Meep Meep!

Here's our Science Club mascot. Beeker was a wonderful and appropriate find that has added some interesting humor to my science class. Other students not even in science club have affectionately named him, Darwin. The students have grown attached to him and even call him their brother. They find ways to pose him in funny positions around the classroom. Aside from Beeker or Darwin, whatever you want to call him, science club has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience.  I have enjoyed not feeling the pressure of teaching. And since the students know being in the club has no earthly effect on their classroom grade they seem more OK with taking risks and making mistakes. The challenge sometimes is finding the materials and even the activities. Only one meeting in November and December bides me a little more time.
Looking for you own Darwin, check out stevespanglerscience.com

You Tube in regular rotation

Ok, so I'm always looking for ways to make the science lesson more interesting. My students bore easily and the more bored they are the more disruptive they can be. So I've taken to Youtube for help. And I have found some great "science accurate" interesting videos. Mostly songs but still good nonetheless.

So 7th grade as you already know have been learning about potential and kinetic energy so I found this video, well song, very repetitive, but it got the point across. I played it (where they could only hear the music but not see the video) for several days as the students were walking in.

It was a great discussion starter for the lesson. I would start asking questions about what the song was about and of course they weren't listening, so then I would have to play the song several more times to help facilitate discussion. (Sneaky aren't I!)

Some students starting complaining that they couldn't get the song out their heads and many were caught humming it in class (YES!! Gotcha!).  Then one girl complained that she felt like she was in jail, because she was being held hostage, being made to listen to the song over and over again. Really!!

OK OK, so here's the video.

Bounce! lab a big hit

Ok, so the 7th graders were learning about potential and kinetic energy this week. And I found a "Bounce!" lab from Science-class.net  under physics and energy, that really hit the spot.  It was really a hit. I should have taken pictures.

What did they do: Measure a piece to masking tape at least 100 cm from the floor on the wall. Mark it in three spots, 50 cm, 75 cm, and 100 cm.  Starting at 50 cm drop the ball and watch where it comes back up to, record the measurement and do this four times more. And then repeat for the other two measurements. Find the average heights, make a bar graph, and answer some analysis questions.

What did they learn: Potential is converted to kinetic energy, energy is conserved, law of conservation of energy, energy is converted to other forms of energy like sound and thermal.

What did they practice: Using a measuring tool , accurately recording metric measurements, finding averages, taking data from a table and putting it into a graph, comparing and interpreting data from a graph, analyzing other scenarios for the same concept.

In my class, students complete the hands-on part in class and the analysis at home. We come together the next day to discuss the results. The next days discussion went well for my morning class, who had completed the analysis at home, but the afternoon class is still working on doing their homework at home before we can have more meaningful real conversations in class.

Boom Bang Boom!! Couldn't ask for a better lesson.

Science Club Yeah!

     I am oh so excited to have been given the go ahead to start a science club.  Yippee!! I've always wanted to chair a science club. I imagine that in high school if mine had a science club, I would have been interested enough to attend at least one meeting.  I'm stealing all of my ideas from Sciencespot.com  and hope to start right after midterms.  Oh my, midterms next week already!
     We will probably meet bimonthly and do some build-this and demo-that type stuff. I would love to hear some suggestions. Foil boats, popsicle stick bridges, and egg drop parachutes are already at the top of the list. I had asked the math teacher to be my partner, but she bottomed out due to other commitments. But I think I've got someone else in mind that would be helpful.
     I've also got to come up with a way to raise money. How am I going to pay for the "stuff" we will need to do stuff. hmmm.... I'll have to think about that one some more. I want to visit COSI as an end of school year field trip and in btw go to the observatory. Wish me luck! I've never started or even headed up a school club before so this is a new endeavor for me.

