8th Grade - Earth Layers Foldable

The 8th Grade did a project today on the layers of the Earth.  They followed directions to color, cut and paste the layers appropriately.  The worksheet, directions and follow up questions can be found here. 

Homework:  The foldable and questions must be completed when they come into class on Monday.

8th Grade Work Today

The 8th graders had a trip today (some of them) and missed their classwork.  For those who did, you'll find the worksheet here.  It is due tomorrow - no excuses.  When you go on a trip you are still responsible for the work you miss.

8th Grade HR 300 11/8

Homeroom 300 had to answer the following questions today:

1.  What are minerals?
2.  What does a molecule consist of?
3.  What is a crystal?
4.  What happnes to molecules as they change from liquid to solid states?
5.  What is a crystal?  
6.  What is the natural shape of quartz crystal?
7.  How many possible crystal arrangements are there?
8.  What 3 things can change these shapes?
9.  What conditions need to be present to form a prize crystal?
10.  Explain how the rate of evaporation can effect the shape/size of a crystal.
11.  Explain how the rate of cooling can effect the shape/size of a crystal.
12.  Do Think question #1 on pg 90
13.  What is salol?  How is it usefl to the study of crystals?
14.  Do Think question #2 on pg 90

Good news and Bad news

(This message is for 7th and 8th graders - and their parents)

The good news?
The Science department has decided to allow the retaking of benchmarks!  This means that those of you who did poorly on the first benchmark will have another opportunity to take it! 

This chance will come on WEDNESDAY!!!  (with the exception of HR 302 who were not notified of this in class yet - they have a lab on Friday and can take it then). I can only give you one day for this, so you may chose to retake the open ended, multiple choice or both sections during your one period. 

The bad news?
The next benchmark will be taken on Friday and Monday - yes - starting this week!  The open ended questions will be taken on Friday so I can start grading them - the multiple choice on Monday.  All grades have to be in the system by Tuesday November 16th and I will need some time to grade the 2 open ended questions for each of my 100+ students.

This means that tomorrow we will be reviewing for the 2nd Benchmark tests.  I will post the study guides for the first benchmarks up later today - and the study guides for the 2nd test will be posted by tomorrow.

So to reiterate:

Tonight's homework:  study for retake of first benchmark

Tuesday in class:  study guide for 2nd benchmark

Tuesday homework:  study for retake of 1st benchmark and start studying for 2nd benchmark

Wednesday in class:  retake 1st benchmark

Wednesday homework:  study for 2nd benchmark

Friday in class:  Open ended questions for benchmark #2

Friday homework:  study for multiple choice questions for benchmark #2

Monday in class:  multiple choice questions for benchmark #2

THESE 2 TESTS WILL BE 30% OF YOUR MARKING PERIOD GRADES!!!! FOR MOST OF YOU, THIS WILL BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PASSING AND FAILING!!!!

What we worked on today

7th Grade

 

Today we did a reading on Lunar Probes. 

 

The summary of the reading was:

 

NASA had 3 lunar probe missions that were sent prior to the Apollo landing to discover more about the moon.  In order to ensure a safe landing and return of our astronauts, we needed more information.

 

Ranger - first set of lunar probes

• took close-up pictures of the Moon
• there were 9 (1961-1965)
• only 7, 8 and 9 performed well
• they were designed to crash into the Moon

Surveyor - second set of lunar probes

• designed to land softly on the Moon to find out more information about its surface
• there were 7 (1966-1968)
• 5 were successful missions
• they used rockets to slow their landing down

Lunar Orbiter - third set of lunar probes

• orbited around the Moon to find a landing spot and photographed most of the Moon (100% of near side, 95% of far side)
• there were 5 (1966-1967)

For more information on Lunar Probes (including some of the pictures they sent back), click here.

 

7th Grade Extra Credit:  Use the site above to find out the answers to the following questions:
What was the name of the Lunar Mission from 2010?
Who sent it to the Moon?
What is its purpose?

 

Click under this post where it says "--- Comments".  Leave a comment with your answers.  Be sure to include your name.  Must post by 12pm on Friday November 3rd for it to count.  I will not publish answers until after that time so that you cannot copy answers. 

 

8th Grade

 

In HR 302 we are still working on our Earth History timelines.  By class Monday, all students should have theirs measured out and colored.  We will add events to the periods and eras on Monday.

 

If you are looking for more info or a project to do over the break, click here.

HR 300 has temporarily lost their labs.  We have had several incidences of poor behavior including reports from other teachers about their behavior in the hall, a food fight in yesterday's lunch period and Mrs. Jennings having to accompany them down to my room today because of the screaming in the staircase.  This, coupled with the complete disregard for directions or basic behavior rules on the timeline lab, have resulted in this loss.  I do apologize to the few students who are well behaved - but I know that they will learn no matter the extenuating circumstances and they are also fed up with the behavior of their classmates.

