Friday, January 29, 2010

Today was a short lesson- we admired and bagged up the crystals and did a quick set of puzzles to reinforce the language and vocabulary around physical properties of matter and changes in the state of matter. Everyone had ample time to finish- those that didn't can finish it at home. The rest of the afternoon was Book Buddies.

Have a great weekend!

Thank you! Thursday, January 28, 2010

Just wanted to say Thank You to Jill Rauch for providing the materials for the crystal experiment, and to Jill and Debbie Barnum for huge help in managing 16 6th graders who all want to do it now! Also to my 6th grade class for listening, following directions, and creating some awesome crystals. Nice job everyone!

Thursday, January 28. 2010

Today we decanted our crystals- wow- do they look cool! It was interesting to see how many crystals also formed on the surface of the jars. It was also interesting to see the color results. The crystals are drying overnight and will come home tomorrow. Hopefully they will survive the trip!


These are the crystals that formed on the jar itself. Some students added much more solute (borax) to their solvent (water) than others. The solutions that contained more borax led to much heavier deposits on the glass.


Another "after" shot of the jar. The crystals were hard to scrape out!


One student's crystal snowflake. Interesting choice of color for a snowflake.


Another nice snowflake.



In social Studies we read through page 147, and completed page 32 in the packet. That is homework for those that didn't finish.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Today in social studies we read pages 140-141, and completed page 31 in our Chapter 6 packets. For home work students need to write the vocabulary on page 142 in their social studies notebooks with definitions.

We checked on the crystals - they are growing very nicely. They will be coming home Thursday if all goes well. Otherwise science is on hold until Monday when we will be talking again about atoms and molecules and how they combine to form substances.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Happy Birthday Jane!

Today we discussed the science and social studies tests. Several students are bringing theirs home for a parent signature, and all students who received less than an 85 will be correcting their tests and handing them back in.

In science today students created borax crystals in an experiment this afternoon. The crystals should grow on the pipe cleaner snowflakes overnight.

In social studies we continued reading in Chapter 6- pages 134-139. For home work students needed to complete both sides of the first page of the packet.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Today students took both the Chapter 8 science test and the Chapter 5 test on Ancient Mesopotamia. We also began reading Chapter 6 in Social Studies- for homework we are reading pages 130-133 and writing all vocab, people, and places in social studies notebooks. No homework for Science. Tomorrow, thanks to Jill Rausch, we are creating borax crystals in science. These are very fragile, but students will be bringing them home later in the week if they survive.

Progress reports came home on Friday- please sign and return.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

After an unexpected day and a half off due to snow- we got back on track today by completing study guides in class for both the social studies and science tests. The study guides were also corrected in class so that students have correct information to study for the tests, which will be occurring on Monday!

Friday is early release- students will be leaving at 11:30 so no science or social studies classes. Study hard! A little studying every day is much more helpful than a cram session Monday morning on the bus! Save out 15 minutes each day and have someone quiz the students on the vocabulary and questions. This has proven to be the most effective way for most students to retain information.

Mid-term progress reports will be coming home on Friday as well. Please sign and return the slip at the bottom to show that you have seen your child's progress report.

Next week with the gratefully received help of Jill Rausch we will be attempting to grow simple individual crystals. More details after the test. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, January 19. 2010

Early Release- this is what we will do Wednesday, and both tests will be Thursday

Today we review the chapter review on page 171 in science for preparation for the test on Thursday.

We also review the chapter review on page 126 in social studies in preparation for the test on Thursday. We are also reviewing the packet assigned last week Wednesday.

MLK Weekend

We finished up the week by finishing chapters in both social studies and science. There WILL be tests next week! Tuesday afternoon will be review time for both tests. The test in Social Studies on Chapter 5 will be Wednesday, the test on Chapter 8 in science will be Thursday. Friday is early release.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Today we read and talked about crystals and crystalline structure. We also reviewed solutions, solutes and solvents. For home work in science students need to answer questions on page 170 in their science notebooks- due Friday. Students also need to do the Chapter Review on page 171- answering the questions in their science notebooks- due Tuesday.
In Social Studies we read pages 120-121. For homework students need to list the vocabulary words, people and places in their Social Studies notebooks with definitions- due Friday.

Reminder- there is no school on Monday- Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is observed.
Reminder- get your permission slip packets in so that you can join the upper grades at the Camden Snow Bowl on February 4th.

Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010

This morning in between specials students read in social studies to page 115, and answered questions 1 & 2 in their social studies notebooks. Students also read in their science books to page 165 and answered the 4 questions at the bottom of page 165 (finishing for home work if necessary). Thursday we will begin continue learning about solutions, solvents and solutes. We will also begin learning about crystals.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Most of today's time was taken up by the school Geography Bee. Students read briefly in the science text through page 160, and for homework needed to answer the questions on page 160 in their science notebooks. Students also received back their take-home tests. Students with grades of 80 and below are expected to take them home and correct them. These are due back Tuesday. There was no social studies homework.

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Happy Birthday to my Gramdma and Elvis!

Today in science students checked out several sites at www.coolschool.ca/content. Click on Showcase on the left, then pick Physical Science from the drop down menu. From there we looked at several check-ins on matter. Please explore these with your children- they are interesting and fun.
Students also passed in their take home science tests. Students will receive these back on Monday and grades lower than a C will be required to correct their tests. Students who earned an A will receive 5 homework passes.
There was no homework for the weekend.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Today in social studies we continued to read about the Sumerians and the Babylonians, and began to study Hammurabi and his code. There is no homework in social studies.
In science we reviewed last night's homework and the chapter. Students have their Chapter 7 test on matter to do tonight at home as a take-home test. They may use any resources available to complete their test, including their Holt science book, notes and homework. The completed test is due tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 6, 2009

Unfortunately I was out on Wednesday but Thank You to Mr. Lees who took over the class. In science students read through pages 150-154 and answered questions on pages 153 and 154. There was no social studies.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Today in science we continued with matter- covering molecules, atoms and the scientific model. We also discussed atom parts- electrons, protons and neutrons. For home work students needed to answer the questions on page 149 in their notebooks. In Social Studies we continued reading about Sumer and Babylon, and began talking about the Code of Hammurabi. Homework was to write vocab, names and places from page 108 in their social studies notebooks with definitions, and complete the first page, both sides, of the social studies packet (p 24-25.)

Welcome back! Monday, January 4, 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful vacation. My students were very generous to me before vacation and I hope they are remembering to bring home my thank you notes, but in case they aren't, please let me express a heartfelt thank you to all of the wonderful gifts and goodies students presented me with for the holidays. Jill, your homemade jam was especially delicious and did not last long once everyone in the house discovered it! Thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful to my family and I!

On to science and social studies... yesterday we revisited Matter in science and began talking about the three common states- gas, liquid and solid. There are at least two other states but as they occur rarely and are impossible to see with the naked eye, we will leave those for another course of study. We also discussed elements, compounds and mixtures. In Social Studies we began a new chapter on Ancient Mesopotamia. There was no homework.