Hope Everyone's Holiday is Going Well

Reminder: The only homework you have (for Math and Science) is to collect materials for your science experiments, and start to bring them in during the first week back to school. Students should have materials lists that they created in class to show their parents (along with a proposal). Also, some students were advised to have a back up plan because their original idea was fairly complex (and maybe too difficult).

For some extra practice in math, I have used Google to locate these two webpages. If you would like even more practice, feel free to search for "Volume of Rectangular Prisms" or "Volume of Triangular Prisms" (or measure some objects in your home). If you would like a head start on the next topic, search for "Surface Area of Triangular Prisms/Rectangular Prisms".
These are for voluntary, extra practice only, the second link also has cylinders - don't worry about calculating those volumes

Rectangular Prisms

Triangular Prisms

RE Science Project

I am very hesitant to post too much information about the science project, because I intend to have the students complete each step in sequence. In past assignments, I have found that when I gave too much information, too early, students rushed to the finish, while neglecting key learning points along the way. The project will unfold step by step. At the moment, the only thing students need to worry about is creating an experiment question; by the end of the week, I hope everyone will have their proposal approved by me - allowing you to get a start over Christmas. HOWEVER, I do not want the project completed outside of school time!!

Science Experiment

Below is the Introductory Information sheet for the Experiment, the students will receive the same sheet in class on Thursday.


FLIGHT EXPERIMENT

This is a large project, with many steps; each of the steps will be completed individually, and there will be lots of help and instruction available. The final product will be a single variable (change only one thing) experiment featuring some type of flying device (parachute, paper airplane, or other item that spends time in the air). The experiment will feature results that describe how the flight of the object is affected by changes made to it (wing span, material, design, etc).


Step 1: Develop a research question that is answerable by completing an experiment

Step 2: Consider materials and possible procedure for the experiment. Submit a proposal to Ms Jefferies at a student-teacher conference. Ms Jefferies will likely make suggestions to improve the design of the experiment. The student should record these suggestions.

Step 3: Submit final hypothesis, materials list and procedure

Step 4: Conduct Experiment, and Record Results

Step 5: Submit Results

Step 6: Complete Reflection questions.

Step 7: Present findings on a Bristol board or similar poster to class mates. *Possibly participate in a Science Fair where other students and teachers will see your project and ask questions*




***Each student will work independently on this task***

Homework

MATH:
All Classes - Area and Perimeter Quiz on Monday
6B8 - Parallelogram Worksheet and Triangle/Rectangle Worksheet due Tomorrow
6B9 - Triangle/Rectangle Worksheet due Tomorrow
6B5 - Triangle/Rectangle Worksheet due Thursday

SCIENCE
Overdue: Science Reports and Study Charts
6B5/6B8 - Use Checklist to make at least one improvement to the question you got in the "Snowball Activity" (due Thursday)

OTHER
Remember to bring in Food Order forms for the Planet 51 Trip

Homework and Upcoming Experiment

MATH
6B8/6B9: Area Worksheet (Front and Back) due Wednesday

6B5 : Text p. 247 #4-6 (some students who have misplaced their textbooks stayed in at lunch to copy down the questions) due Tomorrow


SCIENCE
Study Charts are now Overdue
Science Reports are now Overdue

6B5/6B8: Write 5 questions about flight that you could answer with an experiment.

Upcoming: Each student will work independently on an experiment that they design, perform and report on about flight. The final product will not be due until the new year; however, a series of tasks that will help build the final product will have much shorter deadlines and will be due over the next 2 weeks. I hope that each student will have a hypothesis and a proposed procedure going into the Winter Break.

Happy Eid!

I hope everyone who was celebrating this weekend had a wonderful and safe time with their friends and family!

This Week in Science:

• I hope to begin the process of designing students' independent flight experiments by Friday.
• The science report for Balloon Rockets is Due on Wednesday
• Remember you will need to cover:
• Title
• Hypothesis
• Materials
• Procedure
• Results
  
• Reflection/Conclusion
• What caused the results?
• What can we say about AIR based on the results?
• How can we use this new knowledge in future experiments with FLIGHT?

This week in Math:

• We've been working on developing formulas for the area of rectangles
• We will develop the area of parallelograms and triangles this week
• You haven't had much homework recently - you can expect some this week and next
  

Updates

We are continuing work on the Measurement Strand - and moving into Area and Perimeter
- There is no new Math Homework for Today

Science:
6B8 Only - Hand in the good copy of your Science Report (Air Expands when heated) on Wednesday

Also - I still have science projects stuck on my camera - I am currently searching for the cord that goes between my camera and my computer (the pictures that are already on the blog were on an SD card, but the others are on the internal memory in my camera). They will be up on the web as soon as I find a USB cable that is compatible with my camera.

Thanks!

THANK YOU to all the Math classes for working so hard this week to get all those activities done!

Coming up next week:
- More science experiments about air and flight

- More measurement activities; specifically, Area and Perimeter

Homework

Math: No new homework

Science: Report for "Air Takes Up Space" Experiment

Homework

Math:
6B5 and 6B8 - p 143 #4-8
6B9 - p 147 # 4,5,7

Science:
- Science Report for "Air has Mass" Balloon experiment

- Bring in empty 2L pop bottles to help with experiments (if you have any about to be recycled)

New Math and Science Units!

Starting this week, we will be moving into new Math and Science Units.

In Math, we will begin Measurement. Students will be asked to complete a series of estimates and actual measurements. You can practice at home by estimating how tall/long objects are, or how far away things are while you are driving or walking. Just remember that we are using Metric units - mm, cm, dm, m, etc!

In Science, we are beginning the Flight Unit. We will begin the unit with a series of experiments that demonstrate the characteristics of air, and will culminate in a student designed experiment about flight that examines how flying objects make use of the properties of air.

Here are a couple of interesting flight links:


http://www.centennialofflight.gov/user/kids.htm

http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/planes.php

Wednesday Nov 4

There is no Science Homework, except to begin reviewing your notes from the Space Unit.
 - It is actually a good idea to spend 10-15 minutes every night looking over your notes from the day and earlier in the unit, even if you don't have an upcoming test!

Math: Everyone should have a mind map made by tomorrow. As a study tool, take some time and explain your web to a sibling or a parent or whoever is at home with you - you'll be able to tell right away if there is anything you're not quite sure of!

In math tomorrow, we'll be doing activities in a centre format with a partner:
- Explain Changing Intervals and Changing Scale (as if your partner is new to Data Management)
- Play "Battleship" with coordinate pairs
- "Sketch and Fix" graphs (looking for title, axes labelled, scale appropriate, etc)


Just a reminder that I will be in at lunch tomorrow to help anyone who is struggling with some of the concepts; I will meet you at the GP room right after the eating part of lunch.

Homework - Nov. 3

Math: 
6B5 - Mind Map of Topics covered in Data Management
6B5/8/9 - Come to class with questions about Data Management. For example: "I looked at my notes, and I don't understand why someone would change the scale on a graph"

I will be in at lunch tomorrow and Thursday for anyone who wants help with Math
- it would be helpful if you had specific questions (see above)
- I will meet you in the GP room at the end of the eating time 

Science:
Conference Tomorrow!!
- come to class in role as a professional, ready to argue your position!

***If you have been away for more than one or two days, please see me about trying to get you caught up!***

Homework - Nov. 2

Math - Text page 93 #1,2,3 (review)

Science (Optional) - prepare for conference by doing further research on your topic

Coming Up This Week Nov 2 - 6

We should be ready for a Math test this Friday
- It was a very short unit, and there will be plenty of review provided in class so everyone should be prepared

We are continuing work on the Space Budget Conference
- The Science Unit Test will be pushed to the Week of November 10 (the 9th is a PD Day)

The Science Models have been marked but I am still waiting for quite a few Reflections, and would like to have them in before marks go back out to the other students. I expect that student who have outstanding assignments will be joining me at lunch recesses until they are complete.

Pictures from Science Class

Here are a few pictures of our Bulletin Board, having your student explain them to you is an excellent way to study for the upcoming test. There should be plenty of notes in their duotangs to help recall the different phases and tides

 

And here are some examples of student work - more to come!

Homework for Thursday Oct 29

Math 6B8/6B9: Changing the Intervals on a Graph Worksheet

Math 6B5: Changing the Scale on a Graph Worksheet (if not finished in class)

Science: Begin reviewing notes for a Space Unit Test at the end of next week (more to follow)

Overdue:
Science - Model Reflections, Phases and Tides Worksheet, 4-5 Sentences about why we should spend money on space (use textbook notes completed in class)

Math - Return signed math tests (Place Value)

Monday Oct 26 Homework - Due Tomorrow

Math 6B5 and 6B8:

• Textbook p 75 & 76, #4-7

Math 6B9:

• Textbook p 73 #4-5

Science 6B5 and 6B8:

• Remember to complete the Tides and Phases sheet from last week!

Overdue:

• Math tests (Place Value) need to be signed and returned
• Data Management Assignments
  

This Week in Science

We are almost finished the Space unit. The students have been working hard on their models of the Sun, Earth, and Moon (which are looking beautiful!), and they will meet with me tomorrow (Friday) to explain how their model can be used to explain Tides, and Phases of the Moon.

Looking to next week, we will be holding a science "Budget Conference" where students will use role playing techniques to argue for or against an increase in funding for the Space Exploration Budget. Students can prepare over the weekend by thinking about how much we have learned, and can still learn from space exploration; as well as the environmental effects of space launches (and returns), the many other people who could use the funding (schools, hospitals, under-funded countries, etc), and the personal risks astronauts must face.

This Week in Math

This week, we have started a new Math unit based on part of the Data Management strand of the curriculum. So far, students have conducted a survey in class, and have constructed graphs based on that data. Students will be asked to plot coordinates on a grid in the (x,y) format, and will continue to interpret graphs, and use graphs to make an argument. Playing "Battleship" at home is a great way for students to become familiar with the coordinate system. At the conclusion of the unit, students should be able to discuss the significance of scale and interval on displaying data correctly, as well as explain the difference between dicrete and continuous data.

We have also started using Tangrams at the start of every Math class. Students work in pairs to solve puzzles that are fun and challenging, but also improve spatial sense and geometrical awareness. PBS Kids has a great website, with one page featuring online Tangram puzzles. We will continue starting most math periods with these puzzles.

Welcome to Our Blog!

Thank you for finding us!

If your student directed you here, you've probably already heard that I have recently become the Long Term substitute for Mrs. Spizzirri. I will be teaching Math to students in 6B5, 6B8, and 6B9; I will also be teaching Science to students in 6B5 and 6B8.

If you followed the link through the "my class" page, there are a few reasons I have selected this method for communication: I find this blog server easier to use, with more options for adding links and information, as well as more entertaining for students, than the Board's website.

Eventually, you will be able to find information on your student's Math and Science homework, assignments, and upcoming units. I will also be posting links to websites that will be helpful for homework, research, and general information about the topics we are studying. Please take the time to visit this website, as well as Balmoral's School Website to keep up to date with your student's activities!

Ms Jefferies