Week of December 1-5, 2014

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Holidays! A much needed break and some time to catch up with family and friends.




It's time to hit the books again, because our Math benchmark is coming up soon!

This week we will cover Theoretical probability in depth and we might get to start on Linear Relationships! I know, I know, how exciting right?!

This video is to help you get a head start with linear relationships...

CSI: Blood Basics

Blood Basics:
A look into blood analysis and how it is used in crime scene investigations.
We discussed the different blood types and how you inherit them. A, B, AB, and O. We discussed the different blood spatter patterns that blood spatter analysts use to help solve a crime. We did an activity where the students were able to recreate certain blood spatter patterns mentioned in class. There were cast offs, pools, drops, smears, mist, etc. They were able to do this in groups on big sheets of paper. They were very creative and excited about this.
Don't worry, they were just using red paint diluted with some water to get a good consistency going.

This is what ensued...

Someone was extremely proud of their masterpiece. :)



6th grade students using straws to create the droplets and some used their hand to create a smear

6th graders making the droplets fall from different heights to observe the effects of droplet size and spatter



You can see this droplet fell from a larger height than the one below because of the spatter around it

This one had some spatter but not as much as the one above



Some of my 8th graders intent on filling up the entire paper using the bristles of a paintbrush to create the mist look described in the different spatter patterns

Week of November 24-28, 2014

Monday & Tuesday: Ac2E Seminars
I will be teaching you how to make a paper plate dream catcher.
If you will be in my seminar you will need string, beads and feathers to decorate it and give it a personal touch.

Tuesday will be Early Release!

Wednesday-Friday: Thanksgiving Break!
Enjoy your time off from school and when you come back be ready to work hard!

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving and don't forget to count your blessings!

 

Week of November 17-21, 2014

This week we will continue with Theoretical and Experimental probability and go more into depth with questions and different scenarios.
There will be a test at the end of the week, so make sure you pay close attention in class, ask questions, and use all your resources.
I know the Thanksgiving break is approaching, but we can't go into break mode just yet.
Come to class prepared and on time.
Have a great weekend!

CSI- Chromatography

This week we covered Chromatography!


Chromatography is the physical separation of a mixture into its individual components.

So I had the students test 4 different black markers and observe the separation of the inks and dyes. They filled in this chart with their observations.

They tested a vis a vis, a Crayola marker, a permanent marker, and an Expo marker. As expected, the permanent marker did not separate because the dyes and inks are insoluble in water. The rest of the markers separated into different colors.

 

These strips are 3 different black markers. The lighting is horrible but you can still see a separation of colors.

I then gave the students an opportunity to let their creative juices flow and they came up with nice designs and different colors on coffee filters.

They really enjoyed the activity and understood the concept. The colors on the outer edge of the filter paper are the most soluble which is why they traveled faster.

 

 

Week of November 10-14, 2014

1st Week of the 3rd Six Weeks!!!

Let's make this six weeks the best one yet. Make sure the level of responsibility goes up.

NO MISSING WORK
NO LATE WORK
NO EXCUSES
STUDY
GET TO CLASS ON TIME
COME PREPARED

This week we will cover ratio and pi and we will also introduce probability. The video below should help you become more familiar with the idea of probability as I know that you have already touched on pi in 6th grade.