As a result, HR 300 answered the following questions in class today, which must be completed at home if they are not done:

1. What is a fossil?
2. What is the principle of uniformitarianism?
3. What is paleontology?
4. Explain index fossils (how they are formed, etc...1 paragraph).
5. What is the law of fossil succession?
6. How are index fossils helpful to geologists?
7. Explain natural radioactive decay.
8. How does natural radioactive decay help geologists?
9. Explain how carbon is helpful to geologists.
10. What is the half life of carbon?
11. Compare and contrast our current beliefs about rock formation and the beliefs that were held in the early 18th century.  Why do you think they are different?

 Here are some helpful links to answer the questions:

Index fossils

Law of Fossil Succession

Carbon-14 dating

Not an easy read, but here's info on radioactive decay.  If you find a better link, please post it in the comments, I cannot find an easy read.

 

8th Grade Extra Credit - open to both classes:

Here is an excellent activity to reinforce these principles.  Extra credit to anyone who produces proof that they completed it.  Proof can include:  written work or a note from a parent/grandparent/guardian. Due by Monday November 8th in class. 

 

To all students:  We are scheduled to take another benchmark on Tuesday. I have not received confrimation on that yet, but will let you know when I do.  Please be studying just in case!

Summary of today's work & Homework 11/1

8th Grade

We are still working on timelines in 8th grade.  This week we will be creating a timeline of the Earth's History.  We did a simple math problem today that introduced the students to using a scale for creating a timeline.  We will be using a 1mm = 1 million years scale for our Earth History Timeline.  Students were asked to complete pg 41 in their Lab Notebooks during class today.  Whatever was not completed is assigned as homework.  The ENTIRE table must be complete when they come in tomorrow.

To do this, we will use simple math.  If 1 million years is 1mm on our scale, we just have to place our age (years) into millions of years.  For example, the Quaternary Period is 1,600,000 after the Earth was formed.  Turn this into a decimal for millions of years - 1.6 million years.  The distance on our timeline is 1.6mm.  To find out how many centimeters this is, divide by 10.  1.6mm divided by 10 = .16cm. 

HINT:  Each row's answer will be bigger than the previous row.  If your answer gets smaller, you've made a mistake with your decimal point.

Here is a great timeline of events in Earth's History for the curious. 

Don't forget to check Powerschool for your benchmark scores!

7th Grade

We were scheduled to watch a video (National Geographic's For All Mankind [VHS]) about our voyage to the Moon in 1969.  HR 305 had dificulty settling down after their Halloween weekend and after repeated warnings, the video was turned off for them.  They were unable to stop commenting and talking long enough to get anything out of the movie.  Instead, they will be writing an essay about how their behavior should be.  These essays will be turned into Contracts - which they will be required to sign and uphold a code of behavior.  This was not their only incidence of excessive talking, this has been progressing for the past few weeks.  I have been repeatedly warning them that it is unacceptable and hopefully this will be all we need to do.  Essays were begun in class and should be completed for HW tonight.  Also - many students did not get their benchmarks signed this weekend and must do so tonight.

Homework 10/29

8th Grade

The students have no written homework tonight.  They are studying timelines and beginning the geological time scale.  They should be studying these words:  eon, eras, periods, and epochs.  This page offers great information on geological time scales.

EXTRA CREDIT:  Answer these questions from that page.
1.  Name the eras in the Archean eon.
2.  Which period comes after the Jurassic period?
3.  How many millions of years ago was the Permian period?


Leave your answers in a comment on the post - make sure your first name and HR are in the comment so that I can give you credit for your answer.  COMMENTS MUST BE LEFT BY 12pm on 10/30/10 to count.

7th Grade

Students will be coming home with their open ended benchmark questions.  They were graded according to a 4pt rubric.  They will have the white lined paper they wrote their answers on and a small piece of paper that gives the details of the rubric and the "facts" that the Science department was looking for in the answer.  If your child used one of these facts in their answer, it will be checked off.  Students were given every one of these facts as notes prior to the test and told that they needed to study them for the open ended questions.

Please sign the questions and they are to be returned to school on Monday.

HINT:  Extra Credit to come during the weekend so check the blog everyday!

Time Line Examples

A tutorial for creating timelines.

Here are some good examples of different time lines that you can use to create yours - obviously these are not your theme, but look more at the way it was set up as an example:

Tonight's Homework 10/28

Homework for ALL Students:


Students are able to earn two 100's tonight for signing up to follow this blog and for having a parent (or both) sign up to follhe the blog as well.


Here is how to follow the blog:


To the right of this post is a button that says "Follow with Google Friend Connect".  Click that button and sign up.  Leave me a comment under this post that says you have signed up and your name (first and last) with your homeroom.  If you are a parent who signs up, please leave a comment with your name, your child's name and their homeroom.


Leave a comment by clicking on the bottom of this post where it says "--- Comments". 


8th Grade HR 300 and 302

Make a timeline with the 10 most important events of your life on it

Include:

• dates for each event (exact dates or month/year)
• a picture for each event.  Pictures can be photos, drawings, art from the internet or a magazine/newspaper picture.  For instance, if one of the events is "Walking" - you could draw feet, cut out a picture of feet, find a picture of a baby walking online or include a photo of yourself as a baby learning to walk.  Photos will be returned.