December 11-15, 2017

Apologies for the late email! We are already off to a great start!  

Monday – Students will participate in a Kahoot review game in preparation for the 1st Semester Review Assessment.  This will count as a grade and is not available for retakes as it is review content.

Tuesday – ESCAPE ROOM! We will be reviewing for our semester exam one final time!  Students will be working together in small teams to solve a series of clues that lead to the exit.  Today's Escape Room will be based on Heat Transformation.

Wednesday -Students will compete their 1st Semester Review Assessment.

Thursday – STEAM Fair Project conversations and data talks.

Friday – Half day.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have a great week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

https://www.donorschoose.org/MrsLisaPreston

December 4 - 8, 2017

Monday – We will start our class by documenting on our weather tracker. Students will complete a 1st Semester Review Assessment.  This will not count as a grade.  It will act more as a pre-test to see what students remember and where we need to fill in gaps.  It will take the whole period and if a student scores a 90% or higher may choose to keep this as their Semester Exam grade.

Homework: Think in Ink - Reflecting on the test, what was harder that you thought?  What do you feel good about? 

Tuesday – ESCAPE ROOM! We will be reviewing for our semester exam in a new and exciting way!  Students will be working together in small teams to solve a series of clues that lead to the exit.  Today's Escape Room will be based on the Earth, Moon, Sun relationships. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Glows and Grows about today's review activity. 

Wednesday - Earth, Moon, Sun Performance Task Review.  Students will work in pairs and independently to complete a Performance Task similar to one appearing on the upcoming test. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson.

Thursday – ESCAPE ROOM! Students will be working together in small teams to solve a series of clues that lead to the exit.  Today's Escape Room will be based on the Objects in the Universe. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson.  

Friday – Objects in the Universe Performance Task Review. Students will work in pairs and independently to complete a Performance Task similar to one appearing on the upcoming test. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have a great week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

https://www.donorschoose.org/MrsLisaPreston

November 27 - December 1, 2017

I hope you have had a wonderful long weekend!  Now that we are all rested up (yeah, right!) we are looking toward the end of the first semester!

We will have Science exams  in the form of a multiple choice and performance tasks during the last week of class before the break (3 weeks!).  We just have one topic left to cover before we turn our class over to review for the exam.  Because of this, we will not be working on menus this week.  Here's what our week will look like!

Monday – Students will take a quiz on the Atmosphere's Characteristics and Heat Transfer if they have not already done so.  They will also complete their current menu items from last week if they have any.  Students who are ready to move forward will work with me in a small group to discuss how wind is formed.  As a whole group, we will begin to track the weather.  We will go online to various resources and look at tools and measurements and documents these on our weather tracker. We will begin Weather in January, but this will introduce these ideas and set a solid base for later learning! 

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson. These are thoughtful reflections on the lesson, written in complete sentences.  

Tuesday – Students will work as a whole group and in smaller groups to learn about how wind is created and the Coriolis Effect.  This will finish off our unit on the Atmosphere!  We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson. 

Wednesday – Students will take a quiz on winds and the Coriolis Effect. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson. 

Thursday – Students will review all topics of our Atmosphere unit via a game of Kahoot! We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson. 

Friday – Students will take a unit test on Atmosphere.  We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Here's a peak at next week! (Subject to change of course) 

Monday – We will start our class by documenting on our weather tracker. Students will complete a 1st Semester Review Assessment.  This will not count as a grade.  It will act more as a pre-test to see what students remember and where we need to fill in gaps.  It will take the whole period and if a student scores a 90% or higher may choose to keep this as their Semester Exam grade.

Homework: Think in Ink - Reflecting on the test, what was harder that you thought?  What do you feel good about? 

Tuesday – ESCAPE ROOM! We will be reviewing for our semester exam in a new and exciting way!  Students will be working together in small teams to solve a series of clues that lead to the exit.  Today's Escape Room will be based on the Earth, Moon, Sun relationships. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Glows and Grows about today's review activity. 

Wednesday - Earth, Moon, Sun Performance Task Review.  Students will work in pairs and independently to complete a Performance Task similar to one appearing on the upcoming test. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson.

Thursday – ESCAPE ROOM! Students will be working together in small teams to solve a series of clues that lead to the exit.  Today's Escape Room will be based on the Objects in the Universe. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

Homework: Grows and Glows from today's lesson.  

Friday – Objects in the Universe Performance Task Review. Students will work in pairs and independently to complete a Performance Task similar to one appearing on the upcoming test. We will end our class by documenting on our weather tracker.

I'll let you know next week if anything changes! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have a great week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

https://www.donorschoose.org/MrsLisaPreston

November 20 - 24, 2017

It will be a short week this week, but it will be packed with good stuff!

Monday – Students will go on a field trip to see Wonder and complete related activities upon our return to school.  

Tuesday – Classes will be shortened because of our incentive party in the afternoon.  I will introduce the STEAM Fair project and pass out a letter for students to consider and review at home with the family.  Students will have to choose between an experiment using the Scientific Method or an Engineering Design project.  This explains the difference between the choices. If time remains, they will complete any remaining menu items and/or take the quiz on Atmosphere characteristics and heat transfer.  The menus and quiz due date has been extended until Monday after Thanksgiving.

Wednesday - Friday – No School. Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! 

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

https://www.donorschoose.org/MrsLisaPreston

(615) 329-8160

November 13 - 17, 2017

I apologize for the delay in getting this out to you, but I was meeting with Mrs. Valerie and she shared some great stuff with me and I had to make some last minute adjustments.  Students, however, have not been delayed at all!  Many have started working on items for this week's menu, which is all about the atmosphere.  This week's sample menu is attached here.

We will work on the same menu both this and next week because of the shortened class time.

Monday – Students will take a quiz on the  Components of the Universe if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items.  Students who are ready to move forward may begin working on the new menu focusing on Atmosphere Characteristics and Heat Transfer.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their Atmosphere menu. The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Wednesday – Students will continue to work on their Atmosphere menus.  Students in period 2 and 5 will see VSVS.  Other classes will work on their menu as they have completed VSVS for the semester.

Thursday – Students will continue to work on their Atmosphere menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current. The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Friday – Students will continue to work on their Atmosphere  menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Next week will look very similar.  

Monday – Students will continue to work on their Atmosphere menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will take a quiz on Atmosphere characteristics and heat transfer.  Students may complete any remaining menu items if there is time.

Wednesday - Friday – No School. Happy Thanksgiving!

I will update you next week if anything changes! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

November 6 - 10, 2017

We are on track this week and will be picking up where we left off! Students will continue working on their menu from last week.  An example of the menu can be found here. (This sample can be printed in case a student loses his personalized copy.) I will be meeting with students during small groups to either learn more about this week's topics or brush up on previous topics.

Monday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Study for the quiz!

Wednesday – Vanderbilt's VSVS will be here to share some excellent science experiments!

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Study for the quiz!

Thursday –  Students will take a quiz on the Stars, Galaxies and the Universe if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items or complete the pre-test for Our Solar System.  

Friday – No School. Veteran's Day

Next week we will begin to look at  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 30 - November 3, 2017

I hope you have had a fantastic weekend!  We are gearing up for an excellent week and I am looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday for Student-Led Conferences!  This week students will turn in their menus from last week as well as take their quiz on Tides if they have not already.  They will then pre-test on our new topic "Stars, Galaxies and the Universe" and receive their new menu.  An example of the menu can be found here. (This sample can be printed in case a student loses his personalized copy.) Students will make a commitment to complete 6 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  However, because we have two short weeks in a row as well as a unit test, students will have until next Thursday, November 9 to finish it.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will of course still be included.  

Monday – Students will take a quiz on the Tides if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items or complete the study guide for the Unit Test.  This unit test will be on Tuesday, October 31 and will cover Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides. Students who are ready and completed their menus and quiz may take this test today.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will take the unit test on Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides.  Anyone who finishes early will be able to start work on their new menu relating to the Stars, Galaxies and the Universe.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Wednesday – Student-Led Conferences (No School): Students will present examples of their work, personal reflections, and teacher analysis to family.

Thursday – Students will begin or continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Friday – Students will begin or continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Next week will look very similar.  

Monday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Study for the quiz!

Wednesday – Vanderbilt's VSVS will be here to share some excellent science experiments!

Thursday –  Students will take a quiz on the Stars, Galaxies and the Universe if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items or complete the pre-test for Our Solar System.  

Friday – No School. Veteran's Day

I will update you next week if anything changes! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 23 - 27, 2017

Last week was a very successful week with menus!  Students got to experience choice in their activities, felt empowered to choose small groups with me, and were self-motivated to get their work complete!  I look forward to continuing it this week! 

