Blog Poll: Are you challenged by the classwork given at school?

Are you challenged by the classwork given at school?

Never (3) 8%

Most of the time (6) 16%

Only by one or two teachers (20) 54%

All the time (8) 21%

Votes: 37

Poll closed December 18

Lander: Egg Drop

Everyone did well! Congratulations. 

Water Cycle Song II

Objective: It is time to show your creative side along with your knowledge of the water cycle terminology.

Vocabulary: 

1. Transpiration

2. Percolation

3. Aquifer

4. Evaporation

5. Condensation

6. Precipitation

7. Runoff

9. Groundwater

Building Landers

Build Day!

Enrichment Group 1: Final Project

Try One!

Egg Lander Projects

Examples of past projects. Students will learn more about the project this week. 

Enrichment: Fire

Safety:  Locate the fire blanket and fire extinguisher. 

Discuss how to use the blanket and fire extinguisher.

Wearing googles place a cup of water next to you.

Strike match away from you, keeping your fingers clear of the flame. 

Hypothesis: What direction will a match burn fastest? How can you use matches in your project?

Play-Doh Review

Mr. Swafford!
Students explaining Earth's place in the cosmos.

 Today we finished class with the students seeking to answer our big questions for this nine weeks: "What big ideas guide human understanding about the origin and structure of the universe, Earth's place in the cosmos, and observable motions and patterns in the sky?"

Earth & Space Review Probes

Use the review probes to help you increase your performance on the exam. 

Rotation

Planets

Eclipses

Seasons

Tides

Force on Objects

Light

Enrichment Project Group 1

What is Parallax?

Lab today used the scientific method testing a project to view parallax.

Here are two links to help you learn more:

Stellar Parallax

Astroprof's Page: The first parallax Measurements

Water Cycle Song!

Objective: It is time to show your creative side along with your knowledge of the water cycle terminology.

Vocabulary: 

1. Transpiration

2. Percolation

3. Aquifer

4. Evaporation

5. Condensation

6. Precipitation

7. Runoff

9. Groundwater

Student Example:

Blog Poll: How often do people ask to look at your work?

How often do people ask to look at your work?

1. Never (3) 14%

2. Sometimes (12) 57%

3. All the time (6) 28%

Poll two week long with 21 respondents. 

Taken durning the last two weeks of November 2008

Great Space Pictures From LIFE Mag.

Students check out these pictures.

 1960s Apollo space source:life - Google Image Search 

If you would like credit for work you do. Take these pictures and put them into a PowerPoint or Google Documents Presenter (Free with a GMail account). Show the pictures in class. 

Mr. Swafford

Spring & Neap Tide

Vocabulary: 

1. Spring tide

2. Neap tide

3. Gravity

4. Right angle

5. Align  

6. Range

Object: Students will understand how and why spring and neap tide occur. 

Examples:

Inertia & Gravity Cause Elliptical Orbits!

Vocabulary:

1. Satellite

2. Gravity

3. Inertia

4. Orbit/Revolve

5. Elliptical

Task: Use a table tennis ball on a string to explain the the vocabulary words. Each student will take turns demoing and listening. Miss statements should be corrected. 

Examples: 

Eccentricity of an Orbit!

Eccentricity of an Orbit

Great Site to Checkout!

Click on each planet to see facts about the planets and find your weight on each.

Science Monster - Our Solar System

Student Council Elections 2008

The Speeches are Here!

NASA Movie: What is a Planet?

What is a Planet? 

NASA Video Links

Enrichment Project Group 8

Day 1

Dominoes

Table Tennis Balls

Mouse Traps

Wood Blocks

Windup Toys

String

The Class:

Mouse Traps for the First Time:

Clifford Launches a Ball:

Launcher:

Launch & Catch:

Launch Eight:

Planet Cookies: Real Or Fake!

Objective: 1. Differentiate Between Planets 2. Research & Communicate the Difference

Task: 1. Students were asked to make a planet and demonstrate specific characteristics for that planet. 2. Students compared and contrasted the planets. 

Class: 1A

Do you know how planets and stars compare?

Extra Credit! Learning More About Space...

Two free open source programs that offer wonderful opportunities for star gazing, knowledge gain, and general fun are: Stellarium and Celestia.

Any student wishing to learn more will receive extra credit when he/she demonstrates there knowledge of either of these programs. "If you can show knowledge gain then your grade will be increased." 

Moving Water Across the Room!

Challenger Center

UTC Challenger Center

Science Zone Demo with Ben Roy

Welcome! - Ben Roy's Science Zone

Try This With Mom's Help, Cook A Boiled Egg In the Microwave....Shell on of Course!

The Fun Continues...

"Mr. Swafford, You should have seen it

 The egg blow into a billion bits!" 

"The door on my microwave flew open, hitting me in the head."

"This was the best project but mom make me clean it up."

What Causes Acid Rain?

Causes of Acid Rain according to a few of your classmates...

Bikes Belong: Velib on Vimeo

Bikes Belong presents: Velib from Bikes Belong Coalition on Vimeo.

Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Tides

Crater Lab II

Crater Lab

Main Point: Moon 

Vocabulary: Crater, Mare (pl. Maria), Mountain, Rille, Ray, Ejecta

The Moon Crater Lab: Video

Enrichment Project Nov. 4 Group

Rube Goldberg projects continue...

Voting Day! Counting Votes...

Can you Break an Egg?

They Couldn't. KR you make me laugh.

New Enrichment Photos/Video Coming!

Our new Enrichment classes have started... I have 8 new videos to post and will try to get them up tomorrow. Sorry, no time tonight. Students get your parents to go vote! 

Quiz: Next Class Moon Phases and Eclipses. 

Tides

Link to good interactive site:

NOAA's National Ocean Service: Animation of spring and neap tides

Moon Vocabulary

Moon Vocab

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/moonvocab3.pdf

Moon Phases

Great interactive link:
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/moon_phases/

Speech Day Coming!

Student Council Speech Day to Be Uploaded Later this Week...

Homework Page 45 1-5

Homework Page 45 1-5. Make sure you restate the question in your answer. Work should be done in your compbook.

Moving Water from Here to There!

Challenger Mission

Find the “Ws” on the Challenger Space Mission: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and hoW.

Links:

http://history.nasa.gov/Biographies/challenger.html

http://www.challenger.org/about/history/index.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

Season on Earth

Enrichment Rube Goldberg Projects Continue...

Our project is... Clown B-Ball 

 

Audio for the Textbook -Download MP3-

I have put the audio for the textbook online for anyone who would like to download it. 

http://homepage.mac.com/crswaff/Sites/Science2008_2009/Astronomy.zip

Sent Home

Parent letter and exam sent home, please look the two items over with
your student. Homework is to make a timeline with 15 space history
dates and 10 other events.

See NASA timelines: History Timelines

Enrichment Round 1 & 2

Here are a few pictures and video from the first two rounds of Rube Goldberg projects.

Rube Goldberg Project

Water Cycle Songs/Stories

The students have made wonderful songs and I hope to upload a few soon. You will be amazed by their work. More to come...