The class did a density lab where they change the density of water by adding different amounts of salt. The hard part is to decant the solution so the different densities don’t mix. We used food coloring to show each different density layer. The bottom layer has 2.5 teaspoons of salt. The middle layer has 1 teaspoon of salt, and the top layer has no salt, just yellow food coloring. We used 100ml of water for each layer. Put a piece of cardboard on top of the red layer to decant. The class did a great job.
I have started taking my Bisaya lessons again with my teacher, Bebe, who lives in the Philippines. We are using Wiziq, an online teaching platform. I have scanned in the first ten lessons as we will need to review these so I can get back up to speed. Our first lesson online was difficult as I was at my sister’s house in New Jersey and the wireless network was a little slow as I was upstairs and the base was downstairs. My next lessn will be here at home and things should be better.
When I was in Mindanao, Philippines this past summer, I took ten lessons with Bebe. We usually met at the coffee shop or at Bob Martin’s house. That’s the best way to learn: one on one. Since we are very far away now, I think the best way to learn is to use the online classroom at Wiziq. My goal is still to become fluent in the Bisaya language. I’ll scan in the next few lessons so we’re ready to go. Time now to review my vocabulary.
Here is a good lab to check the observational skills of your students. I do this early in the year so I can check my class procedures for lab clean up. The students will also see something that is not expected, which adds to the excitement. The students will also have some practice measuring with a graduated cylinder.
To do this, measure 25 ml of half and half and pour into a perti dish. Put one or two drops of four different colors of food coloring into the half and half. Then put a match into a drop of Joy Ultra dish detergent and then put into the middle of the colors. The colors will move to the outside and then start to blend together. You can adapt this to almost any grade level.
A neat way to help students internalize a cubic centimeter is to make paper cubic centimeters, aka Groovy Cubes. All my classes made them this week and we strung them together on thread. I’ll hang them up tomorrow in the classroom. We also discussed how one cubic centimeter will hold one milliliter of pure water and the water’s mass will be one gram.
First, cut out the pattern and fold. The hard part is taping them into a cube. Get some thread and a needle and start stringing.
Today I did the burn the dollar bill demonstration with my science classes. I use this as a discrepant event in that what happens is not what one would think happens, and this gets their attention. I also use this as an introduction to a discussion on class safety. Each class tried to name as many safety procedures that I demonstrated while doing this demo.
While I was preparing for this demo, I took my time and made sure I did all the little things like to move the alcohol away from the flame, keep the water running, washed my hands after I soaked the dollar bill, wore safety glasses, used safety matched, gave the class procedure for what to do during a fire drill, gave the procedure if a beaker is dropped and broken in class, put a lid on the solution so no vapors excape, and put salt in the solution to see the flame. I also discussed with the class that accidents usually happen when one is rushing to complete a task.
To complete the lesson, I challenged each class to list as many safety aspects as possible on the Smartboard and to think of more than the preceding class. Every class did very well. It was a great first day and I think I’m more excited than the students about doing some science this year.
We are visiting family here in Mindanao, Philippines and I’m amazed by all the colorful flowers that grow almost everywhere. Right outside our fence, along the side of the road, are many different kinds of flowers. One flower in particular caught my interest as it’s very large and brightly colored. This flower has a deep saturated red hue with a hint of orange. The height is about 1.5 meters and the flower’s diameter measures about 20 centimeters. The seeds are very small black round dots. I’ve never seen anything like this back home so I was curious about knowing more.
I tried asking around but nobody seems to know the flower’s name. I googled it but couldn’t find anything. I also searched many images on Google but nothing close came up. I finally asked my sister in law and she asked around at work and thinks she has it identified. It’s common name is Palong Manok. The scientific name is Celasia coccinea Linn. According to the Philippine Medicinal Plant website it has a variety of common names such as:
The Palong Manok gets it’s name because it looks like a rooster. The Bisaya word manok means chicken, or rooster. It is not used medicinally in the Philippines, but some other countries use it for medicine. With more time this winter, when the snow and cold are with us, I’ll remember walking around Mindanao smelling all the flowers.
Every year, I conclude my science classes with the Mars Habitat activity. I started this project about fifteen years ago and have progressively made it larger and with more features. This is a great cooperative activity as it requires the full class to fold and tape the habitats and tunnels. I do this with three 8th grade classes and I have my other 7th grade classes help make repairs. This year they built six habitats and connected them with four tunnels.
We use lots of 3mm plastic tarps and about 20 rolls of duct tape. This year I started buying the 3mm tarps in bulk. I make it another class exercise to cut the plastic to sizes needed. Each habitat requires two 10′x25′ tarps. There is a certain way to fold the plastic and tape them together. I will explain in another video how this is done.
The Commander routine and outfit is from when I taught in Florida. We took the students to Space Camp for a week and I got into it as much as they did. It’s a great activity and I enjoy teaching this level. If you are a science teacher and would like to try this activity, let me know and leave a comment. If there is sufficient interest, I’m give more information on how to do all this.
One of the most important concepts in science is density. To teach this, the student must first understand the difference between the mass and weight of an object. So be sure to teach mass and weight first. I found an easy way to help the students remember this formula using a heart. I have found that they remember the formula and gain confidence using it to calculate the density of various objects. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
My first video dealt with dividing numbers ending with zero, such as 30, 40, 50 etc. See part A below. I will now show you how to divide numbers that do not end in zero. This is the math trick that we use in class to try and beat the calculator. It really gets kids interested in some math and it’s great to do when there is only a few minutes left in class. I believe in not wasting a minute of instructional time. My MathCounts team uses this mathematics trick to sharpen their wits and warm up before we tackle the harder problems in practice. I’m also happy to say that my MathCounts team took first place in our region and also finished in the top half at the state competition. Great job. I’m very proud of them for all their hard word.
Today I will give the list of the top sixteen scientists and mathematicians that we are studying in class. I try to pick a variety of different scientists that I think are relevant to the content. A new scientist is introduced every Monday. We still have sixteen to go for the rest of the year so your favorite may be missing.
Here is my list in the order presented to class this year:
Albert Einstein
Marie Curie
Bernhard Riemann
Emmy Noether
Thomas Edison
Rosalind Franklin
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Gregor Mendel
Galileo Galilei
Rachael Carson
G.H. Hardy
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Leonhard Euler
Archimedes
Robert Hooke
Sylvia Earl
On the worksheet given to the student, I usually give the name of the scientist, month and day born, year born and one or two short accomplishments. We then put the year born into the Peg system and link the date to the Peg word.