Students will again receive personalized menus.  These menus will provide student with their updated data and allow them to make choices about how to spend their academic time in order to best meet their needs.  Students will make a commitment this week to complete 4 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will still be included as a part of our normal classroom environment.  Here is an example of what this week's menu will look like.

Last weeks, some students were able to not only complete their weekly menu, but pre-test and begin working on their menu for this week!  As students start to further embrace their learning, they will start to progress quickly.  It is important to stress the value of the quality of work, not speed of completion!

Monday –Students will receive their new menu.  They will also take a pre-test on tides if they did not do so on Friday, which they will be able to score immediately.  After documenting their score on their menu, they will select their activities for the week.  Student may begin working on these activities as soon as they have signed the commitment.  The goal is to complete 1 activity from the menu today.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: 3…2…1… write 3 things you learned today (this could include menu information, tides information or Do Now information.), 2 interesting facts, and 1 question you still have.

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: Crash Course Kids – you may choose any video that is about a review topic.  An example might be Defining a Problem.  Email or write a summary in the form of 140 character Tweet.

Wednesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended:  Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 1 activity during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: NewsELA – read an article of your choosing related to the solar system or cool STEM jobs.  Complete either the quiz or the writing prompt and email or submit.

Friday – Students will take a quiz on the Tides.  Once they are done, they will either complete their current menu items or complete the study guide for the Unit Test.  This unit test will be on Monday, October 30 and will cover Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

Science Carnival!

Happy Monday!  I hope your week has started off well.  This Friday will be our annual Science Carnival! 

SOME of the EVENTS

Beads in a Bottle ~ Bed of Nails ~ Square Bubbles

Cartesian Divers ~ Golden Rod Paper ~ Electrochemistry

Inertia Juice ~ Power Polymer Ball ~ Tornadoes and Fountains

Universal Indicators ~ Whack a Balloon ~ UV Light /Sun prints

This event is extremely popular and limited in the number of students who are able to attend.  If students are interested, here's the permission slip! I will also have paper permission slips available in class for any student who would like one.

Please note that turning a slip in does NOT mean a student is definitely going.  Each class has a limited number of spots, so turn slips in as soon as possible! 

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 16-20, 2017

Welcome back! I hope your fall break was filled with fun and family. 

As we continue to work towards more individualized and self-motivated learning, students will begin to receive personalized menus.  These menus will provide student with their current data and allow them to make choices about how to spend their academic time in order to best meet their needs.  Working in stations has helped lead them up to this experience.  Student menus will have New Topic activities and Review Topic activities.  Students will make a commitment at the beginning of the week to complete 3 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will still be included as a part of our normal classroom environment.  Here is an example of what a menu will look like.

Monday –Students will be introduced to their new menu.  They will also take a pre-test on moon phases, which they will be able to score immediately.  After documenting their score on their menu, they will select their activities for the week.  Student may begin working on these activities as soon as they have signed the commitment.  

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: 3…2…1… write 3 things you learned today (this could include menu information, moon phases information or Do Now information.), 2 interesting facts, and 1 question you still have.

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: StudyJams – choose any video from the Solar System section on StudyJams and complete the quiz.  Email or write the answers and your grade.

Wednesday – Vanderbilt VSVS will be visiting our classroom to share a lesson and activities relating to the solar system.  This will be the second of four visits during the school year.  To learn more about VSVS: https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vsvs/

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended:  Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: NewsELA – read an article of your choosing related to the solar system or cool STEM jobs.  Complete either the quiz or the writing prompt and email or submit.

Friday – Students will take a quiz on the Moon Phases and eclipses.  Once they are done, they will either complete a pre-test for Tides or complete menu items.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 2 - 6, 2017

This week, we will be revisiting the Engineering Design Process via the Egg Drop Project and looking forward with Vanderbilt’s VSVS salt water density lesson. 

Monday – Egg Drop Inspection! Students need to bring their egg drop vessels in to be inspected.  Students whose design does not meet requirements will be allowed to complete revisions for homework and bring it back on Tuesday for a reduced grade.  Students will be asked in class to create hypotheses about what will happen during the Egg Drop.

Homework: Draw a model of the location of the sun and Earth as it would be right now.  Make sure to include your axis, equators, and the seasons.

