6th Grade science students have been learning how to study the organisms of the past using information provided by rock layers and index fossils. Students also compared the anatomical structures of ancient whales to present day whales, identifying similarities and differences. Using a variety of cladograms students were able to identify that all species on earth share a common ancestor. On completion of this unit, students began to examine the different phases of the moon and how they occur. Students demonstrated the spatial relationship between the sun, earth, and moon using models. The year will end with a study of waves and their impact on our lives.
The seventh-grade classrooms are very quiet now that the trout are gone. To fill the silence, the rooms have been abuzz with students working on their Ecology Projects. Working in teams, students researched an endangered species and created a presentation of their own design to present to the class. Content knowledge is learned as teams visit learning stations scattered around the room. It is exciting to watch students collaborate as they learn!
In science exploration, students finished up their study of trout anatomy by completing a dissection of a bony fish in their science classes. Students did a great job and were amazed by how much the swim bladder looked like the swim bladder in our new Bony Fish Anatomy models, generously funded by MCPE.
It is an exciting time in grade 8 science! New units on Meteorology and Climate Change were created allowing students to apply their physical science knowledge in an effort to understand how and why the atmosphere behaves as it does, both over the short term (weather) and the long-term (climate). Students are seeing and learning how seemingly abstract scientific concepts apply to the environment around them, using familiar examples from their everyday life. In engineering classes, students continue to work on their solar cars, pasta bridges, Lego Mindstorms Robots and genius hour projects that develop and test their logic and innovation skills. There’s no standing still for 8th-grade brains in science and engineering class!
