Day 42

Today was the unofficial last day of the first marking period.  That means that today's 9th science news article was the last entry for students in their first academic quarter.  After news articles were collected, students blindly picked their scientists for the "Farcebook" project.  They are tasked with creating a facebook-like page on these paper templates I ordered over the summer.  The complete "Farcebook" page is due in class on Friday.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 3 test will not be until mid-December.

Day 41

We went over yesterday's Chapter 2 test.  Following the review, students watched Mythbusters (Walk in a straight line blindfolded & Binary compounds in a crash) while I checked their Chapter 2 notebooks and online gas lab packets.

News article #9 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 3 test will not be until after Thanksgiving break.

Day 40

Students took the Chapter 2 test today online using Moodle.  Any time that they had remaining after the test was used to work on their notebooks, their online lab or to get a news article for next week.

The Chapter 2 packet and online lab packet are due tomorrow.

Day 39

Today was the final day to work on the online gas lab in class.  It's not due until Friday, but today was the last day that we were going to devote classtime for that purpose.  We then used the final 25 minutes to play Jeopardy as a review for tomorrow's test.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test is tomorrow.

Day 38

I used the IWB to play a review game for Thursday's chapter 2 test.  Students also were putting the finishing touches on their online gas lab.  About a third of all students were finished today, and the rest will most likely be done tomorrow.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test will be this Thursday.

Day 37

Today students presented their 8th week of news articles. Following news article summaries, students continued to work towards completing their online gas lab.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 36

We had shortened classes today because we watched "The Outsiders" in the auditorium in the afternoon.  Students continued to work on their online gas lab, and most students were done with Activity 2 (page G) by the end of the period.

News article #8 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 35

We began class with an impromtu Chapter 2 review session using the IWB.  Students continued working on their online gas lab today.  Their goal was to be done with Activity 1, which means they should be done with every page up to and including page D.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test is on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 34

Today we began our online exploration of the pressure, volume and temperature of a gas.  Click HERE to go to the online lab.  Students were also given a packet that coincides with the lab.  I also demonstrated to students how to use the discussion board to post their questions online if they are having difficulty with any part of the lab.  Most students got to the middle of the fourth page (page D) before the end of the period, which involved creating a line graph.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 33

Today's objective was to explore the relationship between pressure and temperature of a gas. We did the lab on pages 2-8 & 2-9, and went over the results with 20 minutes left in class. We ended class by watching the video that went with worksheet 2-11.

No homework was assigned and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 32

It's Monday, so we listened to the summaries of our week #7 science news articles.  We discussed section 2-3 notes on Physical vs Chemical changes.  I demonstrated how folding, cutting or crumbling a piece of paper is just a physical change, because it was still paper - nothing internally had changed.  Then I burned the paper to show how an entirely new substance was formed, making it a chemical change.  http://www.brainpop.com/ had a great video on "Property Changes", so students watched it and took the quiz that followed.  We had just enough time to complete pages 2-3 & 2-4 with partners and go over the answers before the end of class.

No homework was assigned and the Chapter 2 test is on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 31

Today students worked with their partner to complete worksheets 2-12 and 2-2, both of which dealt with a graph that illustrated matter changes phases or states.  We went over the answers to these pages once everyone was finished.  In some classes, there was enough time for some students to get on Moodle and go through some of the Chapter 2 websites.

News article #7 is due on Monday, and the Chapter 2 test is on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 30

We reviewed yesterday's pressure, volume & temperature lab (page 2-10).  I used a powerpoint (listed on Moodle as "Section 2-2 notes powerpoint) to present section 2-2 notes on how matter changes states.  We watched a http://www.brainpop.com/ video on Matter Changing States and took the 10-question quiz that followed.  To review, students worked on Activity 2-12 until the end of class.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test is on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 29

After listening to the week #6 news article summaries, students opened back up to section 2-1 notes.  I used online animations to demonstrate Boyle's Law & Charles' Law.  I then used a new Promethean flipchart to give examples of inverse and direct relationships.  Students then turned to page 2-10 to perform the PVT lab (pressure, volume & temperature). 

No homework was assigned (unless students didn't complete the lab questions and calculations), and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 28

We had many things to do in science class today, so I postponed the news articles until tomorrow.  Instead, students were instructed to use the data on worksheet 2-6 on make line graph using Create-a-Graph.  Once they saved their graphs to their Science 8 folder, they were instructed to create a new science-themed glog.  The glog is going to be used exclusively for science content, and therefore should only have science-themed background and graphics.  Once the glog was saved, they needed to embed their glog within their science wiki page.

News article #6 is due tomorrow, and the Chapter 2 test will be on Thursday, October 27th.

Day 27

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.  All five answers on page 2-7 need to have complete sentences.

News article #6 is due on Tuesday (since no school on Monday), and the Chapter 2 test will be in late October.

Day 26

Students were given their new packet for Chapter 2.  We discussed section 2-1 notes on States of Matter, and watched the http://www.brainpop.com/ video called "States of Matter".  Following the video, students used their hand-held responders to take the 10-question quiz.  We ended class by completing the top half of worksheet 2-1 (except period 7 ran out of time).

The wiki/glog assignment and rubric is due tomorrow (spare rubrics are available online at Moodle).  The Chapter 2 test will not be until late October or early November.

Day 25

Today was the 4th and final day of Tech Week. I was all prepared to teach students how to create and edit a "VoiceThread". However, as it turns out, Mrs. Ogden already taught them how to do it back in 6th grade. Even more, Mr. Rodgers had them create one last year, also. The class time was ultimately used for refreshing students skills in creating and editing their VoiceThreads. Also, new students that weren't here in 6th or 7th grade were given 1:1 help.

No homework was assigned, although their wiki/glog project is due on Friday. Also, their Chapter 2 test will be in late October or early November.

Day 24

On Day 3 of "Tech Week", students continue towards their ultimate goal of creating an active glog on their wiki.  By the end of class today, they should have accomplished the following:

1. Create a wiki homepage called XYzzzzzz Mainpage, where "X" is their first initial, and "Yzzzzz" is their last name.
2. Create five wikipages representing their five core classes, such as "XYzzzzzz Science" for their science class wiki.
3. Link their text blocks from their glog to their core class wikipages.
4. Embed their glog into their wiki Mainpage.
5. Link their name from the Period "X" wikipage to their Mainpage.

Students were given a rubric last Friday that contained the grading criteria for this project.  The finished products are due at the end of class this Friday.

No homework was assigned, and the Chapter 2 test will be in late October.

Day 23

After listening to the week #5 news article summaries, we continued with "Tech Week".  Students created their own wiki pages today for each of the five main classes and "embeded" their glog (from Friday) into their main wiki page.  By the end of class on Wednesday, students need to have links to each of their core classes on their glog, and they need to link their name to their mainpage on their period's wiki.

No homework was assigned and the Chapter 2 test will not be until late October or early November.