Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Students only had flex and period 1 today before meeting in the gym for the winter olympics.  None of the core classes met today.

No news articles are due over break, and the Chapter 5 test won't be until mid-January.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Mr. Girardi was in for me today, as I was in Geisinger for my second round of thyroid surgery.  Each class was only 30 minutes long, as students watched the movie, "The Mighty" (based on the book "Freak, The Mighty", which was read in Mr. Molino's class), at the end of the day in their 7th period class.  During the 30 minutes of class time, Mr. Girardi showed "A Muppet Family Christmas".

No homework was assigned, and the test is not until mid-January.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Our 15th and final news article of the year (well, at least this calendar year) was how we began our final Monday before the holiday break.  Afterwards, students took the Speed Quiz and did REALLY well.

No news articles are due over break.  See you next year.

Friday, December 17, 2010

We reviewed worksheet 5-5 in class by having volunteers put their answers on the board.  Students then worked on a practice quiz on page 5-16.  We put those answers on the board after everyone was done.  If there was time remaining, students ended class by doing #1-4 on page 5-3.

News article #15 is due on Monday, and the Speed quiz is also on Monday.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

As we had a guest speaker in class yesterday, we began by reviewing the formulas for calculating speed, distance and time.  Students completed worksheet 5-2 and we put those 10 problems on the board for extra credit.  Student then began (and some even completed) the graphing exercise on page 5-5.

No homework was assigned, and the Speed Quiz is on Monday, December 20th.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mr. Girardi was in for me in the morning, but I was here for the afternoon classes.  During all classes, Mrs. Kirol was in to speak with the students about the dangers of smokeless tobacco.

No homework was assigned, and the Speed Quiz will be Monday, December 20th.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Today we discussed the difference between speed and velocity.  I handed out the paper that described the 4-step method to solving word problems, and I demonstrated the sample problem on the board.  We completed worksheet 5-1, and students had enough time to begin worksheet 5-2.  Most students got about half of page 5-2 before the bell rang.  We will complete and go over that tomorrow.

No homework was assigned, and the Speed quiz will be on Monday, December 20th.

Monday, December 13, 2010

News article #14 began each class today.  Students received their new packets for Chapter 5, the first of our many upcoming physics chapters.  We discussed the concept of "frame of reference", and I introduced it using this video from YouTube made by senior high physics students.  I then showed students the relationship between speed, distance and time.  BrainPop had another great video on this topic, so we watched the video and used the student responders to take the quiz that followed.  We ended class by doing Part A, #1 only of worksheet 5-1.

No homework was assigned, and the quiz on calculating speed will be Monday, December 20th.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Students had their Chapter 3 notebooks checked today for 100 points (5 points per page x 20 pages).  We enjoyed a holiday-themed Mythbusters episode during the notebook check.

News article #14 is due on Monday.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Students took the Chapter 3 test today using Moodle.  They used the remaining class time to prepare their notebooks for tomorrow's check.  Also, some students still had to take the periodic table quiz.

The only homework is tomorrow's notebook check.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Today we practiced the periodic table quiz.....AGAIN.  Only a handful of students still need to complete the quiz.  Students completed worksheet 3-20 on electron arrangement, and volunteers drew their diagrams on the board.  Students then worked in their groups and competed against other groups for gold medals to see who could find the correct final answer to worksheet 3-17.  I ended class by giving students a sample of the questions they will encounter on tomorrow's chapter 3 test.

The only homework is to study for tomorrow's test.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

For the fifth straight day, we began each class by practicing the periodic table of elements and allowing students to take the oral quiz.  We reviewed worksheet 3-18, which students worked on in class yesterday.  We discussed section 3-4 notes on electron clouds and energy levels.  I also instructed students to disregard the final notes of the chapter related to the atomic forces.  I used an illustration off of Moodle to show how electrons are arranged around the nucleus of an atom.  Students then worked on completing worksheet 3-19 together in their groups, and I illustrated the correct answers on the board at the end of the period.

The only homework was to continue studying for the Chapter 3 test, which is in two days (Thursday, December 9th).

Monday, December 6, 2010

After listening to the 13th week of science news article summaries, we reviewed worksheet 3-16 together (students actually completed this page on Friday, but we ran out of time before we could go over it).  I then introduced the concept of molecular mass and demonstrated using problem #1 on page 3-18.  Students then had the rest of the period to complete page 3-18 in their groups.  We will review this assignment tomorrow.

No written homework was assigned, but students were encouraged to study for Thursday's Chapter 3 test.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Deja vu'?  Kind of, since we began today's class (AGAIN) by practicing the first 36 elements of the periodic table.  We only discussed one new term today, and that was "ion", or a charged atom that has gained or lost electrons.  The video from BrainPop.com helped to strengthen understanding of this topic, as did the quiz that followed using student responders.  We ended class with students working in their groups to complete worksheet 3-16.

News article #13 is due on Monday and the Chapter 3 test is on Thursday, December 9th.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

We began class today by reciting the first 36 elements of the periodic table and allowing students to take the oral quiz, if desired.  We went over section 3-4 notes on atomic number and mass number, and students worked on Activity 3-14 in their groups.  After going over this page, I discussed what "isotopes" are, and we watched the BrainPop.com video on the same topic.  Students then worked in their groups to complete worksheets 3-15.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 3 test is one week from today.  Parents were sent an email today notifying them of the test.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Today we began class by practicing the first 36 elements of the periodic table in preparation for their oral quiz.  We then discussed protons, neutrons and electrons (from section 3-4 notes) and watched the BrainPop movie on the same topic.  After taking the quiz together as a group, we took a step back to two weeks ago and reviewed worksheet 3-9 on balancing chemical equations.  I gave students concrete examples of the types of questions that would be on the test.  We ended class by practicing and discussing again the first 36 elements.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 3 test is on Thursday, December 9th.