The last couple weeks of school were a blur. We finished up the POGIL activities and the labs and all of the sudden it was the last week of school.
As you know, the last week of school is all about promotion in the 8th grade and preparing the kids for their departure. We had yearend field trips, graduation practice, parties and movies. I had my homeroom kiddos all day and all week. So, no science was done. I like where I ended the year with my science classes. They were looking ahead to what high school science would be like and still able to be a middle schooler while they got a taste of high school. As for me, I am off to a summer filled with college classes (I am working towards my PhD) and establishing my curriculum for next year. Read the rest of this entry »
Paul Fryzel, supervisor of plant and industrial engineering at the Flint Metal Center, talks with Dillon students about what waste can be recycled, re-used or reduced.
For the last eight years, UAW and GM representatives from the Flint Metal Center have visited Dillon Elementary School to talk about how students there can do their part to protect the environment.
A couple weeks ago, the Flint Metal Center team, which included some personnel from Flint Engine South and Flint Assembly, walked three third-grade classes through the process of how we separate oil from water before sending the water on to the city of Flint for further treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
Student-made flashlight using an old baby bottle.
Out here in New Jersey, public schools were recently told to prepare for budget cuts across the state in every district. In the spirit of the sustainable design challenges and problem solving activities that we have been giving students all year, our current situation presented us a REAL problem to solve. Next year, we might have less money to buy new supplies, so it is important to conserve now. However, we want to continue giving students fresh design challenges that deal with sustainability and the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), as well as other 21st century skills such as innovation, critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, chemistry is done and our state testing has also been completed. The end of our chemistry unit focused on a recap of content and acid/base chemistry. I used an online lab called GEMS Alien Juice Bar activity. My students loved it and it helped them remember things like, acids neutralize bases and vice versa, as well as, what indicators are. Read the rest of this entry »
Every year I have trouble with this activity. I have tried three different versions of the same activity to allow students to use the same process Mendeleev used to organize the periodic table. It involves organizing 27 elements by using two of their properties. The most recent version gave them the option of four different properties to choose from….This year’s version was more successful than past years because it was more structured, but nearly half of the students struggled severely with the complex nature of this classifying activity. During a couple of classes, I broke out the document camera and started organizing the elements myself as an example using the projector. It helped move along the groups that were still struggling. There were groups that simply copied me, but they understood the concept more than when they were struggling. The biggest success from this activity was the fact that most of the groups (although frustrated) did not shut down. They continued to try. I am feeling that some of the kids are not developed enough in their abstract thought to classify using two properties. The trick will be how to differentiate this activity next year. As soon as I figure out the best way to do this activity, I will laminate the cards and use them every year. Read the rest of this entry »
In section two of our chemistry unit, we are studying chemical reactions. We started the unit with notes (yuck! I hate notes). Unfortunately it was a necessary evil. I needed to give basic information that is difficult to learn in a lab, like chemical equation anatomy and so forth. Read the rest of this entry »
Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry everywhere. We dove into chemistry a couple weeks ago. So far we have done three labs. To teach states of matter, I used a lab I found online at the INQUIRY IN MOTION Web site. It is a free Web site through Clemson University (you have to register, but the lesson plans are free).
The lab I used had my students use their own senses to come up with definitions for three of the states of matter. It worked out well and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Next we moved on to state changes. We used milk jugs and hot water to show molecular movement. I have been saving milk jugs all year for this lab and some of the students brought jugs in as well. It was a great way to show reuse of the milk jugs after their primary use. I was not as thrilled with this lab, since my students still have a hard time visualizing what was happening to the molecules of water. I ended up supplementing the lab with animations and drawings. Read the rest of this entry »
