Week of 1-2 to 1-4

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR! 6th-We will be continuing our chapter 1 material this week, the nature of science. We will be discussing scientific methods, various types of models, as well as promotional claims and misleading terms. 7th-We will be beginning our new chapter, Waves. We will learn about frequency and wavelength of a wave, as well as how waves can be reflected. We will also observe a wave with use of a slinky. 8th-We are going to be identifying this week how compounds are formed. We will also be explaining the importance of organic molecules in your body and defining why eating a balanced diet is healthy.

Week of 12-17 to 12-21

6th-We will be introducing our physical science book this week. We will be working with a scavenger hunt in the beginning of the book to familiarize ourself with it. We will then discuss the nature of science, gravity, variables, hypothesis, scientific methods, etc. We will analyze the 2 branches of science and makes posters that demonstrate and illustrate each as well. 7th-This week we will be talking about forces and fluids. We will discuss hydraulic pressure, bouyancy, and other fluid related phenomena. We will be reviewing chapter 12 on Wednesday, with our test being held Thursday. 8th-We will be comparing and contrasting substances and mixtures this week. We will discuss acids and bases and how to relate the potency of each. We will also be working with reactions and how temperature can effect the rate of reaction. We will be reviewing chapter 8 material on Thursday, with our test being held Friday. I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. Enjoy!

Week of 12-10 to 12-14

6th-This week, we will be completing our earth science unit with a review of chapter 9, Water Erosion and Deposition, on Monday. We will then be having our test on Tuesday. For the remainder of the week, we will be introducing our Physics unit through the use of the egg drop lab in which students will be designing capsules to protect an egg from a fall of roughly 20 feet. 7th-We will be completing our Chapter 11 material this week. On Monday, we will be working in the lab on balloon races, which illustrate Newton's Third Law of Motion. On Tuesday, we will be reviewing our chapter 11 material in preparation for our chapter 11 test on Wednesday. We will then begin Chapter 12, Forces and Fluids. 8th-We will be having our chapter 6 test on Monday, Atomic Arrangement. Students have a study guide we completed on Friday to study from. They will also be using notes that we have been taking throughout the previous week. We will then begin our chapter on chemical reactions, chapter 7. We will be working on a poster project for this chapter. On Friday, we will be discussing the use of synthetic diamonds, as well as presenting our chapter posters.

Week of 12-3 to 12-7

6th-This week, we will begin our final chapter in Earth Science, Water Erosion and Deposition. We will be discussing how and why water erodes earth's surface, as well as groundwater. We will be analyzing beach sand on Friday in the lab as well. 7th-We will be having our chapter 10 test on Monday, Motion and Momentum. We will then begin our next chapter titled Force and Newton's Laws. We will be working in the lab on identifying how the steepness of a ramp effects the movement of a marble. 8th-We are beginning our Physical Science Unit this week with discussions of Atomic Structure and Chemical Bonds. We will discuss atomic arrangement and bonding, both ionic and covalent. We will also be working with interpreting chemical shorthand. We will be reviewing this first chapter on Friday, with our test being held the following Monday, December 10th.

Week of 11-26 to 11-30

6th-We will be introducing our Chapter 8, Erosional Forces, material this week. This is a short chapter consisting of only 2 sections. We will be discussing and working with sediment movement, as well as glacial movement. We will be reviewing the chapter material on Thursday, with our Chapter 8 test being held on Friday. 7th-We are beginning Physics in 7th grade this week. Our first Chapter, Chapter 10, will be about Motion and Momentum. Our labs this week involve illustrating acceleration and changes in momentum. We will be completing our chapter on Friday, with our test being held the following Monday, December 3rd. 8th-In eight grade, we will be completing our discussion of earth science with focus on pollution of water and air. We will be working on a project that encorporates ways in which incinerators can be both beneficial, as well as harmful, to our environment. We will then be introducing our new unit of Physics later in the week.

