SPRING BREAK!

Hello everyone!

I hope you are doing well! I'm sure your student is excited for the Spring Break! Unfortunately, the weather seems like it's going to be rainy. Luckily, Easter Sunday should be pretty nice! I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.

WHERE WE ARE:

Over the past two weeks, we finished up our Heating & Cooling Inquiry, started our Watching the Weather project, and learned about the Atmosphere, Clouds, Relative Humidity, and Precipitation! The Watching the Weather project involves students making daily weather observations using NO TECHNOLOGY. They observe clouds/sky conditions, precipitation, temperature, humidity, and wind speed/direction. At the end of the project, on April 8th, we'll have a classroom discussion about trends they noticed in the weather. Yesterday (3/26), students had a quiz on the topics we covered within the last two weeks. Students are expected to make their daily observations over the spring break. It should only take them 1-3 minutes a day. If your family is going away, I asked that students make a note of where they were when they made their observations.

Below: Students outside during the Relative Humidity Lab.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

After Spring Break, students will learn about Air Pressure, Global and Local Winds, Air Masses, Fronts, Weather Maps and Symbols, and Severe Weather. After covering these topics, students will finish with the unit covering topics related to Climate. There will be a couple of additional quizzes before a cumulative Weather & Climate test.

If you have any questions, please contact me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) and follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

UNEVEN HEATING

Hello everyone!

I hope you are doing well! We have had some great afternoon weather lately to enjoy. It's that time again to reach out and share an update on what your student has been up to in science class!

WHERE WE ARE:

We just finished our Earth Materials and Systems unit last week before the Trimester ended, which is why I skipped a week of sending out a blog post. This week, we are returning to the concept of Heat Transfer and investigating how that plays a role in the uneven heating of the Earth's surface. This five-day lab inquiry is how we are starting our Weather & Climate unit. It's important for them to understand the concept of Heat Transfer since radiation from the Sun helps drive weather.

Below is an image of the basic setup of the lab where students recorded data for the heating/cooling of soil and water. Soil represents the Earth's land surfaces, and water represents the oceans.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

Next week, students will begin getting into the nitty gritty of the Weather & Climate unit. Monday, I'll be introducing our "Watching the Weather" project. This is a three-week project where students will spend about 1-3 minutes a night or morning observing the weather without any technology. More details are to come on Monday for students, but the project ends with a class discussion to analyze what students learned and for them to make connections to the course content we cover within the three weeks of the project. Students will likely only have this as their homework during the three weeks (EASY PEASY!). We will cover many cool topics, and we'll start with the Atmosphere, Cloud Formation, and Precipitation. I love this unit!

NOTE: Please support 8 Gold Students and vote for their video in the What's So Cool About Manufacturing? Contest. Three of our students, Karson, Nevaeh, and Adaliah, worked SO hard on this video, and it would be amazing if you could vote and share the link with friends/family to vote for GHMS (Gerald G. Huesken) here: https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/south-central/.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) and follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

EARTH MOVEMENTS

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! It's that time again to check in and let you know what your student has been up to in science class!

WHERE WE ARE:

In the past two weeks, we have finished Part 2 of our Earth Materials & Systems unit. We were focused on different rock types, the Rock Cycle, and understanding the Geologic Time Scale. We had a quiz on Rocks & The Rock Cycle and a quiz on the Geologic Time Scale. We've done a rock sorting activity, created a model of the Geologic Time Scale, and have done some close-reading exercises to understand these topics thoroughly.

Below: Students working on creating their Geologic Time Scale Timeline.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

Now, we are moving into Part 3 of the Earth Materials & Systems unit, which is the last part of the unit before the Trimester ends. We will finish this unit up and start Weather & Climate at the beginning of Trimester 3. This last part is a lot of fun because it focuses on the Structure of the Earth, Continental Drift, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and other Mass Movements. There will be two more quizzes in this unit. There is no big unit test for all of Earth Materials & Sytems. When Trimester 3 begins, we'll be working on the Weather & Climate unit up to or right past PSSA testing time in April.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) and follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood