February 17, 2011

Several weeks ago students finished their Unseen Friends & Foes projects, which were independent projects about bacteria and viruses.  They presented in a process which we called "speed presentations" where each student had several minutes to share their learning with another student in a face-to-face dialogue before trading partners to share and learn from others. 

Students have continued their studies in biology, and recently created projects to demonstrate their understanding about cell structures and functions.  While many students created digital projects, some created cell models using everyday kitchen ingredients and household items. 

Students have begun their preparation work for the JSMS 2011 Science Fair.  We will be reviewing the process of designing experiments, with a strong focus on data collection and analysis.  Students will also be reviewing writing skills associated with writing research papers, including how to properly take notes and cite sources in order to avoid plagiarism.  Please visit this link to view the JSMS 2011 8th Grade Science Fair Timeline.

In addition to independent studies involved in science fair work, students will be learning about cell processes including cell division and mitosis.  They will also be introduced to heredity and genetics in the coming weeks.

November 9, 2010

Students have been learning about classification and taxonomy in science classes, and have just completed their "Exploring Organisms Across Kingdoms" projects.  Today we learned how to use dichotomous keys in a fun "lab" using Jelly Belly Beans.  Tomorrow we will be creating our own dichotomous keys in class, using the skills we learned today.

September 2010

This fall in science classes we are creating lab safety review games which we will share with the fifth and sixth grade students.  We will also be studying biology which will include a fair amount of hands-on experiences, lab work including microscopy, and outdoor field work investigating native and invasive plant species with the Vital Signs program.

To familiarize ourselves with the ways in which invasive species can impact native species, we played the invasive species game (similar to Oh Deer!) and kept track of our data.  Students then reflected on what happened during the game in their science notebooks, graphed the data, and discussed what the graphs could tell us about the native species and invasive species populations.  Check out our class graphs and what we learned from interpreting our graphs!

Students will be using science notebooks this year for a variety of purposes such as asking questions, making predictions, recording lab data, explaining their findings during investigations, and reflecting on their progress.  They will also be doing some blogging using KidBlog, which is a secure blogging site for teachers and students.  Students will receive their KidBlog passwords by the end of September, and the first assignment will focus on the responsibilities involved in publishing for an online audience.

Later in the year we will learn a a bit about chemistry, and we will be participating in the JSMS Science Fair this coming Spring.  Students will begin Science Fair work in February, and notices will be sent home at that time in order to keep parents in the loop.

Throughout the year I will be updating a web page that will describe the standards we are working on in science classes.