Examples of Excellent Work in Science 8

Solar Panel Comparisons Paragraph

This image shows a thoughtful and well explained paragraph

The video related structure of the panel (the topic we have been studying) to electricity.

You were given the challenge of linking the independent variable (structure) to two dependent variables (Volts and milliAmps).  Your paragraph was judged using the rubric for good writing.  Your challenge was to use contextual cues (a meter displaying numbers and measurements) to identify typical science processes which generated evidence used to demonstrate the relationship between the variables of crystal structure for the panels and electrical output.   This was an SAT type of assessment.

Digging Deeper - What Do Volts and Milliamps Mean?

Many students understand electricity better if they relate it to water flowing.    In the video the panels had different voltages.  Voltage is a measure of potential energy - like height.  See the effect of voltage on electricity by looking at the arrows in left diagram below.   Also in the video the panels had different current - like amount of water flowing through the pipes in the diagram on right below.

Height of Cup = Voltage                    Size of Pipe = Current (milliamps)     

           

Key Idea: the size of the arrows represents amount of electricity      

http://audio-electronics.wikidot.com/printer--friendly//ohms-law

Which blue arrow do you think represents the most current?

What factors might be most important to producing the greatest amount of electricity?

STEM Day Oct 20th

New Investigations 8th grade students are starting this week:

Cannan and Keagan: Bouncing Objects

Brady and three others: Paper Airplane Design that flies longest or farthest

PSAT This Week

A main focus of students in 8th Grade will be completing the PSAT test on Wednesday this week. Please be sure to get plenty of rest and eat a healthy breakfast before this test.

Monday and Tuesday in class we will be investigating phase changes with GIZMO and discussing the locations of Potential and Kinetic Energy in physical changes.

I have observed that most students are enjoying the opportunity to pursue STEM investigations during class.  Students are taking advantage of STEM Enrichment days to perform chemcial reactions, create computer code, create electrical circuits with Arduino Processors, disassemble computers, create movies, prepare for science competitions, and a variety of other pursuits.  I'm excited to see your enthusiasm.  Keep up the great work!

We will resume normal class routine on Thursday after the PSAT on Wednesday.  There is no school on Friday so enjoy the three day holiday - be safe and have fun!

September Recap

We have completed our first full month of school and I wanted to share some general patterns I have noticed.

Everything Starts with Attitude

Student attitudes toward learning are very positive.  Most students are completing their assignments and are working hard to do a good job.  I see evidence that most students have a growth mindset, and those with a fixed mindset are beginning to try new strategies for a more effective path to learning.

Performance

Student performance so far is excellent - overall A's and B's for most students in both 3rd and 4th Block.  There are a few students that have not transitioned to 8th grade expectations, but I hope they will adjust to our faster pace during October and that their grades will improve as they become accustomed to the workload.

The charts at right were generated from my teacher account on Powerschool and show me the overall class statistics.  You might notice most of the assignments so far have been in the Classwork category, and that the overall performance, identified as Percentage, is 80% or better for both classes in the Test, Classwork and Lab categories.

You are all good students and I know you will keep working hard to do your personal best and constantly improve.  Keep up the good work!

STEM Enrichment: Your Personal Blog

Blog Titles

I'd like you to think about whether the name on your personal blog accurately reflects the posts you have made.  You are welcome to change the name of your Blog to better reflect its content as long as you keep your first name in the Title so that I can identify you as the auther when I open your blog.

Creating Blog Posts

A shout out to Amya/Marissa/Jersey, Zach/Sam/Luke/Nathan, Ethan/Hannah, Madison, Zach, Isabel, and Hailey for doing a great job brainstorming and then organizing ideas into categories for their Sept. 29th blog posts about STEM Enrichment Day #2.

Please look at your blog posts and read any comments I may have written.

I hope that you will begin sharing your blogs with each other as we become more comfortable with this medium of communication.  I also am wondering if we could make your blogs a part of the portfolio that is shared with your parents duing parent-teacher conferences.

Looking forward to an Excellent October!

Mr. Delemeester

Work for Monday, Sept. 25th

Students,
I am attending to family matters today so have prepared a list of activities and information to share with you while I am gone.   We will have a guest teacher and I expect you to be polite and demonstrate EXCELLENT behavior.