First day back

So before I go on about my first day back, I've got to say that my internal teacher clock turned on about a week ago when I began waking up at 5am in the morning. It's so automatic now I anticipate it every year. I have no need for an alarm clock. I haven't needed one for several years now. I always wake up about 3-5 minutes before the alarm clock is supposed to go off. It's kinda my last reminder that school is officially about to start.

So today was our first day back and I have to say it went pretty well. Eighth graders are smart alecks, but my seventh graders seem pliable. I'm looking forward to being their sculptor this year. First days are always full of introductions, routines and procedures, and the yada yada yada. Actually that will consume my entire first week, but ok, it's my job. I've got a good team this year. I'm looking forward to working with them. The day came and went with only one student refusing to sit where I asked. Talk about power struggle it wasn't even that big of a deal. I'm not going to let it get me. I'm going to love all over that student, he/she will be sick of me loving them by the time this year is up.

My last class went back to their homeroom teacher and said they I thought I was mean. Good!! If mean means I care and that I mean what I say then so be it. I take it as a compliment. But one little person from that homeroom came up to me at the end of the day and asked if I could get her a science notebook. I thought to myself, she wants to learn, of course I replied.

Lamenting Summers' End

Ok, so I haven't been doing a good job of counting down the last weeks of summer vacation.  I've spent most of my time chasing two little ones around and trying to keep them busy and feed. I've really enjoyed my summer with them, hanging out, going to the park, playing in the water, Nick Jr. and Sprout, and  hours of Disney movies, I swear I've seen "The Rescuers" like 100 times this summer and each time I am forced to sing the theme song. I don't mind, it's a nice memory I've created with my daughter and I'm happy to be apart of it.

But now it is time to go back to school. During my down time I read teacher blogs and have seen so many new cool ideas. I want to stay up to date.  In the past I would have tried to implement as many of them as I could fit into two and a half summer months, but not this year. I feel a change coming on. My priorities and my bank account are changing. In the past I would have spent my entire summer doing what my husband calls "teacher stuff". But not this summer. I wanted to spend as much time with the kids as I could and wait right up until August before I really get geared up. Well now I've only got three days left and I'm a little sad.

And the Count Down begins

Officially 29 days until school starts for teachers. This is the time of year where I start to get anxious about a new group of students. Yes, even after 5 years of teaching I still get anxious for each new crop of students. I wonder about their backgrounds, attitudes, personalities, and how prepared they are for science, among other things. I'm looking forward to this year especially since this will be my first year I am only teaching science and not math too. What a relief! Trying to teach science and math in the past has been a joke. I used to be able to teach science from Aug. to Dec. but when we can back from break science was no longer a priority. So it didn't get taught again until after testing. I always felt like the students were getting a raw deal with that one. And wished for more parents to wise up and demand more, but that was all fantasy. I want so much for this year to be successful. Everyone in the room will be learning, even me. This is the first time I'll be teaching Astronomy. Just thinking about it gives me the jitters. Good jitters, I am oh so excited. I loved learning science in school and I hope I can make it as fun and as exciting and I would want it to be if I was still in school.

ISN vs. Regular Notebook

I've been debating all summer whether I should use an ISN or a regular notebook. While I really like the idea of engaging students through the ISN, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the process and preparation involved. And any teacher who knows me knows that I would rather steal, beg, or borrow before I have to make something myself. Don't get wrong, I actually do enjoy the work I put into getting the school year together but I really like when someone else does it first. Hmmmm... maybe I could try to combine the two ideas to meet my specific needs. Let me think about that.

Ready, Set, GO!!

Ok, so after reading other teacher blogs for several years now and being throughly inspired, I've decided to start my own. I doubt I'll be using this in the classroom this year. But my goal is to post as often as possible throughout the school year. This school year I'm moving from 4th to 7/8th grade and I couldn't be more excited. The tremendous push of testing in the elementary grades has really put into a bit a rut. So I am hoping that moving to middle school will help reinvigorate my love for teaching. I am also all too excited to be working with older students, again and moving to a new school.