COMING BACK DOWN TO EARTH

Hello everyone,

As our Astronomy - Part 2 Unit comes to a close, we’re preparing to “come back down to Earth,” literally! We're transitioning from studying the skies to uncovering our planet's geologic history. We’ve had an exciting journey through the cosmos, and it’s almost time to shift our focus to Earth’s History. This is related to absolute and relative dating using information from rocks and understanding our Geologic Time Scale.

Where We WERE

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been all about the wonders of celestial movement. We dug into solar and lunar eclipses, learning why and how these events occur. Then, we shifted to tides, exploring how the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun create the daily rhythm of rising and falling ocean waters. These topics gave us a deeper understanding of the fascinating relationship between Earth, its closest celestial neighbors, and the observable effects right here on our planet.

Where We Are

We’re wrapping up our study of tides and preparing for our final Astronomy - Part 2 test this Friday, November 15th. This test will combine everything we’ve learned about Day, Night, and Seasons and the Moon’s phases, Eclipses, and Tides. It’s a great opportunity to show all we’ve discovered and understood about how these cosmic patterns shape our world. So, students should take time each night before the test to review their notes, work on the review packet, and use the review Blooket to ensure they're ready to soar through the test on Friday!

Below are images from our Analyzing Lunar Eclipse Images activity:

Where We’re Going

After the test, we’ll shift gears and begin our Earth’s History unit right before Thanksgiving break. We’ll dive into Earth’s structure and explore the processes that shape our planet’s surface. This will include an introduction to sedimentary rocks and how they tell the stories of Earth’s past environments. After the holiday break, we’ll continue exploring the rock cycle and move on to the other rock types: igneous and metamorphic rocks. We’ll end with an exciting look at the geologic time scale to understand the vast history of our planet.

Instead of a traditional unit test, we’ll conclude this unit with a cumulative project. This will allow students to be creative, dive deep into a period in Earth’s history, and present their learning and exploration in a different and slightly less stressful way!

If you have any questions or want to connect further, please don’t hesitate to contact me at curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our journey on Instagram at @classwithcatwood, where I share updates and snapshots of our exciting classroom activities.

Thank you for your time,

Mr. Catwood (formerly Silverwood)