REVIEW

Use the Chromebook and Check Powerschool

• Look for missing assignments.
  A few students turned in papers without names and some students have overdue electronic submissions.
• Powerschool will show a flag indicating that you have a missing assignment if your paper didn't have a name on it, you were absent, or if you forgot to turn it in.

Correct and Return (or turn in if you Forgot or were Absent) any hard copy assignments missing in PowerSchool.

• You should add your name, correct the assignment before turning it in, then hand it in to the bin to receive credit.

Write a NOTE informing Mr. Delemeester of missing electronic assignments that you have completed. PLEASE write the NAME of the electronic assignment AS IT IS SHOWN in POWERSCHOOL.  Submit the note to the hand in bin to receive credit for this assignment.

Tape or Glue your two favorite activities from the Measuring Lab into your notebook (With a Title and Date on the entry).

Log into GIZMO and complete (or verify you have already completed) the assessments for...

• Unit Conversions
• Measuring Volume
• Seasons 3D

NEW
Notebook List

1. Go to the Google Classroom and open the assignment NOTEBOOK LIST.  
2. Open your own copy of the Notebook List document and edit it to create a checklist of all entries in your science notebook.  
3. Once you have created the list please HAND IN the assignment.

Practice Test

I have placed a copy of a prior year test at the bottom of our Science 8 Unit 1 class page.

• Please open the document (you can make a copy of it on your own drive if you wish) and work with one other student to practice answering these these questions.
• This sample test is similar to the test you will take this week on Wednesday.  Like is often the case, many of the questions will be the same as the practice test from prior years.  As always, some questions will be modified and there will also be new questions about the material we have studied in class.
• I will review the answers to the practice test with you for a portion of the class on Tuesday.

Remember that I expect you to have EXCELLENT behavior for the Guest Teacher.  If you get done early please sit quietly at your table and read, do homework for another class, or some other non disruptive activity.   You MAY NOT listen to music on your cell phones or IPods.

Have a Good Day and I'll be back tomorrow,

Mr. Delemeester

Some of the Posts I Enjoyed Reading

Here are a few student posts that represent many of the great ideas in our blogs.  As you read the posts below think about if you have (or could add in the future) any of these characteristics in your own posts...

Nathan has persistence
http://redpandaking10.blogspot.com/2017/09/growth-mindset.html

Cheyenne has a positive attitude
http://cheyennegross.blogspot.com/2017/09/growth-mindset.html

Hattie is having fun
http://hattielogs.blogspot.com/2017/09/stem-day-1_16.html

Makenzi found time to concentrate and reduce stress
http://makenzisoftballplayer.blogspot.com/2017/09/stem-enrichment-day.html

Luke cares about his classmates
http://henigelegomovie.blogspot.com/2017/09/stem-inrichment-day.html

Kaille showed great attention to detail
http://superhipsterblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/stem-day-1-9-15-17.html

I enjoy reading your blogs and hope you enjoy writing them (truthfully I've always liked reading student writing - I think this is because I like to understand how other people think).

I hope you realize that these blogs are fun to share but they're not written just for me or for a grade. They're designed to help you think about your own growth and learning in our class and to help you recognize some of the ways you are learning every day!

Mr. Delemeester

Class Goings On - Sept. 14

A few updates as we near the end of the week...

SUPERSTARS
Here's a shout out to Charlotte and Ethan for exemplary work on the converting U.S. to Metric Mass worksheet!

OPPORTUNITY TO SHINE
I need a few volunteers from Mrs. Countegans 2nd Block English class to help me teach 7th graders how to use Tinkercad during second block tomorrow- Please see Mr. Delemeester today if you're interested.

STEM ENRICHMENT
Remember we will be working on STEM Enrichment tomorrow.  I read and organized the response from the STEM survey.  I will talk with you about your projects today during our MobyMax time.  Remember: at the end of class tomorrow you will be making a blog post about what you did/thought/felt/observed during STEM Enrichment.

Caution:  Ms. Kuchar has allowed us this time and wants to have evidence (your blog post) that we appreciate and are making excellent use of the time.  If we cannot justify the value then this opportunity may disappear.