EARTH'S RESOURCES

Hello everyone,

I wanted to start by apologizing for missing our last couple of bi-weekly updates. March was incredibly busy between early dismissals, schedule changes, and Easter break, and the time definitely got away from me. Although I was able to send a brief update in one of the Team's updates. I appreciate your patience as we get back into our regular rhythm for the remainder of the year.

Where We Were

We just wrapped up the final chapter of our Weather & Climate unit and completed our unit test. Overall, I was really pleased with the effort students put in. For students who are not satisfied with their test grade, test corrections are available. Students can go into Schoology, review what they got incorrect, and correct their answers on lined paper (making sure to number each question). They will earn half points back for each corrected response. I strongly recommend this for students who earned around a 70% or lower, but any student is welcome to complete corrections if they would like to improve their understanding and grade. Corrections will be due Monday during Core Extension.

Below: Some students' Severe Weather Parody Song Cover Art images.

Where We Are

We have now transitioned into our Earth’s Resources unit. We kicked things off by connecting it to climate change, using station rotations to explore different pieces of evidence and discussing the greenhouse effect. Next week, we will be watching David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. This is a powerful documentary that looks at how Earth has changed over the course of David Attenborough’s lifetime. He turns 100 years old on May 8th, which makes the perspective in the film even more meaningful.

After the documentary, students will participate in a series of three structured debates based on the ideas and themes from the film. This is always a fun and engaging way for students to think critically and express their ideas, especially during a busy testing period.

Speaking of testing, ELA PSSA testing will take place Tuesday through Thursday, April 21–23. The following week, we will hold our debates, followed by the Math PSSA on April 28–29 and the Science PSSA testing on April 30. The science PSSA is 25% Earth Science (what we covered this year), 25% Physical Science (6th grade), 25% Life Science (7th grade), and 25% Technology & Engineering (Tech Ed courses 6-8th grades). I have given students PSSA prep questions to practice for the science PSSA, but it really comes down to understanding and analyzing graphs, data, diagrams, etc. Then being able to connect those images to vocabulary and concepts they've learned since 4th/5th grade. I think most students will do pretty well on it.

Where We’re Going

After our debates, we will dive deeper into our unit’s guiding question: Why are floods and droughts increasing in different parts of the world? Students will analyze both global and local data to understand these patterns better. From there, we will explore how humans use Earth’s resources and what it means to live sustainably. Students will investigate renewable and nonrenewable resources, how resource use impacts the planet, and what solutions exist to better manage these systems moving forward. The goal of this unit is to help students think like scientists and problem solvers, using evidence to understand how Earth’s systems work and how human actions influence them.

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.

P.S. If you haven't purchased a Yearbook, there are only a few copies left. You can buy a copy here: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1044712/Gerald-G-Huesken-Middle-School/

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood

ATMOSPHERE IN ACTION

Hey everyone,

It has been another busy and exciting couple of weeks in science as we continue moving deeper into our Weather and Climate unit. Students have been doing a great job asking questions, making observations, and connecting what we learn in class to the weather we experience every day (and their Weather Observations). There have been a lot of hands-on learning, demonstrations, and discussions that have helped bring these atmospheric concepts to life.

Where We Were

Over the past two weeks, we have been exploring the atmosphere, cloud formation, humidity, and precipitation. Students investigated the layers of the atmosphere during our Atmosphere CER Lab, where students plotted atmospheric data and constructed a Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning table about atmospheric structure and function.

We also completed a Relative Humidity mini-lab in which students used sling psychrometers to measure wet- and dry-bulb temperatures to determine humidity levels. This gave students a hands-on look at how meteorologists collect real weather data. Along the way, we have also done several demonstrations to visualize cloud formation, relative humidity, and precipitation.

Below: Video of some students doing our cloud in a bottle demo, and other photos from the past two weeks.

Where We Are

Today, students had a quiz that covered the concepts we have been exploring, including the atmosphere, humidity, clouds, and precipitation. This will help check their understanding before we move into the next major topics of the unit.

Starting next week, we will begin exploring air pressure and density, along with how they influence global and local winds. Students can expect more demonstrations and station rotations that will allow them to experiment with these concepts and see how differences in pressure and density drive movement in the atmosphere.

Where We Are Going

After that, we will transition into learning about air masses and weather fronts, which naturally leads us into our upcoming severe weather topics. To wrap up that part of the unit, students will be working on a severe weather parody song project, which should be a creative and fun way for them to show what they have learned.

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

DRIVING WEATHER

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. Here is our latest update as we continue through the Weather and Climate unit. We have had a productive couple of weeks, and there is a lot of exciting learning ahead.

Where We Were

Over the past two weeks, Mr. Roberto (our student teacher) has been leading our Weather and Climate unit and guiding students through general review material from previous years. Students revisited heat transfer, states of matter, phase changes, and the water cycle. To support their understanding, we spent time doing hands-on demonstrations to explore heat transfer, used a PhET simulation to explore how phase changes occur, played a water cycle dice game, and wrapped things up with a water cycle diagram assessment. These activities helped students refresh the key ideas they will need as we move deeper into the unit. For instance, heat energy from the sun DRIVES weather.

Below are some photos from our Heat Transfer Station Rotations and Demos:

Where We Are

This week, we are starting our 3-day Heating & Cooling Lab Inquiry. During this investigation, students will explore how the topics we just reviewed connect to how different materials on Earth’s surface heat up and cool down. This work will help us understand how these differences influence the weather we experience.

Where We Are Going

After the Heating & Cooling Lab Inquiry, we will begin to get into more specific weather topics such as the atmosphere, cloud formation, humidity, and other important concepts that shape weather patterns. We will also introduce the Watching the Weather project. This project runs for three weeks and will have students observe the weather using both technology and their own senses. At the end, students will participate in a class discussion where they share what they noticed, including any trends and patterns that appeared over time. This project helps students understand how observations can be used to make predictions about weather changes.

POTENTIAL FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL DAY (FID):

Before I sign off, I want to note that Monday, February 23rd, could potentially be a Flexible Instructional Day (FID). If that happens, students will need to log in to Schoology and check all their courses to see what work needs to be completed. All 8 Gold core class assignments will be posted on the homework feed at https://www.classwithcatwood.com/homework, which is the same feed that appears on the 8 Gold page in Schoology.

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