Tuesday – Egg Drop! Please feel free to join us as we test our prototypes, document our results, and reflect on possible improvements to work towards next year’s constraints.

Homework: Complete Step 5 on the EDP Sheet Egg Drop document.

Wednesday – Vanderbilt's VSVS will be visiting our classroom to share a lesson and activities relating to Salt Water Density.  This will be the first of four visits during the school year.  To learn more about VSVS: https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vsvs/

Homework: Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – We will be running an abbreviated schedule because of our quarterly incentive party held in the afternoon! During class we will be preparing our portfolios for our upcoming Student Led Conferences.   In the afternoon, students will have a choice of movie room and will be provided with popcorn. They may bring their own drinks.

Homework: During the break, students should track the moon phases on their Moon Phase Calendar. I will update a link to the document on my website on Monday afternoon.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

September 25 - 29, 2017

This week, we will begin a new unit on the relationship between and effects of the sun, moon, and earth.  We will be using a new website called Blendspace to help organize our station activities.  We will also start a new weekly learning format as designed by the students.  Based on their feedback, we will limit station rotations to Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Wednesday will be a day for more independent thinking and processing the concepts through readings, writings, conversations and activities.  Friday will continue to be a quiz and stations clean-up day.

Egg Drop Update! The date has been changed.  We will now have the egg drop on October 3, 2017.  Projects will need to be turned in to me on October 2, 2017 for inspection.  Here are the updated Egg Drop Mission Instructions and Vessel Requirements by Grade Level documents for your information.

Monday and Tuesday
Students who did not complete their quiz on Friday will complete it today.  Once done with their quiz, they will begin working on this week’s stations.  Here’s a description of our activities for this week!  They can also be found on Blendspace.

Science - StudyJams: Watch and Quiz Yourself on both "A Day On Earth" and "The Moon."  Write your answers in your science notebook as well as your grade.  You may retake it as many times as you have time for to get your desired grade.

Technology - Seasons Simulation: Explore the Seasons Simulator and complete the online quiz.  Write your answers in your science notebook as well as your grade.  You may retake it as many times as you have time for to get your desired grade.

Engineering - Build Sun, Earth, Moon foldable to demonstrate rotation vs. revolution. Complete the worksheet and glue it into your science notebook.

Arts - Vocabulary flashcards: orbit, rotation, revolution, axis, tilt (Definitions are available on the Blendspace page.)

sMall Group - Modeling orbit, rotation, revolution, axis, tilt, and seasons with Mrs. Preston.  An explanation of the models can be found here!

Career - Learning Blade: Continue your previous mission and continue to focus on the people involved in solving problems. Access through Clever portal.

Wednesday

Students will use “graffiti walls” to review what they have learned so far this week about the Vocabulary, Rotation vs. Revolution, and Seasons.  After the review, we will work as a group to clear up any misconceptions or uncertainties.  Students will then complete additional activities, including a match game to help retain the information.

Thursday (remember no computers!)
Students will have the opportunity to complete stations that they have not yet finished. Specifically, they can work on the Engineering, Arts and sMall Group stations.  All work must be completed by the end of class on Friday.

Friday

Students will take a quiz on Rotation vs. Revolution and Seasons.  Once students have completed their assessments, they may finalize any work they have remaining for the week.

Homework

Monday: Practice Writing Hypotheses

Tuesday: Guided Notes - Rotation vs. Revolution

Wednesday: Guided Notes - Seasons

Thursday: Study Guided Notes and vocabulary flashcards for quiz!

Science Notebook

In order to help students stay organized, I will begin listing the table of contents entries they will be responsible for each week.  Because this is new, students will not be required to go back to previous pages and change theirs.  Moving forward it should match the example below.  The date of each activity may be different than below because of their choice of order.  The required elements are the Content entries.

Date                      Content                                               Page # (this will vary based on their previous notes)

9/25                       Study Jams: The Moon

9/25                       Small Group with Mrs. P

9/26                       Seasons Simulator

9/26                       Study Jams: A Day On Earth

9/27                      Graffiti Walls Review Reflection

9/27                       Seasons Vocabulary Matching

9/28                       Sun Moon Earth foldable   (I would also do vocabulary flashcards at this time)

9/29                       Learning Blade Responses

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, thoughts or concerns!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

September 18 - 22, 2017

We have a new and exciting week ahead! Let's dive in!

