Day 3

Today students were given their first chapter packet. In place of textbooks, over the years I have created packets of learning materials that include notes, worksheets, study guides and lab sheets that a student may need throughout the course of a single chapter. They simply keep them in a 3-ring binder and bring it to class daily in place of a standard textbook.

We continued our focus on section 1-1 notes, thinking scientifically. Yesterday our focus was on the difference between a theory and a law, and today's discussion was on using the scientific method to solve a problem or conduct an experiment. The students understood that whether they realized it or not, they've been using the scientific method almost all of their life whenever they solved a problem. They just never looked at it before as being a 6-step approach. They always just assumed it was a logical way of thinking (which is what science is all about, thinking logically). On Moodle, I gave students three examples of experiments in which they had to identify the independent and dependent variables within. I also gave them two examples of experiments that were not that well prepared, and they had to tell me what was wrong with the given variables. We ended class by watching a short movie on the scientific method from www.brainpop.com , and took a quiz after it using student responders.

Their first science news article is due on Tuesday, September 3rd, and their first quiz on Metric Conversions will be on Monday, September 6th.

Day 2

Students were given access to Moodle today. I reminded students how to access this blog, and stressed that if they are ever absent to check out this blog to see what work they would have missed while out. Students sharpened their observation skills by identifying the differences between two similar-looking photographs at www.spotthedifference.com/. The intent here was to emphasize how important paying attention to even the smallest details is when dealing with scientific discoveries and investigations. Students then differentiated between a theory and a law by looking up both definitions at www.dictionary.com/. Students were then asked to write about the difference between them at a discussion forum on my moodle site, under today's date.

No homework was assigned, though their first news article is due on Tuesday, September 4th, and their first quiz, on Metric Conversions, will be on Friday, September 7th.

Day 1

For the first day of school, students were told of the significance of science news articles. I showed them where to locate these articles at a website called www.sciencedaily.com. I also showed them the proper way to write their summaries. Each student read a practice article on the dangers of high fructose corn syrup in soda. We were able to complete the What, where and why sections of the article, and they also found two challenging vocab words.

Students must return their "I read the handbook" page and the student profile form to their 1st PERIOD TEACHER by Friday, September 6th.

Their first quiz will be on Metric Conversions, and it will be on Monday, September 9th.