Monday, January 31, 2011

Today I collected the written lab reports from our online investigation of Force & Motion.  We heard oral summaries from the 19th week of science news articles.  I handed back Friday's Force Quiz and reviewed the answers out loud.  We went over section 6-3 notes and related Newton's 3 Laws of Motion to everyday phenomena.  We watched a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on Newton's 3 Laws and took the quiz that followed.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 6 test will be this Friday, weather permitting.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Students took the Force quiz today- 8 problems at 5 points each for a total of 40 points.  Following the quiz, students took an NSTA survey that took only 5-10 minutes, and worked on their online speed lab for the remainder of the period.

News article #19 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 6 test is next Friday, February 4th.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Today was the final tune-up for tomorrow's Force Quiz.  We began by reviewing yesterday's assignment, page 6-3 & 6-4, on the board.  Students were then assigned page 6-6 to complete in their groups.  I gave out the answers before the end of class.

No homework was assigned, but the Force quiz is tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Students worked on much more challenging problems today than yesterday.  They still focused on Newton's 2nd Law of Motion (F=ma), but the degree of difficulty on today's problems was much greater.  Students had all period to complete the eight problems on pages 6-3 & 6-4.  Most students completed this assignment, but we did not have time to put them on the board.

Notes that I put on the board included:

# 4, 6 & 8 need the 4-steps twice, as they are 2-part problems
#7b-1 does NOT need the four steps.

No homework was assigned, and the Force quiz is Friday, January 28th.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I used a PowerPoint to introduce the section 6-2 notes on Friction and Newton's 2nd Law.  I demonstrated the use of air as a lubricant by using a hovercraft.  We watched a BrainPop.com video on Forces and took the quiz using the student responders.  Students were assigned worksheet 6-2 in their groups.  We reviewed the problems on the board before the end of the period.

No homework was assigned, and the Force quiz will be Friday, January 28th.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Today we begin the second half of the school year, and the first day of the third quarter.  Students summarized their 18th week of news articles.  I handed out the new chapter six packets and we discussed Section 6-1 notes on balanced vs unbalanced forces.  I brought two volunteers up front and we played tug of war with their arms to demonstrate what happens when forces are or are not equal and opposite.  We watched the Bill Nye video on balanced forces before the bell rang.

No homework was assigned, and the Force quiz will be this Friday, January 28th.

Friday, January 21, 2011

2-Hour Delay

What a week!  We were off on Monday, and three of the last four days had a 2-hour delay.  Students used today's half-hour classes to complete (as much as they could) their online lab that we've been working on all week.

News article #18 is due on Monday, and the Force quiz will be on Friday, January 28th.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Students finally had their Chapter 5 notebooks checked today for 85 points.  We began Lesson #2 of our online lab that explored the relationship between gravity and speed.  Students accessed the site using Moodle and simulated the downhill trials of an olympic luger.  I demonstrated for them exactly how to create and collect the data from all of the trials, and described on the white board how to solve the three math problems (3, 4 & 6).  Students know that tomorrow will be the last day we will devote in the classroom to completing this online lab.

No homework was assigned, and the Force quiz probably will not be until Friday, January 28th.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2-hour delay!

This is the third day out of the past five that we have had shortened classes due to the weather.  Students continued to work on the online speed lab.  Their goal was to be done with lesson #1, pages 1-3.  Tomorrow we will begin lesson #2.

Notebook check will be tomorrow, and the Force quiz will be on Thursday, January 27th.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2-Hour Delay

Mr. Girardi was in for me today due an inservice at Rommelt.  He gave students the opportunity to summarize their 17th week of news articles.  Students then began an online investigation that compared the speed and acceleration of a snowmobile.

The chapter 5 notebook check will be tomorrow, and the Force Quiz will be Wednesday, January 26th.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Students today took the Chapter 5 test on "Motion" using the online Moodle application.  Students did EXTREMELY well on the test, as the overall class average was more than 10 points higher than the previous test.  Mr. Girardi will be in for me on Tuesday.

