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Ms. Cooper's Science Class

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January 25-29 Science

This week, students will be looking at Observable Patterns in the sky.  We will start out by looking at the Moon's rotation and revolution and why we only see one side of the moon from planet Earth.  Then, students will be filling in a chart for the phases of the moon.  Students will also be doing a shadow tracking lab and will be drawing the shadow of an object at two different times of the day.  We will also be reading about the composition of the sun and students will be answering questions about what they have read.

 

Monday:

 

Students will be reading about the Moon's rotation and revolution.  They will be filling in notes on what they have read.  

 

 

 

Tuesday:

 

Students will be discussing what they have read in class.  Then, we will be going over the phases of the moon and what we see here on earth.  Students will be filling in a chart about the phases of the moon in their OneNotes.

 

 

Wednesday:

 

Students will be doing a Shadow Tracking Lab.  They will be picking one object that is outside (i.e. a mailbox, a tree, something static that does not move) and picking two different times of the day to observe this object's shadow.  Students will draw the shadow of the object and then fill in their observations in OneNote.  They will also be noting where the sun is during those times of day.

 

 

 

Thursday:

 

In class, we will go over how one could use a shadow to tell the time of day.  We will also be looking at our assignment: The Sun Reading Response.  Students will have a chance to read this assignment together in breakout rooms and discuss how they might answer the questions in the response.

 

 

 

Friday:

 

Students will be working on a Shadow Lab Reflection.  They will be applying what they have observed during their Shadow Tracking Lab assignment, and will be applying what they have learned to how one could use shadows to tell time.  

 

 

 

January 19-22 Science

We will be continuing our unit: Earth and the Universe.  In this unit, students will be learning about the defining characteristics of galaxies, suns and solar systems.  We will also be learning how to calculate light speed and how to graph information in science.

 

Monday:

 

No school- Martin Luther King Day

 

Tuesday:

 

In class, we will be learning about using OneNote to work on assignments.  We will also introduce the day's topic: The Lifespan of a Star.  After class, students will be reading a short article about a star's lifespan.  Then, they will be answering questions about the article that they read.  This assignment can be found in their OneNote.

 

Wednesday:

 

Students will be creating a short slideshow about the lifespan of a star.  There will be a template for creating this slideshow in their assignment.  They do not have to use this template if they would prefer to do their own.

 

Thursday:

 

In class, we will be going over how to use scientific notation to calculate light years.  After class, students will have an assignment where they calculate distance in light years and in miles or kilometers using powers of 10.

 

Friday:

 

Students will be watching a short video explaining how the earth rotates on its axis and how the earth revolves around the sun.  Students will be taking notes as they watch.

January 11-15 Science

Monday: 

Read the summary of Galaxies in the link below:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/galaxies/ 

Then, answer the following questions:

  • What is a galaxy?
  • What are the different types of galaxies?

Tuesday-Wednesday:  

I will give you a galaxy to choose from the list below in a private message. Then use the slideshow to find your galaxy and write a description of your galaxy in as much detail as you can! 

In your description: 

  1. What type of galaxy are you describing? Think shape: elliptical, irregular, or spiral
  2. What colors do you see in your galaxy?
  3. Where are the stars high in density? Where are they lower in density?
  4. Are there other galaxies nearby that you can see?

Thursday: 

Create a flipgrid describing the galaxy you researched. Make sure to include all of the elements you described in your description on Tuesday and Wednesday


Friday: 

Use this website to navigate and find information about the sun.

https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/6-Is-the-Sun-the-largest-star-

In your worksheet below, there are several questions that have already been filled out.  The last 2 you get to choose some other interesting facts you found about our sun.



Science December 14-16

This week, we will be wrapping up our unit on Energy in Organisms.  Students will be reviewing this unit as a whole, and will be answering questions on a post-assessment about how plant and animal organisms get their energy, and the different ways that they use their energy.  Students will also be taking a pre-assessment on our next unit: Earth and the Universe.

 

Our week ends on Wednesday, and so students will not be receiving assignments or lessons on Thursday or Friday.  All assignments are due on Wednesday, December 16th!

 

Monday:

 

Students will be reading an excerpt about the sun's role in photosynthesis and the energy that animals use.  Students will be writing a brief response to what they have read, answering the question: 

  • How do organisms use photons from the sun to get energy?

 

Tuesday:

 

We will be reviewing our unit on Energy in Organisms in class.  Some key ideas:

  • Photosynthesis: What do plants take in?  What do they store?  What do they release as waste?
  • Cellular Respiration: What do animals take in?  What do they release as waste?
  • How are Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration related?

After class, students will start on their end-of-unit assessment.  This is due on Wednesday!

 

Wednesday:

 

Students will receive a pre-assessment for our unit after break: Earth and the Universe.  Students will be writing what they already know about: 

  • How does relative distance affect the brightness of a star?
  • What causes night and day?
  • Why are some constellations only visible during certain times of the year?
  • Why do shadows appear larger at certain times of the day, and shorter at other times?