Monday

Students will present their lunar colonies to the class.  Presentations will be limited to 5 minutes each and must include a model of their lunar colony, a marketing material for their colony and the Lunar Colony STEAM Notebook. 

Students must also complete peer critiques as other groups present using a rubric.  These critiques will allow them to critically analyze other projects based on a rubric and provide glows and grows. Finally, they will evaluate their own team members’ participation.

At the end of class, we will discuss the grand finale of the Engineering Design unit!  The Annual Egg Drop!  Students will receive information in science class, but here are links to the documents, just in case!  Egg Drop Information           Egg Drop Requirements by Grade Level

Tuesday – Thursday

Students will complete station rotations and cement their understanding of the Scientific Method, Engineering Design Process and the various tools, products and results involved.

Science – Small Group with Ms. Preston – Review Activity

Technology – Scholastic Study Jams – Students must complete all 4 videos, answer the quiz in their science notebook and record their score in their notebook next to their answers. http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/index.htm?topic_id=si

Engineering – Engineering Card Sort – Students will work with groups to match pairs of cards and their meanings.  Once they have finished and checked their answers, they must write it in their science notebook.

Arts - Vocabulary Flash Cards – adaptive product, assistive product, bioengineering, unintended consequences, technology – These definitions appear within the card sort above!  Remember that including pictures and color helps the brain!

Math – Assignment Log – Students will find the percentage grade of each assignment on their new log and enter it to the right of the last column.  They will then prepare for the upcoming assessments.  Enter Assignment #11 – Science Methods Test.  Enter #12 – Engineering Design Process Test.  Finally, they will glue or staple the assignment log to the inside back cover of their notebooks.

Career – Learning Blade (available through Clever) – Students will explore a mission of their choice, focusing on the people involved in the solutions to learn about the roles each career plays in the solving the problem.

Friday

We will take our Science Methods Test and Engineering Design Test. Because of the length of each test, we will be taking a break in between!  Tests will be timed in order to prepare for future timed-tests.

As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, thoughts or concerns!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

September 11 - 15, 2017

Last week students began an engineering design challenge that I had anticipated lasting just one week, but students have been so excited about the research aspect of this project that we are extending it!  This week, students will continue to work on their Project Lunar Base Student Notebook and create their own lunar colonies.  In addition to understanding the implementation of the Engineering Design Process, students are learning to use digital collaboration through the cloud, sharing documents with me and their team members via Office 365.  Last week's vocabulary words will be extended to this week as well as we make connections between the academic language on assessments and how to apply them in science.  A reminder of our words: support, develop, explicit, ambiguous, identify. We will quiz on those words on Friday.

Monday
Students must complete their plan.  This plan includes a list of materials, a step by step protocol, and a diagram of what their model will look like.  Once students have submitted their plan for approval, they will receive their exact materials and a permit to build.  Any changes to their materials, plan, or process must be written and re-approved. Students may still bring in their own materials, but those materials must be included in their plan.  Donations of extra materials are humbly accepted. 

Tuesday
Students will continue to build their lunar colonies.  Some students may begin to finish their construction. The next step of the process has students discussing sustainability and scalability of their idea.  They will reflect on whether their solution is a long term or short term solution.

Wednesday
As students are finalizing construction details, they must begin to prepare the presentation of their colony to their classmates.  This presentation may include:

  Option 1: Create a brochure inviting people going to the Moon to visit your lunar base.

  Option 2: Create a list of instructions with pictures showing how the lunar base looks and functions. What are the key features?

  Option 3: Create a video showing explaining the lunar base and how it functions.

  Option 4: Create an advertisement for lunar base and mission.  

Thursday
Students will complete their projects.  Groups may begin practicing their presentation.  Presentations will occur on Friday.

Friday
Presentations!  We will learn about each group's amazing research and efforts as they share their lunar colony.  We will also reflect on the Engineering Design Process and its importance in our project.


Homework:

Monday 9/11 - In two sentences, tell me how your lunar colony works and why it’s a viable option?

Tuesday 9/12 – Write about the glows and grows of the day today.  Did you make as much progress as you thought you would?  What had an affect on that?

Wednesday 9/13 – What is the difference between support and develop?  Use an original example to explain if you can.

Thursday 9/14 – Write about your group experience on this project.  Specifically reflect on each member of your groups’ participation. Were they helpful?  Did they contribute ideas, work, etc?