Last 2 Weeks of School

The work is over on the right of this post.  Please make sure you are up to date on all work. 

We will be finishing up on the observations in our journals next week and your journal may go home on Wednesday of the last week. All other items for science may go home before that time.

I can't believe this year is almost over and I'm sad to see it end.  Hope you have learned some amazing things in science this year and enjoyed making a mess or two.  Have a great and safe summer!

Week of May 9-13

The school year is winding down and we are now into the end of year experiments. You will be scientists that are examining the experiments that are performed.  This will include all of the steps of the scientific method and include the data and graphs.  You will also examine the results and decide if they are reasonable.

Dioramas are finished and the grading continues this week.  Some will be displayed in the case and some will be used during the China Unit.

Week of May 2-6

Last week, we began our story of the water and landforms that are shaped by our waterways.  This week, we will build our diorama during class.  Supplies are provided, but if students want to add any other items, that will have to be brought from home.  We have discussed this in class, so students should have an understanding of expectations. Scoring guides were given out last Wednesday and each student has one now. 

Week of April 25-29

Bring in your shoe box!
We will be starting our diorama on Thursday, so bring in your box to get a good start on this project.  Wednesday, we will be looking over the scoring guide.

Week of April 18-22

I was very impressed with the power point presentations that you presented last week.  For sure, your classmates gained knowledge because you did a very nice job on them. 

Science class will be changing gears, although we are in the same book.  This week we will be learning about fossils. Next week we will be going back to do a project that we will tie into the China/Asia unit that will be done throughout all of your "core" and "specials" classes.  Therefore, we will be returning to the topic of erosion and building a diorama of the journey of water. I know it sounds a little backward, but we had the computer lab (scheduled at the beginning of the year) to do the power point and how getting this in during the Asia unit, we have had to do some switching.  It will all work out in the end.

Week of April 11-15 PPT Presentations

Power point presentations will be on Thursday and Friday of this week.  You may work on this from home, but most should be done during class time.  All of this should be done on google presentation so that we can share our information with the other student we are working with. It will not be as elaborate on google, but it is a lot easier to do a partner project this way.

I cannot wait to see what you have created.

Week of April 4-8

MAP testing will be going on during the first 4 days this week.  Therefore, science and social studies will not be happening Monday through Wednesday.  On Thursday, we will have all 4 core classes, but they will be very short.  Friday is a normal day -MAP is over.

Week of March 28 - April 1

We just keep having a lot of fun in science and it is continuing.  Beginning on Tuesday, March 29, we will be starting to research for our power point project that will be completed after MAP testing.  Please refer to your packet that was given out on Tuesday to find out any details that you did not catch when we went over it in class.  All dates are listed in the packet and instructions will be thoroughly read through.  You will get a grade for the rough draft/notes portion of the research and your scoring guide will help you get that perfect grade.  You will also be graded on the power point with your partner, which goes along with another scoring guide.  The final grade will be the presentation.  The scoring guide for this is attached to the power point scoring guide.  There is no reason for you to get a bad grade on this.  The scoring guide is very detailed and that is just how it will be graded.  No secrets...you know each detail.

Remember that expectations are very strong now that it is 4th quarter and late work will be taken off according to the handbook.  No exceptions.  Watch your grades because one late project can drastically pull your grade down. Complete work on time and you will have no problem!

Week of Feb. 21-25

Weathering and Erosion Walk is due on Tuesday.  This assignment was given out last Wednesday and it is time to bring it back completed and signed.  Parents, please make sure it is finished and they have it packed away to have in class. I will send out an email on Monday for those students that tell you they did not receive one or they do not know where it is.  This is a fun activity and students really enjoy doing this with an adult.

We are moving quite quickly in class and it is important that students keep up on activities because they can get behind very fast. It is not third quarter and it is important to understand that expectations have increased as the year had progressed.  Effort is a huge part of your grade in science at this point and the effort you put forth will show in your grade.

Here is a link to the USGS to view some of the pictures that were shown in class. USGS landslide pictures

A lab is scheduled for Friday, so come ready to play in the dirt.   

Please look at all of the class assignments if you have any questions about what happened in class when you were absent.

Week of March 14-18

Presentions on the ecosystem went very well.  If your child does not have a grade for that, they did not present that week and will be doing so on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

Monday, we turned in the ecosystem books and we handed out new books on Earth's Changing Surface.  We will be studying about weathering and erosion during the first part of our studies.  Students will be doing a weathering and erosion walk that you will be participating in.  This should not take a lot of your time, but is a good conversations starter and will be fun for you to show your child what you know.  Believe me, you are an expert on this subject. I will email this project to you so that you have a copy of this walk.  I know how these papers do not always get home.  They do need your help, or another adult's help on this.  Later in this unit, they will also create a box of erosion and weathering that occurs in our world. 

Last week we began writing a story about the ecosystem using the information we learned form chapter 1 & 2 of the current book.  You were given a scoring guide and we brainstormed how to write the story by using a mind map.  Please remember to use the 9 Key Terms that work well with your story and underline the words.

