Current


 * Here is a list of current topics that we have been studying in class. Parents, this can be a useful page to get your child to talk about school. See what we have been doing in class and ask your child questions about it.**

5/14/08: Sorry for the long time that has passed between my updates. We have been going on several mini trips in science class and I have been busy making plans. That is right. . . we have gone on several mini trips. Most of these trips have taken place during our block schedule and have not interrupted other classes. I am sure you have noticed the mini trip slips that students have been bringing home.

Our first trip was to the stream on our nature trail. We used this stream to build a formula that would help us estimate the volume of water moving by. Later, we used these calculations on larger rivers.

Our next trip was to a nearby vernal pool. This is one of the most interesting environments in the area. Many strange creatures such as fair shrimp and caddisfly larva live in it.

Then we took a trip to the Mount Hope River to take some measurements and conduct some water quality tests. This gave us a chance to collect some river data that could be used in a later class to do a comparison.

Most recently, we went to the Salmon River in Colchester to release our salmon and conduct more tests. What a great day we had, basking in the sun and enjoying the pristine Salmon Rver Park. We have been comparing our data from our two rivers in class.

Right now, we are preparing for our big trip to Bluff Point. Our classes will get a chance to see three extremely different types of water habitats there.

3/26/08: Today is a special day for the hydrogen fuel cell team! We will be going to the Two Rivers Magnet School in East Hartford to participate in a car building workshop. Our team has been meeting weekly since October, building our own fuel cell car for competition next week in the regional contest. This workshop today will give us a chance to share ideas with other teams and test our car on an actual regulation track.

We have just finished up a lab on solar energy. For many of my classes, this is the last grade of the third marking period. It involved testing different colored surfaces for their ability to collect and convert solar energy into heat.

We are now going to begin to study simple machines and build space probes for our next unit. We plan to launch a spy rocket that will fly hundreds of feet into the air and take a photograph of the school. Our classes will be experimenting with different cone designs and safe ways to encapsulate the camera so it will survive the impact of a landing. I will keep you informed about our progress.

3/19/08: We have been studying the Moon and the Sun. Our latest lab experiment involved using a magnifying lens to test the potential of different colors to collect solar energy. It is a classic experiment with great lessons about the potential of solar energy. Since this lab depends entirely on a sunny day, some of our classes have not been able to complete it. Therefore, the due date for this lab is going to be different for each group. Please check the Homework and Due Dates tab on this wiki for the latest dates.

Our fish are experiencing some serious problems. The trout are getting large enough so our 55 gallon tank is no longer capable of maintaining a healthy environment. We are trying to counter this problem by releasing some of our trout now and lowering the number of fish in the tank. Our salmon have all hatched! They are happily sitting in their tank. Check our our video of hatching! Hatching Salmon

3/12/08: We have just finished the CMT!!!! Although it is a very important part of our school year, we are all glad to be on a regular schedule that does not get interrupted. You will notice that homework has been light for the past week or so, but now things should return to normal. You can check out our new feature on our classroom wiki by clicking on Homework and Due Dates in the menu to the left. It will list assignments and due dates for all of my classes. I hope this is helpful.

We have also managed to capture the salmon hatching on video. It is featured on our Classroom Fish Project. Check it out!

We have continued our study of the Moon and its movements. We are also talking about the rhythms of nature caused by the moon, day/night and the seasons. To demonstrate that we are on the verge of a big seasonal change, we have spent the last week forcing live branches. This involves taking fresh cuttings from flowering trees and shrubs and bringing them indoors. Keeping them in water and in a bright spot will fool them into thinking that it is later in the seasonal cycle and they will bloom. It has been great to see all of the apple blossoms and forsythia. You can try the same at home if you want to see a bit of spring right now.

2/28/08: Although the approaching CMT has interrupted our schedule, we have managed to start a few very interesting projects this week. First, our hydrogen fuel cell team went to a great workshop over vacation. We learned about the upcoming fuel cell competition that we are going to enter and we were given supplies for the construction of our car.

Next, the salmon have begun to hatch. We have set up a mini video camera and recorder in an attempt to catch some hatching on tape. If it is successful, I will get one of our seventh grade computer experts to post it on this page.

