NEW YEAR, NEW UNIT!

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a great winter break and enjoyed the holidays with friends and family. When we returned from break, we eased into things and watched the film A Million Miles Away on Amazon Prime, which is the real-life story of a Mexican American astronaut who achieved his lifelong dream of going to space. We reflected on our goals and dreams for the long term and for the year. Last week, we started our Earth Materials & Systems Unit.

WHERE WE ARE:

We spent last week learning about Conduction, Convection, and Radiation (the three types of heat transfer). Students will need to know these concepts as we explore Plate Tectonics and Weather & Climate later this year. We also reviewed states of matter and phase changes. This included some dancing (moving like matter) and a lab.

Below: Photo of some students using their Digital Notebooks while doing rotations and looking at and answering questions on different demonstrations related to Conduction, Convection, and Radiation.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

This week, although very short, we had a quiz on the topics from last week and will start a refresher on the water cycle. We'll talk about the role of water on Earth, and all of this will tie into Weathering and Erosion as we start talking about Geology topics in this unit. Those topics include the Structure of the Earth, Rock Types/Rock Cycle, Plate Tectonics, Continental Drift, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and the Geologic Time Scale.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) and follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Hello everyone,

I hope you all are doing well! Students are very excited, it seems, for the Winter Break, and it'll be a well-deserved break from all their hard work!

WHERE WE ARE:

Since returning from Thanksgiving Break, we have worked through our Astronomy - Part 2 unit. Students have learned about Space Exploration (How we observe the Universe, Galaxies, etc.), The Sun (in more detail), Celestial Bodies (Planets, Dwarf Planets, Types of Moons, Asteroids, Comets, Meteoroids/Meteors/Meteorites), and the Life of a Star (including how to read an H-R Diagram).

Below: Posterboards from our Origins of the Earth project.

Students have a quiz tomorrow on the content that we have covered. It is 30 points (1 ordering question, 10 multiple choice questions, 6 true/false questions, and 3 short answer questions). The quiz is not open note, but we have spent the last two days reviewing in class with a review packet and a Blooket.

Below: Cover art for poems/parody songs from students for our Parody/Poem projects.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

After we return from Winter Break, students will be starting a new unit. The Earth Materials & Systems unit will focus on geology content. Includes content related to the Geologic Timescale, Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, etc. Geology and Meteorology are two of my absolute favorite topics to teach, and those are coming up down the pipeline.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please enjoy the winter break!

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) and follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you, Mr. Silverwood

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