CLASS AT THE IU SO FAR...

Hello!

I'm so happy that we've been in-person the past couple of weeks. It has been great meeting and working with each of your students.

We are currently in our Nature of Science & Measurement Unit. We finished with Nature of Science last week and learned the parts of an experiment and the Scientific Process. At the IU, since we do not have lab space, we did a virtual Plant Growth Lab Simulation. This is something students worked on as a group to practice the parts of an experiment.

Students have had two quizzes. One on Observations and Inferences and the other on Parts of an Experiment and Graphing.

This week (9/20), students started learning about the Metric System and Metric Measurement and Conversions. We are focused on practicing how to measure and convert using the base units of meters (length), liters (volume), and grams (mass).

We should be in the new building very soon, so below is an image of the science classroom as I continue to prep it for students! I'm so excited to have this large space to work with all of 8 Gold.

After our Nature of Science and Measurement unit we will be moving onto Motion.

As a reminder, if you ever have any questions regarding your student's work or progress in my classroom feel free to reach out via email at curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

twisting and turning (From virtual to in-person)

Good evening,

The past few weeks have had its ups and downs, but our team has been MAGNIFICENT navigating the transition of the virtual start to being in-person at the IU. I have to say, we have a great group of students and they have been focused and doing wonderful in class! I've been impressed by their hard work.

To recap:

While we were on virtual, we went over Classroom Expectations and the rules for our classroom. You can see those rules that the students came up with and agreed to here: https://www.sciencewithsilverwood.com/class-rules

We also reviewed Lab Safety. Students received the Lab Safety contract on Monday (9/6) to have signed by Friday (9/9) by a parent/guardian and by them. This is to ensure that students understand that safety is my #1 concern during any lab activity and that I want them to realize that it is important to follow all precautions to prevent any accident.

Students MUST have the Lab Safety contract signed before they can participate in any lab once we are in the new building.

On our last day of virtual, we started to discuss observations and inferences.

This week at the IU (9/6 to 9/9):

We have continued practicing observations vs. inferences, and started to discuss the Parts of an Experiment and the Science and Engineering Practices. Thursday and Friday of this week, we will be practicing writing procedures with a fun drawing activity!

Next week:

Students will practice graphing and work on a lab simulation assignment in groups. There will be two quizzes. One quiz will be on Monday 9/12 on Observations and Inferences. A second quiz will be given on our Early Dismissal day Friday 9/16 on the Parts of an Experiment and Graphs.

Looking forward into the future:

I hope that you feel included in the classroom by knowing what your student is doing! My goal is to keep this line of communication open so you know what your student is learning and doing in the science classroom!

I'm enjoying getting to know all of 8 Gold! This year is going to be great! Below is an image of our science classroom part of the shared space between Math and Science at the IU.

In science, I like to have students grouped in pods. This way students can work together, collaborate, and learn from each other. Students will be seated similarly once we are in the new building!

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

P.S. New blog posts are posted bi-weekly. Bookmark this page so you can keep updated with what's going on in our classroom!

Welcome to 8 Gold Science!

Hello 8 Gold,

I hope you all had an amazing summer! I've been preparing and planning lessons to make this year a blast. We will have a lot of fun in science class. SCIENCE is a VERB. So in my class, you'll do science and have a lot of opportunity to do hands-on labs.

You can access course materials from the 8 Gold Science Schoology page. I work to update the Schoology page daily with all materials from the day. This way, if you miss school you can catch up easily. On Schoology, you'll find the daily agenda. The agenda helps keep everyone in the loop of what is going on in class.

REMINDER: If you miss a day, it is your responsibility to check-in with me for missing work and to complete the missing work within 2 school days of your absence.

Parents/guardians, your student will be receiving a Lab Safety and Class Rules and Expectations contract during the first week of school. The Lab Safety contract should be signed by you and your student. The Class Rules and Expectations contract will be signed by your student in class. In my class, rules and expectations are established as a group on the first day of school. These rules will be posted on www.sciencewithsilverwood.com as well as Schoology. I expect that students follow the guidelines we create as a class.

The first topic that we will cover in class is the Nature of Science. This includes investigating the parts of an experiment, how to make observations and inferences, graph, analyze data, and design a procedure. In class, we use the NGSS Science & Engineering Practices which is very closely aligned to The Scientific Method. The Science & Engineering Practices allow students to expand on HOW and WHY things occur.

If there are ever any questions for me, please feel free to email

curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org or call me at the school. My extension is 2317.

We are going to have a lot of fun this year! I can't wait!

Sincerely,

Mr. Curtis Silverwood