This week, we learned about plate tectonic boundaries and the results of their interactions. We spent this week talking a lot about earthquakes and doing activities relating to earthquakes. We reviewed two powerpoints about tectonic plates, viewed one on earthquakes, and did two labs about earthquakes. The first one we did was on the Mercalli scale and then the next class period one on earthquake triangulation. We also took two pre and post tests on plate tectonics, and will be ready to start on water next week.
We've had 7 school days since the last blog post. In those school days, we've read articles on Seafloor Spreading and Earth's Core and Mantle. We also did an assignment on tectonic plates and watched various video clips covering plate tectonic theory specific to the Pacific Ring of Fire, Hawaii, and Yellowstone National Park. All of these locations are hotbeds for geologic activity, and we learned about why in the last few lessons. We're almost done with Plate Tectonics, with lessons on plate boundaries and the 5 part model of the interior of the Earth to come before moving on to our water unit.
We started our conversation of Plate Tectonics by covering the idea that modern plate tectonic theory started with: Continental Drift. We learned all about the man (Alfred Wegener), his evidences (the continents look like they fit together, they contained the same fossils, and had the same rock stratification), and why his idea was not accepted in his time (he couldn't explain how or why it was happening). We took two tests this week, one on Continental Drift and one on convection currents.
This week, students were given a lot of time to complete their Solar System Webquest assignment. It is pretty involved, with students having to navigate between multiple websites and search for and read a lot of content on those pages. For this reason, they were given parts of three different class periods to complete this assignment. The assignment is also worth twice as much as a normal one, so hopefully it got turned in. This week, we also watched a video on the planets of the solar system, and took post test 4 and pre test 5.
This week, we watched a video on the Big Bang Theory, then took post test 3 and pre test 4. The next class period, we read on article on E=mc squared and learned a little more about it with a Bozeman science clip. After that, I gave students a lecture on the Solar System with the help of a powerpoint and made sure that we discussed all the questions that would be on their next test. The next class period, we read an article about Stanley Miller and his ability to make organic compounds out of inorganic ones in a lab back in 1952. Students then worked on a Solar System Webquest, one that they will have some more time next week to complete.
This short week, students watched a video on Uranium and we reviewed some key concepts including radioactivity, half-life, parent, daughter, isotope, etc. We then did a cool lab about elements and their emission spectra. We learned how every one of the 92 naturally-occurring elements has their own unique spectrum, and how astronomers can use a spectroscope to be able to tell the composition of distant stars and galaxies. By using Cepheid stars (which pulse their light at a certain rate) and the amount of redshift that stars and galaxies show, we can work backwards and determine that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old.
We only had a 3 day week this week so we didn't get a ton accomplished but we did take post test 2 and pre test 3, reviewed a bit about radiometric dating, and learned about the Doppler effect and all that it means for the Big Bang Theory. We viewed a powerpoint that explains the link between the Doppler Effect, emission spectrum lines, and red shift. We also did a couple of fun starter activities with both a spool and a slinky.
This week, we finished our lessons on famous historical astronomers. We talked about Isaac Newton and his law of Universal Gravitation and then took our post test on Power Standard #1. We also took our next pre test for Power Standard #2. We then moved on to a lesson on radiometric dating. Power Standard #2 is for students to understand the age of the Earth (4.5 billion years) and to understand the scientific evidence for this age. Our lesson included lessons on radioactivity, isotopes, half lives, parents, and daughters. We also did a radiometric half life lab, using M&M minis to represent our radioactive parents turning into daughters at every half life.
This week, we continued our lessons on historical astronomers and their theories and evidences. At the end of this week, we are now ready to be tested on major discoveries in astronomy and who was credited with them. The five major contributors to astronomy that we have been focusing on this week are Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Students will be expected to know their contributions to astronomy for their test next week. One highlight of the week was drawing ellipses and finding their eccentricities using Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion.
This week students produced and shared their CER posters with their classmates. It was a really great couple of days of presentations and I was really proud of the students who showed up and presented. The way that we do presentations in this class is a little different, but I'm confident that it is far superior to the "old school" way that presentations are usually done in classes. The majority of students prefer my method and have a lot less anxiety about presenting. On Thursday, my classes had their first astronomy lesson on historical astronomers, and we will continue with astronomy next week.
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AuthorMr. Saurer is a science teacher and basketball coach currently teaching at Granger High School. Archives
February 2019
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