Hello my wonderful students!!! Listen closely...are you listening??? This is your science teacher Ms. Yates. I know, I know. I just saw you a few hours ago. Remember the awesome reminders, updates, and fantasticness that I promised you?? It is here. Yep!! Right here. Remember to check it out daily. The rewards will be worth your time. Assignments that you forgot about or were absent for? Here!! Notes you may have missed?? Here too!!! Announcements?? Yep!! And, fantastic reminders of all the cool stuff we did today...All here and more!! See you tomorrow. Or Monday, if you are so awesome that you are reading this over the weekend.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Weathering Investigation

Very loud, amazing work today making your homemade sand!  What similarities and differences did you notice between the beach sand and your homemade granite sand?

Monday, September 8, 2014

Welcome Roger!!!

What should we feed Roger?  Why is humidity important?  What happened to the spikes on the iguana in the video?

Friday, September 5, 2014

Raffle Prize Winners

Congratulations to our first raffle winners of the year!  You rock!!!

Devin
Maddie
Kaitlin
Brooke
John

Stream Table Lab: Erosion

What were our findings in regard to erosion in the stream table investigation? What other variables could we have tested in order to learn more about erosion?


Thursday, September 4, 2014

Yeast Investigation

Great work today!!!  My apologies for being so rushed, but don't fret scientists, you will also have tomorrow to experiment with the yeast.  Were the results you observed what you expected?  What variables would you like to change tomorrow?

Stream Tables

What land features did you notice forming in your stream table?  Which particles moved farther and faster...sand or clay?  How would you vary today's experiment in order to learn more about erosion?

Water Labs

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Water Labs

What IS so special about water anyway?  How did your predictions vary from your observations in today's labs?  Why were you able to put so many drops of water on the surface of the penny before it overflowed?


Yeast Investigation

How do you plan to break yeast's dormancy?

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Sorting Earth Material...AWESOME 6th GRADERS!!

How did the wind affect the sand and gravel? How did the large rock affect the rate and pattern of erosion?


Friday, August 29, 2014

Sorting Earth Material

How did you sort and group your earth mixture?  What characteristics did they share? 

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Red Worms: Day 7

Great observations today 5th grade!!!  What is the importance of red worms in the ecosystem?

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Acid Test: Grand Canyon Rocks

Explain why the acid only reacted with 4 of our 10 rock samples.  What reaction did you see?  Where did the reaction come from?  Would the results of this test change the way you categorized the rocks?

Friday, August 22, 2014

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Woods Ecosystem

Today we discussed food webs.  Discuss how energy flows from the sun to coyote in the woods ecosystem.

Biology and Society Reading

Homework tonight...
Read p 16
Summarize
Answer questions 1-3
Answer research and decide questions from p. 16
        Links to read for research and decide
 
 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Replicating Procedures Lab

What did you find difficult today about writing directions for your super unique, 9 block Lego structure?

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Sketch a Scientist

After today's activity sketching a scientist, how would your drawing change if you were to do it again?

All Tied Up!

Amazing work today! I know that you got frustrated, but I was very proud of your perseverance. Great job Stella/Sara and Sophia/Shalyn for being the first to get loose!

Here are the questions and format for the conclusion paragraph in case you did not have time in class to finish.

Analysis Questions:

1. Why is it important to revise your hypothesis as you get new information?
2. How did using the scientific method help you to solve this problem?
3. Why is it important for an experiment to be reproducible?
4. Where in your life can you use the scientific method?

Conclusion Paragraph Format:

What was the problem?
What was your hypothesis?
What were the results (what happened)?
Was your hypothesis supported or not supported?
What did you learn?

See you tomorrow!

Monday, August 11, 2014

Welcome Back 7th and 8th!

What an amazing group of 7th and 8th graders we have this year!  It is so fantastic that there are so many of you that we need 2 classes!  In today's activity, the Nature of Science, what did the small square represent and how did it affect your original shape?  How is that similar to when, as scientists, we discover new information?

Welcome to Middle School 6th Grade!

What a great first day!  I was so excited to see all of you back for middle school.  Today we started the famous "All Tied Up" activity, in order to show the value of using the scientific method in solving a problem.  Was your first hypothesis correct?  Why is it important to not consider an experiment a failure even if your hypothesis is wrong?

Hello Fifth Grade!

Today went so fast!   I was going to ask you questions about sketch a scientist, but we did not get to it.  Instead, I will just ask you, what are you most excited to learn about this year in science?

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Last Day...What an AMAZING year!!!

My wonderful students,

How did the time pass so quickly?  It seems like just yesterday that I had you all tied up! 



Words cannot express what a special experience this year has been.  From the first day, until the last, you were absolutely amazing.  I have never had a group of students so desperate, excited and inspired to finish a project that they were begging to finish it on the last day of school and into their lunch.  I was so proud to be your teacher today as I watched your hydroelectric generator finally power the light bulb.  According to my count, it was 2 weeks, your third design, and 20 plus trials.  I have chills now as I write this thinking about your dedication and persistence.  In a word, okay probably more, absolutely inspiring; a complete testimony to the scientific process.



This one example in itself could be called a fluke, but it was not.  I witnessed this similar extraordinary pattern of behavior from you all, time and time again this year.  Preparation for science night was definitely one of the many examples of this.  I think at several points, the number of students in this room at lunch would have been considered a fire hazard, not to mention the crowd that night.  Two weeks of making posters, reviewing your lab, and rehearsing presentations made it a night I will always remember.  You impressed everyone and made me very proud.



I could go on and on (honestly I will probably add more later), in short, collectively, YOU have made this a truly special year that I will remember always.  Thank you for making SCIENCE ROCK!!!  I am so excited to have many of you back next year.  I have very big plans :)  To those of you who are moving on, you will be missed.  I know you will bring with you that special quality that inspires everyone around you.  Continue to be the scientist that you are, stay curious and make magic happen.  Good luck!

Sincerely and with love and respect,

Ms. Yates