Week of 11-19 to 11-21

6th-We will be finishing our chapter on soil and weathering this week. We will be having our assessment for this chapter on Tuesday. We will then be briefly discussing on Wednesday the beginning of our next chapter after Thanksgiving break, Chapter 8, Erosional Forces. 7th-We will be working on an egg drop project this week. Students will be designing a device that protects an egg from a fall of about 8 feet. They will have 2 days to design and build, and on Wednesday we will be doing the drop. Students will have time on Friday, after their test, to begin thinking about materials they may need and want to bring in the following week. 8th-We will be discussing our impacts on our air and water. We will be making posters that outline possible environmental concerns that the students have, as well as ways to remediate them.

Week of 11-12 to 11-16

6th-After discussing and researching the importance and construction of energy efficient homes this past week, we will be moving into weathering and soil. We will be discussing mechanical vs. chemical weather, as well as identifying soil types and profiles. We will complete the week with a lab involving creating a ribbon of a soil sample from home, to determine its composition. A sample of soil in a zip lock bag should be brought to school on Friday. 7th-We will be identifying types of air and water pollution this week. We will also be discussing possible outcomes of these types of pollution for the future. We will be having our test on this Chapter on Friday of this week. 8th-This week we will be discussing ways of conserving resources, advantages and disadvantages of recycling, as well as identifying types of hazardous waste and potential problems with it. We will be having a project-based test on Thursday of this week on our chapter involving our impact on our land

Week of 10-29 to 11-2

6th-We will be analyzing oil and oil usage around the world this week. We will also be concluding our chapter on energy and earth's resources. We will be reviewing on Wednesday, with our Chapter 5 test being held on Thursday. We will then introduce Views of Earth. 7th-This week, we will be discussing how we, as humans, impact the land. We will discuss land usage, as well as see how decomposition of materials differs based on the material. We will also be discussing how we can conserve resources and our land, as well as advantages and disadvantages to incineration of garbage. 8th-We will be identifying 5 sources of ocean pollution and where they can be found. We will also be discussing marine life and how it benefits us. We will be researching a marine plant or animal and finding out what product is made from it, whether it be a product we may use every day like toothpaste, to medicinal uses as well. We will be reviewing our Oceanography chapter on Thursday, with our test being held Friday.

Week of 10-29 to 11-2

6th-We will be analyzing oil and oil usage around the world this week. We will also be concluding our chapter on energy and earth's resources. We will be reviewing on Wednesday, with our Chapter 5 test being held on Thursday. We will then introduce Views of Earth. 7th-This week, we will be discussing how we, as humans, impact the land. We will discuss land usage, as well as see how decomposition of materials differs based on the material. We will also be discussing how we can conserve resources and our land, as well as advantages and disadvantages to incineration of garbage. 8th-We will be identifying 5 sources of ocean pollution and where they can be found. We will also be discussing marine life and how it benefits us. We will be researching a marine plant or animal and finding out what product is made from it, whether it be a product we may use every day like toothpaste, to medicinal uses as well. We will be reviewing our Oceanography chapter on Thursday, with our test being held Friday.

Week of 10-22 to 10-26

6th-We will be having our Chapter 4, Rocks, test on Monday this week. After that, we will be moving into Earth's energy and mineral resources. We will discuss inexhaustible, renewable, and nonrewable resources. We will finish the week with a lab on Friday that deals with solar energy and which color absorbs more of it. 7th-We will be having our Chapter 13, Clues to Earth's Past, test on Monday this week. We will then be moving into Geologic Time. This week, we will be creating powerpoint presenations that convey the information found in this chapter. 8th-We will be having our Chapter 18, Ocean Motion, test on Monday. We will be them moving onto Oceanography. We will be modeling sonar, mapping the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, and observing pond water on Friday in the hopes of finding evidence of plankton.

