Teaching Middle School Science

September 27

Sept. 28-Oct. 02

Monday-Newton’s first law-reflection and make equation foldable
* Homework due Thursday/Friday
Problems 10-16 pg. 62. (must write out question or incorporate in answer for credit)
Vocab. Homework define
1. terminal velocity
2. friction
3. gravity

Tuesday-SQ3R reading strategy chapter. 3 pgs.68-71

Wednesday- Gravity lab

Thursday/Friday-block schedule-Momentum Lab

I have been adjusting to the new 9th grade curriculum, Geophysical science. If this seems odd coming from an eighth grade science teacher, remember the challenge program is accelerated in science in eighth grade. I taught Earth Science for several years and truly grew to love it. What better place to teach Earth Science than Grand Junction? But I am not in love with geophysical. I understand the reasoning for the change, I was part of the committee that chose the text. Our students needed more physical science and this text has a lot of physical science. District teachers have worked to add earth science topics in, but the scale is still tipped to physical science. I cannot help but think that we are losing something in teaching less earth science, but I know we need to teach the physical science.
But here is the deal, my grandfather came to Grand Junction in the 50’s to look for uranium. My other grandfather came during the depression and found work building dams as a cat skinner and later as a ditch rider and dam keeper. I really think that right now, as we are losing jobs based on natural resources like oil and gas, we should be training our citizens about what the resources are, where they come from and how we use them.

I was camping with my Earth Science group for the first part of this week, so I did not send out a planner. My Physical science kids watched Mythbusters and read a selection from the text. We are grading notebooks this Friday, so make sure they are up to date.

Our next topic in our study of motion is acceleration.