Grade 7 Diversity of Living Things Unit Exam

First, I would like to say I miss you and I am sorry that I can't be there today and I missed yesterday. However, test is still Thursday.  Where have I said that before...but I actually mean it for the seventh graders.

Yesterday you were asked to get your notes in order if you haven't already and to have one question of the day for me today. Here is your opportunity to ask me that question.

In addition to that, you are now assigned one response to one other persons question, but don't stop there. There more questions you try to answer the better shape you will be for the exam.

Remember, this exam is about the Diversity of Living Things:
The big idea to learn is how are living things the same and how are they different?
Chapter One: What are the characteristics of all living things?
Chapter Two:  Compare and contrast multicellular organisms and single celled organisms?
Chapter Three:  What are the characteristics of Plants from moss to flowering trees?
Chapter 4:  What are the characteristics Invertebrates from sponges to arthropods?
Chapter 5:  What are the characteristics Vertebrates from fish to mammals?

Grade 8 The Changing Earth Unit Exam

First, I would like to say I miss you and I am sorry that I can't be there today and I missed yesterday. However, test is still Thursday.

Yesterday you were asked to get your notes in order if you haven't already and to have one question of the day for me today. Here is your opportunity to ask me that question.

In addition to that, you are now assigned one response to one other persons question, but don't stop there. There more questions you try to answer the better shape you will be for the exam.

Remember, this exam is about our Changing Earth:
The big idea to learn is how does the Earth change?
Chapter One: What changes occur inside the Earth and how do we know?
Chapter Two and Three:  How do those changes below the surface affect the surface causing change?
Chapter 4:  How has the Earth changed over time?
Chapter 5:  How are we changing the Earth today and what can we do to reduce these changes?

Grade 7 Week 10: Birds and Mammals

How are birds adapted to living on land, water, and air?
How do birds fly?
What adaptations aid flight?
How are mammals adapted to live in most places?

This week's contract again asks that you research a species of bird or mammal and report to class this Friday.

Grade 8 Week 10: Alternatives

What are alternatives to burning fossil fuels for energy?
What is a solar cell made of and how does it turn sun light into energy?(Hour 2 and 7)
Is wind power a reliable source of energy?(Hour2)
How is corn made into ethanol?(Hour 2)
Can garbage be turned into energy?(Hour 7)

This weeks contract asks that you research a specific alternative energy source. Check out previous year's work on Algae, Bug Fuels, and power from water in Tides and Waves. Make improvements to these old pages or research a new alternative energy source.

Grade 7 Week 9: First Vertebrates

We also begin our final section before the exam. We begin looking at tthe first vertebrates: fish, amphibians, and reptiles.

What special characteristics do fish have for survival under water?
How are amphibians adapted to life in water and on land?
Why do they have to go back to water?How are reptiles able to survive completly out of water?
How does it make a shell around its egg?
How does it have scaly skin?
This week's contract asks you to again choose one unique species of the selected Chordate phyla. This friday you will share the characteristics of your vertebrate.

Grade 8 Week 9: Natural Resources

This week we egin our final section before our unit exam. We will be looking at natural resources, how we use them and what effects that has.

What are natural resources?
How do we use natural resources in our daily lives?
What are the effects, good and bad,of our use of natural resources?
How do you recycle around the house?
Where do you take recyclables around here?
What does it cost?What happens to stuff after you throw it in the blue bin?What do you do to conserve natural resources?
Does conservation really save money and resources? How much?
This week's contracts ask you to look at your own use of natural resources. Come to class on friday and talk about how your lives are affected ny natural resources.

Grade 7: "Invertebrates of Planet Earth"

Over next three days, we will be wrapping up our invertebrate unit with another look at invertebrates in a seleceted Planet Earth episode.

What types of inverebrates do you find in that habitat?
How are they adapted for survival?

Also, do not forget that the final day for your Science News presentation is this Wednesday. The Science news worksheet can be found in the Resources section of the wiki.

Grade 8: "Death Cat Canyon"

This week we finish our unit on fossil evidence for the Geologic Time Scale by taking a closer look at one of the most famous sites for fossils and remains in North America: the La Brea Tar Pits. To this end, we will be watching the Science Channel special titled "Death Cat Canyon."
What things have we learned from the remains at La Brea?