Reminder: If you don't know the answers to these questions, it's okay!  I just want to see what students do know going in to this unit.

Science December 7-11

This week, we will be continuing to look at photosynthesis in plants.  Students will be reading an article about Venus flytraps and whether they use photosynthesis or not.  Students will also be learning about the process of cellular respiration that animals use to process chemical energy.  Students will also be writing about the relationship between cellular respiration and photosynthesis.

 

Monday:

 

Pre-write: Do you think that Venus flytraps use photosynthesis?  Why or why not?

 

After answering the pre-write, students will read an article about how Venus flytraps process chemical energy: 

https://www.dogonews.com/2017/2/19/sneaky-venus-flytraps-use-prey-for-nutrients-and-energy 

Then, students will write a response to the article.  Since students will be discussing this in breakout rooms, it will be important to do Monday's assignment before class on Tuesday!

 

Tuesday:

 

Students will be going into breakout rooms to discuss the article they read about Venus flytraps.  They will be using the sentence stem:

 

I used to think that Venus flytraps did/did not use photosynthesis.  After reading the article, I now know that...

 

Then, we will come back together to discuss cellular respiration and how animals process chemical energy.  After class, students will be working on the assignment for making a poster about cellular respiration.

 

Wednesday:

 

Work on cellular respiration posters

 

Thursday:

 

In class, we will be discussing the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration.  Students will get a chance to go into breakout rooms to discuss the relationship between the two.

 

After class, students will work on writing a 3 paragraph response to the question: What is the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?

 

Friday:

 

Finish your response to the question about the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Science November 30-December 4

I hope everyone had a restful week off!  This week, we will be going into our new unit: Energy in Organisms.  We will be discussing the different types of energy.  We will also be looking at how living organisms use energy.  Then, students will be doing a plant sort of vascular and non-vascular plants.  This will be a virtual lab in powerpoint form.  We will also be looking at photosynthesis and how plants use this process to grow.  Later in the unit, we will be looking at how photosynthesis and cellular respiration relate to one another.

 

Monday:

 

Use the link below to read about the different types of energy:
https://www.solarschools.net/knowledge-bank/energy/types

Then, fill in the table below with a brief definition of each type of energy, and with a picture to represent each type of energy.  We will be doing a kahoot to go over each type, so come prepared!  The first is done for you.

Types: Kinetic, Potential, Chemical, Thermal, Electric, Nuclear

 

Tuesday:

 

We will be doing a Kahoot to go over the different types of energy.  Then, we will be going over the different ways that organisms use chemical energy.  After our Zoom lesson, students will be filling in a table about the reasons that organisms use chemical energy.  Students will be including a description and picture of each reason.

 

Reasons: Growth, Body Repair, Warmth, Movement

 

Wednesday:

 

Students will have a virtual lab where they sort different plants into two categories: Vascular and Non-Vascular.  This lab will be all in PowerPoint format, and students will be filling in a table with each plant determining whether it is vascular or non-vascular.  Students should be finishing this lab before class on Thursday so that they are prepared for a breakout room discussion on their findings.  

 

Thursday:

 

In class, students will break up into breakout rooms to discuss how they categorized the different plants.  Then, we will come back together to discuss the process of photosynthesis.  

 

After class, students will be watching a short video on photosynthesis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pD68uxRLkM 

Then, they will begin creating posters about the process of photosynthesis.  These posters will highlight the process that plants use to create energy and the waste products of this process.

 

Friday:

 

Students will be finishing their photosynthesis posters so that they are ready to turn in.

Science Updates

This week, we are going to be wrapping up our unit on forces.  Students will be working on a gravity simulation lab, where they manipulate the sizes and distance of two objects to see the pull that gravity has on the objects.  Students will also be working on their post-assessments.  Two of the parts of the post-assessment can be done as storyboards.  If they prefer, students have the option of doing these components of the assessment in written form.

 

Monday:

 

There is an assignment called the Gravity Simulation Lab in assignments on Teams.

Directions:

  1. Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-force-lab.
  2. Manipulate the data as shown in the table in the lab below.
  3. Read the numbers above the spheres; Force (1 on 2) and Force (2 on 1). Record in data table.
  4. Do you see any patterns in the data? How can you make the force between objects the greatest? Enter the data in the table below.
  5. How can you make the force the lowest? Enter the data in the table below.

 

Tuesday:

 

I will do a demonstration in class about how to change the mass and distance between the two "objects" in this demonstration.  Then, we will be doing a short Ka-Hoot to review concepts from this unit.

