test will be on Wednesday, September 30th.

Finished the Lab

Today, after reviewing our third week of news articles, students were given an additional 15 minutes to complete the lab on pages 12 & 13 that we began this past Friday.  We then spent the remainder of class comparing students' results to the my readings at that time.  We discussed the conclusion questions on page 12, which included sources of error, the easiest graduated cylinder to read, and the hardest part of the lab.
There is no assigned homework, and the Chapter 1 test is nine days away (September 30th).

Measurement Lab

After checking last night's homework (Pages 8-11), we began the Measurement Lab on pages 12 & 13.  Students went around to each of the four stations- triple beam balances, graduated cylinders, thermometers and metric rulers.  Each station had seven items that students needed to measure using the provided metric tools.  As there were 28 total items, I told students that they would have more time to finish on Monday.
News article summary # 3 is due on Monday.

Do you know your lab tools?

Today in class we introduced the tools that we will be using in the science lab this year.  They include the metric ruler to measure length, the triple-beam balance to measure mass, the graduated cylinder to measure temperature, and the graduated cylinder to measure volume.  Students got to practice using each of these tools at their tables.  We then used a website from the Moodle to practice reading the triple beam balances and graduated cylinders.
For homework, students were assigned worksheets 1-8, 1-9, 1-10 & 1-11.  Each page is worth 5 points and the assignment is due tomorrow (Friday).
News article #3 is due on Monday.

Finished Activity 1-6

Today in class we had to go to plan B.  I had the greatest intentions of having students use the laptop computers to access a website that has an amazing interactive calculator for converting metric and English units.  Unfortunately, our school's web securtiy has not initially identified this website as secure yet, so we had to improvise.  Instead, students did their work on page 1-6 the old fashion way- at their desks with a pencil, paper and calculator.  When students completed the 10 problems, there were asked to go on my moodle site and work through the tutorials on converting metric and English units.  We used the student responders to go over the problems at the end of class, and I think now that after three days of hard work, most students have a great understanding of how to convert back and forth between metric and English units.
There was no homework assigned and the chapter 1 test will be Wednesday, September 30th.

Hope to see everyone at the band exhibition tonight.

Converting English to Metric units

Today in class we practiced converting from English units to metric units.  To this end, students used the reference chart on worksheet 1-2 to complete the first 10 problems on worksheet 1-6.  Students got to use the student responders to display their answers anonymously on the white board.
There was no homework, and the chapter test date has been tentatively set for Wednesday, September 30th.

Converting Metric to English Units

Students had the opportunity to summarize their news articles out loud for extra credit, as they will every week. After collecting the news articles, students got back their quizzes that they took last Friday.
We then completed worksheet 1-5, which we started on Friday.
The topic of today's discussion was giving meaning to all those metric terms we learned last week. It's fine and dandy to say that 1000 grams equals one kilogram, but what does a kilogram feel like in your hand compared to a gram? What is it close to in our English units? A pound? An ounce? A ton? This is what we are going to discover. We learned today the process of converting from metric to English units, like kilometers to miles.
There is no homework, and the next test is more than two weeks away.

First Quiz

Students took their first quiz in science class today.  Although they also received a paper copy of the quiz, the questions and answers were served via the student responders.  They did amazingly well on the quiz.  Not that I didn't think they would, but it was the first quiz and sometimes students don't know how to prepare for a new teacher's first assessment.  Not so in this case obviously.
After the quiz, students were allowed to take out a laptop computer to find a news article for next week or the week after.  We also reviewed the article summaries that they turned in earlier this week, noting what mistakes were common among many 8th graders.
We ended the class by collaboratively working on Activity 1-5.
Homework for Monday is the 2nd news article summary.

Last metric practice

Today we opened class with a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on the scientific method.  Students used the responders to vote on 10 multiple choice questions following the video.  I explained to students exactly how the format  would be for tomorrow's metrics quiz, how many problems there would be and how much it was worth.  Students were given 15-20 minutes of class time to complete worksheet 1.3 as a final preparation for tomorrow's first quiz.  We reviewed each of the 10 problems on the board before the bell rang.  Finally, I encouraged students one final time to go to my moodle site and work through the tutorials on the metric system to prepare for tomorrow's quiz.
Don't forget that news articles are due this Monday.

Metric homework explained

We went over yesterday's homework by using the student responders.  Instead of students volunteering their answers our loud, they simply typed in their answers anonymously on the keypad.  The five most popular answers were projected onto the whiteboard so that students could see how their classmates answered (again, no names used).
We then watched the Metrics video from http://www.brainpop.com/ and took the short quiz that followed.  We finished the class by doing worksheet 1-1 together.  No homework was assigned, but I reminded students that the quiz on converting metric units will be this Friday.

Wild about Metrics

Today was the first day for news articles. I was EXTREMELY pleased with how many students volunteered to summarize out loud for extra credit. After collecting the news articles students took a brief 10-question quiz on variables and hypotheses. It won't count for a grade, but it gave myself and students more practice in using the student responders as an assessment tool. Following the quiz, students were given this chapter's activity packet. We openly discussed section 1-2 notes on metric abbreviations and conversion. We practiced converting from one metric unit to another, like from kilograms to grams.