On Tuesday, we will begin doing the activity in class that you have chosen.  We will begin presenting these on Wednesday and finish on Thursday. 

Week of Feb. 28 - March 4

We passed out the Cell Booklets (graded) on Monday.  Please make sure this does not get lost or thrown away because with the computers not working, I have not put them on the computer yet.

Students will be writing a short story using the key terms from sections 1-3 on Thursday and Friday.  If  they have been absent, make sure all work is up to date.  These stories will be read to tables or class on Monday. 

Week of Feb. 22-25

Science is going fast this year and we are beginning a new unit about the ecosystem.  Students have been assigned their own book for this section and we will be using it for about 3 weeks.  This book is green like the last book but titled, "Environmental Science."  Parents, if you see copied pages or a book at home about cells, please have your student bring it back to school. 

We will be creating foldables and using the foldables for a project as we get farther into the unit.  Check out the homework to the right of this note and make sure you are keeping up to date.

Week of Feb. 14-17

This week we will be finishing up the cell booklet that we have been working on in class.  This book is worth 80 points, so make sure you are up to date.  Each day we have been reminded of how far we should be to stay on track.  Monday we will look through microscopes at some slides of plant and animal cells and journal of our findings. Tuesday we will start the Photosynthesis section of the booklet, and finish it up on Thursday. Check out Cells Alive from last weeks post or you can find it from the science sites page.

Week of February 7-11

Wow, have we had a break this year.  I know that each of you are really ready to get going and learn about cells.  This month we will be continuing the study on cells we started at the end of January.  The chapters in the book we are covering will be Chapter 1, Sections 1&2; Ch. 2, Section 1.  We did not assign books for this section because we can use sites from the internet for items that are not finished in class.  Cells Alive  & Active Art (PHSchool.com)  Web Code: cep-3012. If you need to check out a book from the classroom you may do so at the end of class or the end of the day.  The books need to be returned the next day.


Your cell booklet will be completed in the next 2 weeks and we will be moving one, but in the mean time we have a lot of fun with this section.  For instance, my sister will be returning again on Wednesday to help us view cells from a microscope and also show us a old microscope from back "in the day." 

Week of January 24-28

Please check out the cow eye dissection if you have not done so already.  You may find this on the post from last week on this site or in the science links page from the home page. Another site we viewed on Monday is the eye diagram where you may view through a magnifying glass the parts of the eye and click on the circles and get definitions of each part.

This week we will be doing more activities on the eye.  Please make note that we will be having a quiz over all 4 sections of chapter 4 on Thursday.  Items to use to study:
1. O/4/1 Key Terms you did on own paper but the way we started at the beginning of the year.  Term/What I Think It Means/What the Book Says
2. O/4/2 Key Terms you created as flash cards
3. O/4/2&3 - Compare and Contrast of Mirrors and Lenses
4. O/4/4 - Worksheet that is attached to the Compare and Contrast

Books will be turned in on Thursday or Friday.  Make sure your book is in your locker on that day.

Week of January 17-21

Hopefully, you will enjoy learning about the eye as much as I do.  We will be watching a  cow eye dissection and learn about the functions of the parts of the eye.  Please check out the new sites I have added in the past few weeks.  You will finish up the paper that was given to you on Friday when we did the compare and contrast of the concave/convex lenses and mirrors.  Part of this work is finishing up the eye diagram and answering questions.

The other site introduced this week is color matters which has a lot of information about color and how our eyes see it.

We will also be doing some activities in class to show what happens when your eye sees color and how it reacts when fatigued.

Thursday or Friday we will be going to the lab to explore these sites if time permits, due to snow. 

This is sure to be a fun week so I hope we will have school (weather permitting) to enjoy it.

Week of January 10-14

Hope you enjoyed your snow days this week.  I really like those unexpected days at home but I am always glad to get back to school and see each of you.

This week we will finish the stations we began on Friday in the classroom.  We will explore the mirrors and lenses and journal about your findings.  If you missed these days, you will need to make them up in the classroom either before or after school.

Friday, we will begin section 3 and learn about lenses and how they bend light.  If you wear glasses this section may answer a few questions you might have about why you need lenses to help you see. 
Check out this site:  Geometric Optics-Lenses  This site has been added to the Science Links Page.

Next week we will start on section 4 of chapter 4.  This section covers the eye and how we see light.  You will enjoy this section as we learn about the parts of the eye and their function.

1/3/11

Upon returning, we will still be in the same book as before.  Students have been assigned a book so they have access to this one at all times.  Chapter 4 is where we begin.  The topics include Light and Color, Reflections and Mirrors, Refraction and Lenses, and Seeing Light. Along with the book, students can access the Active Art that goes with the book. From the Science Blog, you only need to click on the Active Art link (located on the right)  and plug in the web code from the text book. You can find this on pages 117, 123, and 126 of the book.

I will be adding some fun sites to the science links page of the blog for added fun at home.  Please check out some of these games and sites, the students enjoy them at school.  Science Links

If you have any concerned, please contact me at dwilliamson@pleasanthillschools.com