 

Assignment Due:

   -Gravity Simulation Lab

 

Wednesday:

 

Students will be working on the first part of their post-assessment.  For this part, they will have two questions to answer:

  • What are the 3 types of contact force?  Give an example of each type.
  • How are the distant forces similar?  How are they different?  Fill in the table about things that all 3 have in common, and things that are exclusive to magnetic, electric, or gravitational.

Thursday and Friday:

 

In class, we will be going over the other two components of the post-assessment.  For the next two pieces, students will be going into the contributions that Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton made to our modern understanding of gravity.  During our Zoom meeting, we will look at the Story Board format, and we will be going over the rubric that students will be graded on.

 

For the StoryBoards:

  • What did Galileo find about the rates of falling objects?
    • Extra Credit: What did Aristotle believe about the gravitational pull on smaller objects vs. larger objects?
  • What did Sir Isaac Newton find about the gravitational pull that the earth has on the moon?

 

Let me know if you have any questions, and I hope you all have a good week!

Science Week of November 9th!

Hello all!
 
This week, we are going to be wrapping up with Gravity.  Students are going to be doing a reading on Isaac Newton and will be looking at his ideas on Forces and his discoveries about gravity.  Students will be experts about either his "laws of motion" or his discoveries about "gravity".  On Thursday, after students have watched their assigned video and taken notes, they will pair up with another student to discuss what they learned.  Students will also be making FlipGrids about Isaac Newton by the end of the week.
 
Reminders: If you are not able to make it to a class, you can find Zoom lessons for what you missed in the Q2 Videos channel on our Science Team.  If you have any questions about anything that was not covered in those videos, you can reach out to me through Chat, Email, or by coming to my office hours.
 
Monday:
 
Students will be watching a short video about Sir Isaac Newton's life.  They will be taking notes about important events that happened in his life, as well as his important scientific contributions.  There is a 2-column note document in this assignment that they should fill out as they go.  The link below is to the video we will be using, but it can also be found in the assignment in Teams.
 
 
Tuesday:
 
In class, we will do a review of what students have learned about Isaac Newton's life.  Then, we will go over the next assignment: Experts on Laws of Motion/ Gravity.  I will be dividing up the students into 2 groups.  One group will be watching a video about Newton's Laws of Motion.  Another group will be watching a video about Newton's ideas about Gravity.  Both groups will be taking careful notes so that when we meet up on Thursday, they can explain what they have learned to another student who researched the other topic.
 
The links to the videos that students will be watching are here:
Newton's Laws of Motion:
 
Newton's Findings on Gravity:
 
These videos are made for high-school students, but I think that they will be good for this group of students.
 
Wednesday:
 
No school!  Enjoy your day off!
 
Thursday:
 
I will be pairing students up to go into breakout rooms.  In each room, there will be one student who watched the video on Newton's Law and one student who watched the video on Gravity.  Both students will be sharing what they wrote down in their notes and will be "teaching" their classmate about Isaac Newton's findings.
 
Friday:
 
Students will be making a video on FlipGrid about Isaac Newton from the perspective of Isaac Newton.  In their FlipGrids, students will be talking about their lives and contributions to science.  (Curly wig and English accent are optional!)
 
Have a great week!

Forces Thursday

Students continue to work on their lab for Race to the Bottom. Students should make sure that their findings and observations are written in complete sentences before turning in!

Forces Wednesday

Students continue to work on their lab for Race to the Bottom. Students should make sure that their findings and observations are written in complete sentences before turning in!

Forces Tuesday

 
We will meet at 11:00 on Tuesday to go over some information on Gravity. We will also introduce the lab at this time: Race to the Bottom. For this lab, students will be "dropping" different objects and testing Galileo's findings on the rates at which objects fall.
 
For this lab, students may use any items that they would like at their house (so long as they are not breakable :)) If students would prefer, I will have a video demonstration that they can use for their observations.
 
For this lab, I would also encourage students to test the rates at which objects fall if they are met with air resistance. Some options for this would be a piece of paper, a feather or anything else that is light, flat and flexible. (Again, we will have a demonstration in class and on video if students would prefer.)

Forces Monday

This week, students will be learning about gravity as a distant force. Students will have the opportunity to test the concept that was refined by Galileo about the rates at which different objects fall in their Race to the Bottom lab. Students may do this lab at their home with anything that they have around. We will also be doing a demonstration in class and students may use that data in their labs as well.
 
Monday:
 
Students go into their assignments for Science. They have a Quiz/Progress Check on Distant and Contact Forces. We have not gone over gravity much yet, but students will be asked a question about the video they watched on Thursday and Friday of last week regarding Galileo's findings on the rates at which objects fall.

Distant Science Friday

Use the quiz review to go over what we have learned in this unit so far.

Distant Science Thursday

In class, we will be reviewing students' experiences as they worked on their lab.  Afterwards, we will be going over the next distant force: gravity.  Students will be looking at slides 109-130 as a class.  Afterwards, students can start on their review for the quiz for next week.