We have been studying climate and weather since September and we have added 30 vocabulary words to our expanding list of words for this unit. One of our culminating activities this week was to build and test an anemometer to measure wind speed. Building the anemometer was challenging, but the effort was well worth the results. It worked! We tested it on a windy day and though individual results varied, it helped to reinforce the concept that weather is "short-term."
|
Earth Science
Earth is a dynamic sphere of minerals, water, and gases that continuously rotates and orbits the sun at an optimal distance that sustains life as we know it. It is with curiosity and awe that I explore these topics with my students. I want my students to "think like a toddler." Imagine being two years old and experiencing the wonders of the world for the first time. The simple act of a toddler as they push, pull, slam, lift, and of course taste it. I know right. I don't really as the students to taste things - in fact that is rule number two in science - "Never, ever eat lab food!" My point is that I introduced science this year with "Scientific Methods and Skills. The learning targets are:
I can name the steps for scientific method in order.
I can demonstrate the steps of the scientific method by conducting my own experiment.
I am delighted to report that the students achieved both of these goals with 4 students scoring 100%, 3 students scoring 82-87%, 6 students scoring 68-75% and 2 students scoring at 50% or lower.