We also began forcing some cuttings from flowering trees and shrubs. Since we are discussing the seasonal rhythms and we are so close to spring, we decided to fool mother nature into coming to our classroom a bit early. One class has designed an experiment to test if adding sugar to cut plants and flowers helps keep them alive. If you are in the GREEN group, you have been working on a lab report for this experiment and it will be due at the end of next week. All other groups are working on other classroom assignments.

Please remember, the best way to do well on the CMT is to come to school well rested and with a good breakfast in your tummy. Please help make things go smoothly by doing your best on this important test.

You may also be interested in next week's  focus question. It has been posted a bit early because of the CMT schedule. It will be due at the end of next week.

2/15/08: We have survived Spirit Week! It has been quite the crazy week and we had lots of fun, but we also managed to touch upon a few scientific topics. We have finished up our Tilted Earth Lab. This lab involved building a model of the Sun and Earth in an attempt to recreate the seasonal changes in solar intensity. We used computer-controlled light meters and took light readings from our globes. We also had a chance to create a 3-D graph with this data. . . very complicated, but a great Math/Science/Geography combination.

I was able to get all of these lab reports graded and included in mid-term grades before the Thursday deadline. Please be aware that mid-term reports should show up in the mail on Saturday 2/16/08. When we return from vacation, we will begin a study of the Moon and how it influences life-cycles on Earth.

Have a great winter break next week!

2/8/08: We have been using light probes to measure the amount of solar energy that hits the Earth during different seasons. It has been one of the most technical labs that we have attempted so far this year. It involves plotting hundreds of data points on a 3-D graph after setting up a model with a globe, the North Star, a very bright light source that represents the Sun and a corresponding map. The class has been doing very well considering it requires the use of many math, geography, writing, and observational skills. We plan on finishing it up next week. **HOMEWORK ALERT: THIS LAB IS DUE ON THE FOLLOWING DATES- RED AND YELLOW IS DUE ON WEDNESDAY 2/13, BLUE AND GREEN IS DUE ON TUESDAY 2/12** (This is a change from the original plan.)

1/25/08: Sorry things are a bit late this time, but we have been up to our ears in Science Night 2008. I want to thank all of the people who helped make this night such a success. I would guess that we had at least 300 attendees! Best of all, the projects that were created by our students were very impressive and I could see many of the science concepts that I teach in class in the projects.

You should also know that our salmon eggs have arrived. A representative from the CT Salmon Association delivered 200 salmon eggs to our incubator last Thursday. They are resting quietly and look like they are in good health. We are eagerly awaiting their hatching date.

You may have noticed a lapse in homework. This is kind of true. I have limited the amount of work sent home this past week or so to give students time to put the finishing touches on their Science Night projects. Homework will return to normal next week. I plan on assigning a focus question and we are having a quiz on light next week.

1/7/08: This week is the final week in the second quarter. We will be taking a test at the end of the week. This will finish our study of Biology and next week we will begin an Earth Science Unit. Don't forget about Science Night! It is right around the corner and you should be close to completing your project. Do you want and additional extra credit point? Have it ready to present to class next week.

12/17/07: We have spent the week getting graded science night research back to students. I have managed to correct all research notes and conference with each student. I really wanted to give some feedback to each student and see how students are proceeding with the final part of this project. Students have committed to either a Science Night project or a simpler final paper/pamphlet. Please ask your child to see his/her grading sheet. All of the information, including a due date for papers and pamphlets are on it.

If a student has committed to a Science Night project, then the project is due on January 11th. If a student has committed to a pamphlet or a paper, then it is due on January 7th. Please touch base with your child to make sure they are pacing themselves.

Have a happy holiday! I will see you in January.

12/11/07: **PROJECT ALERT!!!!!! ALL RESEARCH PROJECTS ARE DUE ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY OF THIS WEEK. STUDENTS MUST HAND IN THEIR PROJECT NOTES ON THE DESIGNATED DAY TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT. LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR HALF CREDIT NO LATER THAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 17.** (I need these papers quickly because I plan to spend the weekend correcting them, so students can get them back next week and begin their Science Night projects.)

We are going to finish our biology unit this week with a study of the digestive system. I hope to end this unit before we leave for the holiday next week. It looks as though we are not going to get the final test in before we leave, so we are going to take care of this upon our return in January.

Check out the iMovie below about our trout! Thanks student webmaster. We have just set up a third tank in preparation for the arrival of salmon eggs in January.