News article #17 is due on Tuesday, and the Chapter 5 notebook check will be on Wednesday.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Today we completed Chapter 5.  Students worked on the graphing exercise on page 5-8.  We reviewed those answers together before students began the crossword puzzle review sheet on page 5-17.  We also went over those answers before the end of the period.

Students only homework is to study for tomorrow's Chapter 5 test.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

2-Hour Delay

Today, since classes were shortened due to weather, we spent the 30 minutes tying up some loose ends.  Many times we begin a worksheet or activity but never get a chance to completely finish or review our work, so today was dedicated to meet that need.  We reviewed the lab from pages 5-9 & 5-10.  We also reviewed the problems from pages 5-13, 14 & 15.  Any remaining time was used to preview this Friday's test.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 5 test is this Friday, January 14th.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

"Stay Sharp" Assembly 9:20-10:20 (no flex or study hall)

Today we listened to the 16th week of science news article summaries.  We completed this chapter's notes by discussing section 5-4 on Momentum.  I took students in the hallway and demonstrated (using scooters) how changing an objects mass and/or velocity alters its momentum.  Upon returning to the classroom, students were assigned worksheet 5-12 in their groups.  We put the solutions to those problems on the board before the end of the period.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 5 test will be this Friday, January 14th.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Students had Mr. Girardi as their substitute teacher again today.  He assigned worksheets 5-13, 5-14 & 5-15 to be done during class.  Many students did not finish, but they will have more time later this week.

News article # 16 is due tomorrow, and the Chapter 5 test will be this Friday, January 14th.

Friday, January 7, 2010

Students had two graphing assignments today.  First, they had to complete their graph on page 5-11 using their data from yesterday's lab.  They then used that same data and went online to the Create-a-Graph website to save a picture of their graph online.  They then had to upload that graph to the top of their science wiki page.

News article #16 is due on Tuesday, and the Chapter 5 test is on Friday, January 14th.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

LAB TIME!!!!

It's been a while since we did a lab in here, so today's lesson was well received.  Students used the lab guide on page 5-9 and 5-10 to guide them in discovering how gravity effects the acceleration of a marble rolling downhill at differing distances.  The goal by the end of the period was to have all of their times recorded.  They were asked to time each distance multiple times until they had 5 timings that were "consistent", then take their average.  Students also should have had enough time to calculate the speed of the marble for each distance.  We will conclude this lab tomorrow with a graphing activity.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 5 test is one week from tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I used the projector to show students several possible test questions that involved analyzing the slopes of graphs.  We completed page 5-6 together in class.  Students then worked in their cooperative groups to complete the 10 problems on page 5-7.  Students volunteered to put those answers on the board to review.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 5 test is on Friday, January 14th.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I explained in greater depth and detail today a comparison of slopes using distance/time graphs and speed/time graphs.  I contrasted a straight diagonal line to a flat line to a curved line on both graphs, and I also gave some sample test question relating to the graphs.  Students then worked in their groups to finish pages 5-3 & 5-4.  We reviewed the problems on the board using student volunteers.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 5 test is on Friday, January 14th.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Welcome back!!!

There were no news articles due today, much to the delight of nearly everyone.  We began class by reviewing the Speed Quiz that students took prior to the holiday break.  We then discussed (section 5-2 notes) how the slope of a line on a distance-time graph can be used to determine the relative speed of the object.  We also compared constant vs. average speed on a journey.  Section 5-3 notes introduced acceleration to the class, along with deceleration and centripetal acceleration.  A BrainPop.com video furthered explored acceleration, as did the quiz that followed.  We ended class by students working in groups to complete Activity 5-4.  Students did not have enough time to finish this assignment, but it was NOT to be done for homework.

No homework was assigned, but the Chapter 5 test is on Friday, January 14th.