Team 3 Science

Good Monday morning.  The sun is shining.  Thank goodness. 

This week we will be continuing with the Solar Systems assignments.  I realize things were a bit frustrating with the computer situation last week.  The reality is that we will most likely be dealing with the same situation again this week.  I appreciate your patience. 

Once you have finished the Planet Matrix,  I would like you to begin on the Venn Diagram.  I would also like you to pair up with someone for the Venn Diagram, as well as the last two worksheet assignments. 

When you have finished all the worksheets, you may begin working on the Planet Brochure.  As you will see on the board, the Planet Brochure is due by the end of class on Friday. 

Welcome back gang!  I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break.  We were fortunate to have beautiful spring weather the entire week.  Now it’s back to the grind.

Before break, you finished up with the Climate Project.  You should all be very proud of yourselves.   I was quite impressed with how hard everyone worked.  Considering this was the first time you had to get up and teach your classmates this year, I would say you all did a pretty good job.  Hopefully, everyone learned something about the factors that determine the Earth’s climate.  More importantly, I hope you all have a bit more confidence in preparing for and presenting a project.  You can be sure this will not be the last time you will have to do this.

This week is going to be a bit crazy.

Monday: We are going to do a final wrap up of the climate unit.  Here are all the final notes you will need for the open-notebook quiz.

Tuesday:  We will be going to Stone Environmental Camp for the day.  We will be doing a bit of forest ecology, water studies, and maybe some geology of our local environment.

Wednesday and Thursday:  We will begin a short unit on the solar system.  The assignments you will need are found on Mr. Biche’s solar systems wiki page.  Please note:  The due dates will be different for our class.     

Friday:  I will be out of school.  You will have a substitute.  Be sure to have something to do in case you finish the assignment early.

Happy Monday!

This week, you will continue to work on your Climate Project.  I have printed out a checklist for each group.  These should be placed in your folder.  Use this to help you complete you project successfully.  You have the next five days to complete your project.  We will begin the lessons next Tuesday. 

Don’t forget, grades close this Friday.  If you owe me an assignment, I suggest you get it in to me this week. 

I know we have been away from our class blog for a while. Hopefully, we can get back on track, now that we are moved into our new classroom and all the computers are finally up and running.

Today, we are going to get everyone set up with their own google accounts. You will all be able to keep track of your own documents, “share” your documents with others, and work collectively on a single document.

The Climate Project

Tommorrow, we are going to begin our climate project. The final product of the next two weeks, will involve a lesson to be presented, accompanied by a hands-on activity/lab and an assessment, by each group. There will be specific daily goals that will need to be accomplished. All group members are expected to work and participate equally.  Below, you will find the link to your group’s specific topic.  Within this, you will find the objective, essential questions, daily schedule, and other useful information for this project. 

Seasons

Uneven Heating

Ocean Circulation

Heat Transfer

Summative Notes

Open-Notebook Quiz

We do not have a full five days of classtime this week, so we are going to have to use our time wisely.  We have finished with the fountain.  Now we are going to begin with a lab that will allow us to investigate the movement of fluids.  The lab will be structured a bit different than what you are used to.  We will be sitting in a round-table format.  We will be taking the time to articulate our thoughts into clear sentences. Expect to get frustrated, but know that growth does not come without pain. 

Assignments for the week

1. Complete the Science News assignment.  All work should be done in your notebook.

2. Participate in the “Syringe System” lab.  This includes: discussion, drawing, documenting, and completing various tasks.

3.  Add the new vocabulary words to your notebbok.

4. Take time to visit and comment on the Science blog.

5. Return technology permission slip by Friday. 

Hello Team 3ers!

Welcome to the “Team 3 Science” blog site. In an effort to integrate technology into the classroom, I have created a blog specifically for our class. This is the first of many posts I will write to you. You can plan on seeing a post from me at least once a week. I will use our classes’ blog to fill you in on what we will be doing in class each week. I will also post the weekly homework assignments. As time passes, my hope is that we will be able to use our blog as a discussion board. So let us get started.

On Friday, most of you began the task of making a fountain. We will continue to work on this for the next few days. You can be sure that at times you may get frustrated with the task at hand. This is not a race or a competition. Everyone has good ideas. Part of this process is taking the time to investigate what will happen when attempting to create various fountain systems. When a group is explaining how their fountain works, take advantage of that time to see what they have created. You may just learn something from your classmates.

Later in the week, we will begin to take a look at the movement of fluids. What are fluids? How do fluids act under various conditions? How is the fountain influenced by the movement of fluids?

Assignments for this week

I would like you to comment on the following questions. You may comment either on this page or in your notebook.

• Describe, in detail, how the fountain works.
• Why is the water moving?
• Can you think of any applications for this concept?
• What were the challenges of this assignment? Were you able to overcome them?