Blog | Class With Catwood

CHANGING MOUNTAINS

Oct 31

Hello everyone,

As we begin a brand-new marking period, we are shifting our focus to our next unit Earth’s History & Processes. Over the next few weeks, students will discover how landscapes change over time, how mountains form, why earthquakes occur, and how rock layers reveal Earth’s history.

Where We Were

Over the past two weeks, we explored how gravity keeps our universe in motion. Through interactive lessons and demonstrations, students connected the forces shaping space to physical movement. We wrapped up the unit with our Architect of the Solar System project. Students modeled "what if" scenarios to demonstrate how gravity acts as a master architect of our solar system and beyond. Their presentations were a creative, engaging way to showcase their learning and kick off Marking Period 2!

Below: Some photos of some posters that were part of our project.

Where We Are

We introduced our new unit with an engaging anchoring phenomenon: What is causing Mt. Everest and other mountains to move, grow, or shrink? After locating Mount Everest on a map, students analyzed data comparing how different mountains around the world change each year. They built initial models and brainstormed ideas to explain these shifts. This unit challenges students to look deep within the planet to understand the powerful forces right beneath our feet.

Where We ARE Going

Next week, we will build a class Driving Question Board to guide our upcoming investigations. Students will analyze earthquake case studies using an interactive Seismic Explorer map to connect seismic activity to tectonic plate boundaries. We will also use hands-on station rotations to explore the interior structure of the Earth. After all this, we will start to learn about Continental Drift, Alfred Wegener, and the Theory of Plate Tectonics.

If you have any questions or want to connect further, please feel free to reach out at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our classroom adventures on Instagram at @classwithcatwood, where I share updates and snapshots of what we’re learning.

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood

IN YOUR ORBIT

Oct 9

Hello everyone,

We are still cruising through our astronomy unit and are officially entering the last bit of our journey through the cosmos. Students have been working hard, asking big questions, and exploring how our place in the universe works.

Where We Were

We kicked off this unit by focusing on Earth-Sun-Moon interactions. Students modeled moon phases as well as lunar and solar eclipses, conducted gallery walks, analyzed eclipse images, and whiteboarded eclipse diagrams to understand why these events occur and why eclipses display such distinct colors. We also examined atmospheric interactions through hands-on activities like our Milky Water lab, comparing sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset images to investigate how light interacts with Earth's atmosphere.

Where We Are

Over the past week, we expanded our view from our local space to the scale of the universe and space exploration. Students began with space exploration notes and measuring space practice. We took our learning outside to use the sidewalks for a scale model of the solar system lab activity. Finally, students spent time on the electromagnetic spectrum using station rotations and spectroscopy practice sheets to learn how scientists use light to observe space and determine how objects move through the universe.

Images from our Scale Model of the Solar System Lab Activity:

Where We Are Going

As we move into the final stretch of the unit, our focus turns to gravity, orbits, and how solar systems form. Students will tackle a thought experiment about how Earth would be impacted if the moon were a different size or distance in its orbit. We will cover orbits and gravity using notes, simulations, and interactive demonstrations of Newton's and Kepler's Laws. We'll wrap up this topic with our Gravity station rotations.

To wrap up the unit, students will begin work on the Architect of a Solar System project. There will be no traditional test for this unit. Our final assessment is entirely project-based, as all of our hands-on labs throughout the unit have already tested students on the core content. As a quick reminder, the Marking Period is over October 26th, all missing work is due by Wednesday, October 21st.

If you have any questions or want to connect further, feel free to reach out at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our classroom adventures on Instagram at @classwithcatwood, where I share updates and snapshots of what we are learning!

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood

OVER THE MOON

Sep 27

Hello everyone,

It was so wonderful to meet several of you at Back to School Night! Thank you for taking the time to come out and connect. If you were unable to make it or missed any of the information we shared, you can review our Back to School Night Handout and view our presentation Slides at your convenience.

Where We Were

We recently wrapped up activities related to day, night, and seasons. From there, we dove straight into exploring moon phases! To bring the concepts to life, students modeled the exact moon phase we were currently seeing in the night sky. Students have been recording their observations of the moon each night in their ongoing moon logs. We also did our Moon Phase Lab using "moon pops" to give everyone a fun, hands-on visual of how we see the phases of the moon from Earth.

Images from the Moon Phase Lab:

Where We Are

As we move forward, we are continuing our focus on the Moon while taking a closer look at syzygy. Syzygy is the straight-line alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Understanding this spatial alignment will lead us right into how solar and lunar eclipses occur. This week is all about eclipses! By the end of the week, we'll explore how light interacts with the Earth's atmosphere and why this is important for viewing some of the astronomical phenomena we observe from the ground.

Where We Are Going

Looking ahead, we will venture beyond our immediate Sun-Earth-Moon system to explore the solar system, our galaxy, and the universe as a whole! This includes space exploration, orbits and gravity, and includes a lot of fun demos, station rotations, and a solar system design project.

P.S. Don't forget to order your student's yearbook now! It is currently at the lowest price ($22) it will be all year. You can grab yours today on the Jostens Yearbook Site. As the Yearbook Advisor for GHMS, please let me know if you have any questions at all. Students and families can also follow our @ghmsybk Instagram account for updates!

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood