After finishing with their Universe projects, the 6th-grade science students started to work through the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun that cause the phases of the Moon and eclipses. Students used several different types of models to help them understand these relationships and to figure out that phases are based on our perspective from the earth that determines how much of the lit side of the moon we see as it makes its way in its revolution around Earth each month. Ask your student why we do not experience a lunar eclipse every month!!
On completion of our Astronomy unit, students left space and returned to Earth to take a journey back in time, geologic time that is. We spent a couple of days making sure that students had two takeaways, that the Earth is very old (4.5 billion years old) and that humans have been around for a very tiny amount of that time (200,000 years). After February vacation we picked up with the evidence that supports continental drift: fossils, land features, and climate.
February found seventh-grade students building again! They started the month by learning about bridges and the forces at work in different types of bridges. To help understand the forces, students participated in simulations to feel tension and compression. They used their head as the tower to model cable-stayed bridges with a string tied to their arms.
Using their understanding of forces in bridge design, students then designed and build their own bridges. Their bridge design needed to span 30 cm, hold at least 1000grams and of course had to be stable. the bridges held well over the limit set by the seventh-grade science teachers! Students also tracked their use of materials to determine if their bridge came in under, or over budget. Teams presented their bridges to the class and students completed a Claim, Evidence response writing assignment using the data to support their claim of which bridge in the class had the best design.
In science exploration, students continue to be busy keeping the water in the tanks clean for the trouts. Frequent water changes are a way of life now that the trout are eating. In between water testing and water changes, students are learning about the structure and function of the internal and external anatomy of trout along with the life cycle of trout!
Eighth-grade science students recently completed a unit on Physics, centered on Newton's laws of Motion. The students participated in some engaging new labs freshly assembled for this new 8th-grade science unit. One such lab involved launching balls of various masses from a ramp while taking measurements and analyzing the motion of the object. The colliding toy cars lab was a great success with students taking slow-mo video fo the collisions while narrating and labeling their videos as an indicator of the understanding of Newton's third law!