Also, do not forget that the final day for your Science News presentation is this Wednesday. The Science news worksheet can be found in the Resources section of the wiki.

Grade 7 Week 8: "Advanced" Invertebrates

This week we finish our look at the diversity of invertebrates by looking at the more complex phyla: mollusks, echinoderms, and arthropods.

Compare and contrast the different phyla of invertebrates that we have discussed.

The insect collection is out to showcase invertebrates. Take a look at it and take another look at some of the EC Challenges like the birding photography or the aforementioned insect collection. You are also more than welcome to give a few suggestions on similar projects that showcase a diversity of living things. All are done just like we did the herbarium: collect and describe.

Week 7 contracts can be found here.

Grade 8 Week 8: Geologic Time Scale

This week we take what we have learned about fossils, relative and absolute age, of earthquakes and volcanoes, and all changes to the Earth to describe Earth's history in what we call the Geologic Time Scale.

How are fossils and other evidence used to describe the geologic time scale?
What trends do we see over the whole geologic time scale?




This week's contract asks you to continue the construction of our class Geologic Time Scale.

Grade 7 Week 7: "Simple" Invertebrates

This week we shift gears from plants into animals. As we have done with plants, we want to again showcase the vast diversity of living things these next few weeks.

Give us a few examples of how invertebrates adapted for survival?

Freshwater Hydra (Cnidaria) in our class tank.


Freshwater Flatworm(Planaria)


While we are on the subject, while you are studying the diversity of living things why not take another look at some of the EC Challenges like the birding photography or the insect collection. You are also more than welcome to give a few suggestions on similar projects that showcase a diversity of living things. All are done just like we did the herbarium: collect and describe.

Week 7 contracts can be found here. Over the next few weeks, with WKCE testing and assemblies, schedules will be different. So, this weeks contract will be spread over the next two weeks, due November 12.

Check this out:
Biology4Kids.com: Invertebrates
hosstuffworks.com - Invertebrates: Animals without backbones - a video 3rd hour used for a presentation

Grade 8 Week 7: Fossils

Our next few weeks we will be taking a look back in time. The Geologic Time Scale chronicles life on Earth and how it changes.



What evidence is there for the current understanding of our geologic time scale?
How do fossils form?
How can we tell the age of a fossil?

Do you have a fossil you would like to share with the class? Worried that it would be lost at school? Submit a photo and all the info you have on the fossil to the classes virtual museum. You can bring the fossil in for a picture or submit a picture.



Week 7 contracts can be found here. Over the next few weeks with WKCE testing and assemblies, schedules will be different. So, this weeks contract will be spread over the next two weeks, due November 12.

Grade 7 Week 6: Flowers, Fruit, and Seeds

After the great job on the herbarium we finish our section on plants with seed plants.

How do angiosperms and gymnosperms reproduce?
How does each differ from how spore producing plants reproduce?
If spores still work, why would fossil records show a change to seeds and then further to flowers and fruit?

Contract week 6 has you back outside looking for flowers, fruits and seeds or looking at how we use plants in our daily lives.

Grade 8 Week 6: Mountains

This week we continue with mountain formations focusing on folded mountains and fault-block mountains.

How do these types of mountains form?
Where do they form?

This week's contract has us inventing a lab or activity that demonstrates the build up or wear down of mountains. Try to make it something that all the class can replicate.

Grade 8: Dante's Peak

This week we travel to a volcano created in Hollywood.

Dante's Peak is a story about the second most desirable city to live in the the U.S. (population under 20,000), and the really, really bad day they have.

Enjoy James Bond and Sarah Connor v. Dante's Peak the composite volcano!

How do scientists monitor volcanoes in the movie?
How does the volcano affect the city of Dante's Peak and the surrounding valley?

Grade 7 Week 5: Plants

After we come back inside after the successful Mushroom Hunting we now take on the Kingdom of Plants (so we can head back outside and complete this years Herbarium).
This weeks questions:

What types of plants are there?
How has each type adapted for survival?
How are plants adapted to life on land?

The contract for this week takes you outside as well. One has you starting your own herbarium by collecting samples, drawings, or photos of plants around your home. The other choice has you looking for spore producing plants around your yard to create a terrarium. Have fun!

Grade 8 Week 5: Volcanoes!

After the great ideas we saw last week in Earthquake Engineering I am looking forward to this week's designs. This week we move from earthquakes to volcanoes. Remembering what we discovered in the fist section about the inside of the Earth and how it moves, answer this week's questions:

What causes volcanoes?
How do they form?
What are the effects of volcanic eruptions?

This weeks contract has A contracts designing or modeling a volcano. I am still looking for an actual composite volcano beyond the science fair vinegar/baking soda coming from a cup. I did that back in my days at Fairview. You can design something better, something...more...real?

Grade 7 Week 4: Mushroom Hunters

This week we focus on our first Kingdom of multicellular organisms: Fungi.

What types of fungi are there?
How do they get their energy?
Where can we find them?

This week we will go outside and 'hunt' for mushrooms at the park and around the campus. The goal is to show diversity of the kingdom and to identify what fungi we find in our area.

You are encouraged to go for a hike around your house and bring specimens for class.

A web album can be found here once it is no longer blocked by the schools new filter.

This weeks contract has A contracts inventing their own multicelluar organism. Have fun with it.

Grade 8 Week 4: Earthquake Engineering

This week we discuss the effects of an earthquake.

What determines the amount of damage done in an earthquake?
How can we lessen the damage done by an earthquake?

During the week we will view a video on Earthquake Enginneering and then work to design a retrofit for Riverview.

All this leads up to this weeks contract where A contracts design and build a structure to stand up to an earthquake. I will try to topple them with a small tremor in class on Friday.

Grade 7 Week 3: Multicellular Organisms

In previous weeks, we outlined the four characteristics of living things: order, growth, reproduction, and response. We looked at single celled organisms and wondered how they met these four characteristics. this week we begin the rest of unit C - Multicellular Organisms

Compare/Contrast single celled organisms to multicellular organisms?
How do they meet there needs and show the characteristics of living things?

This week's contract can be found here. There is only one choice for the A contract - to reseach any multicellular organism. If you want more choice come up with one of your own design. Talk to me about it.

Grade 8 Week 3: Faults

This week we move to breaks in the rock caused by plate tectonics. Last week we learned about boundaries, large divisions between Earth's plates. This week we look at the 'small' cracks and breaks that occur in the rock was these boundaries move into, away from, and slide across each other.

What happens at a fault?
Why?
Why are some faults found no where near a boundary?

This week's contract can be found here.

Grade 7 Week 2: Viruses and Protists

After last weeks look at bacteria, this week we continue to examine microscopic organisms. We do this by looking at viruses, not quite considered living things, and protists.

Compare and contrast viruses and living things?
What is a protist?
How do protists show the 4 characteristics of all living things?

A few of the microorganisms we have found.


A guide to help identify some of what we see in our water samples.

Guide to Identification of Fresh Water Microorganisms -

This weeks contract can be found here.

Grade 8 Week 2: Plate Boundaries

Last week, we took a look at plate tectonics and the inside of the Earth. With the Earth moving under our feet, literally, we now investigate what goes on when these plates meet at boundaries.

What types of boundaries are there?
What happens at each type of boundary? Why?
What formations or evidence is associated with each type of boundary?


Thanks to Mrs. Tripp for the following picture which shows the range from the tallest mountain to the deepest trench, both created by plates converging.


Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.

This weeks contract can be found here.

Grade 7 Week 1: Single-celled Organisms

We start our unit on the diversity of living things by looking at the common cahracteristics living things share in common.

How do single-celled organisms show the characteristics of living things?
What are bacteria and where can you find them?

This weeks contract can be found here.

Grade 8 Week 1: Plate Tectonics

This week we look at plate tectonics. We will examine the layers of the Earth and how those layers create geologic change on Earth.

What are the layers of the Earth?
What are they made of?
How do we know?
What evidence is there for the theory of plate tectonics?

This weeks contract can be found here.

What is science?

Do we have to do a question of the day everyday? Why do we discuss? Why can't I just fill out worksheets from the book? How do we search for our answers?

This week should answer some of those questions. We ask what is science. The book says its the systematic study of all of nature. What does that mean?

What steps are involved in the systematic study of science?
When will we ever use this?

After this week's talks we should all know why this class runs in the steps it does each day. It's science. From the QotD problem and your hypothesis. To the research, experiments, and testing of those educated guesses. Wrapping up with your best final answer and conclusion.

Edit(9/10/10)
Here are some ideas that you have for science this year. Click the images or watch the videos for some more tips.

capture a caterpillar and watch it overtime to observe its process from a caterpillar to a butterfly

worm and fill a bucket up half way put a leaf in it then fill it up the rest of the way water the soil put the worm in and let it dig its way to the leaf

wander around outside one day and take nature photography, and each group picks what they think is their best picture, and they're printed out and posted on a board in the office or something like that, and everyone votes, and the picture with the most votes wins. And the people in the group get a Hershy bar because they won. =)

disect stuff in class because we could get a chance to learn about its vital organs and how a frog REALLY functions

go out and search for different kinds of clouds and weather paterns. We could take pictures of them and put them together on a poster and name what type of cloud it is or what weather pattern it is

What do you think? What other ideas do you have?

Welcome back for the new school year!

Hello, everybody.

Welcome back for the new school year. It was good to see some of the familiar faces from last year back again, and just as good to see the new excited ones. We will have a good time this year.

One new thing for this year is a portfolio for contract work. Don't forget to have a binder to keep all that good research filed.

The first week of school will be all about getting familiar with the class. Not the science, but the kids who are your peers, the classmates that you will be teaching and learning from. To feel more a part of the whole class and not a face in the desk we will be doing several activities to get to know everyone and to put some of your own influence into your own class. So, questions for this week:

What is your ideal classroom like?
What does it sound, look, or feel like?

If we can all put for the effort and agree to make this class our ideal class we will all feel safe and comfortable in the class. Then we can start talking science with each other.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Glad to have you all in our science class.

~Hoopman

Science Adventure Week 2010

This year, students engineered earthquake safe buildings.

Adventure!

Summer Science 2010

SCIENCE ONE: Enjoy the slideshow of your newly discovered dinosaurs.


SCIENCE TWO: Enjoy the slideshow of your time period diaramas



SCIENCE ONE: Choose your favorite paper airplane!!


Vote here!

Seventh Grade Week 27

This week's topic is the weather.

What causes High and Low pressure in the atmosphere?
What makes the winds blow?

Hopefully our contracts will take us outside to see the weather.

Eighth Grade Week 27

We change gears this week and focus on biology for the last few weeks of school. First, we take a look at the cell, it's parts, and how we study it.

How do even the smallest cells show the characteristics of living things?
What are the functions of specific cell parts?

This section looks at the use of microscopes. I see that the counter that I cleaned off for the chemistry unit has fallen into squalor in my absence. Let's clean that up so I can challenge you to use the microscopes we have to help your classmates to see the small world you are trying to describe in your classwork and contracts.

Hoopman is Gone: How is it?

The kids have their food and blankies so I have a momment to post here.

Eighth graders, you should be starting work day on your first solutions contract. Jake asked earlier in the week why salt water has different times and temps to boil(and melt), it's a good question.

Seventh graders should be working on your pressure contract.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I am really miss seeing the ways you all invent to show the must show. You were just getting good and your contracts were becoming more engaging.

Hoopman is Gone: You kids behaving?

Hey kids, at a Web 2.0 workshop right now. It's about doing things like...this: the blog, the wiki, learning about back channel chats, wordle, presentations, and other things on the internets.

You kids should be busy with workday right now, getting things done, and minding your p's and q's.

I will use the blog to post anything of interest I find at the WSST Convention that you can use in class or on your contracts.

You use the blog to post any questions you have about the concepts you are going over while I am away, ask for a wiki page, kindly ask for help with A presentations, etc.

I am always with you. Right here. Watching.

Eighth Grade Week 23

Now that we understand bonding, let's rearrange bonds in chemical reactions. This week let's get active and really DO chemistry to explain chemistry.

What happens in a chemical reaction?
Why do we have to balance the equation of a chemical reaction?

Second hour found a nice site to help you quiz yourself on balancing equations. Get yourself ready for that first page of the test we hear so much about at Classic ChemBalancer

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in chemistry. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we can look back at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Chemistry.

This weeks contract has you creating your own experiment to demonstrate a chemical reaction or quizzing the class on balancing equations.

Seventh Grade Week 22

Over the next two weeks we will look at Newton's Laws of Motion.

What is Newton's First Law?
What does it mean?

On p. 46 of your text there is an activity to design a lab that find the mass of an object without weighing or holding the object. You had to use your knowledge of Newton's Laws and how mass affects inertia. How did your group do in creating a way of finding mass without touching the object?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in physics. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we will look at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Physics.

This weeks contract has you designing a lab, demonstration, inquiry that teaches us about Newton's First Law. The best presentations will be done by both classroom groups on lab days(Wednesdays).

Eighth Grade Week 22

In this section we look at how atoms combine to form chemicals and the effects of those bonds?

What are the properties of compounds that have covalent bonds? ionic bonds? metallic bonds?
How does the type of bond influence the structure of the compound?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in chemistry. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we can look back at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Chemistry.

This weeks contract compares types of bonds, models molecules, and investigates buckminsterfullerene.

Seventh Grade Week 21

We move from position and motion to speed and acceleration.

What is speed?
What is acceleration?
How are they measured?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in physics. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we will look at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Physics.

This weeks contract has you designing a lab, demonstration, inquiry that teaches us about speed or acceleration. The best presentations will be done by both classroom groups on lab days(Wednesdays).

Eighth Grade Week 21

This section explores why elements bond to form compounds?

How do elements bond to form compounds? Why?
Explain the Hydrogen peroxide and Manganese dioxide reaction?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in chemistry. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we can look back at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Chemistry.

This weeks contract has you select a unique element from the periodic table and describe the compounds it is a constituent of.

Seventh Grade Week 20

Like the Eighth grade, we also change gears and turn to Physical Science. We focus on Physics and begin with Motion and Forces

What is position?
What is motion?
How are both measured?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in physics. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we will look at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Physics.

This weeks contract has you designing a lab, demonstration, inquiry that teaches us about position or motion. The best presentations will be done by both classroom groups on lab days(Wednesdays).

Eighth Grade Week 20

This week we take a close look at the periodic table. Mendeleev and others since have arranged elements into a Periodic Table of the Elements. The power of Mendeleev's table is that he could make predictions about unknown elements.

How are elements arranged on the periodic table?
Why do elements in groups share similar properties?

We also want to be finding interesting experiments in chemistry. Why are they important and how do they tie in with what we are covering? To help get the ball rolling we will look at some great discoveries and experiments throughout history in the Science Channel's presentation of 100 Greatest Discoveries: Chemistry.

This weeks contract has you select a unique element from the periodic table and design a poster for its square on the Periodic Table. The best posters will be set into our ceiling Periodic Table of the Elements for all time, or until it is replaced...so come up with your best design.

Eighth Grade Week 19

We leave the natural resources concepts of the Changing Earth and Earth's Waters units, and focus our attention on the integrated concept of change throughout the units. In the Chemical Interactions unit we will look at how things change on the smallest of levels.

What is the structure of an atom?
How does this structure lead to some elements forming ions?

This weeks contract has you select a unique element from the periodic table and design a model of its structure. I will have one question when you present. How does the structure of the element affect its function? Good luck, and pick a winner fast before someone else does.

Seventh Grade Week 18

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the nervous and endocrine systems.

How does our nervous system communicate with our surroundings? our bodies? the other parts of the nercous system?
What are hormones? How do they work?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use this form to add new resources.

Seventh Grade Week 17

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the reproductive system.

What is different about the cells produced by the reproductive system?
Why do you thing this difference is so important in reproduction?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use this form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 17

No contract this week.

