OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE

Hello everyone,

I'm excited to have everyone back after Thanksgiving break! I hope it was a good time to decompress and spend time with family. Over the break, my classroom received new lab tables, so my room got a bit of a "makeover" for the new Trimester. Check out the pictures below:

This new setup is going to allow for extra space for different activities! Students so far seem to be happier to have more variation in seating too.

WHERE WE ARE:

Since returning from the Thanksgiving Break, we have started our Astronomy - Part 2 - Unit. We are focusing on large-scale Astronomy. We started this half of Astronomy by thinking about our place in the universe. Today, we looked at Space Exploration and how scientists use electromagnetic radiation (mostly visible light and radio waves) to observe space. This was followed up with a mini-lab using Spectroscopes.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

The next thing we will do in class is our Origins of the Earth Posterboard Project. This will be a 40-point group project where students in each class will be broken into 9 different groups researching a topic related to how Earth is what it is today. Students will be able to choose who they work with (most likely with a partner or in a group of 3). This will be a fun way to learn about the Solar System in a creative way! The best posters will be hung up in my room or in the hallway for display!

After we complete the Origins of the Earth Posterboard Project, we will explore more about the Sun, the Life of a Star, and other Celestial Bodies in space.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out at curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org!

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

MYSTERIES OF THE MOON

Hello everyone,

It's hard to believe it's November! Not that much longer until the end of the 1st Trimester of school! The end of the Trimester is on November 17th.

WHERE WE ARE:

In the last two weeks, we have explored seasons, day/night, and have worked on modeling and understanding how the tilt of the Earth is the reason for the seasons. This week, we started to explore the Moon. Today, we were modeling and did some kinesthetic learning to represent how the Moon changes shape or has phase changes.

Below is an image that shows how one student was modeling the Moon; one was the Sun, and the other was the Earth. The class told the students where to be positioned to model the Moon phase we had last night. Additionally, the other image is of a student's initial model worksheet where they drew Batman staring at last night's (10/31) Moon phase.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

During the rest of the week, we'll continue to explore the Moon. The week will end with a fun lab activity. Next week, we'll investigate why eclipses occur and then get into tides. On November 16th, we'll have the Astronomy - Part 1 Unit Test. It's important to encourage students to start reviewing handouts and notes. They should also be checking their grades and trying to get any late or missing work in as soon as possible. There aren't many more days left of the Trimester. After the Thanksgiving break, we'll continue with Astronomy but focus on large-scale topics, as mentioned in my last blog post.

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out: curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org Feel free to follow @ScienceWithSilverwood on Instagram. Thank you, Mr. Silverwood

5, 4, 3, 2, 1… LIFT OFF

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! October feels like it’s flying by, but let’s pause and take a look at where we are in science right now and where we’re going.

Where We Are:

We have a little less than a month left of Trimester 1. Students have just completed their Motion & Energy Unit test and we have begun our Astronomy Unit. Astronomy is broken into two parts. In Part 1, we’ll finish before the end of the Trimester. It will focus on small scale interactions between the Earth-Sun-Moon.

This week, we’ve been focused on patterns in the sky related to space. Earlier in the week, students had homework where they should have made connections with family and friends to ask about other patterns in the sky related to space. We spent a lot of time Monday focused on understanding why Manhattanhenge occurs in New York.

Yesterday and today, we’ve been focused on analyzing data related to the Solar Energy output of the Sun and seeing how that relates to the number of “Daylight Hours” and to seasons. This week has been all about pre-assessment and getting to know what students already know and how to move forward to solidify their understanding of the content.

Below are images from an activity we did where students wrote what other patterns they were aware of related to space after creating initial models for how Manhattanhenge may occur (we're going to revisit that at a later date!):

Tomorrow we’ll take a pause on science because of the CDT testing but Friday we’ll have class and analyze more data related to the Sun. It’ll help see things big picture and piece all of what we did this week together.

Where We’re Going:

Moving forward in Astronomy - Part 1, we’ll tackle Day, Night, and Seasons, The Moon, Eclipses, and Tides. Side note: the photos from the recent Annular Eclipse in California are awesome (cue Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire).

November 16th will be our Astronomy - Part 1 test and this grade may end up going on Trimester 2. Potentially it will be the final grade of Trimester 1.

After the Thanksgiving Break, we’ll return focused on Astronomy - Part 2. This will focus on large scale astronomy such as the entire Solar System, Celestial Bodies, Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe as a whole.

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out: curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org

Feel free to follow @ScienceWithSilverwood on Instagram.

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood