This week we started to recall the steps of the scientific process and to think about variables!
Last week we started the Windbag experiment. We finished up thinking about our experiment this week and learning to understand variables in experiments. Students realized that by changing more than one variable, they were creating an entirely new experiment. We found out that you have to understand all types of circumstances that can affect the outcome of the experiments that we are working with. Students defined, gave examples for and then played BINGO all involving one vocabulary word this week: VARIABLES.
In future activities and experiments, we now know how variables can affect the outcome, and thus change the way we have results in experiments.
Students also spent time this week taking the NWEA assessment for Science to get an idea of where they are at in the various fields of science. We hope to see great growth with each student by the second assessment in the spring of 2011.
Finally this week, students spent time creating their Motion Title Pages within their notebooks. This will serve as the beginning of the Motion unit which will begin next week! We will do these title pages at the beginning of each new unit to help us know where we are going! You could think of the title page as the roadmap for scientific learning in the weeks to come!
Next week we’ll be starting our Motion Unit and experiments with cars, ramps, speeds, timers, acceleration and velocity, and we will be using our Laptop-based Virtual Labs for the first time!
Great thinking and learning is happening among us! You should each be so proud of not only what you have learned so far in this 8th grade year, but how you have already used what you have learned!
Table of Contents Entries this week:
9/7 Variable Definition
9/7 Variable BINGO
9/10 Motion Title Page
See below for some great notebook title page examples!