This week we focus on our new groups in an Oceans Webquest.

Questions are answered by filling out your projects form.
View spreadsheets of answers:
Coastal Development
Submarine Canyon Sludge
Kelp Forest Facial
Coral Reef Vacation
Sargasso Sea Salvage
All That Glitters
Running On Empty
Geoengineer Me a Copyright

Groups composed of a biologist, chemist, physicist, and geologist will come together on the final days of the week to decide the fate of the project. Then try to convince me. Good luck.

Seventh Grade Week 16

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the immune and integumentary systems.

How does the immune system work?
Describe the complex layers of the integumentary system.

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use this form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 16

As we continue our look at the Earth's oceans we now look at ocean resources. What resources that we use come from the ocean?

How are these resources acquired?
How are these resources used?
What are the effects of humans acquiring and using these resources?


Watch this Discovery Video and answer some of the questions it asks.

Contracts this week look at how humans affect the oceans.

Seventh Grade Week 15

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the circulatory system.

How does the circulatory system move nutrients and wastes?
How are the nturients delivered to cells that need them?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use this form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 15

As we continue our look at the Earth's oceans we now look at living things, biomes and our interactions with them.

Describe the different habitats of the Earth's oceans.
What are the human affects on these habitats?

Contracts this week give a chance to get on the wall and a few Design Your Own again.

Seventh Grade Week 14

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the digestive and urinary systems.

Compare and contrast mechanical and chemical digestion?
What is a vestigal organ(like the appendix)?
How do the kidneys filter blood?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use lasts week's form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 14

As we continue our look at the Earth's oceans we now focus on movement besides currents. This week we will look at both waves and tides

How does a wave form?
What happens to a wave near shore?
What causes tides?

Contracts this week are Design Your Own.

Seventh Grade Week 13

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the respiratory system.

How does the body obtain nutrients?
How does the body get rid of waste?
What is cellular respiration?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use lasts week's form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 13

As we continue our look into the Earth's waters we know focus on the largest collection of water: the ocean.

How does the ocean affect us here in Plymouth, WI?
What does teh ocean floor look like? How do we know?
How does water move through the ocean?
What causes currents?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions.

Seventh Grade Week 12

This week we continue looking at the Human Body. Remember, as we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com. This week as a class we are editing and adding to the pages on the skeletal and muscular systems.

What is the function of the skeletal system? the muscular system?
What are some of the parts of these systems and what do they do?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions. Use the Human Body Google Doc we created as a list of resources to use in your research and use lasts week's form to add new resources.

Eighth Grade Week 12

This week we continue our unit on the Earth's waters. We make use of our very own groundwater model thanks to UW-Steven's Point. We narrow our focus to the groundwater and aquifers of Plymouth, Wisconsin

How does water move on the surface?
How does water move underground??

What rock types make up our aquifer?
How can aquifers purify water?
How can aquifers become contaminated?
Where/How do we get our drinking water?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions.

Make It Rain Design Challenge! Vote Now!
Several groups were challenged to design a device to make it rain on the water model. Now its up to you to choose the one that would work and will be made! View the entries on the slideshow below(click on it to link to a larger view) and then vote on the Google Doc form below!

Seventh Grade Week 11

This week we begin our unit on the Human Body. As we go through this entire unit, add to, redo, edit your Human Body Notebook 10 projects. Send it to hoopmanscience@gmail.com.

What are the organ systems of the human body?
What do they do?
How do they interact with each other?

Contracts for this week focus on these questions.

We have been doing a lot to research organ sysmtems beyond the information in the book. In fact we have done that with most topics this year. How do we know that the information we find is reliable, understandable, appropriate for the discussion? Fill in the form below to create a Google doc spreadsheet of site we deem the best.

Eighth Grade Week 11

This week we begin our unit on the Earth's waters. We make use of our very own groundwater model thanks to UW-Steven's Point.

How does water move throughout the Earth?
What are the special characteristics of water?

Some questions we have had in class:
Why does ice float?
Why do belly flops hurt?
Why is salt water salty?

Contracts and Notebook Projects for this week focus on these questions.