12/4/07: We are right in the middle of research projects. All of my students have chosen a topic to research and we will spend this week’s class time using computers and taking notes for the project. It is my hope that students will finish most or all of their research before Friday. All students were given a rubric in class last week and we discussed any questions, so the expectations should be clear. Please let me know ASAP if you have any questions. After Friday, students will finish their research project independently, which will be due at the end of next week. I will post the date as soon as it is finalized.

11/27/07: Welcome back from a nice break. I hope everyone had a bit of a rest because we are going to dive right into lots of new stuff. First of all, our trout have begin to hatch. This has been unexpected since we were told that they would hatch mid to late December, but all looks well. I think we will have about 90 healthy trout to raise. We are going to take one of the tiny new alvins ( a newly hatched fish) and take a closer look at it under the video microscope later in the week. Since the fish have begun to hatch, we plan to start some discussions about our upcoming new unit, Water and the Ecosystem.

We are also going to begin doing guided research and learn how to investigate a topic through library research. All students are required to complete some kind of research for class and some students have elected to turn this research into a Science Night project for extra credit. Students will get a rubric today that outlines the research expectations. We will be using some class time to begin the first chunk of work, but students will be expected to finish it up as independent work. Again, I plan on talking about this in class. We plan to have our research done before the middle of December so students who have elected to create a Science Night project will have plenty of time to meet the deadline of January 11. (please check out the newly revised __Deadlines__ in the Science Night 2008 tab.)

We have just finished talking about blood and we will move onto a few other body systems over the next few weeks. WARNING: prepare for a notebook check and an end of the unit test before we leave for the holiday vacation. Dates to be announced in class.

11/20/07: It has been a crazy week with our 1/2 day schedules. However, I am so happy to see so many parents at conferences. Our classes have been trying to catch up on some note taking. We have been learning about blood and taking notes. This sheet of notes should be kept in notebook folders for future reference on our end of the unit test. I have received about 30 science night proposals. Directly after the holiday, we will be talking about research and I will get everyone started on their research project. Science Night proposals can be used for this class research. I hope to have the research done before the middle of December so students doing a Science Night project can begin project construction. HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

11/14/07: We are in the process of finishing a major lab called __Feel the Beat__. Our final presentations will be finished on Friday and we will use next week's ½ day schedule to wrap up Life Science. Science Night Proposals were due today and we will soon move onto the research phase for these projects. Have you discussed a project with your child yet? Check out the information on this wiki Science Night 2008.

11/7/07: We announced Science Night projects this week. Students were given a packet of information about how to do a project and are required to submit a proposal by next Tuesday and Wednesday. You can go to the Science Night 2008 page on this wiki. Please consider contributing to this great night.

11/1/07: We are going to give students their reportcards tomorow. Please watch for them. This week, we continued work on Feel the Beat. Students began to collect data for their experiements. Sceince Night is closer than you think: watch for packets of information that will be given to students on Monday, 11/5/07. Click Here For More Information

10/25/07: We are in the middle of designing our own labs right now. These labs are an investigation of what variables might affect a person's pulse rate. While this sounds simple, there are hundreds of variables that will change the outcome of this experiment. It is quite a challenge to design an experiment that will provide reliable data. This lab is called __Feel the Beat__. It is part of a state requirement in preparation for the upcoming science CMT.



10/18/07: We have been studying the circulatory system this week. This is preparation for our next lab, Feel the Beat. It involves taking your pulse and identifying variables that can change it. This is a big experiment because my students are going to design it.

10/11/07: We are taking a test today and tomorrow. I also passed back graded Cryogenic Lab Reports. Students with less than 70% average must bring the lab report home for a parent signature.

10/8/07: The seventh grade attends WINGS at the Hole In The Wall Gang. In terms of science, this was an excellent day of problem solving and the study of simple machines. . . Thanks Mrs. H.



10/3/07: The upcoming test on Thursday and Friday (10/11, 10/12) was announced in class. Study those notebooks!

10/1/07: We began studying the circulatory system by putting a live goldfish’s tail under the video microscope to observe its circulatory system in action. We were able to identify arteries, veins, and capillaries. This was very impressive!



9/25/07: We are studying the affects of body temperature on a cold-blooded animal's respiratory rate. We took a goldfish and cooled its temperature down 2 degrees at a time and measured its respiratory rate. When we collected enough data, we graphed our results in an effort to identify trends.