Week of 10-15 to 10-19

6th-This week we will be reflecting upon the rock cyle, with emphasis on how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks form. We will be reviewing on Friday for our upcoming test on Monday, October 22nd. We will also be "making" our own sedimentary rocks this week with glue and sediments from outside. 7th-This week we will be interpreting geologic cross sections to determine relative ages. We will also be creating a model of a trace fossil in the lab. We will also research accidental discoveries in Science. We will be reviewing Friday for our upcoming test on Monday, October 22nd. 8th-This week we will be researching how to build a desalination plant. We will also describe wave formation and work in the lab on designing an experiment to test wave properties. We will complete our chapter on Friday with our review for our upcoming test on Monday, October 22nd.

Week of 10-9 to 10-12

6th-We will be having our chapter 3 test, Minerals, on Thursday this week. We will be reviewing on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for this test. We will then begin discussion of Rocks on Friday. We will also be analyzing salt crystals that we have made this week with use of microscopes. 7th-We will be having our Chapter 12 test on Wednesday of this week. The volcanoes the students made on Friday were great and they really did a nice job! Our next discussion to follow will be about Clues to Earth's past. Chapter 13 discusses fossils and relative age. 8th-On Tuesday, we will be modeling the greenhouse effect in the lab. We will then be reviewing for our Chapter 17 test on Wednesday, with our test being held Thursday. We will then begin Ocean Motion on Friday with a look at ocean currents.

Week of 10-1 to 10-5

6th-We will be reviewing Monday with our Chapter 2 test being held on Tuesday. On Wedndesday, we will be introducing our new chapter, chapter 3. Chapter 3 topics include Minerals. We will analyze minerals with a magnifying glass, as well as make salt crystals. 7th-We will be discussing volcanoes this week. We are focusing on how they impact people, as well as what type of magma creates specific types of volcanoes. At the end of the week, we will be using clay to make our own model of a specific type of volcano. 8th-We are having our chapter 16 test on Monday. We will then broaden our view of weather to climate. We will discuss how differences in sun strength effects climate (through use of a mini-lab), as well as discuss how different organisms adapt to differing climates.

Week of 9-24 to 9-28

6th-This week we will be discussing the different states of matter. We will also be working in the lab on using measuring devices (graduated cylinders, triple beam balances, beakers, rulers, etc). Later in the week, we will also be measuring densities of different objects. 7th-We will be having our chapter 11 earthquake test this week on Thursday. We will be reviewing in class earlier in the week. We will also be introducing our final chapter related to plate tectonics, volcanoes. 8th-This week we will be creating our own weather station models, inventing wind measuring devices, and interpreting weather maps. We will be reviewing this chapters material on Friday, with a test on Monday, October 1st.

Week of 9-17 to 9-21

6th- This week, we will be working in the lab researching a specific scientific instrument used to measure and record data. We will be creating posters that illustrate what we have found. This will be completed in class and will be the project grade for our first chapter. 7th- We will be having our first chapter test on Tuesday, chapter 10. We will be reviewing on Monday, as well as completing a lab that illustrates convection currents. We will then be beginning our chapter 11 material, earthquakes. 8th- In 8th grade, we will be completing our chapter on the atmosphere. We will be having our chapter 15 test on Wednesday. We will be reviewing on Tuesday. Monday, we will be completing a lab that demonstrates how water and land receive and release heat differently. We will then be beginning our chapter 16 material, weather.

Week of 9-10 to 9-14

After a great start to the school year last week, we are finally settling in to our normal routine in science class. I am looking forward to a great year and much success along the way. 6th-This week we are beginning our unit 1 earth science material learning about the nature of science. We will be getting accustomed to our books, as well as learning about some scientific tools and technology that we use everyday. We will be analyzing science articles this week. Students will be bringing a science article with them to class on Thursday to analyze. 7th-This week we are beginning our unit on earth's internal processes. We will first be discussing plate tectonics. We will be making some posters this week that illustrate continental drift and seafloor spreading. We will be having our first chapter test, chapter 10, on Tuesday, 9-18. 8th-In 8th grade we will be focusing on earth's air and water this unit. We are beginning with the atmosphere. We will be conducting a lab in which we analyze sunscreens for their effectiveness. We will be having our first test, chapter 15, on Wednesday, 9-19