Students were assigned worksheet 1.4 (#1-10) for homework. If you have any questions, please email me at kcremer@mounties.k12.pa.us.

First Friday

Today in the computer lab I stressed first and foremost that the first news article summary is due this coming Tuesday.

Our class the went to the Moodle site where we discussed the difference between and importance of independent and dependent variables in an experiment.  Students have a direct link on the Moodle if they need some more clarification.  We spent the rest of the period working through a tutorial on the scientific method online.  If students finished early, they were allowed to begin a virtual "Who Dunnit", trying to solve a crime mystery using the scientific method.  A pep rally ended the day in the gym.

All links and activities are still available here at the Moodle site.

Don't forget, news article summaries are due on Tuesday.

PS- Good luck PSU vs Akron

EVERYBODY MOODLE'S

Today was my first attempt at incorporating Moodle for an interactive lesson during class.  It worked flawlessly during 2nd period, but came to a crashing hault during Period 3.  We then figured out after lunch that if we limit the number of simultaneous logins, we lower the chance of having it freeze up on us.  Students logged in just a few at a time during periods 6 & 7, and that seemed to work without incident.
Here's what we covered:

• Log into the moodle site at http://cff.iu17.org/s/southwilliamsport/
• Once on my site, scroll down to Scientific Method & Inquiry
• Start with "How Observant Are You" and work your way down to "Steps to the Scientific Method"

There is no homework assignment.  However, your first news article summary is due on Tuesday.

PS- Let's Go Phillies!

How to Summarize Your News Articles

Today's class lesson focused on what to do for your news article summaries.  These are due the first day of every week, starting with Tuesday, September 8th.  Students need to find an article that interests them from http://www.sciencedaily.com/.  Once they decide on an article, they should click the "PRINT" icon near the upper right of the page.  This will get rid of all the extra ads, pictures and hyperlinks and leave them only with their article to print.  If a printer is not working or not available, they should click "EMAIL" and send the article to kcremer@mounties.k12.pa.us, my school email address.  Not being able to print should never be an excuse for not having this assignment complete.
After selecting the article, students must now summarize it using a standard template, which is available on my Moodle site. They can also pick up a paper copy of this in my room at anytime.  The depth of the summary is also available on the moodle site, titled "News Article Descriptor"  They have to say in a complete sentence what the article is about, another complete sentence that says where the research took place, and then one or two sentences that says why they feel the research is important to science.  The final step is to provide two vocab. words and define them.  These words should be challenging enough that the student needed to look them up in a dictionary, or online using http://www.dictionary.com/. 
We also discussed how students can get extra credit.  Students that have a complete written summary on time can volunteer to give an oral 30-second summary that is worth five extra credit points.  I showed mathematically how much this has the potential to help their grade.
Students were given a practice news article to read and summarize in class.  We reviewed their summaries together, and it seemed as though everyone walked out of class with a firm grasp on what is expected from this weekly assignment.
No homework was collected or assigned.

PS- Go EAGLES!

1st Day of School

No matter how hard we try, we can never be 100% prepared for opening day (students AND teachers).  Today each student was given a healthy dose of technology in science class.  We started class by using the student responders to take a quick technology survey.  The students seemed to really enjoy it, as they had never used one before.  We then got into my Moodle site, and saw some of the features it had to offer.  Some students even got to log in during class.  I then gave students the tour of my blog site (this page) and demonstrated its usefulness.  We ended class with a look at the science curriculum and my grading policy.

I collected the email request forms that were mailed home back in early August and were due today.  Some students either forgot or lost their form, so they were given a second copy that is due on Wednesday.

Their homework assignment is, if possible, log into the Moodle site and comment on one of my two blog entries.  They will not be graded for this assignment, but I would like to know what difficulites they have along the way, if any.  See you tomorrow.

PS- Go PENN STATE!!!

Teacher Inservice Day

Opening day is almost here.  I, along with the other 8th grade teachers, spent the better half of the morning and afternoon getting our rooms ready for tomorrow's "opening ceremonies".  I am particularly excited about this year more than others, for this year offers many new things in Room 104:

• All new handheld wireless student responders
• Interactive whiteboard
• Interactive wireless tablet
• New interactive online classroom management system called Moodle
• New seating arrangement thanks to the smaller class sizes
• New online subscription to http://www.pbworks.com/
• New online subscription to http://www.voicethread.com/
• Continued online subscription to http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
• Continued online subscription to http://www.brainpop.com/

All this, plus the 7th & 8th grade will be sharing a new mobile computer lab with 20 wireless Dell notebooks.  I spent most of my summer developing and writing an online curriculum through Wilkes University, and it exposed me to a great deal of amazing online content.  I also spent a week at Bucknell University as a technology instructor to over 100 of the best teachers in the state at the Keystone Technology Summit.
My feeling is that today's students are 21st Century learners, a term I will use quite frequently.  It means that they learn differently from how you and I did 20-30 years ago.  They have the ability to access information instantly, and that's what they expect.  They want to be creative and express themselves, including online.  They are great communicators, ESPECIALLY online.  We, as teachers, need to embrace this enthusiasm that their generation has for technology and use it to develop them both academically and socially.
I am looking forward to a great year, and I can't wait for tomorrow to get here.

PS- Go PHILLIES!!!